Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
MARC: I grew up in a multi-cultural household where klezmer, Verdi and sixties pop were all blaring from different rooms simultaneously. I think my entire musical life has just been an attempt to reconcile these
LUCY: I had a music teacher, Mr Grainger, who saw something. He let me sing something unaccompanied one year, I must have been about seven. Hearing my voice hit the far end of the building and come back was a quickening moment for me. I realised that was a lot of power and agency to give a child, to stop a room and have everyone listen. I’ve not forgotten that agency.
PETER: A good mixture of Motown and the Beach Boys would be the soundtrack to most of our family car trips. It was only when my father bought me my first synth whilst on a business trip that my taste started spreading into synthpop acts like Japan, Soft Cell and Yazoo. I could now play the riffs from the records I liked, then I wanted to know how to record them one on top of the other.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Haniver”?
MARC: ‘Bitter Almond’ has an inherently immersive and cinematic quality. The songs enrich each other, and there’s a real arc to the album which is spellbindingly shaped through Peter’s ambient production. To really get it, it’s best experienced in one, uninterrupted sitting.
LUCY: Organically. I don’t think there is any merit to forcing likes or followers. I feel we’re at a point in life where we’re not desperate to impress anyone, we know ourselves, and that’s grounding. Music is deeply relational. I trust people will find us who sense that and want an authentic exchange and connection.
PETER: We gave the order great consideration and would encourage a listening session (I bet everyone says that!)
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
MARC: Angine de Poitrine or David Byrne. I find if I write a little every day, something always emerges over time that reflects my obsessions
LUCY: I’m bloody loving Angine de Poitrine as well. Khn and Klek have incredible energy. It reminded me of all my heroes from the 70s; early Talking Heads, The Fall, Devo, Can. Just in their element and full throttle being themselves. Some people try to copy their heroes but I’m not sure that’s what’s wanted – what’s infectious is more about me finding my own uniqueness and authenticity.
PETER: I’m a +1 for Angine de Poitrine not only musically but their significance in the battle for middle earth with AI. It gives me hope that artists will prioritise originality and creativity over doing what TikTok wants. I find Rival Consoles’ work extremely inspiring technically and find myself trying to figure out how it was programmed. I’ve also developed a facination with Litronix, Electric Panoramic is a masterpiece and quite frankly gives hope to us over 50’s. Always BOC.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Salvation Song.”?
MARC: Lucy showed me the lyrics she’d written for ‘Salvation Song,’ and I was blown away by the symbolism and the pithy way she’d managed to capture birth, death, and everything in between in five exquisite verses. I begged her to let me have a go at setting it to music, and she kindly gave me the go-ahead. Once it had been set, we sat down and talked it through with producer Peter Challis (who had also initiated the project and introduced us). Peter felt it needed both a live choral element and an electronic texture so we went about doing the arrangements and building the sound world to support the epic arc of the song.
LUCY: I had some ideas under my belt, and went to Berlin for a week to Marc’s to test them out. I cranked out seven songs in seven days and four of them are here. Not all songs need to have your life in them, but I realised that the sensation of coming up for air or finding it hard to breathe had happened a number of times. The one episode where my dad literally pulled me from the water was pretty scary – I’d been splashing at the edge of the shore and a big wave came (big for England at any rate) and just dragged me. It was so quick. And in came this huge hand to yank me out. I think a lot of people are finding it hard to keep their chin above water right now. We need someone kind to reach down and hoist us out.
PETER: Nothing to add
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
MARC: Uncanny
LUCY: bittersweet
PETER: Re-amped electronic bittersweetness through a tape echo
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Salvation Song”?
MARC: With the exception of ‘Salvation Song’, Lucy and I wrote independently of each other (and lived in different countries!), so this approach clearly posed a challenge in terms of creating a cohesive album… Peter did an amazing job of fusing our two worlds.
PETER: Our mix engineer, Cesar Lavin brought what felt like his whole studio to mine. We set up a re-amping room underneath the front steps to my house and meticulously re-recorded everything track by track. We didn’t even stop for the building work when the front steps were removed and replaced. I’m surprised to this day that we didn’t get complaints about the noise!
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
MARC: From my perspective there isn’t a singular message, I see the album more as an invitation to find the beauty in the broken bits
LUCY: Be yourself. Be willing to show your mistakes. Be kind. Let the music do the talking.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
MARC: Lucy and Pete, on a new album
LUCY: I was watching David Byrne tour his new show and thinking how great it is to be in your 70s, still putting out exactly what you want and still bringing the same curiosity and workwear energy. I’ve been listening to his music since I was tiny, it was what mum played top volume at home – The Overload. Still get goosebumps.
PETER: Dead or Alive
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
MARC: Keep making work and play the long game
LUCY: Do it yourself. It’s nice if the industry lean in, but don’t wait for them. Retain agency over what you create. I want especially to thank the Girls Twiddling Knobs community, as well as these guys, for being supportive and empowering about teaching yourself and making work when you can.
PETER: Write loads, that’s how happy accidents happen! Record everything; recycle ideas.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
LUCY: Keep faith during the dark times, they will pass if you keep walking
MARC: Don’t bring hot beverages into the studio
PETER: Enforce a “no hot beverages in the studio” policy
