| MUSIC |
| MUSIC | HOW HAS YOUR MUSIC DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS? ‘Imminent Room’ is my debut solo record. It’s the first time I’ve ever written a body of work entirely alone, and I massively enjoyed being my own boss, pleasing myself and generally not giving a flying whatever about what people made of it. WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR MUSIC CONVEYS? It’d be nice if people who listened to my music were inspired to be creative, via whatever outlet that may be. Lyrically I’ve expressed myself through exploring my own relationships and life experiences – what else do I know? I’m in no way attempting to be anybody’s role model or control anyone’s thoughts, and I really don’t care if people hate my music. I don’t see the point in writing music to please everyone but leaving yourself unsatisfied. I make the music I personally want to hear. I make no apologies for that.
Erica Nockall
“Music has always fascinated, entertained and inspired me, even at an incredibly young age”... WHERE WERE RAISED AND WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW? I’m a Yorkshire lass [who] grew up in a small farming village right on the border of North Lincolnshire [England]. I now live in the middle of nowhere in an old barn at the foot of a mountain range in deepest South Shropshire [England] with my partner in crime (both musical and otherwise), Miles Hunt [head honcho with The Wonder Stuff]. Picture lush green rolling hills, sheep, and local pubs serving up homemade pies and real ale. WHEN DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN MUSIC? Music has always fascinated, entertained and inspired me, even at an incredibly young age. Some of my earliest memories are of my father, who is a classical guitarist, playing to me before I went to sleep, instead of reading bedtime stories. WHAT/WHO WERE YOUR EARLIEST MUSICAL INFLUENCES? My Dad was keen for me to take up guitar, but the moment he played [Nigel] Kennedy’s version of [Vivaldi’s] ‘Four Seasons’ to me, that was it. I pestered my parents until I got my own violin, which, to my delight, arrived on my seventh birthday.
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WHAT INFLUENCES YOU NOW? Musically, anything that’s angular yet melodic: [David] Bowie’s a good example of writing progressive pop/rock in this way. WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST DRIVING FORCE? The desire to express myself eloquently and also the urge to explain to the world that music doesn’t have to be bland - it IS possible to have challenging music (lyrically, audibly and visually) that is simultaneously accessible to a great number of people. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC? [It’s] creative, unusual, tuneful, dark, sometimes aggressive, often tongue-in-cheek, emotional, coherent, visceral, and hedonistic. Tonally it’s a treat in the headphones [because the] production is overall pretty shiny, using consistently contradictory instrument couplings (church choirs and gruff guest metal backing vocals from Jeff Walker of Carcass, mixed over a drum ’n’ bass drum beat and cellos). On paper it sounds hellish, but it genuinely works. Once you stop trying to put my music under genre umbrella terms, my music all makes perfect sense.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST PIVOTAL MOMENT OF YOUR MUSIC CAREER TO DATE? Waking up totally skint one morning as a student at Birmingham [UK] Conservatoire in 2005 and deciding to make the trip to Stratford Upon Avon to busk, where I was spotted by The Wonder Stuff’s producer. Shortly after, that band took me on my first tour bus tour and showed me that a career in the world of a rock band is the one I wanted to pursue, and I was good at it. From that moment I realised you need to show a little initiative if you’re going to make something of yourself, and those who do are able to achieve the seemingly impossible. I’ve played to many big audiences now and met and shared stages with some pretty incredible musicians, but choosing music over bar work as a student set me on a path I’m now very happy with. WHAT DO YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR THE NEAR FUTURE? I’ve turned a creative tap on by writing this first album of mine, and it doesn’t show signs of letting up anytime soon. I’ve just started work on my second album, so ideally I want to get that recorded, gig as much as possible with my live band, and continue to make music videos. I oil paint too and have a few commissions to see to, so I’m going to enjoy spending time on those.
“Some of my earliest memories are of my father, who is a classical guitarist, playing to me before I went to sleep, instead of reading bedtime stories”..... Art! The Magazine | 43