How did your relationship with Olde English Spelling Bee come about?

“They sent me an email and basically offered to do a 12″ straight up. It all happened very quickly. I was a bit hesitant at first because I’d not really heard much on the label before, but I was really won over by how honest they were. Todd, the guy who runs it, is a real gent. We seemed to share a lot of the same values about things and OESB were really open with what I wanted to do with the 12″. I liked how they were risk-takers, I think – there’s some really weird and wonderful stuff they put out. I’ve been lucky enough to have that release out at a time when OESB’s really come into its own with artists like Julian Lynch and Rangers. I don’t know if I’ll put out anything else on there yet but it’ll be exciting to see where the label goes next.”

“If it’s not done well it can look really lazy – you know, like slapping a faded photograph from the 70s on a record sleeve as shorthand for emotional resonance.”

Do you feel part of the hypnagogic “thing”, or do you feel some distance from it?

“I don’t really feel any affinity with it. Though that’s probably because I really don’t understand it that fully, and haven’t delved that far into it. I get a bit confused with the genre names thrown around – chillwave and hypnagogic and all that. I find the nostalgia element a bit off-putting – in fact I just find nostalgia a bit depressing, if I’m honest. I’ve always disliked looking backwards. If it’s not done well it can look really lazy – you know, like slapping a faded photograph from the 70s on a record sleeve as shorthand for emotional resonance. Any ‘old’ stuff I’ve ever used, like the footage for my videos, it’s all chosen carefully and all re-edited. You have to be respectful with things like that. I spent a long time poring over them and getting them to feel right. They’re purposefully a bit uncomfortable and ambiguous, and all have narratives; it’s not empty rose-tinted nostalgia, I feel uneasy with that. The past wasn’t all that great, was it? We should get excited about the future, not some imaginary ideal of how the past was.”





How would you describe your own music?

“I’ve no idea. Someone emailed me last week to tell me it sounded like ‘strange soul music’ which was quite a nice way of putting it. It’s difficult to be objective about it, because I didn’t set out for it to sound like anything in particular, and I’ve no idea where I fit into the grand scheme of things. Maybe that’s a good thing, I don’t know.”

“The music has been inspired by what’s around locally – the landscape and the environment, echoes, winds and rocks and rivers, the city.”

There’s a lonely, isolationist quality to your music. Is that something you agree with? What mood are you trying to evoke with this project?

“It’s isolationist in that it’s all done by me, I suppose. It’s all about how people infer stuff, isn’t it? I suppose it goes back to those kinds of albums I talked about – where there’s a bit of tension musically or emotionally and it can go either way depending on how you’re listening to it. I’m cool with either as long as people get something from it. As far as moods go, a lot of it’s been inspired by what’s around locally – the landscape and the environment, echoes, winds and rocks and rivers, the city.”





Are there any local artists who you feel an affinity with?

“There’s always interesting stuff going on in Merseyside. I don’t hang out with bands really so I only really know the local scene from a punter’s viewpoint. Philip Jeck is amazing. There’s a lot of stuff bubbling under: Clinic, Mugstar and Apatt are always doing challenging stuff. Bill Ryder-Jones, who used to be in The Coral, is doing great solo work at the moment. There’s tonnes of weird pop bands around. And a lot of promoters and arts organisations that are always putting on good shows across Liverpool.”

Plans for the year ahead…?

“I’m going to start getting out and about towards the end of the year: a bit of DJing and a couple of live shows here and there if it feels right. I’m probably going to start looking towards starting another EP or a full-length later in the year as well, perhaps.”

Trilby Foxx

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