Boy Azooga Having drummed in various bands around Cardiff over
Do you try and work your songs around bass lines then?
the past decade, Davey Newington stands on the brink of releasing an album through his band, Boy Azooga, that’s
Yeah definitely, especially with ‘Face Behind A Cigarette’ I
been in the pipeline for almost a decade. June 8th will see
had the bass line and I just thought I’d decorate some stuff
‘1,2 Kung Fu!’ released into the wild and we chatted to
around this bass line now; while ‘Loner Boogie’ I gave
Davey about his move from the drum kit, his love of Kevin
myself a rule where I was just gonna write a song on one
Parker and the album’s prominent bass lines.
string so the whole riff I wouldn’t let myself use the other strings on the guitar so that again started off as bass line.
As it’s been so long in the pipeline, has the album got a theme to it?
How do you feel when you hear your songs on the radio?
I was more thinking about it in the way of a mixtape, which
I’m super flattered that people are playing it; it’s definitely
sounds quite cliche but I just wanted to put a record out that
underestimated, the power of the radio, because I don’t
was influenced by the bands I was into at the time. A couple
think people would be coming to the gigs if they hadn’t
of the songs come back on themselves on the record, I really
heard the songs on the radio. When we did The Magic Gang
like The Avalanches and the way both their records feel like
tour it’s really lame but I got choked up, we played the
a proper journey and the music ebbs and flows. It’s stuff
Electric Ballroom on the last night of the tour and there was
that with repeated listens you’d notice, it’s really thematic.
this kid and he had a Boy Azooga t-shirt and he ran to the
There’s definitely themes on the record but they’re not
front, screaming the words of ‘Loner Boogie’ to me and I
really intense, I wasn’t too conscience of it being a concept
just thought I was that kid! I used to go see The Cribs and
record it was more like I knew how I wanted it to be rather
Foo Fighters and I’d always be at the front so I was thinking
then just a collection of songs.
this is really weird but I honestly think that wouldn’t happen if we hadn’t had the radio plays and we’re really
The bass lines on the album are very prominent, was it
grateful for it.
weird coming from the drum kit picking up a bass and having it be a huge part of the album?
We’re entering festival season so which festival are you most looking forward to playing?
It was yeah, like I did drums first and then the guitar when I was about 12 but I didn’t really get into the bass.
That’s really hard, Green Man was the one I dreamt of playing and I go with my girlfriend every year. I’d played
Bass is apparently the uncool instrument…
drums with Charlotte Church and her pop dungeon she did and we played at Green Man and that was sick but I needed
Exactly, but it’s also the most badass one and the one that
to do it with Boy Azooga and we hadn’t really jammed or
affects people the most. I was kind of late to it but Kevin
anything yet. Last year we got asked to do it so we opened
Parker was definitely a huge inspiration in that because his
up the Far Out Stage and that was insane.
bass lines are unbelievable and it’s clearly thought out, it’s not just a random part.
Boy Azooga play Latitude Festival on Saturday, July 14 - The Lake Stage
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Words by Callum McCormack, illustration by Joe Gamble
