Hanna Riiheläinen and Emilia Hernesniemi of R/H Label.
I met Hanna Riiheläinen and Emilia Hernesniemi of R/H Label on my trip to Moscow, click where they came by train (very jealous) to pitch their brand to a panel of experts for feedback, website of which *ahem* I was one. The girls studied together for six years at the University of Art & Design Helsinki, and have forged a strong partnership which made them a delight to hang out with during my stay in Russia and I was utterly charmed by their playful style, for which they are the best ambassadors. In the first of two blog posts here’s a summary of what R/H Label are up to.
R/H Label was named for a combination of the girls’ surnames, and was founded only last June in Helsinki after being in the planning for way longer, both girls having studied and worked in fashion at home and abroad after graduation – I actually met Emilia a few years ago when I borrowed clothes from Agency V, where she worked as a PR. Small world eh? They took this time in the industry to learn about the commercial sides of the business and analysed what they could do best when starting their own label: clever girls. It is no surprise that their designs perfectly encapsulate the Agency V aesthetic; playful, colourful, printed. All good things in my book!
Whilst the Finnish design scene is strong on the international stage, the fashion scene is something new, and so for them indigenous inspiration comes from the likes of well known furniture designers Alvar Aalto and textiles supremo Marimekko who mainly produces textiles for the home. IVANNAhelsinki is one of the only major Finnish fashion designers to have a profile abroad, as well as Laitinen menswear which has a high profile in Milan and Paris.
Hanna Riiheläinen of R/H Label in Moscow.
But now is an exciting time because there is a new generation of creatives coming through. Ones to check out include fashion photographer Susanna Majuri and Helsinki based illustrator Laura Laine. Emilia and Hanna work with creatives across lots of disciplines and are inspired by Finland’s location between the east and west – a place where different visual aesthetics easily meet and mingle. Functional solutions come over from Sweden, but there is plenty of rich decorative detail to play with from the eastern side.
S/S 2011 was R/H Label’s first commercial collection, inspired by Dolly Parton, Mickey Mouse, Black Magic and the Nordic Summer Sky. You don’t get much more fun than that! It features a mix of local reindeer leather and bamboo jersey and all the bespoke prints were digitally printed onto silk – they like to create every element of the collection. I particularly love the purple sky and dotty dahlia prints, and was thoroughly enamoured of their ceramic eyeball necklace, created in collaboration with a local ceramics studio.
For A/W 2011 they were inspired by Dragons, Mountains, Acrobats and Vagabonds. Another rich inspirational mash up! Role models that helped to inspire the collection included the strong character of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander, and Finnish author Sofi Oksanen. Lots of black is offset again with bright prints in louche easily wearable shapes.
R/H Label A/W 2011
Production is mainly done in Tallinn, Estonia which is 80km away, but the reindeer bags are made in Helsinki and they are keen to do more with local materials. Interest in the collection has been quick and enthusiastic and as well as stocking at home in Finland they already have stockists in Berlin, Vienna and New York. Naturally Agency V has been looking after press, which is also going pretty darn well for such a new label.
R/H Label A/W 2011
Now they just need to figure out a way to grow the brand organically whilst retaining their creative control… it’s all about achieving that balance, which is why they came to Moscow for advice. In my next blog Hanna and Emilia answer a few questions. In the meantime take a browse around the R/H Label website and R/H Label online shop. Let’s hope they find stockists in the UK soon.
Emilia Hernesniemi of R/H Label talking to Michael Salac of Blow PR.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday May 13th, 2011 12:42 pm
Next in my round up of Frieze Art Fair 2011 trends: examples of the spiritual, buy more about tribal and animist inspired art that dominates the current global art scene. Proof, decease if ever if it was needed, of a struggle with meaning in our consumer driven world.
One of the first things I saw were these weird heads by David Altmejd, which mix elements of tribal and ancient cultures with recognisably modern features (love the ponytail).
David Brian Smith‘s Great Expectations – We Were Silhouettes went for a quasi Christian angle – the lone man amongst his psychedelic sheep. At Carl Freedman Gallery.
Russian artist Evgeny Antufiev worked with stitched textiles to create these strange beasts, crossing the alien with the tribal. At Regina Gallery.
Fellow Russian artist Stas Volyazlovsky crossed the esoteric with the political in his huge textile art.
I don’t know who created this but it caught my eye at the Georg Kargl Gallery, Vienna: a strange floating head.
At Hauser & WirthIsa Genzken showed Geburt (Birth) – a disturbing quasi human mannequin prostrate on the floor.
Broadway 1602 New York was home to this equally odd dolls’ house, complete with eye stuck in vagina and silver penis seeping beads. Nice.
Two bearded men in repose byPatrick Jackson at the Francois Ghebaly Gallery, LA. Religious ecstasy, or something more sinister?
Also loved this collaged wall decal – artist unknown. Decorating the stand for The Breeder Athens.
Also at The Breeder, this is a section of a huge painting. Hanging clowns and others, for who knows what indiscretion. Disturbing but also strangely beautiful.
Rodrigo Torres planted his contemplative goat man at the junction of a busy thoroughfare.
Asian artists are grossly under represented at Frieze. Zhang Xiaogang‘s neon baby lay on a slab in a mirrored artwork – a sacrificial reflection perhaps?
Raqib Shaw produced intricate decorative pieces that featured dragon mermaids, multi headed snakes and mysterious orbs.
All Watched Over by Machines of Infinite Loving Grace by Mark Alexander took a more painterly approach with an intricate oil that was clearly influenced by Hieronymus Bosch.
Viewing this art in the context of Frieze, one can’t help but wonder where exactly all this soul searching will lead…
James Gulliver Hancock has produced the most wonderful colouring adventure inspired by his namesake. Gulliver’s New Travels: Colouring in a New World is a glorious book filled with images inspired by a mix of reality and fantasy… dive in and let your imagination run wild! I’m giving away FIVE COPIES of this book, so make sure you hop on over to my Facebook Page HERE and leave a comment saying what you like best about this book to be in with a chance to win… better still, the giveaway is OPEN WORLDWIDE!
I believe you kept one of the very first drawings you ever made in kindergarten, a super complex cityscape. Where is it now and would we recognise it as your work now?
I did indeed, unfortunately I can’t actually find it at the moment, it’s buried deep in my mother’s attic somewhere. I do however vividly remember what it looked like. It was so important as when I drew it I was basically drawing to avoid doing any of the other tasks at school – a cunning plan which has basically been the case for the rest of my life. So yes I’d recognise the drawing, but style wise I feel like children’s drawing can be quite similar. I’m a massive fan of children’s drawings and ‘outsider art’ or ‘folk art’. I do a project with my brother: tomandjamesdraw.com, where we draw together and he teaches me a lot about relaxing and going back to that early stage of drawing without thinking, stepping away from representation and communication and into something super personal.
Gulliver’s New Travels coloured by Amelia Impey.
Did your name have any bearing on your decision to make your new colouring book? (do you have a special affinity with the tale?!)
I have a long running affinity with the name Gulliver. It was given to me by my father, and I’ve always felt a connection to the fantastical travels that Gulliver goes on, how he perceives the world around him in such an interesting way and has such a wonder filled journey. The publisher and I brainstormed this concept of ribbing of Swift’s original and I loved the idea, especially as I was travelling for most of the creation of the books illustrations.
You are widely travelled – where and when and why have you been happiest on your travels?
I have specific memories, like sitting along on a grassy patch on the side of a swiss mountain with the most amazing salami in my picnic, and also then returning to that spot with my wife and being magically followed all day by a herd of goats and jumping around the rocks with the young ones. I think I became infatuated with travel from a young age, the feeling of being on the road, that is such a cliché, is so powerfull, so romantic, so thrilling. I remember being happy arriving in towns not knowing anything, not knowing my way around, or where to stay or what to eat, it is extremely liberating and the furthest possible position from day to day repetitive lifestyles.
Being stuck on a sinking boat does not sound like much fun. Can you tell us more about that adventure and whether you did manage to save your sketchbook?
Well it wasn’t actually sinking. I was 1⁄2 way through my overland journey from Sydney, Australia to London, England. I was crossing from Japan to Russia, and we were hit by a typhoon. Having just come from the meek and wonderful people of Japan I was already struggling with the burly Russians aboard the boat, but when the storm hit I was on the floor reeling with all the anxieties of the trip. The ships nurse gave me a sedative and all I remember was the army official coming into the room to tighten the window with a huge wrench and then dreaming of an archipelago. I also remember not being that worried about the sinking of the ship, that it would all work out and the freedom of travel had liberated me from the fear of losing anything important. The only think I felt nervous about was my sketchbook and remember devising plans in my delirium to keep it safe.
Gulliver’s New Travels coloured by Susannah Coleman
What kind of artist residencies have you taken part in in Europe and what was your favourite? And why?
My first European residency was in Vienna. They have a large apartment building which is mostly unused during the winter so I was lucky enough to get an apartment in the centre of the city with a small studio. After this one I also took a residency at the Cite Des Arts in Paris. Both were amazing experiences. I think for a young artist it was transformative to be recognised for my work internationally and be encouraged to come to a new place and make work. It perfectly fit into my dream of making work and travelling. These two residencies where different experiences, in Vienna I was totally left to my own devices, and in Paris I was too a bit, but it is such an established artsit hub in Paris, of all disciplines, so I was waking up to opera scales being sung, and hanging out in other artists studios.
Can you tell us more about your epic journey from Australia to the UK?
It was indeed epic, I was working in a design company, and hating it, so one day I drew a line from Sydney to London and started to work out how I could do it without taking any flights. Also having gone back and forth from the UK to Australia with my family, I really wanted to feel what it was like to actually travel that distance on the ground. It was a funny sensation to go to the train station in Sydney and realise I was wanting to get to the UK from there, it was very romantic. So yes, I rode the train all the way up to the top of australia through the desert. No here’s the only hitch, I was going mad in Darwin, it was so hot and humid I think I was loosing my mind, so I did book a flight, just over to Singapore. Funnily enough I felt guilty I missed Indonesia and came back there later in life to fill in the gap. I tried really hard to get a boat over to Asia, but it just didn’t come together. From there on I went up through South East Asia, all the way into China, caught a boat to Japan, another boat over to russia, then all the way over Russia on the trans siberian, then through Scandanavia and down through the heart of Europe and into the channel tunnel to London. All in all I think it took around 6 months, and it was probably one of the most formative things I did in my early career. I kept a diary and sketchbook the whole time and a lot of work still draws from those experiences, including this recent colouring book.
And how have your travels influenced your work?
When you travel there are so many little moments and experiences that you collect and remember. I find these always make it into my work, whether it’s a vague sense of the hustle and bustle of a particular town, or a specific type of car or building that I fell in love with drawing. When I travel I’m always collecting the things around me in my sketchbook, drawing the objects and experiences obsessively. I find this really helps me look, and remember them. Even if I’m just drawing the glass of water next to my bed in Vietnam, that drawing usually promts a whole flood of memories when I revisit it later. Drawing and travel is amazing like that. I think it’s much more powerful than a photo.
Gulliver’s New Travels coloured by Amy Poole
Which of your own stories have fed into the original tale of Gulliver and how have you married the two?
Well there is the obvious reference of playing with scale. Throughout the book you’ll see big hands and feet aswell as little people navigating the world around them. And I think this is a great representation of travel, that constantly shifting feeling of the overwhelming nature of the surroundings coupled with the feeling of confidence. There are also references to specific Gulliver’s Travel tales such as the little boat being pushed which I might have referenced as I delved into the sinking typhoon boat story. But there are also just stories relevant to me, such as the little man riding the airport luggage cart, which my 4 year old loves to do.
How long did it take you to create this book and what was your favourite part of the process?
I was lucky enough to be travelling as I made this book, so it really felt genuine that I was keeping a log of the expriences around me, and marrying them with Gulliver’s Travels and my previous travels made it feel super relevant and important to me. I love all the aspects of working, generating the ideas, pulling them together, and drawing the final art. It was great to have a project like this that required so much detail and time so I could sit and almost meditate while I drew. The colouring in phenomena has been coupled with a ‘mindfulness’ attitude which I think is great, as it is an experience I have when I’m drawing and working in general, so I’m excited my audience will get to maybe experience that sensation too.
What kind of media did you use to create the lines and what scale did you work at?
I keep it very simple, regular paper, regular pencils. Once I’m done I scan it in and all I do is clean it up a little bit. Nothing too fancy.
Have you seen many coloured versions of the pages yet? And if so where?
I haven’t! I really would love people to post their interpretations of my drawings, maybe instagram? Tag me, I’m @gulliverhancock
You have a staggering (and aspirational) client list. How hard has it been to get recognition and success as an illustrator? And any tips for others just starting out?
I always say that the majority of my recognition and clients have come from my obsession with making my own work. I feel like the ‘ All the Buildings in New York ‘ project and book was a big turning point. That project I started just to document my surroundings for theraputic reasons, and it got so much exposure that people all around the world were introduced to my work. I think my focus on making work and showing it to people is really how I got here. I work all day every day, drawing and making, I think if you are that obsessive and dilligent people eventually start to take notice.
You are incredibly prolific, how do you manage your time when you have multiple projects on the go?
I love having multiple things happening at the same time. I’ve always made sure I have personal projects that fill up any gaps in client work. I have less and less of this ‘free time’ now but I also try to mix it up by doing other things with my hands, ceramics, wood work, cooking etc. I hate having nothing to do, it makes me anxious, and if I don’t make something everyday I get depressed pretty quick. Again, the obsession serves me well.
How do you juggle your life between Sydney and New York?
I do like to mix it up. It was always my dream to have a career that sent me around the world. After all my travels New York was probably the most exciting for my career, and Sydney is my home so we try and go back and forth as much as possible. My wife is a musician ( lenkamusic.com ) so she tours in the US a lot also, so it’s good for both of us to spread our time between the two continents.
What have you been most proud of in your career and why?
I’m most proud that I set out to make a career from making things and travelling and it’s managed to come together. I love that I’ve taken my personal quirks and desires and made it into a business.
Gulliver’s New Travels coloured by Colette Whitehouse
How do you connect to a deeper conceptual or philosophical meaning in your artworks?
I always try and gather information as widely as I can, whether that be articles online about space, or podcasts about economics. Growing up with a psychologist for a mother meant I was always deconstructing my personality, and I think I put that into my work a lot. She also had a library of books on the self and psychology philosophy which I used to dive in and out of and get my mind blown growing up. I’ve always tried to gather wide explorations into my work, whether people see it in the end product or not, it’s important to me to keep my interest to have some deeper investigation underneath it all.
Gulliver’s New Travels: Colouring in a New World is published by Batsford Books, and can be purchased from here on Amazon UK. The book is published by Barron’s Educational Series in the US and has a slightly different cover. It is available from Amazon US here as Gulliver’s New Travels: Coloring in a New World. Win your very own copy of this book by telling me what you like best about this book in the comments on my Facebook Page HERE. Up to FIVE winners will be picked at random on Friday 27th May (the more comments, the more I giveaway). OPEN WORLDWIDE.
I have recently signed up as an Amazon affiliate, so if you would like to buy this book please do consider using my links, and help support Amelia’s Magazine. I was sent this book in exchange for an honest review.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday May 20th, 2016 11:44 am
Where are you from and where do you live now?
Originally I’m from a small village in the South of Austria. I left my home very early, so that I could attend an art school in Graz, one of the bigger towns in Austria. After my graduation I started working as a graphic designer for several agencies in Vienna. But it was not enough to fulfill me. After a busy day of 8 hours working as a graphic designer, I tirelessy developed my illustrative style. Finally in 2014 I decided to found my own illustration business in my current hometown Vienna. Now I’m very happy that I made this big step.
Who do you work for and how do you set about finding work?
I’m working for national and international clients in different fields. Fortunately I don’t have to search for work, at the moment. The projects are coming by themselves. But it hasn’t always been like this: I’ve worked a lot and tried to use the internet to spread my work all over the world. I will keep on working hard in the future, but always with a lot of passion. I really love to work as an illustrator and can’t imagine living another life.
I hear you’ve got a children’s book on the way – can you give us a brief glimpse inside?
Yes, at the moment I’m working on a new children’s book called „Ganz schön super“ (in German), which will be published in Spring 2016. That’s quite exciting! Each book is a new challenge. Especially this one because it is a lot of work; I have written and illustrated it myself. The main character is a little cat, which meets a lot of other animals. In short it’s a book about tolerance and acceptance, of course told in a funny way.
Where do you find inspiration?
At the beginning I was inspired by amazing illustrators like Blexbolex. He was my first hero in illustration and still gives me so much motivation. Now I’m using instagram and other social media platforms to discover the current flow of illustration. But my favourite source of inspiration is nature, I love drawing outside. There is so much beauty everywhere around, I could draw for hours and never get bored.
How do you put your illustrations together?
My work is a mix of the handmade and digital. For me the sketch is the start and it is the most important part of an illustration. In the next step, it gets scanned and I go over it with the path tool in Photoshop. There I can paste in my typical structure as well. Working with the computer is perfect to try a lot of different colour combinations.
Can you tell us about the title of your double page and what it means?
The title of my artwork is Creative Life. It’s a composition of an artistic mind’s world.
Living together – creating and inspiring each other. Working on this project was a lot of fun, hopefully that’s noticeable in the illustration.
How would you describe your studio space and routine?
My cozy little flat in Vienna is also used as my studio. Working from home is a great opportunity to wear pyjamas during the day! There is no exact daily routine. The work is quite different, that’s the thing I love about being an illustrator. Generally it’s a mix of illustration work, social media, interviews and unfortunately a little bit of bookkeeping as well…
What else do you like to do in your spare time to relax?
I enjoy the amazing peace of nature, as often as possible. Cooking over an open fire, sleeping in a tent and drawing in northern woods – that’s my favorite pastime. In Vienna I try to relax myself with preparing extravagant meals with ingredients in rainbow colors.
What motto do you live by?
Try to do everything – however small it may be – with love and passion. For me that’s the simple secret for a happy life.
Follow Nanna Prieler on instagram here. She is featured in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion alongside over 40 other international artists, funding for just 8 more hours on Kickstarter today.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday November 23rd, 2015 1:15 pm
Most bands have a limited shelf life, especially the ones who are hyped. Although a review like: “The first band in a decade to lay serious claim to The Stone Roses throne” (The Guardian) can put you in good stead while you’re starting out, it can also set you en route Destination Doomsville, burdening you with a reputation you simply can’t live up to.
British indie rock band Delays have so far managed to defy the odds. They have gone from strength to strength, following the release of their debut album ‘Faded Seaside Glamour’ in 2004. Six years on, the four-piece are set to release their forth record, ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel’ produced by Duncan Lewis.
In a tiny room in the basement of music venue Water Rats in King’s Cross – decorated with blue and white fairy lights, a few old shelves and an enormous brightly coloured abstract painting – I join spiritual frontman Greg Gilbert (GG) and down-to-earth drummer Rowly (R) before they take to the stage at their sold out London gig, to talk about their latest album, town criers and livin’ it up at Glastonbury over lime-flavoured Doritos…
How would you describe your new album in three words? GG: Rustic, organic and psychedelic R: I don’t like organic, it sounds a bit vegetably GG: OK then; rustic, psychedelic and melancholic R: Yeah, that sounds better – I second that emotion GG: Or we could say “Our. Best. Album” – three words – succinct and to the point
What has inspired your latest album? GG: Our last album had a lot of orchestral arrangements and there was a real urge between the four of us to strip the sound back and become a four-piece band again. With that in mind we started to go for long drives at night along the New Forest, making music to soundtrack the journey. We built the record from the ground up and it was just a case of being inspired by the environment opposed to any concerns about writing a single. We banned the words ‘single’ and ‘commercial’ from the studio. R: We used to do it all the time; we would say: “I think this one’s a single”, which makes you approach making music differently. We spent a lot of time in Southampton, reacquainting ourselves with the city and each other again, which does come through on the record. The result is a much more personal and honest sound.
How have you found the audience’s response to your new material so far? GG: We’ve found that people who wouldn’t have liked our previous stuff have been positive about the new album. They’re responding to the fact that it’s a more personal record – they’re getting from it more from us as individuals then a commodity. So far, the people who have heard our record think it’s the best one. R: The new tracks are going down just as well as our old stuff. It’s a great feeling when the roar for a new song is as enthusiastic as for an old song, like ‘Long Time Coming’.
How do you think your sound has evolved over the years? GG: The first album sounds like a beach, the second album sounds like a club, the third album sounds like a festival and this album sounds like the forest, with the roots growing underneath the city at night making the buildings shake whilst you’re asleep. The first album is quite delicate because we recorded that before we toured so there was a certain amount of discovery. For the second album we worked with Graham Sutton who is genius producer; he brought a real club edge to the record which had a raw but beautiful precision about it. R: We wrote the third album with the approach that it would be amazing at a festival; it’s big and bombastic and sounds like you’re playing it to 100,000 people rather then making a record for headphones. GG: This album’s much more abstract; you can hear this on a beach in Scandinavia at two in the morning with mist flowing in the morning. We were trying to create a record which maintained a mood and an atmosphere which carries you into different surroundings. I think the best records take you to different worlds and that’s what we tried to emulate. R: It’s not necessarily one genre of music. There’s a certain atmosphere which you can’t quite put your finger on, but it works for late night drives with aerial views over the city.
What’s your proudest achievement to date? GG: To me it’s the fact that we’re about to release our fourth album and our songs are still playing on the radio. Very few bands get to make four albums so that makes me feel very proud. We’ve been around since 2004 and we’ve managed to sustain and grow our fan base in a way that has been pure because there is no hype now around what we do.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever played? R: I’ve been going to Glastonbury for years so to play there was amazing. I was really ill on the day and I came so close to calling the others to say I couldn’t do it, but by the time it came to going on stage I’d never felt so healthy in all my life – Glastonbury has that effect, it wakes you up. There was another time when we played in Mexico City; we were headlining on one of the nights at a festival called ‘Manifest’ and we had no idea how big it was going to be. There were 6,000 people crammed into a wrestling/bullfighting arena all chanting ‘Delays, Delays!”. We were slightly in shock for the first couple of numbers.
Did you have any ridiculous demands on your rider in the early days that you don’t feel embarrassed about fessing up to now? R: I don’t think our rider has changed much since the start; just the same stuff: vodka, beer, water bottles. In the beginning we did have one thing that we thought would be great to collect, which was to have a picture of the local mayor from every town where we played. The only one we got in the end was from Gloucester where they gave us a picture of the town crier which they also got signed – that was ace!
Now that you have played with your long-term idols the Manic Street Preachers, who would you most like to support? GG: I always come back to Prince. I’m also pretty obsessed with Scott Walker at the moment – he’s the musician I most admire. I’m not sure how we’d go down with his audience but he’s awesome. R: It’s still The (Rolling) Stones for me. Apparently we did get an offer to support them in Vienna about three years ago but we were already booked in for a festival in Wales on the same day. GG:Keith Richards is pretty much top of the tree when it comes to rock and roll. Hopefully the opportunity will come up again…
Delays release their fourth album ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel on 21st June 2010 on Lookout Mountain Records, preceded by the debut track ‘Unsung’ on 14th June.
Written by Kat Phan on Thursday June 10th, 2010 8:37 pm
Most bands have a limited shelf life, information pills especially the ones who are hyped. Although a review like: “The first band in a decade to lay serious claim to The Stone Roses throne” (The Guardian) can put you in good stead while you’re starting out, for sale it can also set you en route Destination Doomsville, burdening you with a reputation you simply can’t live up to.
British indie rock band Delays have so far managed to defy the odds. They have gone from strength to strength, following the release of their debut album ‘Faded Seaside Glamour’ in 2004. Six years on, the four-piece are set to release their forth record, ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel’ produced by Duncan Lewis.
In a tiny room in the basement of music venue Water Rats in King’s Cross – decorated with blue and white fairy lights, a few old shelves and an enormous brightly coloured abstract painting – I join spiritual frontman Greg Gilbert (GG) and down-to-earth drummer Rowly (R) before they take to the stage at their sold out London gig, to talk about their latest album, town criers and livin’ it up at Glastonbury over lime-flavoured Doritos…
How would you describe your new album in three words? GG: Rustic, organic and psychedelic R: I don’t like organic, it sounds a bit vegetably GG: OK then; rustic, psychedelic and melancholic R: Yeah, that sounds better – I second that emotion GG: Or we could say “Our. Best. Album” – three words – succinct and to the point
What has inspired your latest album? GG: Our last album had a lot of orchestral arrangements and there was a real urge between the four of us to strip the sound back and become a four-piece band again. With that in mind we started to go for long drives at night along the New Forest, making music to soundtrack the journey. We built the record from the ground up and it was just a case of being inspired by the environment opposed to any concerns about writing a single. We banned the words ‘single’ and ‘commercial’ from the studio. R: We used to do it all the time; we would say: “I think this one’s a single”, which makes you approach making music differently. We spent a lot of time in Southampton, reacquainting ourselves with the city and each other again, which does come through on the record. The result is a much more personal and honest sound.
How have you found the audience’s response to your new material so far? GG: We’ve found that people who wouldn’t have liked our previous stuff have been positive about the new album. They’re responding to the fact that it’s a more personal record – they’re getting from it more from us as individuals then a commodity. So far, the people who have heard our record think it’s the best one. R: The new tracks are going down just as well as our old stuff. It’s a great feeling when the roar for a new song is as enthusiastic as for an old song, like ‘Long Time Coming’.
How do you think your sound has evolved over the years? GG: The first album sounds like a beach, the second album sounds like a club, the third album sounds like a festival and this album sounds like the forest, with the roots growing underneath the city at night making the buildings shake whilst you’re asleep. The first album is quite delicate because we recorded that before we toured so there was a certain amount of discovery. For the second album we worked with Graham Sutton who is genius producer; he brought a real club edge to the record which had a raw but beautiful precision about it. R: We wrote the third album with the approach that it would be amazing at a festival; it’s big and bombastic and sounds like you’re playing it to 100,000 people rather then making a record for headphones. GG: This album’s much more abstract; you can hear this on a beach in Scandinavia at two in the morning with mist flowing in the morning. We were trying to create a record which maintained a mood and an atmosphere which carries you into different surroundings. I think the best records take you to different worlds and that’s what we tried to emulate. R: It’s not necessarily one genre of music. There’s a certain atmosphere which you can’t quite put your finger on, but it works for late night drives with aerial views over the city.
What’s your proudest achievement to date? GG: To me it’s the fact that we’re about to release our fourth album and our songs are still playing on the radio. Very few bands get to make four albums so that makes me feel very proud. We’ve been around since 2004 and we’ve managed to sustain and grow our fan base in a way that has been pure because there is no hype now around what we do.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever played? R: I’ve been going to Glastonbury for years so to play there was amazing. I was really ill on the day and I came so close to calling the others to say I couldn’t do it, but by the time it came to going on stage I’d never felt so healthy in all my life – Glastonbury has that effect, it wakes you up. There was another time when we played in Mexico City; we were headlining on one of the nights at a festival called ‘Manifest’ and we had no idea how big it was going to be. There were 6,000 people crammed into a wrestling/bullfighting arena all chanting ‘Delays, Delays!”. We were slightly in shock for the first couple of numbers.
Did you have any ridiculous demands on your rider in the early days that you don’t feel embarrassed about fessing up to now? R: I don’t think our rider has changed much since the start; just the same stuff: vodka, beer, water bottles. In the beginning we did have one thing that we thought would be great to collect, which was to have a picture of the local mayor from every town where we played. The only one we got in the end was from Gloucester where they gave us a picture of the town crier which they also got signed – that was ace!
Now that you have played with your long-term idols the Manic Street Preachers, who would you most like to support? GG: I always come back to Prince. I’m also pretty obsessed with Scott Walker at the moment – he’s the musician I most admire. I’m not sure how we’d go down with his audience but he’s awesome. R: It’s still The (Rolling) Stones for me. Apparently we did get an offer to support them in Vienna about three years ago but we were already booked in for a festival in Wales on the same day. GG:Keith Richards is pretty much top of the tree when it comes to rock and roll. Hopefully the opportunity will come up again…
Delays release their fourth album ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel on 21st June 2010 on Lookout Mountain Records, preceded by the debut track ‘Unsung’ on 14th June.
Written by Kat Phan on Thursday June 10th, 2010 8:37 pm