Woman's Hour (Fiona Burgess, William Burgess,
Josh Hunnisett & Nicolas Graves) William Burgess of London-based Women’s Hour took some time to chat about the haunting new band’s upcoming LP on Secretly Canadian. A 7 inch, Her Ghost, comes out March 24, 2014. A debut LP from the synth-heavy pop act is coming soon.
“We are currently putting the final touches to our first LP so hopefully it should be with you in the summer all being well. It's been a long process for us, and one we haven't been keen to rush. A couple of the songs on the record have been in the works for over two years,” says Burgess. “These older songs have informed who we are as a band and given us a musical identity, so they sound cohesive to us with the newer songs. They've all been recorded from the last week of November 2013 up until just about now.”
Woman’s Hour is set to play for the first time in the USA shortly. What do they expect from a USA tour?
“We're expecting to have a lot of fun; it's going to be a new experience for us though. We've never played in America before so we're not going over there thinking anyone cares about us, it's just down to us to work hard and play the best we can and just hope it connects with some people.” he says.
And when Burgess says “people” he means you. Get out to one of these shows if you are lucky enough to have the band playing in your town (current dates are below).
“We are currently putting the final touches to our first LP so hopefully it should be with you in the summer all being well. It's been a long process for us, and one we haven't been keen to rush. A couple of the songs on the record have been in the works for over two years,” says Burgess. “These older songs have informed who we are as a band and given us a musical identity, so they sound cohesive to us with the newer songs. They've all been recorded from the last week of November 2013 up until just about now.”
Woman’s Hour is set to play for the first time in the USA shortly. What do they expect from a USA tour?
“We're expecting to have a lot of fun; it's going to be a new experience for us though. We've never played in America before so we're not going over there thinking anyone cares about us, it's just down to us to work hard and play the best we can and just hope it connects with some people.” he says.
And when Burgess says “people” he means you. Get out to one of these shows if you are lucky enough to have the band playing in your town (current dates are below).
March 11th - 16th South By South West Festival, Austin, Texas
March 17th Bardot, Los Angeles
March 19th Mercury Lounge, New York
March 21st Glasslands, New York
April 3rd The Purcell Rooms, London
April 25th Gulliver's, Manchester
April 26th Cathedral, Sheffield
April 27th Bodega Social Club, Nottingham
May 7th Louisiana, Bristol
May 8th The Great Escape Festival, Brighton
March 17th Bardot, Los Angeles
March 19th Mercury Lounge, New York
March 21st Glasslands, New York
April 3rd The Purcell Rooms, London
April 25th Gulliver's, Manchester
April 26th Cathedral, Sheffield
April 27th Bodega Social Club, Nottingham
May 7th Louisiana, Bristol
May 8th The Great Escape Festival, Brighton
When asked how the band creates “the average” song Burgess is equivocal.
“It's a tough question; we haven't actually tried too hard to analyze how we write because we don't want to formalize the process. We've got a couple of techniques that allow everyone to feel like they've expressed themselves though,” he says. “The main one is that we let everyone push a song as far as they can with their own ideas and then we rein it back in together and sort of trim the fat off it.”
Great now they will be thinking about formulizing and they can BLAME Mapanare for it.
When it comes to recording Woman’s Hour has one piece of gear they consider essential to the recording process—the venerable Roland Juno 60, a synth that first appeared on the market over 30 years ago.
“The arpeggios on that thing are insane and the pads are used in just about everything we do. The inbuilt chorus sounds are a thing of great beauty.” says Burgess.
Making good music isn’t just about the latest gear. There is a great deal to love about middle-aged synths (that are a bit less costly than some of the elderly synths out there).
When it comes to bands that are inspirational to Burgess it is as much about their philosophy, their feel, as their sound.
“Personally any band that is honest and doesn't seem contrived. I know it is a job and everyone wants to make a career out of it,” he says. “But it's also art and if you're bold enough to try and create something new that isn't obviously 'commercial' sounding then I take inspiration from that. Bands and artists like Animal Collective, Wild Beasts, Oneohtrix Point Never and The War On Drugs spring to mind.”
The band, as mentioned, is getting down to finishing their LP. There will also be more touring and stops at festivals. There will also be a great deal of writing in the future.
Keep an eye open for music and shows by Woman’s Hour.
“It's a tough question; we haven't actually tried too hard to analyze how we write because we don't want to formalize the process. We've got a couple of techniques that allow everyone to feel like they've expressed themselves though,” he says. “The main one is that we let everyone push a song as far as they can with their own ideas and then we rein it back in together and sort of trim the fat off it.”
Great now they will be thinking about formulizing and they can BLAME Mapanare for it.
When it comes to recording Woman’s Hour has one piece of gear they consider essential to the recording process—the venerable Roland Juno 60, a synth that first appeared on the market over 30 years ago.
“The arpeggios on that thing are insane and the pads are used in just about everything we do. The inbuilt chorus sounds are a thing of great beauty.” says Burgess.
Making good music isn’t just about the latest gear. There is a great deal to love about middle-aged synths (that are a bit less costly than some of the elderly synths out there).
When it comes to bands that are inspirational to Burgess it is as much about their philosophy, their feel, as their sound.
“Personally any band that is honest and doesn't seem contrived. I know it is a job and everyone wants to make a career out of it,” he says. “But it's also art and if you're bold enough to try and create something new that isn't obviously 'commercial' sounding then I take inspiration from that. Bands and artists like Animal Collective, Wild Beasts, Oneohtrix Point Never and The War On Drugs spring to mind.”
The band, as mentioned, is getting down to finishing their LP. There will also be more touring and stops at festivals. There will also be a great deal of writing in the future.
Keep an eye open for music and shows by Woman’s Hour.
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