UK folk-pop duo memorial have released their new single, Fake Moon. We asked them the BIG questions . . .
Ollie Spalding and Jack Watts have already won comparisons with Simon & Garfunkel, Sufjan Stevens and Kings of Convenience and their self-titled debut album is out on April 29.
Speaking about the new single, Ollie said, "Fake Moon was written at a time in my life when nothing was going right! I was fully dedicated to writing music for so long that when I stopped and looked around me I realised I was older and more lost than ever.
"Pretty much all my friends were in meaningful and healthy relationships, and I was yearning for the same thing, but also felt as though I was too busy to ever hold anything down.
"I was in a rut, just hitting my mid-20s. That's when the movies and stories say you’ll be settling down and having kids! The pressures of expectation can really drag on young people.
"It feels there’s such a short window of time to materialise these things or achieve success, that if you don’t feel ready at that moment, it’ll never happen. It’s those circumstances that amount to such a low feeling. Together it makes a really interesting viewpoint."
Tell us three things about yourselves . . .
Oliver - I love gardening. I’m obsessed with the duckbill platypus. I’m actually a reiki trainee and hope to open my own reiki business one day!
Jack - I'm a hypocrite to my younger self. Really enjoying the audiobooks experience. I really like creating designs.
How would you describe your music?
Gentle outpourings, kind of old school, but inspired by contemporary alt folk.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Oliver - A few big ones are Pinegrove, Gene Clarke, Big Thief, Leonard Cohen.
Jack - We like a lot of the same stuff, also really like Lomelda, The Milk Carton Kids and Radiohead.
What was the first gig you ever went to and the first record you ever bought/downloaded?
Oliver - My first gig was Band Of Horses and it totally blew my mind! However, I can’t take all the credit it was down to my friends' cool parents. I think that show had a lot to do with my direction in music.
In terms of first records, I was always given CDs as presents growing up, so I never bought anything till I was in my teens. I think it was Johnny Flynn’s debut record - A Larum. That record totally changed my life and I remember seeing him live at St. George’s Church in Brighton chaperoned by my mum and totally freaking out! I really felt at home in that crowd and in that scene, I knew it was something I wanted to do immediately!
Jack - Really wish this could have been cooler, but my first gig was 30 Seconds to Mars, and I also entered my first mosh pit and was comically head butted straight away. First from left, then from right lol. Fell down, got back up and left to recover in the foyer! First album was Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams. It could have been a cooler option but to be honest I’m not even ashamed of it, I really liked it, played it over and over and just liked how it made me feel at that age. I don’t think I’ve listened to it in like 15 years though, but when Banana Pancakes comes on, I still know all the words. Sue me.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Oliver - My favourite song right now is probably Lodine by Pinegrove from their new album 11:11, mixed by Chris Walla from the original Death Cab For Cutie line-up (whom I loved growing up). This song is nostalgic and beautiful especially to people who like that jangly beauty of death cab mixed in with an alt country hug.
Jack - My favourite song right now would have to be Swedish Water by Chartreuse. They’re one of the first bands in so long to give me that complete hunger to return to their music and never get tired. It’s genuinely an honour to know them and the world should know them.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Oliver - Famous Blue Raincoat by Leonard Cohen. "Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes I thought it was there for good, so I never tried". This lyric is so powerful, and it says so much in just a few lines it makes the hairs on my neck stand. But you don’t need me to tell you Leonard Cohen is a genius.
Jack - There’s too many, but my CURRENT one is from Anything by Adrianne Lenker. "I don’t want to be the owner of your fantasy, I just want to be a part of your family". She’s so good at saying so much so concisely. Each line has its own backstory in that song.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life what would it be?
Oliver - Boots of Spanish Leather by Bob Dylan is probably the only song I can’t ever get bored of! There’s a certain emotion about it that almost feels like a piece of warm captured memory. Dylan’s recorded emotive performance here is the most magical thing I’ve ever heard.
Jack - Jeff Buckley has been a tear in my soul since I was 18 (lol) and I think it would have to be Satisfied Mind from Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk. At uni, I was getting into vinyl and whenever I felt stressed, anxious, upset and all the other emotions under that sort of blanket. I’d put that on, lay on the floor and have my speakers either side of my head and listen to it through. If it didn’t make me feel calmer, I’d play it over until it did! I’ve always associated that song with meditation and gratitude.
Where can people find your music/more information?
On all the usual platforms Spotify, Apple, Tidal and YouTube. We’re active on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Facebook. We also have a mailing list, available to sign up to on our website.
