Interview | Saint Agnes - Clunk Magazine

By Kieran Webber

Our first experience of the disturbingly wild Saint Agnes was in a tiny pub in Cornwall, in the village of (you won’t beleive this) St. Agnes. They were utterly ferocious live, leaving myself and much of the audience jaw agape. Fast forward a year and they’re playing the Net Loft stage at Boardmasters Festival. To a much larger and aware crowd, frontwoman Kitty threw herself around donning a white gown, it was hypnotic. This backed by the pulsing riffs and hard-hitting percussion it was almost like being caught in a spell. Since our experiences we have wanted to chat to them to get to know more about the people of Saint Agnes.

Kieran: First of all I want to thank you guys for taking the time to answer our questions, how have you been?

Jon: Very very busy. Our album ‘Welcome To Silvertown’ came out in March and we have been touring since. We’re a few days away from the end of our UK tour after a crazy festival season and we decided to release a totally new single ‘Brother’ and announce an EP ‘The Family Strange’. We’d not have it any other way though, it has been a trip.

Kieran: When you first got together was there a plan for Saint Agnes?

Jon: We wanted to be the band we wished existed. The trend in London at the time was for bands who seemed almost embarrassed about being on stage. Our love of bands like Nine Inch Nails, Nick Cave and The Stooges meant we felt totally outside that way of thinking. So we embraced it and set about creating Saint Agnes.

Listen to ‘Brother’ here:

Kieran: Do you guys share the same influences or does it vary?

Kitty: As a band we have a lot of points that crossover, but not every influence is the same. The one thing that unifies them though is just about every artist that inspires us makes bold music and you can sense the heart and punk spirit of rock n’ roll in it no matter what the genre.

Kieran: What’s been the highlight of your journey so far? Has there been any particular gigs or moments that stand out?

Jon: Selling out our London headline shows as they get progressively bigger has been incredible and only a few days ago we played to a sell out crowd at Dingwalls and it was just crazy.

Kitty: The energy from the crowd was so intense and filled with love. It felt like a real victory.

Kieran: You guys tour often which must be so much fun but also exhausting, what are the highs and lows of being a touring band?

Kitty: The biggest high is finding your people in whatever town it is you have turned up in. Doing a show and out the woodwork of the most unlikely places come the weirdos and rockers that come to our gigs. I love it.

Jon: Touring can be hard emotionally and you never get long enough to really see where you are each day which can be a shame. But being a nomad has its own magic and we are very fortunate to have been able to build out lives to this.

Kieran: If you could tour/play with any one who would it be?

Jon: I think each band member would have a different answer, but for me it’d be Nine Inch Nails. They put on the best live shows I have ever seen and the set list is never the same. As a huge fan I’d find it mind blowing and inspiring.

Kieran: If you weren’t in Saint Agnes what would you be doing?

Jon: Right now I think I’d be surfing. We all love to surf when we have time as it is such an escape from the mostly urban life of a touring band. But music is my life, always has been so I’d be creating something, either being in a band or mixing someone else.

“I’ve absolutely loved creating everything with this release, from writing the music to producing it, making the video ourselves and the artwork. It’s very empowering”
Kitty – Saint Agness

Kieran: I follow Kitty on Instagram and I see that you shoot in film a lot, have you always been into photography?

Kitty: No and I only really like shooting film. My grandad left me an old camera of his but I’d always been put off using it because from the outside, photography seems like a really complicated, elitist thing. I decided to give it a go and discovered that the fundamentals of taking photos are actually a piece of piss, it seems like there’s that snobby, gatekeeping thing going on with it. I love shooting film because there’s no edit and it’s pure magic when you develop.

Kieran: Do you have any other creative outlets that you are in to or take part in aside from music and photography?

Kitty: I’ve made all of the artwork for our upcoming EP and the singles. I don’t know how to use photoshop so all of the artwork is completely handcrafted, cut up, scanned etc. I’ve absolutely loved creating everything with this release, from writing the music to producing it, making the video ourselves and the artwork. It’s very empowering.

Kieran: I also saw that you guys enjoy surfing, how long have you been doing that?

Jon: I think we all started around the same time, maybe 4 years ago. About the same time the band started actually. We are so passionate about our music that the mental strain of feeling you haven’t performed your best, or a great opportunity going wrong can be really hard. None of that comes into play with surfing, we don’t care if we’re good or bad, just getting into the sea and having that joyous sense of freedom in the elements is incredibly good for the soul.

Kieran: Lastly, we like to end on a story so do you have any gnarly, funny or weird stories to share?

Kitty: On tour we stay in Airbnbs and we once stayed in this cabin in the woods in rural Germany and the walkway through the woods to the house was absolutely filled with pagan symbols, axes and creepy statues. There was a half-buried, moss-covered statue of Stalin sticking up out of the ground too, and then we got into the cabin and it was wall to wall covered with portraits of naked women that the owner had painted down there. I did think we were going to be murdered. It was weird af but also kind of brilliant, and we’re keen to go back.

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