INTERVIEW: Honeyblood

After a packed out, raucous set on Friday at Bestival, Honeyblood’s Stina Tweeddale kindly took time out of her only full festival of the summer to chat to us about album plans, polite fans and ideal lineups… 

So we’re getting to the end of festival season – how’s it been treating you so far?

Really, really good. We’ve done like 30 festivals including big ones and inner city ones. It’s been a whole range of different stuff, and different acts playing each one.

And what’s your favourite that you’ve played so far?

Well I chose this one to come to, so like we made a plan that this would be our last festival of the season and it’s the only one I’m staying the whole weekend at.

It’s definitely worth it! Who are you really excited to see?

We came for Missy Elliott. I missed loads of acts we wanted to see yesterday because we were playing so I missed Tame Impala which I’m absolutely gutted about and I missed them up in Scotland as well so that was annoying.

Well I caught your set yesterday and it was really good. Your album came out 2013 – what are your plans now? Is there a new album on the way?

Yeah we’ve started recording the second album already, we’ve been doing it in bits between doing this. And we’re going to record it properly during this year at some point, so we can get it out next year – spring time probably!

How do you go about writing, then? Do you write between playing? Is there any particular method to it?

We kind of have to, to be honest. The first album was just me writing all the songs in my room but this album it’s been like writing songs wherever I can. I just squeeze them in and we get practice studio whenever we can.

I suppose it’s different when you have deadlines and stuff. A first album’s always going to be different if it’s not exactly planned.

Yeah exactly. It took me two years to write that first album – this one I’m doing in 4 months.

Oh wow, so it’s a totally different process. I’ve noticed that a lot of smaller bands have begun to build up a big live atmosphere before releasing albums. Do you feel like you’ve done the same and does it help when it comes to releases?

Yeah I think so. When we released the album we were able to do a headline tour that was pretty much sold out. That was the UK and Europe. It was great because we’d been touring the UK consistently before with support slots as well. It works for us because technically we’re a rock band – I think it’s so important for it to be live.

Of course. It’s a totally different experience. Have you got tour plans for the end of the year then?

No, that’s done for now! We’ve got a headline show at home which is exciting and we’ll do a couple of one off shows maybe but it’s just about getting the album finished now. Then next year when we release the album we’ll go on tour again. And we’ll do the whole thing again, we’ll do festivals and we’ll be on tour forever. And then we’ll record another album…

But that’s why you do it surely! And you’re based in Glasgow – do you find hometown shows more popular?

Yeah, I love playing at home! It feels special because that’s where it started but we’re lucky because we have a crowd in all the cities we’ve played before.

How do you find touring around Europe? Is it at all daunting?

We’re quite rowdy so I kind of expect our crowds to be rowdy too and just have fun – we like to rile them up a bit. We played a show in Stockholm and we’d been told before that they’re really polite but I was trying to get this guy on stage and he kept saying no. I was like ‘COME ON’ and he didn’t want to and afterwards his face dropped like I’d embarrassed him in front of everyone but that’s not what I wanted to do.

Yeah you just want everyone to enjoy it! Just to finish off – if you could be part of any festival lineup who would you want to headline alongside you?

Oh my god, I don’t know. Us and then PJ Harvey. I think that’d be really cool.

I’d certainly come! Well thanks very much to chatting to us and enjoy your weekend!

Thanks – you too!

Melissa Svensen
@MelYeaahh

Melissa Svensen

Melissa Svensen

Melissa, 22. Editor. Student, music journalist, probably talking about Blur or Bowie