Interview: Prey For Darwin

INTERVIEW: Leeds band Prey For Darwin on their first gig and musical influences.

Originally posted on Felicitas Collective.


Leeds-based band Prey For Darwin are (in reverse height order) Hannah Dixon (drums), Andy Alexander (guitar & vocals) and Andy Clark (bass). I discovered the band when I went to see Muffin play at the Fox & Newt pub in Leeds on the 24th. All the bands there were great, but for me Prey For Darwin was the one that stood out, especially as it was their first ever gig. I think they're definitely one of the most promising local bands I've seen so far! Here's a short interview I did with them afterwards.

Tell me a little bit about yourselves, how long have you been playing together and whose idea was it to form a band?
Andy A: I decided that I wanted to form a band, and so advertised it on various local musician Facebook groups.
Hannah: We are of the forum! I think it’s a good thing that we just wanted to make music and that’s what made our paths cross, and have been jamming for about a year now!

Who were some of your biggest influences starting out and who inspires you now?
Hannah: We just wanted to see what sort of stuff we could make, I remember listening to Mogwai take me somewhere nice multi-daily-style for months who i know Andy is a fan of. They’ve definitely influenced us. There’s many besides although hard to pin down. We always find ourselves listening to Jamie T and Radiohead together so there’s some possible parts of the concoction, which is quite nice. We all bring whatever the day’s shared with us I suppose!
Andy C: The music we perform has been built collaboratively within rehearsal sessions out of jams, layering and bouncing ideas around. All the songs belong to the band with no lead writers, so a lot of the inspiration comes from how we all develop ideas – or even how we are able to vent our own frustrations, sadness or joy during sessions. Musically, Mogwai, Joy Division, Alarmist, Radiohead, David Bowie spring to mind as artists that play with genre and build compositions around fluctuating focal points.
Andy A: My favourite artists include Jamie T, Frightened Rabbit and Damien Rice, tho whether any of that directly influences my music I’m not so sure.

What was it like playing your first gig? Were you nervous and, if you were, how did you overcome this?
Hannah: It was really good to play our first gig. It was a pleasure meeting the other bands, Muffin Syslak and Waterfall all make great tunes -lovely guys, all really worth a listen and great to hear them live.
Andy C: We curated the line-up, so the extra pressure was making sure the other bands were happy and the night went smoothly. I used to play in a band with Patrick from Muffin, so it was awesome to see what he’d been working on since we last played together. Leeds has a vibrant and supportive music scene, and having such a big crowd of people watching local bands really helps to ease the nerves. We’re all in this together.
Hannah: It was great to play, there were a lot more people than expected which was cool. I was laying eggs to be honest and spent most of the set staring at my right leg but the feels were good.
Andy A: Yeah I was nervous, but once I was up there it largely went away, I was concentrating too hard on what I was doing!

How would you describe your band's sound?
Andy A: I have no idea, and I like that.
Hannah: Quite loud! Chaos Bass!
Andy C: Pulled from a fuzzy oven with Joy Division oven gloves.

Can you share some of the inspirations behind your songs?
Hannah: Anything, everything, whatever could possibly be in the room really. We just jam around and see what happens. It’s always changing. Lyrically things really vary from a sense of galactic wahoo lazer quest to sweet ass love to 1984 balls to it all, so to speak.
Andy C: The music can be born from thinking about perceptions of space and responding personally to the world round us based on mood: capturing ideas which can change super quickly or slowly build from docile to euphoria… We also have a song about Game of Thrones.

What's next for you? Do you have any more gigs lined up or any plans to record?
Andy A: We haven’t discussed this, I didn’t know how the first gig would go! But more gigs I assume.
Andy C: After our first gig, we want to focus on building up more songs and jams. We only have four songs fully written but have a bulging backlog of ideas we are excited to develop. Hopefully more songs soon and maybe we can record some tracks as we go. We are new so testing the water –happy taking everything as it comes.
Hannah: It’s good to have focused on bringing the set together, now excited to continue on the cumulative quest for the new sound.


MUSIC TASTE QUICK-FIRE QUESTIONS:

What bands/artists are you currently into?
Andy C: Daughter, Narcs, Three Trapped Tigers, The Xx, Trigger Thumb, Brontide, Spiro. American Football, Minor Victories…
Hannah: Electric Light Orchestra, Bowie, Submotion Orchestra, Laura Marling, Erykah Badu, Massive Attack, Chance the Rapper, Prince, Radiohead, Passion Pit, Amy Winehouse, Bjork, Quantic, Alt-J, Bob Marley, Mr Scruff, King Tubby, Hiatus, Coco Rosie… my housemates amazing tunes, I don’t know how to answer, there is so much good music everywhere and it changes every time you listen.
Andy A: I’ve been listening to a lot of Radiohead lately, trying to understand why many people don’t love The King Of Limbs like I do.

What's your favourite song right now?
Andy A: Kate Tempest - Europe is Lost.
Andy C: Courtney Barnett – Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party.
Hannah: Lando Chill – Early In The Morning.

Do you remember the first record you ever bought?
Andy C: 911 – Body Shakin’.
Hannah: Now 56.
Andy A: The debut Spice Girls album.

If you had to choose, what would be your all-time favourite album?
Andy A: Jamie T – Panic Prevention.
Andy C: Mogwai – The Hawk is Howling.
Hannah: Primal Scream - Screamadelica.

Finally, what new releases are you currently looking forward to?
Hannah: The new Laura Marling! Anything Inka, anything Lucid Beans. Many people are making new sounds all the time in so many different ways, it is increasingly good.
Andy C: Post War Glamour Girls, Smith Street Band, Laura Marling, At The Drive-in, The National all have new albums due out this year, which I am hugely excited about.


Thanks Hannah, Andy and Andy for your time & good luck for the future!

Follow Prey For Darwin on Facebook and SoundCloud, and check out their video on YouTube!