1.Growing Up
There’s a history of creatives in my family. My grandmother wrote jingles in the ’50s for American radio stations, my mother came to the UK on a dance scholarship and my aunt is a singer and music teacher in the States, so I guess it was inevitable that I would grow up to also have a passion for the arts.
2. Inspirations
Come from everywhere. Relationships, current affairs, literature, emotions, art, strangers in the street, friends… In terms of music, as writers we all bonded over our love for artists like Talk and the Bristol trip hop scene, which had a big impact on us growing up.
3. Your Band
We started the band around two years ago. Arthur [Delaney] and I were both working independently with Dom [Goldsmith] on separate projects and decided to have a go at collaborating on a track. We wrote ‘Dust’ in that session and put it online a few weeks later. That song started a spiral of events that led to us signing a deal with Matador Records and releasing our debut LP Full Circle in March.
4. The Music You Make
Our music has been described as ‘dark euphoria’. Onstage we bring it to life with the three other band members, Daniel (guitar), Martin (percussion) and Bo (drums). It’s about reinterpreting the album live, not just pressing ‘play’.
5. Music Right Here, Right Now
It’s a challenging but exiting time to be an artist. The rules are changing and there’s a huge amount of scope to be innovative and creative in the art you make and way you present it to the world. It’s all good being the latest buzz band, but not so easy to break out from the hype with integrity and build a sustainable carer. You have to do it for the love or you’ll just end up in a superficial bubble that’s all too easily burst.
Full Circleisout now through Matador/ Remote Control.HÆLOS play Oxford Art Factory on Friday January 8. They’re also appearing at Falls Festival 2017 from Wednesday December 28 – Monday January 2.
