With the success of most recent album ‘Old Souls’, Deaf Havana cemented their place in the establishment of the British Rock scene, despite having considerably reinvented their sound and expanded their line-up. Now well over a year on from the record’s release, the boys from Norfolk have built on the airplay success of singles like ‘Boston Square’ and ‘Mildred’ and made a highly anticipated return to the R&L Main Stages in of the most prominent spots for a home-grown act all weekend.
Already Heard caught up with James Veck-Glodi and Max Britton from the band mere minutes before they took to the stage in Leeds to find out more about their memoires of previous visits to the festivals, their decision to take their sound in a more gospel influenced direction and their advice for young bands.
AH: Deaf Havana are back on the main stage after two years. How did playing in the tent on the Radio One stage last year compare to being on the Main Stage?
James: I actually preferred it, preferred being inside the tent as there was a bit more atmosphere. It was muddy as hell but it was wicked.
AH: Coming so close to the time that ‘Old Souls’ came out and having changed your sound quite a bit, were you unsure about how many people were going to show up for your performance last year?
James: Oh yeah for sure, we were pooing ourselves. But it was great. You don’t really notice too much when you’re there but I remember looking at the photos and thinking “ok yeah that was crazy”.
AH: It does seem like the band’s reworked sound is well suited to a festival atmosphere.
James: Yeah I think even in my head when I was writing the songs that I had that kind of visualisation.
AH: When you’re up there on a stage the size of the main stages of Reading and Leeds, does it seem an awfully long way from your roots in Norfolk?
James: It’s scary and it’s mad. I really can’t explain how it feels.
AH: When you were writing ‘Old Souls’ did you make a conscious decision to try and reinvent your sound and the direction of the band?
James: Not really. It was the same as ‘Fools and Worthless Liars’, I started writing on an acoustic guitar. But then when we were in the studio and we started writing more, Max and my brother Matty were new to the band, and when we started writing as a whole unit it just took on this weird new direction.
AH: The decision to incorporate the gospel aspects of the sound was an unusual one for a British rock band. Where did those ideas come from?
Max: We love gospel.
James: We just love that style of music and we would love to do more of it. I never really had any idea in my head of what it would do for us I just wanted to write that kind of music.
AH: The last record was very raw and open lyrically, is it hard to be that open when you’re in such a big band?
James: It depends really. In a way it makes it easier to perform because it’s so personal. It makes it so that every time I perform the songs they come from somewhere rather than just repeating them. At first it was quite hard. Particularly the last track about my biological father as I had never broached that subject before. But it has worked well.
AH: What kind of place were you at to be able to broach subjects that you had never covered before like that?
James: Drunk. (Both laugh) I’m not sure. I was in a weird drunk haze of nostalgia. I don’t even remember that time too much. It was pretty dark. (Laughs again)
AH: Do you feel the newer songs have helped you to have more of a varied live set?
James: Definitely. I get bored of just playing a whole rock set. I just get bored of it. I really like to be able to mix things up.
Max: It makes it fun to be able to play different instruments live as well.
AH: How much has your success inspired the music scene back in Norfolk?
Max: Oh no. It’s still just villages with nothing really happening.
James: It pretty much hasn’t changed. I hoped it would. Max isn’t actually from Norfolk, but for the rest of us we can see that people get stuck in a trap where they can’t leave that place. It’s so weird. I think everyone falls into that and it’s a shame.
AH: What would you say to them to try and change that?
James: You just need to get out there and keep doing it. We’ve had so much shit thrown at us, had so many things go wrong, but you just have to keep going and hope that something good is going to happen. So many bands just give up, but you’re never going to get out there with that attitude. Keep doing this, keep trying. But do it for the right reasons. Don’t do it just because you want to make money. Because you won’t make money.
‘Old Souls’ by Deaf Havana is out now on BMG Chrysalis.
Deaf Havana links: Website|Facebook|Twitter
Words by Dane Wright (@DaneWright)
