Humans of Wellington: Igloo

Yes, Humans of Wellington is back, yet again.

Considering that the U6th are leaving on such short notice, and not in the manner by which they had planned to, us Wellingtonian Editors have decided to devote this edition’s spotlight to a group of U6th musicians: ‘Igloo.’ The band - consisting of Freddy Gilmore (Hg), Tom Symonds (Bn), Alfie Seymore (H), and Tommy Morris (L) - is a college favourite, and it would be a shame not to highlight them as they leave campus and take their popular music with them. They’ve answered a few questions for us, and their true colours and behind-the-scenes group dynamic certainly shines through… just take a look for yourself, you’ll see.

Freddy: How, and when, did you decide to form the band? - We were drawn together due to our shared interest in obscure and underground music like Imagine Dragons

Tom: How did you come up with the name of the band and the design of your album covers? - The name Igloo came from Fred’s friend’s mum or something like that, and the album art is completely plagiarised from popular Wellington artist, Millie Griffiths, who has never been credited.

Tommy: Why is the name of your band ‘Igloo’ but your Instagram name ‘experimental squirrel’? - What? We have Instagram?

Tommy: In the group, who would you say: A: Is the joker? - Me B: Is the most disruptive? - Tom C: Is the leader? - Me D: Has the worst lid? - The short one. I can’t remember his name?

Alfie: What’s the inspiration behind yoursongs? - My lawyer has advised me to not answer that question

Name your top three favourite artists: Freddy: - Vanilla Ice - Nickelback - Igloo

Tommy: - Jeff Buckley - Kahoot - Lil Pump

Alfie: - Lofi chillhop beats to chill/study to - Backseat - Hannah Montana (NOT Miley Cyrus)

Tom: - Viper - Pitbull - Lil Kevin

Tom: If you could have any famous person listen to your music, who would it be, and why? - It has always been a dream of mine for pop star ‘Cannibal’ to listen to our music.

Alfie: Is the band planning to release anything during lockdown? - Unfortunately, at the time of writing, I am the only active member of Igloo as the rest have all walked out (figuratively, of course; it was on a social distancing FaceTime call). The next release is an entire solo album of me on my bass, with no other instrumentation or vocals. The current working title is ‘Seymour - a life in bass.’

Freddy: Is the band going to stay together once you all graduate from Wellington? - Hopefully not. I find these a real pain to work with, hardly ever turning up to practice and I often get bullied. I really question their musical ability too – especially Tom Symonds. They also make me look vastly under average height.