Interview by Kieran Webber | Header Image: Keira Anee
The recently formed North London slacker-pop quartet recently grabbed our attention with their single ‘What Party?’. It was a delightful bout of hazy riffs backed by enticingly sweet vocals from guitarist & main vocalist Siân Alex.
Gold Baby carry a similar sound to the likes of Hop Along with a hint of Courtney Barnett for good measure, it is wonderfully infectious. Although a relatively new band they are already starting to make an impression and we have no doubt that 2019 is going to be a big year for them.
We caught up with them to talk about how the formed, what they plan on doing with the project and much more!
CLUNK: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions! How have things been? What have you been up to?
Siân: Hey! Thanks yourself for having us. Things have been fun – we’re currently planning some exciting stuff for 2019 and demoing a bunch of new songs. Playing with new material is always the fun bit.
CLUNK: So how did you all meet and at what point did you decide to start making music together?
Siân: Err, we went around the houses with it a bit really. Sam, Ian and I were friends at college in Nottingham when we were 16 although only me and Sam played together. Me and Sam actually lived together at Uni in Leeds but kind of went in different directions with our tastes and what we were writing. It was a couple years after Uni when I ended up in London and mentioned to Sam that I was starting a band; our tastes must have started overlapping again somewhere along the line because he was into it. We know Andrew through Sam and Andrew’s girlfriend who are in ace band together called DOLLS. And we managed to go through a few drummers before we landed on Ian, who just happened to be working at the knitwear factory next to our practise space. We didn’t even know he was in London.
CLUNK: Do you share similar influences or does it vary between each member?
Siân: Err, it’s pretty varied. We’re either buzzing or butting heads about whatever band or artist one of the others is currently into which I think comes out in the music too, in an exciting way.
CLUNK: What do you plan to achieve with Gold Baby?
Siân: Good songs. Good albums. Good people listening to them.
CLUNK: Growing up did you have any particular influences or people you looked towards for inspiration?
Siân: Err, speaking only for myself, I would cite Sufjan Stevens, Fiona Apple, Joni Mitchell & Tracy Chapman as hugely influential over me. I mean, to name a few.
CLUNK: Do you think Brexit is going to impact the creative industries in the UK, if so how and why?
Siân: I’ve been kind of avoiding thinking about the ways that it definitely will, it feels like the country is slowly realising just how big a mistake it’s made but we’re too stubborn to turn back. It’s going to make touring in Europe pretty fucking hard. Considering that live revenue is the main source of income for acts now, it’s going to have a massive impact (and not a positive one).
“It feels like the country is slowly realising just how big a mistake it’s made but we’re too stubborn to turn back”
CLUNK: How, as creatives can we deal with Brexit?
Siân: I want to say write songs about it, but that would be hypocritical because we haven’t. It almost feels like it would be overstating an obvious point. But yeah creating art, definitely. The impact of the platform creatives create for themselves is great, so I guess just raising your voice wherever you stand on things and becoming part of the conversation, and doing what you can to help others be heard too.
CLUNK: What’s the story behind your latest release ‘Maggots’ ?
Siân: ‘Maggots’ is about that feeling that you’re always late for your own party, like there’s an expiry date on whatever great thing that you’re doing. Hopefully this is something other people can relate to. I’m sure guys feel it to some degree but I definitely think it’s a female thing, that you’re rushing to get stuff done before you’re supposed to having babies or settling into something or just ageing / turning invisible. Like you can only be useful whilst in the prime of your youth. It’s fucking stupid, I felt like I was in a hurry to get somewhere even when I was really young. Now I think that people in their 30’s, 50’s, 80’s have just as interesting observations to make about their time here on earth as anyone else and the music industry would benefit immeasurably from as diverse a range of ages/experiences as possible. (as well as diversity in all other ways).
Listen to ‘Maggots’ here:
CLUNK: Do you have a particular writing process, how do you formulate your songs?
Siân: I usually bring an idea to the group and the guys help flesh it out, liven it up, make it loud and strip it of whatever over-sentimentality I’ve packed it with.
CLUNK: Lastly, we like to finish with a story, so is there anything funny/weird or gnarly that you would like to share?
Siân: Errrrrrrrrrm. Oh Jeez. I can’t think of anything. All I can think of is daft stuff me or Ian have done (sorry Ian). We’re not really rock and roll, we spend far too much time sitting around with tea and biscuits…