Interview: The Heavy Heavy Bring Debut Album & More to Brighton Music Hall
There are some bands who are both a blast from the past and brilliantly modern, and this includes The Heavy Heavy. Based out of London, this musical entity led by guitarist and co-vocalist William Turner and co-vocalist Georgie Fuller exhibit a stellar sound that evokes this claim. It’s a combination of British Invasion era ’60s rock and a gritty aesthetic mirroring a lot of today’s garage rock bands that has garnered the band a burgeoning following on both sides of the pond. As part of their fall tour in support of their debut full-length One of a Kind that came out on September 6 via ATO Records, The Heavy Heavy are going to be rocking Brighton Music Hall on 158 Brighton Avenue within the Boston neighborhood of Allston on September 29. Fellow British artist Fonteyn will be starting the night off at 8pm.
I had a talk with both Turner and Fuller about the making of the new album, loving to play in Boston, taking on both American and British influences and sending out an individualistic message.
What was the experience like making One of a Kind with it being The Heavy Heavy’s debut full-length?
William Turner: It was good, and it was very exciting to sort of build on what we already had. The tricky part of it was the timing and fitting it all in between touring, but we had built up a nice, big appetite for getting some new stuff done. It was prosperous, we used lots of songs that have existed for a while, we wrote some new ones, and we recorded it all by ourselves at home in my studio. Things were being pieced together, things were being made and it was a good, prosperous time that came out nicely. We had a very late addition with the recording of “Happiness” on there, but it was very good.
I think it came out great. In a time where bands and musicians are utilizing the release of singles and EPs due to the reality of streaming services and short attention spans, what inspired the reasoning behind wanting to do an entire album rather than those other types of recordings?
WT: That isn’t really up to us in a way, it was sort of the record label leading us on that. They’re very proud to sort of keep it real and authentic in terms of how our music has been and I think our music lends itself to being on vinyl. We were putting that foot forward rather than just doing singles.
That makes sense. Since your songwriting partnership with The Heavy Heavy started back in 2019, what has been the biggest signal of growth with how you both approach music? What has been the biggest difference?
WT: I think if anything, our method is more cemented now. Before, we were doing other things, other jobs and trying to fit music around our lives. Now it’s become our lives and it’s much more focused, so I think we got our method down. I obviously got my studio that I built at home, which has been great, and we’re able to really know what we’re doing. Before when we did our first EP, it was sort of semi-theoretical and it was a labor of love to create and put it out to the world.
Now that it’s been received and supported, we know what we’re doing. The biggest change for me is that there’s no element of if it sounds ok or does it sound relevant whether we do this sound or whatever. This is it and we know what the parameters of our world are so we can concentrate our efforts rather than just hoping for the best. That’s what I would say.
Georgie Fuller: Yeah, I would agree.
What are your thoughts on coming to Brighton Music Hall in Boston this Sunday night? The Heavy Heavy seems to be doing very well with American audiences over the past few years.
GF: We are very excited to come back to Boston. Boston is full of some wild people who love a party, and it is a little bit like a home away from home for us. They’re not afraid to shout out and they’re not afraid to tell you if they’re bored. Luckily, we haven't done the latter yet, so fingers crossed that they don’t do that when we perform this time around. The people in Boston will tell you what they think, and they want to have a good time.
WT: We also played Boston Calling earlier this year, which was one of our favorite things we’ve ever done.
GF: That was amazing! There were 6,000 people in the crowd, it was blazing hot sunshine and really awesome, so we’re excited to come back for a headline show.
I was there for your performance at Boston Calling, it was great. Being a British band, did you ever have a conscious effort to do well in America when you were starting out? I know it’s been a thing with British bands where after they achieve success in their home country, they want to get over to America and make an impact here.
GF: That seems like an out of reach dream that doesn’t really happen with British bands, to be honest. You look at when the [Rolling] Stones broke into America or whatever and you’re like “Well, that’s completely unreachable”. We’ve kind of done it the wrong way around because we’re on an American label and we got American management, so we were sort of thrust into the American music scene before we really even made a mark in the U.K. We’re sort of lucky in that way, it’s our wildest dreams on speed.
WT: Yes, making the music and kind of dreaming of this place across the Atlantic, which was very much the theme of the first EP. This unreachable world that has California, Muscle Shoals and all these places that we’ve seen in our favorite music films, that’s what we were dreaming about. It was what was in the essence of the sound, this dreamlike, imaginative interpretation of what we think the ’60s were like in America. I think it is part of the makeup of what we do, sort of looking to America, but we have huge influences from the U.K. as well. Some of our favorite artists are probably English, The Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and all that.
GF: They were so taking from American influences.
WT: Yeah, they were all grabbing large slices of American music. I think it’s cool that the American thing is in there, but it’s not as intentional as it might seem. We’re extremely happy about it, but when we started, we had no idea what would happen.
GF: We didn’t even think we’d get signed. (laughs)
For people who are probably going to listen to the album ahead of the upcoming show in Boston, is there any sort of message that you want people to take from One of a Kind when they give it a listen ahead of the upcoming show?
GF: You’re alive, so live it.
WT: Yeah, feel alive.
GF: Feel alive and kick the door down with whatever you’re doing with your life, just feel good and be nice to people.
WT: Do what you want, be yourself and have a good time. There are a few messages there.
In order to make Culture Beat’s content available to everyone, we decided to stop utilizing a paywall. With this being said, we are utilizing the crowdfunding service Buy Me A Coffee in order to have our readers support our endeavors, which they can do so right here.
