A R T I C L E
Another Timeless Classic: A Q&A with Yolk
With Ian Duggan
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Wellington ‘Gutter Folk’ artist Yolk (a.k.a. Yann Le Dorre) has been a favourite at HUP, having featured more times on our ‘Tekau Nga Waiata Pai’ HUP/The Hum radio show and podcast than any other artist! We interviewed Yann last year more broadly about his Yolk project, but with the recent release of a new album, ‘Cherry Blossoms & the Moon’, we interview him again, this time with a focus on the new album, and how he dealt with lockdown! 

HUP: ‘Cherry Blossoms & the Moon’ is another brilliant album. One thing I love about your releases, outside of the fantastic songs, is that each is a coherent piece of work, with a consistent feel through them. On this album, the first half in particular appears to be more laid-back, but also more ‘intense’ — particularly lyrically — than your previous releases. For example, last year’s ‘SADEGO’ and 2018s ‘Bad Water’ appear upbeat compared with this release, at least musically, while lyrics here involve themes like sadness, boredom, hopelessness and death. Do the songs on each album reflect what is happening in your life, or do you go into each with a character in mind?
 
Yolk: Thank you!! Songs are like lovers and you can learn to hate anyone! Musically I wanted to create pretty atmospheric stuff, focusing more on ‘mood’ rather than ‘excitement’. I wanted the songs to drag you along the beach. I think ‘intense easy listening’ is a fitting description. From a writing point of view, Fitzgerald and Hemingway have sort of embedded this ‘authenticity ideal’, in that you should only write about what you know. I think the best way to understand and in turn explain is to feel it first-hand, taste the blood in your mouth and feel those harsh winds whipping you on that lonely walk home.
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‘Cherry Blossoms’ was written as a thematic piece. I wanted to capture those few months through summer when the sheer anticipation of the coming heatwave is enough to make you crack a beer and to follow through into the dirge of the dying cicadas when the days aren’t so long and you look back on the blackout and realise the sun has set. Each of my albums could paint a picture for me and each song usually begins as a personal affair, but then time tends to end them in a divorcee fashion. I can be a little disconnected from the older songs. It’s almost like looking at an old photo; you know it's you, but your face has changed, and you don’t dress the same. It seems I’m always feeling pretty sentimental, so I would like to say I write from the heart; whether or not it is kind is a different story. Being rather impressionable, I think my albums tend to take on this character narrative dependent on what I’m listening to, who I’m hanging out with, whose love is involved, etc, and these variables are always changing, and thus a character can live and die throughout an album cycle. The character of ‘Cherry Blossoms’ to me in hindsight was a new man, facing down the barrel of adulthood, whilst still very engaged in the twilight of his youth, desperately thinking, yet always meeting the eye with confidence. I tried to sonically represent the end of an era with the album, looking to be the last of that ‘wall of sound, overdub city, digital vibe’, paired with a more straight-ahead lyrical approach, in which I’ve found more comfortable delivering as I’ve gotten older. These days I care less about hiding behind deep metaphor and don’t need to beat around the bush so much; the term “sighing in plain sight” comes to mind.
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​HUP: One of the early favourites for me on this album is ‘Another Timeless Classic’, which I find unsettling to listen to with the aggressive dialogue from the 1987 movie ‘Barfly’ running through the background. What was your inspiration for using this dialogue here?
 
Yolk: The stars aligned in the gutter that summer, and all roads led to [writer Charles] Bukowski. My friends Dad tipped me off to that classic Mickey Rourke performance [in Barfly] while I was hanging around on his farm for a couple of weeks. I held some vague romantic notion about the self-destructing drunkard already and that movie really got me going. My sister ended up lending me a copy of [Bukowski’s semi-autobiographical novel] ‘Ham on Rye’ around that time too. Charles’ writing struck a chord in me with its simple yet emotive layman’s portrayal of existing through the bottle in this indifferent world. “Hey boy, fetch me a draft” became a little phrase between my friends and I, so I felt like it would be right to honour that through song. ‘Another Timeless Classic’ is essentially a eulogy, describing people’s reactions to a funeral. I thought the way the Barfly steamed through life was the perfect tragic comedy to pair with the faux blues piano. I feel the sounds of a brutal fistfight could represent that entropic climax of life perhaps better than any wailing guitar solo could.
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​HUP: As we covered in the last interview, you are a prolific releaser of albums. The songs on this album were recorded a year ago. Have you been able to concentrate on new music during the lockdown? 

Yolk: Haha, ah yeah. For better or for worse the songs are pouring out of me! Fortunately, the month leading up to lockdown happened to be one of the most hectic in my life, so there was plenty of mental baggage to sift through and compose with (haha). Initially, I planned to work on two albums I recorded last year and get them ready for release, but I very quickly realised I only had the patience and interest for the most recent stuff. It has been a little trying at times with lack of external motivation and me beginning to hate my bedroom, but it's surely coming together. I’ve been outsourcing a few parts to other musicians over the internet, which has been a new experience for me. Having other talents on record has opened up the way I have been conceiving the album. I’d say I’m going in a very stripped back direction that feels much more refined.

HUP: This album has beautiful cover art, featuring a literal representation of the album title.  Who designed this?

Yolk: My dear friend Catherine painted the cherry blossom tree, then I painted the back drop and arranged the elements on some sketchy software. I wanted the cover to draw you into the 'delicate yet visceral' world of 'Cherry Blossoms & the Moon'.

HUP: The album is available digitally on Bandcamp, but you have also done a run of cassettes for this release. What made you release on this format, and how do people get hold of one?
 
Yolk: I’ve been a champion of this lo-fi format for quite a few years now. I love the grit and yesteryear feel of cassette and ultimately decided to release it on tape because it was cheap. People don’t tend to have CD players anymore, while a cassette is nostalgic real estate and easy to slip in your pocket. You certainly don’t listen to cassette for fidelity, but it does have that ‘analogue’ sound we all know and love. People can purchase these for the reasonable price of $10, either through my Facebook page, Instagram or Bandcamp.

I N T E R V I E W 
The Owl with Big, Googly Eyes: A Q&A with Adam Helliwell of Ceolskog
​with Ian Duggan
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‘Ceolskog’ is a recording project of Adam Helliwell, who has recently released a new EP titled ‘The Owl with Big, Googly Eyes’; his fifth since 2015. Ceolskog combines heavy metal with traditional folk music, particularly Celtic and Nordic… along with a bit of humour. We had a fascinating chat with Adam about Ceolskog; the new EP, the influence of nature and Scandinavian elements in the project, his previous band ‘IronStein’, and more!

​HUP: On one hand your intent with Ceolskog seems serious, and I am really enjoying the songs ‘Rakiura, Glowing Skies’ and ‘Mannen og Kråka (Kråkevisa)’ on this EP. But then you have titles for your EPs and albums like ‘Made In My Bedroom’, ‘A Comfortable Tree Stump’, and now ‘The Owl with Big, Googly Eyes’. Your videos are also full of good humour. Overall, how serious are you about this project, and what are your aspirations for Ceolskog?
 
Adam: I'm really quite serious about the project, although my dedication to it waxes and wanes. In terms of my aspirations, I'm really not sure what the end goal is. I guess I would like the whole thing to keep growing... like a fungus mould in a damp room. Or maybe more like Entoloma hochstetteri, our native blue mushrooms, since Ceolskog has quite a big New Zealand focus. Dear me, I am digressing already. Anyway, let's just say I have no belief that I will ever be able to quit my full-time job. Ha ha!

Yes, there certainly is a decent injection of humour into the whole thing, which I suspect is a carry-over from my last band, ‘IronStein’; full-blown comedy played a crucial role in our live performances. I do feel that if I'm not making a joke out of the whole thing, at least on a certain level, that I am misleading people by trying to convince them — and perhaps myself — that I am better or more professional than what I truly am. In other words, I try very intentionally not to take myself too seriously, otherwise it feels like false marketing. That could be a self-esteem thing, or perhaps I'm using it as a shield against tall-poppy syndrome. But I actually think we Kiwis tend to have that sort of subtle humour in our approach to serious tasks; a good-natured and dry type of self-deprecation.
 
HUP:  Is your music as Ceolskog influenced by other bands?
 
Adam: Lots of folk metal bands have been a huge influence on my own brand of said genre. But it is the genre as a whole that has really influenced me, rather than any particular band. And I listen to a lot of them. For example, there is Ensiferum and Korpiklaani from Finland, Tyr from the Faroe Islands, Arkona from Russia, Falkenbach from Germany, Eluveitie from Switzerland, Dalriada from Hungary, and Heidevolk from the Netherlands. The Hu is a folk metal band from Mongolia, and they are making quite a buzz at the moment. Even Alien Weaponry could arguably be called folk metal for certain songs of theirs - and although they're not an influence on me, I do enjoy them. I could go on, but you get the picture. I'd say my brand of folk metal is generally less heavy, with a slight New Zealand flavour.
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Besides folk metal, Queen has been a huge influence in the sense that they first proved to me that you don't have to restrict yourself stylistically speaking. Just listen to their song ‘Innuendo’. Of course, I also enjoy the more regular kind of heavy metal bands, such as Iron Maiden and Metallica, and also traditional folk music (particularly Irish). I love country music and old cowboy songs, and orchestral or ‘classical’ (specifically the Romantic era) music too. All of those types of music have given me loads of ideas for songs and influenced my music in various ways. But there are too many artists, composers and bands to list here. But, if I had to narrow it down to the four bands/artists that probably have had the biggest influence on me, I'd say the Swedish death metal band Amon Amarth, the one-man metal band Bathory, The Proclaimers (which I guess you could label as ‘Celtic pop’), and finally the late, great, ‘Godfather of New Zealand folk music’, Phil Garland. Quite a mix, I know! [continued below]

HUP:  While ‘ceol’ means music in Irish, the ‘skog’ part of your name means ‘forest’ in Norwegian. One of the songs on this EP, ‘Mannen og Kråka (Kråkevisa)’, is a metal rendition of the Scandinavian folk song "Kråkevisa" (or “The Crow Song”). A number of your previous songs are similarly sung in Scandinavian languages. Were you fluent in Scandinavian languages before the Ceolskog project? Do you have Scandinavian ancestry? What has drawn you to this region?
 
Adam: It actually all began with the song ‘Trollmors Vuggesang’, a lullaby that, with slight variations, is sung all over Scandinavia. A slightly creepy lullaby, or ‘litt skummelt’, as a Norwegian may put it. It was a 2010 Norwegian fantasy/mockumentary film about trolls, ‘Trolljegeren’, or ‘Troll Hunter’, which first brought my attention to the song. It also started my fascination with Scandinavian folklore. At one point in the film, Hans, the lead character, actually sings that very lullaby. A couple of years later, I thought it would be a bit of a novelty to record a metal version of Trollmors Vuggesang, and so I did just that! In regards to all the subsequent Scandinavian-language songs I've recorded, they were all actually suggestions, or requests, by Scandinavians who had enjoyed my version of Trollmors Vuggesang. And I guess I was kind enough to oblige!

As for my ancestry, as far as I am aware, it is mainly English and Scottish. I have been told, by a cousin, who happens to be a country-folk musician, that the part of the family he shares with me has Scandinavian ancestry. I myself have not looked into it, so I'm not sure. That part of my ancestry lies in the English county of Derbyshire, which, sure enough, has a little more Scandinavian DNA than the rest of England, but I doubt that is what he means. As to the language, I know enough to catch a bus or order a pizza… or even find a public toilet… but I couldn't have a proper conversation. If a Norwegian person writes a couple of sentences to me online, to compliment me or correct me or whatever, it can take me a few minutes just to translate it!
 
HUP:  Your music videos for Ceolskog are commonly a mix of you at home playing to camera interspersed with scenes of New Zealand nature. I assume that it is this love of nature that has influenced the lead track, ‘Rakiura, Glowing Skies’? Tell us a little about this song.
 
Adam: Yes, the outdoors and nature has had a big influence on Ceolskog. I'm an avid hiker, and have always had a layman's interest in zoology, geology, paleontology and ecology. I even considered pursuing a career somewhere in that realm of science, but after I failed every subject in my last year of high school, I decided that might not be such a good idea! Anyway, in 2018 my sisters and I hiked the Rakiura Great Walk, in Stewart Island. It had quite an impact on me, as the place is almost a time capsule that looks into New Zealand's natural past. Tui and Kaka are numerous there, and fly around the main settlement, Oban, like you would see sparrows and blackbirds do here in Hamilton. We even saw dolphins swim by. I'd never seen dolphins before that.
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The following year, I read a book called ‘Ghosts of Gondwana: The History of Life in New Zealand’ by George Gibbs, an entomologist. It seeks to give a basic outline as to why New Zealand's plants and animals are so unique when compared to other countries. Oddly, it was reading the book which inspired me to write about my Rakiura trip, as opposed to the trip itself. The chorus has this line: “Rakiura, glowing skies, remind us how land once was”. Because (besides other off-shore islands acting as wildlife sanctuaries) it's as close as we will get! Actually, another song on that album was inspired by a book I read. I composed “Tyrannosaurus Rex was There to See” after reading a book called “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs”, by an American paleontologist, Stephen L. Brusatte. As you can probably guess, that song concerns the asteroid that brought about the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. [continued below]

HUP: Where have you done your recordings?

Adam: In my bedroom at home! It's a very, very basic set up. Speakers, pre-amp, guitar amp, a microphone, a couple of cables, a PC, and of course Pro Tools. I really don't know what I am doing most of the time; the whole process is all trial and error for me. I am not a technology-savvy sort of person. I like mountains, trees and rivers better!

HUP: I had been waiting for ‘The Owl with Big, Googly Eyes’ to be released as an album, but it seems you changed your mind at some stage and released it an EP. What led to this shortening?

Adam: I was actually feeling a little burned out by the project, and decided I couldn't be bothered recording eight or nine songs for an album. I planned to take a break for 2020 and just concentrate on making hiking videos for my YouTube channel instead. So I just went ahead and released the five songs rather than record any more. Naturally the Covid 19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown made any hiking plans impossible. So instead I actually got back into recording songs! A week or two ago I released a folk metal cover of Phil Garland's song, ‘Wind in the Tussock’, via my YouTube channel. So I guess I am working on a new album now! Or perhaps an EP... [continued below]

​What or who has driven you to create your own music? 
Music has always been the place where I turned to process my emotions.  Growing up some of my main influences were Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Enya, Enigma, Depeche Mode, and New Order.  (Although my first vinyl was Sesame Street's Disco album and I still listen to "Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco" pretty regularly.)  Around my teenage years I started writing my own songs by putting my poetry to piano, and I found it became a sort of therapy for me. 
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What is the best gig you've ever ever been to?
I was lucky enough to see Prince perform in New Zealand shortly before he passed. He was incredible and captivating and hilarious and overwhelmingly talented. 
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What is your favourite Hamilton music memory?
Going out to watch a great night of music at Nivara Lounge and then rescuing a stray kitten from their car park who now rules our household.

'New Moon' is released tomorrow, April 24 and is available from parabolawest.com

​While most of the rest of the bands on the compilation have played at Nivara Lounge, the first track is a notable exception. This was a track submitted anonymously by ‘r.p.i.l.d.’, and titled ‘I Love Nivara Lounge’; “This is a song about my happy place”, it begins. This song really sums up what Nivara Lounge means to so many people, and it serves as a great compilation opener, to keep our thoughts on what this compilation is really all about; “City park placement, the Tron’s best basement; It pushes all my buttons, but not when I am shut in”. Brilliant stuff. Who is this mysterious musician, and what is r.p.i.l.d.? Well, the following appeared on the Hamilton Music Wiki from an anonymous IP address, that explains at least part of our question:

HUP: Tell me briefly about Lizard; when did you form, how would you describe Lizard’s music, and who were your biggest influences?
 
Gwyn: Lizard formed in 1994. Keith [Wright: vocals, guitar] and I were good friends but in different bands. Both of our band’s split up. So we started a new project with a few other friends and started writing new music. My brother Rod [guitar, vocals] joined later that year and Mark Brightwell on drums when Th’ Clap finished. That was the line-up for the ‘Rumours’ EP.

Our music covers a wide range of styles as Keith, Rod and I all write and sing. Reggae, funk, rock and punk all featured through our music. Our influences are Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Ramones, Dead Kennedy’s, Fishbone, Suicidal Tendencies, and Infectious Grooves, but also Van Halen and Black Sabbath, and we evolved into a surf punk and funk band.
 
HUP: You are re-releasing your early album and EPs online. What are the releases, and when were they originally released? What has made you release then online at this stage?
 
Gwyn: Our first EP ‘Rumours’ was released in 1996, our first album ‘Dave - Once A Lizard, Always A Lizard’ was released in 1998 and our second EP ‘ZFS’ (Zesty Fruit Slice) was released in 2011.
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No Lizard releases have ever been released digitally. In October 2018 my brother Rod and I released our ‘Morgan Brothers Band’ EP ‘Kin’ digitally through DRM. That went really well and it led to Rod, Keith and I agreeing to remaster and re-release the Lizard back catalogue.

DRM are great to work with, and after ‘Kin’ was released we had a lot of people asking where they could get our Lizard albums.

HUP: How do you think the songs have stood the test of time? Are there any songs you are still particularly proud of?
 
Gwyn: I think the songs are still great. Because we have a variety of styles it works well.

‘Rumours’ is a great song off our first EP and really got Lizard our start. ‘Chocolate Fish’, ‘Boris’ and ‘Take Me Away’ off the Dave... album got a tonne of airplay, and that album sold over 3000 CDs. Off ZFS ‘Never Seem The Wiser’ is a great track.
 
HUP: For people that haven’t head Lizard before, what three songs from these releases would you recommend someone have a listen to, and why?

Gwyn: ‘Rumours’, ‘Boris’ and ‘Chocolate Fish’.
 
HUP: Where online can people find the releases?
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Gwyn: Spotify, iTunes, YouTube and 30 other streaming or download platforms.

​The self-titled album from Hamilton’s Datemonthyear has been long in the oven. Head chef/band founder Trevor Faville has been working on this material for the last five years and the results show a true dedication to the craft, both in musical arrangement and aesthetics. This is an album that, despite being created by “independent music bohemians”, is professionally astute. It is paired with quirky lyrics and memorable hooks that will no doubt ensure its popularity. 

Opening number, entitled, ahem, ‘Numbers’, is a great example of this. The vocals of Emma Koretz float breezily over the instrumental but spike surprisingly in the ear.  Lines like, “dancing with Machiavelli’s Ghost” followed quickly with “Supermarket queue on a Saturday” give the elaborate and the mundane so succinctly.  The song gives way to the punchy ‘Flowers’. Here, the instrumental prowess of Brooke Baker (guitar, keyboards), Tyler Leet (guitar) and Hayley Schwass (bass) come to the fore to support Koretz’ smooth vocal delivery. 

‘July’ must have been written with northern hemisphere whanau in mind (“July/making hay while the sun shine’s down”). It is the lead single and sees squelchy guitar and soaring singing keeping fans of everyone from early Neil Young to Fur Patrol hanging onto every note. It would be easy for these songs to be lumped into something quintessentially “Kiwi”, with some similar sounds to other local heroes like the basslines of Lucid Three or the understated but complex drumming of someone like Ross Burge of The Mutton Birds, but there is something more here. 

That may well be picked up by listeners as far flung as Essex, Argentina and Germany (where Datemonthyear are already getting airtime), and it may be that artists in general are not being hemmed in by geographical constraints the way that may have been true of the Dunedin Sound for example. The smaller the world becomes, the bigger a band like Datemonthyear will be able to be. It feels like that Datemonthyear are “making faces to the scenery” and taking a journey that is just as emotionally varied as it is not grounded in solely being a “kiwi” band and that makes it a mighty fine record.
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​More recent New Zealand band postcard releases have included those produced for the ‘Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa’ exhibition, which ran at Auckland Museum from October 2016 to May 2017. Included among the postcards sold were images of Suburban Reptiles and The Enemy, as well as a series of historic ‘Rip it Up’ covers; among these was the magazine’s 2014 cover featuring Jennie Skulander of local band Devilskin. 

​Perhaps the favourite postcard in my collection, however, is one advertising Patea Maori Club’s ‘Poi E’, likely originating from around the time of its original release in 1984; it features the art associated with the release, ‘Kahui rere – Ngarauru’, created by Joe Wylie, with its moa riders, its half-man/half-tuatara creatures and flying people.

R E V I E W
Fly My Pretties at Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival
By K.D. [with additions and critical counterpoints in parentheses by I.D.]
 
After a few afternoon showers on the penultimate day of the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival, the evening sky was open and clear, and the families were out when Fly My Pretties took the stage; their first visit to Hamilton in seven years.

​The well-known ‘Bag of Money’ followed, which was perfect for the audience. This was accompanied by lots of loud cheers. While I also really enjoyed it, it was about this point that I really realised how much I was enjoying my introduction to the “new” (to me) material, rather than the old-school, well known reggae beats. Troy Kingi later fronted ‘Ethiopia’ – some more enjoyable but fairly typical reggae – although the high keys sounded an enjoyably interesting counterpoint. The musicians possibly had the most fun of the night with ‘Hit the Hay’, led by Ryan Prebble. Kind of grungy, kind of electronica, kind of voodoo rock reggae. Whatever the genre, it was funky and enjoyable.

[For me, the reggae strums and beats were wearing a bit thin though this section. Nevertheless, overall, the performance spanned a range of other genres, including laid back funk, smooth jazz, gospel and pop, with precise musicianship and vocal harmonies. All of this was highly inoffensive and unchallenging – you didn’t need to know the songs to enjoy them, which made this performance perfect for the broad-aged festival crowd].

Mutunga: The whole ensemble was back on stage to finish with some funky reggae, and with a much fuller sound than that which opened the show. They went off, returned, and when they finally sidled off again, we were left with some excellent synchronised drumming to finish. Impressive stuff.

Those who didn’t take centre stage but were still impressive on their instruments included: Nigel Patterson (keyboard), Jarney Murphy (drums), Mike Fabulous (bass), Iraia Whakamoe (drums), and James Coyle (keyboard).

[‘What kind of flower would Fly My Pretties’ be?, I asked myself following the show. They were certainly showy, like an orchid, but they were also as accessible to pollinators as a buttercup – having the ability to be appreciated by a wide range of visitors who came to sample their nectar].

We were treated to a selection of new songs from her forthcoming album ‘Out Of My Province’ followed, and felt immediately familiar. ‘Oh Canada’, ‘Best Thing’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Take Anything From You’ are certainly from the same stable as previous offerings, although on initial listen seem a little darker, perhaps more introspective than material from the first two albums.

A cover of Mazzy Star’s ‘Fade Into You’ was treated just like the other songs, no introduction, and I wondered of any of the older crowd had ever heard of Hope Sandoval. Ultimately it didn’t matter and of course, they applauded politely. The set closed with my personal highlight ‘Right On Time’ from 2016’s Preservation LP. It seemed to get a fair amount of seat jiving happening too, reminding me of the opening credits of Fraggle Rock. In a good way.

A solo encore followed, ‘Get The Devil Out’, the closing track on the new album, with its twisted sadness a weird-in-a-good-way end to the set.

Overall a faultless performance from an established star and an excellent live band in a wonderful environment, but a weird perhaps too-gentle crowd making it a slightly awkward atmosphere at times. No one's fault of course, that’s just how it goes.

​As I slunk into the hazy last light of the day to be bombarded with what people probably call ‘blues’ music on the other stage, I was reminded to always be grateful for what you have.  

I N T E R V I E W
Unlikely Banter: A Q&A with Paul Kean of The Bats
with Ian Duggan

It’s been a little over two years since The Bats’ last (sellout) show in Hamilton, and they are finally returning to Nivara Lounge on Friday, 6 March! And with support from Matthew Bannister and Bitter Defeat, we are pretty much guaranteed of a memorable night of quality music! HUP spoke with The Bats’ Paul Kean about their upcoming album, ‘The Foothills’, what we should look forward to on the night, and the best bands that The Bats have supported, or been supported by!

HUP: Your last visit to Hamilton was hot on the heels of your magnificent ninth album, ‘The Deep Set’. This time around we are going to be the guinea pigs for some material from your soon to be released album, ‘The Foothills’. What should we expect from this album? 
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Paul: We thought we’d revisit recording ourselves as we did with [1987s debut album] 'Daddy’s Highway'. We did this in a mobile studio we set up in a farm house in the Canterbury foothills. Some of the songs feel live and edgy, whereas others have a dark introspective vibe... and we have a couple of quirky ones. The recorded and mixed sound has come out very well. We are still selecting the final songs and order to include on the album, thinking about the A and B sides for vinyl flow, and also how ‘the whole’ will work on CD or streamed. 

HUP: You have a couple of great support acts lined up in the form of Bitter Defeat and Matthew Bannister for this show. Who in your opinion have been the best bands that have ever supported The Bats, or that you have supported?

Paul: Hard to single out the best support acts. Bird Nest Roys at the Rising Sun popped into my mind, the Flowers at NYC Popfest, Goblin Mix... we opened for Radiohead on their first USA tour with Belly. Radiohead were a surprise for us. Creep had just rocketed up the charts and they were buzzing. It was good for us to open as the venues were full for our set. People sang along to our songs which was encouraging.
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We played with the Wedding Present and Television on a tour in France, which was memorable. Especially at La Cigalle in Paris. It was broadcast live on Bernard Lenoir’s radio show - one of our best performances.  A couple of songs are released on a CD from his show.

HUP: You have promised “some Friday night fun… and a bit of reflection”. Is this, being your tenth album, providing an opportunity to look back over your career to date? Should we be expecting some between song reminiscences?

Paul: Unlikely you’ll get much in between banter! Certainly nothing planned. I’ll have a think about it and discuss with the band... but we have pulled out a few old songs we haven’t played in a while. There are a few from our last two releases, ‘Free All the Monsters’ and ‘The Deep Set’, plus a selection of favourites.
 
HUP: The album was originally intended to be released last year; why has it taken so long, and what is the revised release date?
 
Paul: The long time is partly to do with too many other projects, parties, weddings, funerals, and partly to do with me having to mix while still doing a day job… it’s mixed and I’m about to send it off to Flying Nun. Then it takes six months for vinyl, but expect a digi-single or three over the next few months! We’re making some videos too.

HUP: Is the ‘skeleton string section’ you included on ‘The Deep Set’ still with you? 

Paul: The Skeleton Strings won’t be joining us on this date. Rochelle Brugh will play with us on a few songs.
 
HUP: Do you still have the bass you played in Toy Love? And where did it come from?"

Paul: I still have my barracuda bass that I made from a modified fender jazz neck and a body of red beech that I carved out. I still play it occasionally and record with it, but it’s a bit too heavy for me to play standing up these days.

Tickets are available from undertheradar!