MUSIC: HARRI LARKIN

The summer’s shaping up nicely for genreblending Sheffield indie-funk-pop-punk pioneers Harri Larkin. Following the release of their latest earworm, ‘Dopamine’, lead singer Harri popped by for a natter about new music, changing influences and a busy upcoming festival season.

Hello! How are Harri Larkin getting on?

Really good, thanks! New doors have opened for us lately, and we’ve decided to create a brand new ‘Harri Larkin Unplugged’ set alongside the full band to keep us entertained.

Oscar has traded in his bass for an acoustic guitar and my girlfriend, Abi, has started singing with us too. Now when we do a headline we combine both full band and unplugged sets to make it more of a show. The response has been amazing.

The new track ‘Dopamine’ came out on 26th May. What can you tell us about it and why did you choose this as your first release of 2023?

I wrote ‘Dopamine’ at a key point in my musical development. I was living in Bristol and there was a bunch of avant-garde jazz-inspired artists around me.

At the same time I was doing my own thing and heavily into 90s grunge bands like Hole and obviously Nirvana, Soundgarden… I can hear both of those influences very clearly when I listen to ‘Dopamine’.

On that note, how would you sum up the Harri Larkin sound at the minute? It's clearly a mix but what sort of influences inform it?

It’s always changing. If you listen to ‘Bonfire Toffee’ you would say indie, put on ‘Sugar Rush’ and you would say pop/funk. ‘Pennywise’ I’ve had people describe as country punk, so I’ve realised it’s best to say we are an “alternative” band because as soon as people think they understand what’s coming I’ll throw a curveball.

How does this single fit into the larger narrative or concept of an upcoming EP, if you have one in the works?

The narrative of our music is that we will continually bend and blend genres to make songs that are out of the ordinary. No two singles will vibe the same and even though this is a heavier sound than our previous releases we could literally take this band in any direction.

How do you feel your sound has evolved or grown since your debut album Beach City? I have definitely matured in my writing, I assume it’s because I am a fundamentally better musician than when I was writing Beach City. Having D and Oscar on the last two recordings has changed the songs, for sure. Oscar decided the final chorus in ‘Dopamine’ needed a Latin groove – and that’s very Oscar! He did it and it’s on the record. All three of us have very strong musical personalities which leads to the constant evolution of our sound.

Congrats on winning the Tramlines Apply to Play competition earlier this month. How much does this mean to you as a band?

THANK YOU! It’s such a huge deal. We don’t claim to sell loads of tickets or have thousands of followers and streams, so for these massive things to keep happening to us is a bit unheard of.

The only reason we are here is because people can see that we have something a bit different and they see the potential. The fact we were put forward by our local BBC Introducing show and then picked by John Kennedy himself is really special.

Looking ahead, what can fans anticipate from your band in the near future? Are there any other exciting projects or collaborations on the horizon? We will keep the tunes coming, that’s for sure, and I can confirm we have a massive summer anthem on the way that will be out in time for festival season. I have indeed finished recording a collaboration with an incredibly talented local artist, which we cannot wait to share with you when the time comes.

People can catch us this summer playing Long Division, 110 Above, OTHR, Tramlines, Truck and Victorious Festival.

Oh yeah, and I built us a website find everything you need to know – gig dates, tickets, music, releases, all at www. harrilarkin.com.

@harri_larkin