INTERVIEW: Ghum

Having been firm favourites here at GIHE for a number of years, wowing us with their immersive live performances and captivating post-punk musicality, London band GHUM have now released their much-awaited debut album, Bitter. Oozing a gritty, swirling energy as front person Laura’s vocals soar throughout, each track carries the band’s trademark ethereal allure and dark, hypnotic splendour, showcasing their ability to consistently hone their sound and bewitch listeners worldwide.

To celebrate the release of the album, we caught up with Laura, Jojo, Marina and Vicki to find out more about Bitter; what inspires them; their thoughts on the industry today; their plans for the year, and more. Have a read below and make sure you immerse your ears in the new album as soon as possible!

Hey Ghum! For those who aren’t familiar, can you tell us a bit about yourselves and how you all got together to start creating music as Ghum? 
We met because Marina, our bassist, put an ad online looking for female musicians to form a band because she thought playing with other women would be more fun. She knew Laura from a previous jam with other people and asked if she was still looking for a band. “I loved her voice and vibe so much, and was really happy she said yes.” Jojo responded to the ad saying she loved The Cure and Warpaint and I said: “You’re in, bitch”. Vicki came along soon after that and boom: Ghum was formed. 

We’re huge fans of your swirling, ethereal allure and post-punk energy, but who would you say are your main musical influences? 
Bit of Cure, bit of Pixies, bit of Joy Division and Warpaint…

You’ve just released your debut album, Bitter, which is super exciting! Are you able to tell us a bit about it? Are there any particular themes running throughout it?
Bitter is our debut album and we wanted to establish and cement our sound with this record. This time we knew what we were looking for when songwriting, and searched for it. The themes vary but the songs are about people and conversations that have maybe a bitter end – reflections on people that left a mark, and just a release of feelings that needed an escape.

And how would you say this album differs or moves on from your previous releases? 
We have consolidated our sound (for now) after The Coldest Fire EP we released in 2019, we found something that really agreed with all of us – we wanted to explore this sound and make it punchier. It feels like the culmination of an era, what we wanted to reach until now. This is us.

You’ve been wowing crowds with your immersive live shows for some time now, including support slots with the likes of Dream Wife and L.A Witch (and headlining for us at the Finsbury!), but is there a particular gig you’ve played that stands out as a highlight for you? 
We have just finished a supporting tour with Choir Boy and Soft Kill. We played in Paris at the Petit Bain and we really enjoyed that one. The French crowd was awesome and the venue was a dream – it was in the middle of our first European tour, so it was quite special to play to such a different crowd and get such a good response.

I’ve always loved seeing you live, and seem to become hypnotised by your majestic splendour! But how would you describe the Ghum live experience to those who’ve not had the pleasure yet? 
Thank you! We live our shows in our skin, we try to transmit the emotions in the songs and give a performance where we tell a story. We are loud and quiet, and we love low lights and smoke machines. We love a good mosh pit and dance party too.

How do you feel the industry is for new artists at the moment? And do you feel much has changed over the last few years in its treatment of female and queer/LGBTQ+ artists?
The industry is changing slowly and improving with this, but there is still a lot to improve on. Lack of representation and sexism is still a massive problem in this industry; on and off stage. For example a lack of female, non-binary, trans and queer/LGBTQ+ tour managers or drivers, or sound engineers, or gig promoters, or lighting designers. Fortunately, there are collectives such as 3T which is a training course for underrepresented gender/ethnic groups in touring and live music – something we want to see more of! At any given point, we try to always work with women across the board for our shows or tours, and to give opportunities to women to work in a safe working environment is also important. It’s still very much a “boys club” or “man’s world” in the music industry, especially when you step outside of the DIY scene – which we’re very fortunate to have started from. But it’s evident there’s still a great deal of improvement that could be done and we hope we can help with this, along with many other artists, fighting for more change.

And with you all being from different parts of the world, how would you say the music scene here differs from the places you grew up? 
It’s totally different! There are underground alternative scenes everywhere of course, but London has such an extensive circuit of venues of all sizes and a lot of respect for bands that are starting out; there is a big history of alternative music from this neck of the woods and it feels like people are more tolerant. I’ll say the alternative scene is even more alternative in places like Spain and Brazil where society is not as open minded – it’s way harder to find places to play, and the resources are more limited. But there is a lot of DIY ethos and community support.

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other upcoming artists or bands you’re loving right now that you’d recommend we check out?
We really like NewDad, Hussy, Fraulein, Bdrmm, Montaña (Spain)…

And, finally, in addition to the album release, what does the rest of the year have in store for Ghum…?
We have lots of plans. We have a few shows and festivals coming up. We are especially excited for our upcoming show at Rough Trade East on 4th July where we are gonna be celebrating our album launch and signing some vinyls for the first time. We are finally playing in Spain (where our vocalist Laura is from) at the end of August at Canelaparty in Malaga and we are very happy about that too. We will be announcing a UK tour in autumn and we are writing new songs, so we hope to keep on releasing new material. Lots of work and lots of gigs!

Huge thanks to Ghum for answering our questions!

Bitter, the debut album from Ghum, is out now via Everything Sucks. Buy here.

Photo Credit: Paul Phung

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Track Of The Day: All Cats Are Beautiful – ‘Heartbeats’

Having fallen completely in love with London duo Elena and Kyle – aka all cats are beautiful (ACAB) – upon listening to last year’s album the things we made, with this love only growing further when they delivered their ‘sad dance tunes’ for us live at The Shacklewell Arms in February, we’re super happy to hear they’ve now released a beautiful new single.

With their rendition of The Knife’s ‘Heartbeats‘, acab offer a truly enchanting dreamscape. Flowing with delicate, twinkling hooks alongside the duo’s luscious harmonies, it’s a stripped back, yet instantly immersive, version of the original, oozing a lilting, blissful energy and captivating, heartfelt emotion. Maintaining all the infectious electro scuzz of the original, whilst adding the duo’s own unique resplendent grace and spellbinding allure, it builds with a whirring splendour to a vibrant, danceable anthem shimmering with a swirling, soothing charm.

Of the decision to release the track, the duo explain:

“It was conceived and recorded in just one day in January this year while we were preparing to go on tour, and is the third in our ongoing covers series (previously featuring works by Arthur Russell and Daniel Johnston). We wanted to tap in to our usual nostalgic vibe by covering a song very much more in the public consciousness, and at the same time showcase how our glitchy modern production can add a new shiny element to this beautifully written piece of pop history.” 

‘Heartbeats’ features backing vocals by actor/singer Jola Jassy. Listen here:

the things we made, the beautiful album from all cats are beautiful, is out now via Moshi Moshi Records.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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LISTEN: CRISP&CLASSY – ‘Boom Bay’ (Kat Knix Remix)

Having been big fans of Feminist LGBTQIA+ electro-pop duo CRISP&CLASSY since the release of their joyous debut album  XTRA CRISPY last year, we were excited to hear that they will be sharing a special remix EP, The XTRA CRISPY Remixes, this month.

Taken from the EP comes a vibrant rendition of ‘Boom Bay‘, remixed by none other than the band’s own Kat Knix. Having been featured on The Knife’s own remix album back in 2014, Knix has gone on to build her reputation as a DJ and producer, delivering epic sets across the dance music scene throughout the UK and Europe.

Propelled by glitchy beats and danceable hooks, Knix’s remix of the colourful track shines a light on ‘Boom Bay’s frenzied reggaeton energy and swirling, euphoric spirit. With the zesty addition of racing, staccato beats and choppy vocal samples, it maintains all the sensuous, soulful drive of the original with a blissful yet dark deep-house pizazz. Another playful offering, showcasing all the genre and gender bending magnificence of this wonderfully sassy duo.

Listen to Kat Knix’s remix of ‘Boom Bay’ here:

Kat Knix’s remix of CRISP&CLASSY’s ‘Boom Bay’ is out now. And, also featuring the likes of Lizette Lizette, Arnie Wrong and High Cheru, the full album The XTRA CRISPY Remixes is set for release later this month.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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INTERVIEW: Megan Evans of Deer Shed Festival

It’s been a while since I attended a festival… Obviously, there were so many cancellations throughout the last couple of years due the pandemic, and I missed out on 2019 as I was busy hosting my own (well, my wedding which I aimed to be as festival-like as possible). So, this year I was desperate to find one that was as lovely as possible and suited my needs of being perhaps a little older than the average festival-goer without missing out on any of the best new music. Sadly, the last festival I went to in 2018, and my favourite ever festival experience – Indie Tracks – did not survive Covid, and so I was looking for a replacement; something equally as inclusive, chilled-out, family friendly, and of course hosting plenty of amazing female and non-binary bands and artists. And then I came across Deer Shed… And I cannot wait to attend for the first time next month!

A festival with a real family-friendly focus, whilst hosting an incredible range of exciting new artists – as well as an array of comedy, spoken word, literary and theatrical shows – it seems like the perfect fit.

We caught up with festival organiser Megan Evans to talk more about Deer Shed’s roots, its ethos and inclusive line-up, some of the most special Deer Shed moments of years gone by, and more… Have a read below, and have a listen to our special Deer Shed 2022 playlist , featuring some of our personal faves who’ll be playing at the festival, at the bottom of this feature!

Hi Megan! 2022 will be Deer Shed’s 12th year – congrats! Can you tell us a bit about what Deer Shed is all about, and how it all started out?
Thanks! Deer Shed was started by our founders Kate & Oliver after they struggled to find a festival environment that was right for their kids but that didn’t compromise on cool and interesting music and culture programming for them. So, thats very much the goal of the festival – to create a festival environment that is accessible and exciting for all ages and groups, whether that’s families with kids of any ages or groups of adults with no kids in tow. Our family friendly festival content doesn’t look down on or condescend  and our music line up (we like to think!) is about as current and exciting as it can be. We’ve found it really works though it can lead to some funny situations, especially challenging our comedians to deliver PG sets to families who are unafraid of some audience interaction…

What strikes me about Deer Shed and makes it stand out against other festivals at the moment is the good gender balance of the line up – was there an intentional and specific decision to do this, or does it just naturally pan out that way?
We’ve strived for a 50/50 gender line up for years now which, while we’re mindful about achieving that, we also feel has happened very naturally and organically. Our focus is becoming more about looking at our line ups from a point of view of how inclusive, diverse & neurodivergent our performers are, both across the music line up and the arts and comedy. Gender parity of booking is something we have to be aware of, but it naturally also happens as our wish list each year always has more female and non-binary artists than male. Like everyone, we can always do better though and we still have work to do to making sure the line up across the board is as inclusive as possible. It’s something the whole festival industry has to be aware of and do better at. It’s no good saying that there aren’t enough female headliners or that its hard to find female headliners, that’s just lazy booking in my opinion. As festivals we have the ability to put our faith in artists and make them headliners – we’re not powerless in this situation.

Over the last 11 years, you’ve hosted some amazing bands and artists including Anna Calvi, Adult Mom, Sunflower Bean, Big Joanie, Ezra Furman, The Go Team! and Honeyblood, but has there been a particular set that stands out for you as a personal highlight over the years? 
There are so many! So if I’m allowed a few…
Kae Tempest headlining Saturday night as the rain started to come down was incredible, it was so atmospheric and beautiful… like it was meant to happen. School of Seven Bells is another highlight. We always say Deer Shed is a great place to discover new bands and I was just in my infancy of working for Deer Shed back then, this band just nailed it and I remained a loyal fan ever since. Their final and last album Ghostory was stunning. Anna Clavi headlining in 2019 with that album was amazing – the lighting and sound is one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to and god the guitar playing is mesmerising. Ibibio Sound Machine, when we did a massive flash mob with the audience to ‘Give Me Reason’, was one of my highlights of the last ten years; audiences young and old had learnt this dance routine for this specific time in front of the main stage. Joan As Policewoman – I love her! When she came to Deer Shed and headlined the Lodge Stage I was completely star struck. Honourable mentions also for Lone Lady and She Drew the Gun.

And this year you’ve got some GIHE faves playing – Self Esteem, Nadine Shah, Denise Chaila, Billy Nomates, The Lovely Eggs and CMAT… Curating such awesome line ups must be a lot of work – how do you normally go about it? Is it all based on bands/artists that have got in touch with you over the year? 
We always have a wish list each year and we try to see as much as we can live. We’ll often head down to Leeds to the Brudenell or head to over other festivals or city based new music events like Great Escape to check out some of the artists we’re keen to bring to the festival. We keep a very close eye on new music being released and like to think we’ve developed good relationships and reputations with booking agencies whose rosters we rate. Really though, it always comes to what an act is like live, that’s where you can find some of the real gems. 

And for any upcoming bands/artists looking to apply for festivals next year, do you have any tips? 
More generally I would say spend your time reaching out to the right people in the right way rather than blanket emailing everyone in the world – find the festivals where artists you love are playing, work on a pitch and keep going! Festivals get a huge amount of unsolicited submissions, don’t take it personally if you don’t hear back!
Specifically for Deer Shed I would say email us (after July!!!) –  we can’t always reply to emails, but we are planning to launch an emerging artist comp for our 2023 event, so keep you eyes peeled. 

There seems to be a definite focus on making the festival as family-friendly as possible – what inspired the idea to do this, and stand out from other festivals in this way? 
We have always said that the festival should have the cross-generational appeal of a Pixar film, so we would say we are more of a festival for everyone, but especially if you’re a music fan and have children. The festival is for music fans but there’s so much other programming to get involved in and watch which is specially curated for families, everyone should have a great weekend! 

Do you feel much has changed over the last few years in the music industry’s treatment of new artists, particularly female and non-binary artists? 
Yes and no. It’s good that this has been identified, and organisations such as Key Change are in place to make noise and create positive changes in the way people of marginalised genders have been treated. Though the industry itself has a long way to go, agents along with promoters and festivals have to work together to make sure there is a connection and progression of acts across these areas. We all have a responsibility for this – there’s no excuses to not address these issues and create a more equitable and representative space for our artists. 

Finally, as we’re a new music focused site, are there any particular new bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
For artists playing at Deer Shed this year, I would say: Kobi Onyame, Brooke Combe, Mickey Callisto, Balimaya Project, CMAT, The Bug Club, Cortney Dixon, Beija Flo, Bess Atwell, CVC…  Outside of that, more generally, I’m really loving Lynks, Kills Birds, Taahliah, Bicurious, GUSTAF, English teacher & Dreya MAC at the moment! 

Massive thanks to Megan for answering our questions – we can’t wait to have the most wonderful time at Deer Shed festival next month! Deer Shed this year runs from 29th – 31st July in Baldersby Park North Yorkshire. Find out more information and get tickets at their website.

Listen to our special Deer Shed playlist here:

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