interview with The Hare And The Moon
What´s the name of your band? The Hare And The Moon.
How was the band formed? By accident and not design. Some musical meanderings in my home studio that were never intended for a wider audience ended up with our singer adding vocals mostly for fun, somewhat fortuitously. A hesitant posting on ye oldeMyspaceand the rest is history.
Can you tell about your band? We are but two of us. I provide the sound and our singer provides...well, you'll have to guess. Occasionally some lovely people from other bands join us such as Amanda Votta from The Floating World or Wim and Marie (who were Magdalena Solis).
Where are all band members from? Who does what in the band? Our singer hails from a small town in the north of England close to Manchester's dark, satanic mills. I'm from the Highlands of Scotland where we burn people in giant wicker men, mostly for the fun of it but also to keep warm.
What were the ambitions of the band when you started?My intention was to perform old traditional ballads (such as The Child Ballads) but with sympathetic accompaniment, so if a song was about murder it had an appropriate dramatic backdrop or if about ghosts, it was suitably haunted.
Could you explain your music to someone that hasn’t heard you? Spook folk, sounds from the forest, some say folk horror, the sound of a mandolin playing in hell.
Where was your first gig? Alas due to overwhelming stage fright and a lack of extra hands and feet there are no live performances. We also shrivel and wither in bright light so it's a no go I'm afraid.
Who writes your songs? Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Our singer writes the vocal melodies that incorporate traditional ballads (though I may have cheekily written my own 'traditional ballad' on our new album). I then write the musical backdrop as it were, or at least add a bit of a racket to make it less palatable.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? Our singer clearly has as she has put up with me for several years now.
What genre do you feel you are? I’m not sure we fit into a genre. I coined the term Spook Folk as a bit of a throwaway tagline but it perhaps comes closest; perhaps it’s best to say folk music (of some description) with a supernatural element. I don’t mind throwing in a bit of Black Sabbath or Coil type malarkey from time to time either.
Why did you pick that particular style? What are your songs about? The style was chosen as I do enjoy folk music, mainly of a darker hue such as Stone Breath or some of Pentangle’s moodier numbers, as well as the variety of acid folk bands that were prevalent in the UK in the 1970s such as Mellow Candle and Caedmon.Experimental or psyche folk I guess you could call it. And I’ve always loved Black Sabbath so I had to chuck a bit of them in too. Our songs are all traditional ballads so generally these tend to be about death, murder, ghosts and talking ravens. Well, the best ones are anyway!
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? The music is ours; the words are much, much older.
Have you made any albums? If yes what are they? We have two albums of our own – 'The Hare And The Moon' and 'The Grey Malkin'– with a third due for release any minute now called ‘Wood Witch’.Anothernew, recent releaseis a joint album with singer Kentin Jivek called ‘The Haunted Cabaret’, in which he provides the words and vocals and I supply all manner of musical mischief.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Quite a few thanks to some wonderful video makers such as Michael Warren, Matthew Hunzeker and Anastasia Andreadou.
How old are you? What got you started in music? Ahem, let’s just say we are eternally young, as all good anonymous bands are. What got me started was a desire to create something that covered the many bases of my interests; ghost literature of the Victorian and Edwardian periods, folk music, traditional ballads, electronica, Victorian photography, the previously mentioned Black Sabbath and Czech New Wave cinema.
At what age did you start playing? I may have first strummed my guitar around the age of 14. I have always been too lazy to learn how to play properly – I’m more interested in the type of sounds or atmospheres that I can create with instruments rather than scales or learning the rudiments of playing. As is perhaps painfully obvious from our records.
What year was the band started? 2009. A vintage year.
Which band is the best you´ve seen?It a close tie between Arthur Lee and Love doing ‘Forever Changes’, Black Sabbath or Earth. All exceptionally good and truly inspirational.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? To release our new opus ‘Wood Witch’, which in olden times would have been a double album as it goes on forever. Then there are many collaborations to focus on including the release of a 7” white vinyl single by the Aberdeen band Palace Of Swords which will feature a The Hare And The Moon remix. I might stop for a cup of tea in between times.
What are your goals with your music?To create, to experiment and to conjure up a mood or atmosphere that befits the subject matter of the lyrics or text. Beyond that, not much. If some people like it then that is more than enough. Perhaps to continue to collaborate, I’ve met many lovely people; musicians, filmmakers, photographers and artists and this is a very gratifying part of the process.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? I’m not sure we have, we grab our moments when we can.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern?I would say older because being a bit of an old fogey I actually don’t know many newer bands. Or the newer ones that I like have actually been going for ages like Earth or Om. They all have grey hair and are a bit grizzled. I’m afraid I am out of touch with current fads and fashions though I do like a bit of Demdike Stare andI am led to believe that they are quite young and hip.
What are your sources of inspiration? A lot of literary sources; M R James, Arthur Machen, Robert Aickman, Algernon Blackwood, CS Lewis. Filmmakers too; Oliver Postgate, Werner Herzog, movies such as ‘The Wicker Man’, ‘Blood On Satan’s Claw’, Czech New Wave cinema such as ‘Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders’ and ‘Morgiana’; TV such as ‘The Owl Service’, ‘Children Of The Stones’ and ‘The Changes’. In terms of art, William Blake, James Ensor, Louis Wain and Arthur Rackham, amongst others.
What's the first step when making a new song?Literally anything. A drum beat or a drone, a piano line. Actually, more realistically, drinking several cups of strong, black coffee.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums?If it’s above board and the artists benefit then ok, though in truth I find it all rather sad. In the olden days, I remember the sleeve and artworkbeing a huge part of the overall feel of an album; to hold a physical product that someone had created made music properly feel like art. In contrast downloads feel disposable and shorn of any aesthetic value. This is why The Hare And The Moon albums will always be available physically; indeed our current releases come with individually handmade sleeves.
What would be your dreams for the band? Simply to continue making music that people enjoy and that we enjoy making. I have no ambitions to be either famous or infamous. I would like a vinyl release of one of our albums at some point, that would be nice and old school.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? A wide range. Recently I have been enjoying Wolves In The Throne Room a lot, especially since they turned into Tangerine Dream. Probably quite a terrible amount of prog – Peter Gabriel-era Genesis and King Crimson. Also my constants - Scott Walker, Coil, Ulver, Earth. I also enjoy the trippier and weirder end of folk –Comus, Mellow Candle, Caedmon, and Pentangle. And Black Sabbath, always Sabbath.
What do you hold most dear? Sanity.Andmy cat.
What would be your greatest fears for the future?To not be able to make music somehow. A horrific woodland accident involving my arms and legs. To turn into Mumford and Sons.
Have you been part of any other projects?
I am a busy bee and I also play and make noise in The Floating World(which is Amanda Votta’s project). I’ve also played with Amanda Votta and The Spectral Light and I’ve recorded as a part of dark folk outfit Antler And Ivy. There are plans in the pipeline for future collaborative projects with Craig Manga (Manga Bros), William Westwater (Fear Inc.) and Michael Warren. Watch this space, as they say.
Recently I’ve recorded parts for forthcoming albums by Timothy Renner (Stone Breath), So There, Klaus Morlock, Jude Cowan Montague and a remix for Clara Engel. In the past I’ve featured on albums by Neon Lushell, Great Attractor and provided remixes/ re-imaginings of songs for Sproatly Smith, Palace Of Swords and Ashtoreth.
What would you do if there was no music?Wither and die.Or invent it.
How important are your fans?Massively. It is a lovely thing to hear that someone has enjoyed something you have created.
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? Many kind people have made videos for our songs which is a really nice thing to do, to spend their own time doing that for us. It is much appreciated.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment?
I’m rather fond of ‘Bard Of Eve’ which I feel captures the essence of what The Hare And The Moon are about and also a new track ‘Cruel Henry’ which I would describe as ‘Black Sabbath on church organ’. This will be on our new album.
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing?Blind faith, enjoyment in creativity, stubbornness, contrarinessand lots of cheap red wine.
Do you have any webpages?
How would you describe your sound in one sentence? ‘Pentangle getting drunk with Black Sabbath and having a fight with a mandolin, the results of which are mixed by someone who has fallen asleep on top of the ‘extra reverb’ button’. Actually that sounds quite good! I’d listen to that!
Do you have anything to add?The Wood Witch is drawing near.
