History of The Hawk
Talk about new release "Ocean" and how it all went down...
How did the band form? The initial concept of the band came from Nathan and Pete wanting to do something with Beckley. Harper and I were coming towards the end of our current band at the time and as we all spent time together at shows and pubs it made sense when we were invited to play with them. With the exception of Beckley we've all played together in various bands over the years so despite HOTH being stylistically different to other things we'd done in the past, it was a very natural thing for us to get into a room and create.
How does it differ from previous material? The only thing our music really differs from is the bands that we were all in previously. I think the thing that works in our favour is that we all have different musical tastes. I mean, we all love a lot of the same bands but when we came together we never consciously went into wanting to sound a certain way or like a particular band. Everything we write is just how it comes out, the whole EP was written super quick in only a few rehearsals, so in that respect we differ more than just sonically from our other bands. It How was the recording of EP "Ocean"? seemed to us that in our previous bands things were The recording of "Ocean" was a very staggered very contrived and took a long time to put together, process; I don't think there were any more than three which was fine back then but these songs are very of us together at any one time throughout the spontaneous and so don't need that kind of drawn out recording of the EP. The drums and vocals were done process. at the rehearsal space/recording studio we use (Temple of Boom in Stourbridge) in separate sessions and in between the guitars and bass were done in What was the most difficult song to compose different houses. I think in hindsight the way it was put lyrically/musically? together really suits the nature of the EP. Honestly I don't think there were any really difficult moments in the writing of this EP, it all came together What was the concept behind it? so quickly that we didn't really have time to worry Conceptually the record is from the perspective of a about which bits were difficult. Because a lot of the person in a mental health unit. It's not based on real music was written before the lyrics there was probably life events but our singer Nathan has worked in a more pressure on Nathan to write something suitable medium-secure hospital unit so a lot of the themes are but with the concept he came up with things worked things that he has experienced in the past. We all out really well. We're currently working on a full length have friends or family that have been in or around record to follow up the EP and I think we're having these kinds of environments so it's not something that more difficulty now than previously because we're we're unfamiliar with. constantly trying to push ourselves to be better musicians and write better songs. Technically speaking, we're writing some of the most challenging music I think a lot of us have been involved in to date, so the bulk of the difficulty stems from rising to the pressure that we're setting each other. I think we can all honestly say that this is the most fun we've had making music in a long time though so we're relishing every moment!
"Ocean" is available for purchase at: http://historyofthehawk.bandcamp.com
If your music were to be adapted into film, what story would it tell? Good luck to anyone trying to do make that film! It's difficult enough to get us to agree on small ideas sometimes, let alone film ideas! We don't think that much about the bigger picture asides from what our creative outlet is at the time. It may be self-deprecating to say but we don't really expect people to make a big deal of us, but it's great when they do! What's your album of the year? That's a difficult question to answer, a lot of our friends have put out some fantastic records this year and a bunch of bands that we like have put out some awesome music this year too. I think if we had to pick one as a band though the latest Retox record 'Ugly Animals' more than qualifies. We recently played with them and their singer Justin did the artwork for the digital version of "Ocean". They're great guys and an amazing band. Would you like to come to Portugal? We would love to come to Portugal, seriously, tell someone to get in touch already! We're in the process of working out some European plans for next year so hopefully there won't be many places left out! Design & Interview: Rick Photos courtesy of History of The Hawk