Interview: Her Make Believe Band

Her Make Believe band sounds like a musical partnership made in a rustic haven: an acoustic guitar, an upright bass and beguiling vocal harmonies all bound in homey matrimony. They are a duo blending acoustic country folk music with jazz, soul and pop, and will undertake a 15-date New Zealand tour to promote their debut release, A.M. Radio, starting at The Wine Cellar on March 25^th. I talk to guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Cy Winstanely at his “pretty damn small” flat in London.

How shit is the weather?

CW: It’s pretty shitty. It’s always pretty shitty—just this incessant grey every single day. It’s been nice for a few days but usually it’s pretty grey. Just this uninspiring kind of landscape in some respects but that’s what it’s like.

How did Her Make Believe Band come about?

I was back in New Zealand for a holiday after being in London for three years. About a month or two prior to coming back, Vanessa and I were in contact over email and Skype. It turned out we were both going to be back at the same time. We met up and… love was in the air.

Is there a frequent song writing process you use?

Not really. I had a bit of a lull for a while last year because we’ve released the album and everything's been pretty hectic after that. Then we came back to New Zealand for a holiday but we ended up doing some gigs which was really neat. The last six months I’ve kicked my song-writing into gear again. I try to write every day for a couple of hours. Coffee has become a fundamental component of my song-writing (laughs). I go for a read for an hour every afternoon then come back and try to write. I start writing the lyrics of a song most of the time. But then sometimes I have a musical idea that would dictate what the song would be about. So it’s varied, I suppose. But lyrics are a core component.

How much a hand does Vanessa have in the song-writing process?

Quite a significant part. I usually play everything to her and she puts in her two cents. I’ll bring a song to the table and she’ll put her own kind of treatment on it, and our combined influence makes it sound a certain way. She’s got an amazing ear, a great sound and a great approach of the way a song should be performed.

You guys also produced this by yourselves.

I think—as an artist—you must get better at [production]. To get a particular sound—getting the sound you really want—is something which you can only get through experience. The record sounds wonderful and it sounds pretty much how we intended it. There were a couple of occasions when the acoustic guitar doesn’t sound exactly how I wanted. But we’ll get better at it for the next album.

Was it therapeutic to make?

No! It was bloody stressful (laughs). It had moments of therapeutic qualities and we had great fun when we were recording at the studio. But it was expensive, especially when we were mixing it. Some of the songs took longer than anticipated and we needed to put in an extra day. That was an extra 400-500 pounds and that’s not pocket money. But it was a fun experience and we had some great sandwiches (laughs).

How different is it performing in London instead of New Zealand?

There are many, many, many bands in London and typically there are 3 to 5 bands on a bill of a gig. In New Zealand, often the bands that are put together on a bill have fans in common because it’s smaller. In London, these bands on a bill have different fan bases and friends from all corners of the city. Often the people won’t be attentive if you’re not the band they are there to see.

A difficult thing is getting people to gigs. It takes so long to get from A to B and it’s not uncommon to spend an hour at least on the tube. 9-to-5 people have got to be at work early, so when the day is done it’s hard to muster your posse up to gigs that are on the other side of London.

Do you have any ideas for your next album?

Yes. We really like playing in a duo and our acoustic sound. Having done the band sound, it might be nice to change it for the acoustic directions in the next album. And record at home as well. We enjoyed the studio experience but it was quite quick and forced due to financial reasons. If we can get a couple of nice mics and work on making the room nicer, then recording at home is the way to go. You don’t lose out so much if you record at home instead of a studio. And you get so much time and it’s so relaxed. It just seems a much more natural way of doing it.

How did your band name come about?

The idea behind Her Make Believe Band is that there’s this little girl and she’s got her little tea party going on. There are some teddy bears and they are playing a game of cards. She’s got Her Make Believe tea set, Her Make Believe card game and... Her Make Believe band. And that is us, playing in her corner.

Be sure to catch their first show of their first NZ tour at The Wine Cellar on March 25^th. They will also play at Nightingales on April 4^th and The Bunker on April 25^th. You can check out their music and buy a copy of A.M. Radio here.