Childhood has been working the underground festival circuit for the past few years. Since then they’ve been on the radar of every decent radio show host, including our very own Jarvis Cocker!
Kicking off the UK tour – their debut album Lacuna is out now – I managed to catch up with Ben and Leo ahead of their show at the legendary Leadmill. Join us as we talk smashing tea-cups, getting nervous and the reason behind that all-important band name.
TSN: First of all, explain the band name...
B: It stemmed from a drunken idea I had one night. We both went to the University of Nottingham and I was trying to convince Leo to be in a band with me. We didn’t have any songs but I knew I wanted to be in a band called Childhood. It was a fun way to start really.
TSN: Congratulations on your debut album Lacuna. How is this different to some of your previous low-fi stuff?
L: It’s very different I guess. We worked for a long time with a record producer in a real recording studio.
B: But we still kept the spirit of rough and ready recordings, just done in a more professional and knowledgeable way.
L: And it was more experimental.
B: We opened up mentally, in this crazy elaborate studio where we felt we could make a racket.
TSN: It seems you had a lot of creative control in making the album.
B: Definitely. We did a lot of things we could have done at home – smashing bottles, tapping on tea cups and just making weird noises out of furniture. Dan was an integral part of finding different angles and different ways we could record stuff.
TSN: You’re playing Sheffield tonight. What can we expect from your performance?
B: It’s hard to say really.
L: We haven’t played for a while, but it should be an energetic and thrilling experience.
B: Yeah we have!
L: Not in the UK.
B: Oh yeah… I like this wall here {the dressing room has a wall covered in music magazine cuttings}. It’s quite intriguing…look at that, a Reading Festival weekend ticket for £20!
TSN: So what do you enjoy most about live performances?
B: I think we all enjoy it but we all take something different from it. I personally prefer being in the studio, because I like making songs. It sounds like I don’t enjoy it but I do, obviously. I love giving it my all.
L: There’s nothing better than when a crowd is giving back. If you are giving your all, they do give back. Hopefully, we’ll see some of that tonight.
B: With live shows, it’s more unpredictable and that is part of the excitement but for me, it’s quite daunting. At least with studio sessions, you know what you are getting.
TSN: You’ve been doing this a while now, do you still get nervous?
B: I always get nervous.
L: Yeah! Especially when it comes to big gigs. We’re playing Brixton Academy with Johnny Marr in a few weeks, that’s quite nerve racking.
B: I find it hard to distinguish the difference being nervous and being excited. They kind of intertwine. I think not being nervous is kind of arrogant…
TSN: So what if things hadn’t worked out – what if Leo hadn’t said yeah on that drunken night?
B: I would probably do something basic like bar work. That’s what I was doing when I left Uni anyway. If I wasn’t in a band I’d probably try and set up my own label. Something quite pure and musical.
L: I’d like to think I’d be doing the same. I’ve never had a proper job. This is the first job, if you can call it that, that I’ve had in my life.
TSN: Childhood has been compared to the likes of Savages and the Stone Roses. Where do your influences come from?
B: We just listen to a lot of bands together. Leo introduced me to more modern guitar music. We’ve never tried to make a certain sound or be like a certain band.
L: We just wanted to recreate the feeling we got from listening to that music, in our own music.
B: Yeah, we have a lot of shared interests, from 80’s and 90’s pop music to modern guitar music and classic songwriting musicians. But we try to take a new scope on it.
TSN: If you could have written any song what would it be?
B: I don’t know. That’s a good question – I think it would probably be Hello it’s Me by Tom London.
L: Pure Shores by All Saints. Maybe I could re-imagine it.
B: That’s a good shout!
TSN: And finally, if you hosted your own panel show who would be your three dream guests?
B: Wait! I know, Richard Pryor and Bjork. Who else would I have? Paul Kaye as...Paul Kaye.
TSN: Right guys, thank you for speaking with me. Best of luck with your performance tonight!
** Please note: This post has been added and back-dated to the original time of publishing. Originally published in print for H Magazine. I thought you still might like to read it. **
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