Interview: Bellowhead
Bellowhead are an eleven-piece folk band whose 2006 debut release Burlesque earned them a residency at the South Bank Centre and a slot at the 2008 Proms.
Their second full-length album Matachin hit the shelves in September 2008.
M Online caught up with band members Benji Kirkpatrick and John Spiers.
How would you describe your music?
Benji Kirkpatrick: Big Band English folk music.
John Spiers: With the instruments we've got - the music can be from any genre, so it tends to be a melting pot which started with English traditional stuff but can go in any direction, so I'd say eclectic.
Who are your biggest influences?
BK: Jimi Hendrix & The Band.
JS: Benji's Dad and Earth, Wind & Fire. The individual influences of the band are all very different - but honestly the band take influences from everything that might fit the particular song or tune that we're doing at the time.
What are your most prized possessions, music-related or otherwise?
BK: Apart from my instruments, my portable coffee maker.
JS: It's got to be the main squeezebox that I play - it's the first thing I ever spent any large amount of money on and I've yet to play another one which sounds or plays anything like as well.
Why are royalties important to you?
BK: Every little helps - and it is an acknowledgement of the work that you've done
JS: Because they're fair - at our level of exposure sometimes it may seem like they don't contribute a lot to our income - but there's always the chance that something big will come along and then you know you're covered.
What has been the defining moment of your time together as a band?
BK: Singing You'll Never Get To Heaven in the bus on the way to the Travelodge after playing a gig in Stroud!
JS: Not having to be in the bus when that was happening.... seriously - it's probably playing on Jools Holland for me because I was performing English traditional music in a place where my mates from school might see it.
What's the greatest gig you've ever played?
BK: Roskilde Festival in Denmark - the crowd didn't know who we were but loved it and jumped up and down lots. However WOMAD and Towersey in 2006 were stonkers.
JS: Towersey Folk Festival in 2006 - it's where I grew up on the folk scene and we absolutely rocked the late night gig.
Given that you are an 11-piece group, how does your songwriting process work?
BK: Well, we don't write songs as such, we arrange traditional material. Sometimes we use our own melodies and mess with the words. There are more arrangers in the band now so some people arrange individually and some arrange collaboratively - then we come together to try and knock it in to a shape that works for everybody.
JS: Well, it's certainly complicated. There are a few tracks that just come from an idea which the band rehearse together and come up with suggestions for the arrangement as a band. But mainly a single arranger takes some traditional material and works on it like a composer would and presents it to the band who then make the part their own. Because some of us are classically trained and can sight-read and others don't really use written music at all, the process is controlled but also organic.
How did it come about that you played at this year's Proms?
BK: Somebody phoned up and said: ‘Would you like to play at the Proms?’ We said yes.
JS: The Proms have started to diversify a bit away from the wholly classical programme that they're known for. This year they had a folk day and included artists like Martin Simpson and Bella Hardy as well as ourselves. I think that although it could be seen as controversial that the Proms are moving towards a more diverse programme, it's very nice that the whole folk scene is being taken a bit more seriously.
You once made an appearance on Later… With Jools Holland, appearing on the same show as Thom Yorke and the Chili Peppers. Tell us what that experience was like.
BK: It was a brilliant thing. To be appearing with the likes of the people you mentioned was great. It's always slightly bizarre to see something like that from the other side if you're familiar with it already from watching it, but it was most enjoyable.
JS: Much less intimidating than I expected - what you see on the TV is pretty much how it is in the studio, although the audience is much smaller than it seems when they pan round it with the cameras. I really enjoyed the whole thing.
You have won a hat-trick of BBC folk awards for Best Live Act – what effect have these awards had on your career?
JS: It's great to be recognised for what you're trying to do - the folk awards are a great way of bringing the folk music scene to the attention of the media once a year and I think everyone benefits from it to some extent. Best Live Act is the award which means we're more likely to get booked again by gigs and festivals so it's really helped.
BK: The folk awards help the profile of folk music in the music industry as a whole, so the awards we've been given have helped our profile as a band and as we're predominantly a live act it's nice to be recognised for that.
What advice can you give to aspiring musicians?
JS: I think that the thing I would advise is don't feel the need to rush a release out before you're ready. Younger musicians and bands often get told that they should have something out there for people to consume before they're really ready to commit to a record. It's best to take your time because you're going to have to live with the recording for a long time.
BK: Practice hard and don't be put off by minor set backs or criticism.
Where do you see yourselves this time next year?
JS: It's very hard to know what will happen next with this band to be honest - I wouldn't have guessed correctly if you'd asked the question in any previous year. I think we'll still be experimenting with the music - that's for certain.
BK: We're band in residence at the South Bank Centre, which is very exciting so we may well be up to something there. Or in a bus somewhere... In a studio... Maybe at home!