Most festivals have a “new bands” element of some sort or another, but the Green Man really seemed to put a lot into programming and promoting their up-and-coming acts, and the artists they featured on the Green Man Rising stage were not only very varied in style but generally of a great quality. So I caught up with five of them to find out how it went and get to know them and their music a bit better. As well as Wyldest, the shoegaze/noise duo who won the Green Man Rising competition and got to open the main stage, I chatted to skronkin’ stripped back punk rock purveyor Charles Howl, experimental soundscape artist Eva Bowan, darkly playful producer/multi-instrumentalist Syd Kemp, and snakey-basslined indie/psych charmers Memory Clinic. So come on in and meet some of your new favourite bands (or mine, at least)…

Memory Clinic

[Phil, Sam and Alex; Jake had disappeared… Answers are the general consensus, apart from those attributed to a specific person]

How has your Green Man been?

Great. It was really good to play to a big crowd, definitely a good turnout. Apart from that, it’s been very messy. A lot of Southern Comfort. But it’s been great. It’s been awesome, a very good festival. We’ve ben wanting to come here for ages but actually having the opportunity to play here has been incredible. It’s a great place to have a festival.

Are you festival fans in general, and what is your most memorable experience at one?

Love festivals, yeah. Glastonbury 2009, watching Blur headline the Pyramid Stage, I still think that’s the best thing I’ve ever seen. I remember Damon Albarn when he finished playing “The Universal” and he literally just fell to his knees and just started crying – and it just felt like such an emotional moment: “Yes Damon, you psychopath, this is great!”.

Where are you from, how long have you been playing together, and how did you come together as a band?

We’re from North Wales, and we’ve been playing together about 2 years. We were all in different bands, then we became friends and now we’ve merged into something beautiful. Or so we believe, anyway.

You’ve got a strong emphasis on the bass – do you see Alex as a joint frontman?

Phil: He absolutely is. Usually, they tell me to go in the middle and I say “No, you go in the middle mate”.

Looks like you’re enjoying yourself though, Alex?

Alex: Yeah you’ve got to enjoy yourself – use the space, I guess. I take a lot of inspiration from bands that are really energetic onstage; it’s boring if you go and see a band that just stand there. I mean, it’s very much about the music but you want to see a show as well, it’s important to make sure everyone’s excited.

Is your songwriting process in that same collaborative vein as well, rather than it all coming from the lyricist/singer?

Phil: It has been more recently, especially in terms of instrumentation. I’ll write the songs – the lyrics, chord progressions – and I’ll bring it into practice and the guys might have different ideas and say “No, I think it should end this way instead”.

Do you speak Welsh, and have you ever thought about singing in Welsh?

Phil: Yep! Well, I dabble, Sam tries… I’ve written, like, one song in Welsh. I find it easier to write in English, probably because I listen to more English music. I also read a lot in English, I love books. Literature is definitely a favourite of mine. I very much like American literature. Americans are regularly associated with being poor at sarcasm, whereas if you read American literature it is apparent that they have a good grasp of sarcasm and the the humour is very dark. I love Catcher In The Rye, that’s one of my favourites, it’s an obvious choice but there’s something very funny about it – he has a very distasteful view on the world.

Who are your biggest Welsh influences?

Racehorses, who have now sadly split up. Gorki’s Zycotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals; I think, as well, John Cale is perhaps the coolest musician to have come out of Wales. To be associated with the Velvet Underground, I think that’s pretty cool.

What has been the highlight of your year, and what are you looking forward to in the near future?

Other than Green Man, it has to be releasing “General Neglect”, our latest single. That was pretty cool. It was a total DIY effort: recorded it in our friend’s bedroom and stuck it on soundcloud. There’s no point sitting about waiting for someone else to do it for you, you’ve got to be driven.

Where can we catch you live next?

Gwyl Gwydir, which means Gwydir Festival, near Betws-y-Coed in Wales.

Is there anything else you’d like to get out there, about what you’re up to in the near future?

Erm… Can someone give us 50 quid so we can release our next single? No, seriously, look out for another single. We’ll be recording something soon. We’re going to be taking a bit of a gigging hiatus, but we’re definitely going to keep on going. It’d be silly to stop now, especially after playing the Green Man!

Find out more: https://www.facebook.com/MemoryClinic