Hurtsfall are a powerful alternative/electronic rock band from Nottingham. Their singer Sam Harrison-Emm caught up with Prime singer Lee Heir for a conversation about their most recent singles, lockdown life, and the passions and methods behind the band's music…
LEE HEIR: Sam, The last time we met in person was probably at one of the DFS alternative nights in (Nottingham) town, which are always OTT and very entertaining, with a mix of drag, androgynous culture and some pretty good alternative music. The last time we chatted online however, I sent you a link to something regarding the music scene, and you replied with something I found pretty funny when you said: "I don't do trends, you know me by now!" which made me laugh. It seems pretty important to you to remain an individual and keep an air of mystique about you in the kind of world where it's almost rewarded when you do the opposite... would you say that's true?
SAM HARRISON-EMM: Oh wow! I thought you were going to ease me in with some easy questions about the music I like or favourite colour or something but you're not playing around! Yes it’s always nice to see you out and about and DFS is amazing. I do remember that and you are onto something there. Before social media and the internet there was some mystery to artists but now we see their breakfast every day... I participate in social media but only when I have the energy, like not every single thread and challenge. I think there are more important things to put energy into. It can just suck up your time and distract from healthier or more productive activities.
LH: You have a very good point there... It's become so engrained in our culture, and even more so in day-to-day life, especially now Lockdown is happening. I think it also can detract from bands who have more depth and quality, as social media can become a bit of a pissing contest. I suppose all forms of media are a kind of game that many musicians have to play at some point.
SH: That's true. I think social media lends itself well to certain genres and doesn't do so well for others. Age is a factor too. It's bizarre to me that bands I consider to be on the "holy" level in terms of influence and talent have only a couple of thousand followers and hardly get any likes, but they don't have a young fan-base or make music that is popular with young people who are online a lot. We have more people on the planet than ever and yet the mainstream seems to be narrowing. It's all or nothing, especially with music and social media. So it's good to have a presence on social media because some people only use one digital platform and you don't want to not be there when they look for you. It's nice to cut out the middle man and be able to speak directly to fans though. And it has become essential during this lockdown as you say.
LH: What did Hurtsfall have on the horizon before this whole COVID-19 shit-show around the world happened then?
SH: We had such big plans for this year. More gigs, more singles, videos. We were talking storyboards, costumes, locations and everything! We really wanted to make this our breakthrough year. Most of that has been put on hold now…
LH: I'm sure that will all change very soon, and maybe the space between the last gig and the next will give you more focus after the break to reach those goals even better than you would have. I was put in a weird position, as I ended my band Prime after Christmas last year and wanted to do a farewell to the rock/indie type of music we were doing, play some nice last gigs this Spring, especially in Nottingham and Sheffield, where we've had some great times over the past four years of gigging. But once the Lockdown came I decided to move on and not reschedule the shows for later this year or whenever. What's done is done.
SH: We can only hope to come out of this with renewed energy. That is a shame in a way about Prime but nobody can take away from you what you guys did. We make music because we love it don't we?
LH: I certainly agree with you that you have to be firing on all cylinders in every aspect of promotion... I love the stuff people are doing online at the moment to entertain people, but the idea of singing live online with a lot of shonky audio wasn't for me. Were you boys tempted to do an online gig during Lockdown?
SH: Yes some artists are keeping us entertained throughout! We’ve taken a bit of a break. This virus has meant big changes in everyone’s work and family commitments - rock and roll! - and has really hit some of us and those close to us hard. We’ve lost people. But just this week we were talking about this and live is tricky online, especially as we’re in different households with different connections but there are other things you can do. Stripped down re-recordings, or recording live separately and editing together etc, so nothing is set in stone but I expect we’ll do something before lockdown ends. We’re also lucky that we recorded some new material just before it began so we’re tweaking that and will have something to release in the near future. We’re not doing deadlines at the moment, it comes out when we’re all happy with it, and we all have high standards! Because we love what we do and we love alternative music. What’s the rush you know?
LH: Sorry to hear about the loss and difficulties that Hurtsfall have experienced this year. Send my love to the band. It's great that you all have the ability to work on new ideas and reworkings from afar. Obviously I've met the band before at shows we've collaborated on together, but tell me a bit more about each of the band members... Who would you say was the studio boffins in the group to drive these new ideas forward during Lockdown?
SH: I will do. They’ll be happy to hear from you. Yes it’s one of the great things about technology, even though we do a lot by being all in a room together, when that's not possible a lot can still move forward. We are all boffins when it comes to our instrument, and we’ve all been in a few bands in our time so are confident in what we’re doing. So I wouldn’t say that any one member has driven us through this period. But I would say Mike (on guitars) is the most in-the-know and in terms of recording. He has a great ear and will push for better takes and tweaks long past the rest of us noticing anything, and I’m glad he does because the end result is worth it. I like that we all bring something different to the table in our personalities and influences. Mike is really into goth, alternative and some interesting Japanese stuff I cant pronounce. Dave is a proper old-school punk. Jamie likes a broad range of indie, dream-pop and the like. And I like a mix of more commercial stuff and gothic rock and metal.
LH: It sounds like a very enthusiastic ensemble that you have there. I never usually had more than two songwriters in Prime at one time which can be both a blessing and a curse. Your last single - '12 Long Years', released in January - was quite a bit heavier compared to your previous releases. How did you find that new direction?
SH: Haha! Yes it’s probably our heaviest track. '12 Long Years' pays homage to 80s goth with heavy Joy Division and Sisters of Mercy influence. We wanted one to stomp to in clubs. With these first singles we made the decision that each one would showcase a different aspect of our sound which is quite varied anyway. This is partly just to test the waters and see what people respond to and partly because we really do just like so many different styles and enjoy playing them. So I don’t know that it’s a new direction so much as another side of the coin of our sound.
LH: That's an interesting, and quite brave, way of approaching things. I suppose each single is a different way of approaching music. Your previous single, the dark vocal ballad 'Calling Out', was 7 minutes long wasn't it? Another example of you not pandering to a certain direction...
SH: We didn’t set our for it to be so long! But we have this thing where we won’t limit ourselves for sure. We’ll do what we want and worry about the length later. But 7 minute of anyone’s time now is a big ask, we knew that and put it out anyway. We debated cutting the outro or one of the verses but we didn’t want to. We have a radio edit but most of the stations we sent it to wanted to play the whole thing. Maybe we’re seeing a change where music has become so commercialised, short and homogeneous that some are now crying out for authenticity and artistry? This may be mostly with the independent stations but we can dream!
LH: So one last question before you go. You have a very credible outlook to music, but the vibe of an old school classic alternative star... which of course is a compliment. What do you see your end goal being and what would be the thing that would cement Hurtsfall being a success to you?
SH: That IS a compliment. Well... I used to want to be rich and famous! But now I measure success by doing better than before and by reaching the right people. So my end goal is for Hurtsfall to become a regular fixture on the alternative scenes. I’m honestly happy getting a few messages from people who are totally in love with the music. That’s worth more than being “ok” to the majority. Being able to make music that means something to us, that we enjoy, and that we are free to experiment with, while having any of that genuinely understood or appreciated by another is success to me.
Hurtsfall - "12 Long Years" is out now on Spotify/MP3.
Prime UK Band - 'Art / Facts' remastered compilation is out on Digipak CD and Spotify June 5th.
Links:
Hurtsfall can be found at:
www.facebook.com/HurtsfallUK
Twitter / Instagram: @hurtsfalluk
Lee Heir of Prime UK Band is online at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukprime + Twitter / Instagram: @primeukband + Youtube: @badfridaypictures
Spotify 'Art Facts' Link:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2GocqlOhEgW5hoL4exwxrJ
LEE HEIR: Sam, The last time we met in person was probably at one of the DFS alternative nights in (Nottingham) town, which are always OTT and very entertaining, with a mix of drag, androgynous culture and some pretty good alternative music. The last time we chatted online however, I sent you a link to something regarding the music scene, and you replied with something I found pretty funny when you said: "I don't do trends, you know me by now!" which made me laugh. It seems pretty important to you to remain an individual and keep an air of mystique about you in the kind of world where it's almost rewarded when you do the opposite... would you say that's true?
SAM HARRISON-EMM: Oh wow! I thought you were going to ease me in with some easy questions about the music I like or favourite colour or something but you're not playing around! Yes it’s always nice to see you out and about and DFS is amazing. I do remember that and you are onto something there. Before social media and the internet there was some mystery to artists but now we see their breakfast every day... I participate in social media but only when I have the energy, like not every single thread and challenge. I think there are more important things to put energy into. It can just suck up your time and distract from healthier or more productive activities.
LH: You have a very good point there... It's become so engrained in our culture, and even more so in day-to-day life, especially now Lockdown is happening. I think it also can detract from bands who have more depth and quality, as social media can become a bit of a pissing contest. I suppose all forms of media are a kind of game that many musicians have to play at some point.
SH: That's true. I think social media lends itself well to certain genres and doesn't do so well for others. Age is a factor too. It's bizarre to me that bands I consider to be on the "holy" level in terms of influence and talent have only a couple of thousand followers and hardly get any likes, but they don't have a young fan-base or make music that is popular with young people who are online a lot. We have more people on the planet than ever and yet the mainstream seems to be narrowing. It's all or nothing, especially with music and social media. So it's good to have a presence on social media because some people only use one digital platform and you don't want to not be there when they look for you. It's nice to cut out the middle man and be able to speak directly to fans though. And it has become essential during this lockdown as you say.
LH: What did Hurtsfall have on the horizon before this whole COVID-19 shit-show around the world happened then?
SH: We had such big plans for this year. More gigs, more singles, videos. We were talking storyboards, costumes, locations and everything! We really wanted to make this our breakthrough year. Most of that has been put on hold now…
LH: I'm sure that will all change very soon, and maybe the space between the last gig and the next will give you more focus after the break to reach those goals even better than you would have. I was put in a weird position, as I ended my band Prime after Christmas last year and wanted to do a farewell to the rock/indie type of music we were doing, play some nice last gigs this Spring, especially in Nottingham and Sheffield, where we've had some great times over the past four years of gigging. But once the Lockdown came I decided to move on and not reschedule the shows for later this year or whenever. What's done is done.
SH: We can only hope to come out of this with renewed energy. That is a shame in a way about Prime but nobody can take away from you what you guys did. We make music because we love it don't we?
LH: I certainly agree with you that you have to be firing on all cylinders in every aspect of promotion... I love the stuff people are doing online at the moment to entertain people, but the idea of singing live online with a lot of shonky audio wasn't for me. Were you boys tempted to do an online gig during Lockdown?
SH: Yes some artists are keeping us entertained throughout! We’ve taken a bit of a break. This virus has meant big changes in everyone’s work and family commitments - rock and roll! - and has really hit some of us and those close to us hard. We’ve lost people. But just this week we were talking about this and live is tricky online, especially as we’re in different households with different connections but there are other things you can do. Stripped down re-recordings, or recording live separately and editing together etc, so nothing is set in stone but I expect we’ll do something before lockdown ends. We’re also lucky that we recorded some new material just before it began so we’re tweaking that and will have something to release in the near future. We’re not doing deadlines at the moment, it comes out when we’re all happy with it, and we all have high standards! Because we love what we do and we love alternative music. What’s the rush you know?
LH: Sorry to hear about the loss and difficulties that Hurtsfall have experienced this year. Send my love to the band. It's great that you all have the ability to work on new ideas and reworkings from afar. Obviously I've met the band before at shows we've collaborated on together, but tell me a bit more about each of the band members... Who would you say was the studio boffins in the group to drive these new ideas forward during Lockdown?
SH: I will do. They’ll be happy to hear from you. Yes it’s one of the great things about technology, even though we do a lot by being all in a room together, when that's not possible a lot can still move forward. We are all boffins when it comes to our instrument, and we’ve all been in a few bands in our time so are confident in what we’re doing. So I wouldn’t say that any one member has driven us through this period. But I would say Mike (on guitars) is the most in-the-know and in terms of recording. He has a great ear and will push for better takes and tweaks long past the rest of us noticing anything, and I’m glad he does because the end result is worth it. I like that we all bring something different to the table in our personalities and influences. Mike is really into goth, alternative and some interesting Japanese stuff I cant pronounce. Dave is a proper old-school punk. Jamie likes a broad range of indie, dream-pop and the like. And I like a mix of more commercial stuff and gothic rock and metal.
LH: It sounds like a very enthusiastic ensemble that you have there. I never usually had more than two songwriters in Prime at one time which can be both a blessing and a curse. Your last single - '12 Long Years', released in January - was quite a bit heavier compared to your previous releases. How did you find that new direction?
SH: Haha! Yes it’s probably our heaviest track. '12 Long Years' pays homage to 80s goth with heavy Joy Division and Sisters of Mercy influence. We wanted one to stomp to in clubs. With these first singles we made the decision that each one would showcase a different aspect of our sound which is quite varied anyway. This is partly just to test the waters and see what people respond to and partly because we really do just like so many different styles and enjoy playing them. So I don’t know that it’s a new direction so much as another side of the coin of our sound.
LH: That's an interesting, and quite brave, way of approaching things. I suppose each single is a different way of approaching music. Your previous single, the dark vocal ballad 'Calling Out', was 7 minutes long wasn't it? Another example of you not pandering to a certain direction...
SH: We didn’t set our for it to be so long! But we have this thing where we won’t limit ourselves for sure. We’ll do what we want and worry about the length later. But 7 minute of anyone’s time now is a big ask, we knew that and put it out anyway. We debated cutting the outro or one of the verses but we didn’t want to. We have a radio edit but most of the stations we sent it to wanted to play the whole thing. Maybe we’re seeing a change where music has become so commercialised, short and homogeneous that some are now crying out for authenticity and artistry? This may be mostly with the independent stations but we can dream!
LH: So one last question before you go. You have a very credible outlook to music, but the vibe of an old school classic alternative star... which of course is a compliment. What do you see your end goal being and what would be the thing that would cement Hurtsfall being a success to you?
SH: That IS a compliment. Well... I used to want to be rich and famous! But now I measure success by doing better than before and by reaching the right people. So my end goal is for Hurtsfall to become a regular fixture on the alternative scenes. I’m honestly happy getting a few messages from people who are totally in love with the music. That’s worth more than being “ok” to the majority. Being able to make music that means something to us, that we enjoy, and that we are free to experiment with, while having any of that genuinely understood or appreciated by another is success to me.
Hurtsfall - "12 Long Years" is out now on Spotify/MP3.
Prime UK Band - 'Art / Facts' remastered compilation is out on Digipak CD and Spotify June 5th.
Links:
Hurtsfall can be found at:
www.facebook.com/HurtsfallUK
Twitter / Instagram: @hurtsfalluk
Lee Heir of Prime UK Band is online at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukprime + Twitter / Instagram: @primeukband + Youtube: @badfridaypictures
Spotify 'Art Facts' Link:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2GocqlOhEgW5hoL4exwxrJ
Primeband.co.uk
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