Rousing and atmosphericanthem-smiths the bedroom hour sat together with carpe carmina and took time to answer some questions about their debut album and its making, about live show and pledging experiences, about their street team and music preferences ....
What becomes apparent in this interview, is that the band composes music from the heart and with great sentiment, performs with infectious passion and with soulWhat also clearly shows, is that the West London based quintetandthose who cherish,are fond of the their songs, those who support their music, have grown to bea family over the years - and this run of events surely is no suprising one, as it is the love for genuine and heartfelt, poignant and electrifying compositions that connects them all!
1) 'Hinterland'. A name rich in mystery and atmosphere. What is the story behind the title of your forthcoming album?Andy: We wanted something that had a little bit of mystique to it,something to set the tone for the songs we've written on the album. There'san undercurrent of loss running through the songs, but one that's notimmediately apparent on the surface, so it's hidden away in the hinterlandof the music.
2) You have once worked with Ryan Pincott from The Cornerstones, who now is with The Palace Wolves for your EP 'Themes'. Did working with him changed your perspective on arrangements for certain songs?
Stu: No... he was a member of the band, he wasn't a collaborator. But hehad the opportunity to move to the states with his family and it was a movethat has worked out brilliantly for him and his family, and we are happy forhim that everything is going so well.
3) Would you like to collaborate with musicians, who are not in the band, for future releases? Have you worked with any 'outside' artist in the making of 'hinterland'?
Stu: Not for 'hinterland'. It was all produced and mixed and written byourselves. However, we would like to thank Luke Oldfield for his help in recording the drum tracks.
If collaboration was in the offing, I would like to do or try somethingdifferent, like work with a female vocalist or an artist from a differentgenre, like reworks or remixes of songs.
4) Go over the bands and musicians you have performed with/opened for thus far, then name a song you wished you have written. If there is none, say what impressed you most in respect to said musicians' songwriting and staging of songs.
The Darlingtons and the bedroom hour
Stu: The Darlingtons are a band on the crest of a wave as are CrystalSeagulls. Both bands have incredible energy on stage and I can see a bigfuture for both bands, and I would be over the moon to see this happen.
The Broxton Hundred and The Shades and the sadly now defunct Calm As TheColour are other bands who have caught the eye, and we could not mentionour great pals The Megadudes - Chris Rhodes has an incredible rock vocal andcan also double up as a stand up comic, never a dull moment watching them play.
5) Imagine you're offered to play in one band you have already performed with, for a day. Which band would you choose and why would you choose it?
Rob: One band that still sticks with me is Calm As The Colour, we playedwith them in Glasgow and they had a great sound, really trippy indie. So Iwould love to have a day with them. They are the only band that we haveplayed with that I went out and got all the songs they released.
6) Is there any band you would love to perform with, yet haven't shared the stage with by now?
Stu: Kill Moon from Brighton, fucking fantastic band. I have only heard afew songs but they leave me wanting to hear more what I have heard reallyraises the bar in my opinion. Also, Russian Gun Dogs from Coventry, No Hot Ashes and Slow Readers Club from Manchester.
7) It's an hour before your gig starts. How do you spend the waiting time? (Do you have any pre-show rituals?)
Stu: I am normally walking around speaking with folk in the crowdthanking them getting to know them etc., depending on what song starts theset this can cause Rob (guitarist) palpitations.
8) You just played your last song for the night. What do you do right after leaving the stage?
Stu: Get out and meet the people, because it's all about thepeople....don't let anyone tell you any different you all support us withyour money and your time and your energy and we are incredibly humbled bythat support.
9) What is your favorite song to perform live, and why is it your favourite one? What is your favorite song of the forthcoming album, and why is it your favourite one?
Stu: It changes everytime I hear it, couldn't possibly comment.
10) Is there a theme/are there any themes you had in mind when writing the songs for 'hinterland'?
Stu: We never have a formula or blueprint regarding songwriting the onething we work with in mind is that we write for us. We don't followformulaic trends to make easy money, it's from the heart.
11) Disclose how the artwork for the soon-to-be-released album came about. Did you style it yourselves?
Rob: Well there is a Death Cab song called 'Tourist' that has a part in itthat goes:
“And if you feel just like a tourist in the city you were bornThen it’s time to goAnd define your destinationThere’s so many different places to call home”
That for sums up this band, life sometimes and I think pretty much a lot ofpeople can feel like this, living in a huge city that's full of people butstill feel alone lost or even isolated.
12) Did you feel the pressure growing whilst planning, writing, recording 'hinterland', as you bore in mind how highly acclaimed and praised 'Themes' was and still is?
Rob: Well, I didn’t think 'Themes' would sell so well and have as manypeople getting behind it, so that kinda threw us into the deep end. What
also helps is we never ever write a song and say people are gonna love
this. We always write music that we want to play and listen too. I mightjust add this, and I really don’t care how it comes across, but whenyou release something like 'Themes', play some great gigs, get a fair bit ofradio play and mind blowing reviews when the local press ignores you, thenthat's what really fires us up to making sure we write music that not onlydo we love, but it gets harder for these people to ignore.
Andy: I came into the band late in the day, so I had a completelydifferent kind of pressure, in as much as I had to learn all the old stuffwhilst also writing new, so any pressure of expectation passed me by a bit.
13) Describe the 'pledging experience' for the band. How have you felt when reaching your funding goal? Who came up with the creative pledge offers (lyric sheets, instruments used on the record...)?
Rob: Ok, our friend Chris Stocker suggested we should do it as it reallybrings the fans closer, and people love taking journeys with things theylove. I set up the campaign with Andy and we just thought of things wewould buy and would like to do. It truly blew us away that within a week we
had smashed the 100% mark and as it stands we are well over 200%. It still
makes me stand still thinking people have this belief in us that they wantto be a part of the album.
14) How has your streat team been founded and evolved? What are the most 'gashing/intense' moments you experienced with it? What has been the street teams' biggest achievement for the band by now?
Andy: When I signed my life away to this band, one of the first thingsthat struck me was the incredible group of people who had come together
under the street team banner, purely connected by their interest in the
band and our music. My first gig was actually at a show that had beenarranged by one of our most ardent supporters and friends to celebrate hisbirthday! Just having these guys giving us feedback on the little sneakpreviews of songs and other things we've got going on gives us a massiveboost in confidence that maybe we're doing something right here. Theyspread the word for us a lot, but to us their main role is to keep usgoing. Without their support, there would be no point.
15) Your song 'No Keys' has been granted airtime on various radio stations to promote 'hinterland'. What comes next in your promotion plan? Since there are quite many gigs coming up, do you plan to expand your gig schedule and go on tour? Are there any
festivals you'll play at in 2014?
Andy: I would love to say there's a grand scheme afoot and that we'regoing to be doing this, that and the other, but the honest truth is that
we're still not really in a position to go out and do a tour or play loads
of festivals. We're trying to play more free shows, so people don't have topay to get in to see us and we're trying to play more often in and aroundLondon. Other than that, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. At themoment, we're all about the album!
16) Let's say, you're invited to give a live interview on a radio show. Describe everyone's role during the interview (e.g. someone is the band's spokesperson, someone shares entertaining and insightful anecdotes (about rehearsing, gigging, touring experiences …)).
Rob: Well, Stu and I are a great double act so I’ve been told. We don’tget many of these but its normally me and Stu ripping the piss out of eachother.
17) Are there any particular habits or talents each of you has that affect your being and dynamic as band – for the better or worse?
Anonymous: Mark can kick himself in the face! Stu is 'king of the waffle'(won’t shut up) Andy has a disturbing knowledge of obscure 90’s indiemusic. Lew’s talent is that he always dresses in crushed velvet track topsthat really bring out the color of his eyes and Rob has a really peachyarse.
18) Picture this: in a few years you have the chance to release a 'the bedroom hour-Best Of'-record. Which songs would make the tracklist? (You can choose from those already written and published, those written yet not published, mere but (promising) song ideas/concepts on your mind or in the making).
Stu: It's impossible to say I can only comment on themes and I would
personally take 'Shadow Boxer', 'X Marks The Spot' and 'Slow Motion Cinema'.
'X Marks The Spot' (official music video)
'Slow Motion Cinema' - a sentimental, heart-rending,
soulful and meaningful song.
Rob: As for hinterland wait and see…. Maybe we could add a song Lew didat studioB called 'African Child'. It's Toto meets Midge Ure. Remarkable really.
19) Imagine now, you are asked to cover a song to be an extra track for your 'best of'-record. Which one would you choose and why would choose it?
Rob: Something again completely different, something from a differentera or genre. I have always liked 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua I think we couldmake that into a modern day monster but only Lew agrees with me. Stu wantsto cover 'I Drove All Night' by Roy Orbison.
This song would definitely suit Stu's dreamy, smooth yet imbuing vocals well.
the bedroom hour: Stuart Drummond - lead vocalist; Rob Payne - guitarist and backing vocalist; Mark Dudley - keyboardist; Andrew Copper - bassist; Lewis Cosham - drummer photo courtesy by
Trust A Fox Photography
There's still some time left to contribute to the bedroom hour's album making. Pledge here.
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