Artist Interviews

Q&A: The Heavy

By | Published on Friday 28 August 2009

After hearing The Heavy and their sound, which kicks blues, garage punk and rock n roll at each other, it’s hard to believe that they were formed in a tiny hamlet just outside Bath. But they were, I assure you. They released their debut album, ‘Great Vengeance And Furious Fire’, via Ninja Tune’s Counter Records sub-label in late 2007. On 12 Oct they release the follow-up, ‘The House That Dirt Built’, again through Counter, and on Monday they release a double A-side single featuring remixes of album track ‘How You Like Me Now?’ by Joker and Solo. And you can catch them live all over the place between now and the end of the year. We spoke to vocalist Swaby to find out more.

Q1 How did you start out making music?
I remember always enjoying, hearing and dancing to music. Singing along to artists like The Coasters, Frankie Lymon and Al Green used to be commonplace in our family home. I think it was when I started digging in the crates independently, wherever I was, that I started to get a little more inspire, and booking studio time to get ideas down with my last pennies was how it was when I was 14 or 15.

Q2 What inspired your latest album?
‘The House That Dirt Built’ is influenced by the I-can’t-seriously-believe-what-I’m-seeing-and-hearing-let-alone-feeling blues. A meander through the corridors and rooms in our heads while we’ve been touring ‘Great Vengeance…’ is a lot to do with it.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Tracks come in a number of ways. From beaten up drum machines being pushed through seriously abused amps, a bass line that refuses to play clean or a melody sung into your phone, while waiting for your vice to arrive. They all get taken into the kitchen and seasoned with what’s necessary. To talk process would compromise our special recipe.

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
The likes of Little Walter, Howling Wolf, The Sonics, The Specials, King Jammys and Hi Records would be a good place to start…

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Breathe.

Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
There’s still a lot of fuel in the tank, so I guess for this album to round up even more of a pack than we do already would be something that I would like to see from this offering. The future is still harbouring a whole heap of dirt for us to get under the fingernails of this beast. With that in mind, we keep on keeping on and continue to change the shape of the rooms.

MORE>> www.theheavy.co.uk



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