Interview with exceptional rising indie-funk band HABITATS!

 I first discovered the funky refrains of HABITATS at the indie tent at Festival NO.6 and was blown away by their infectious energy and refreshing sound.Blending the gritty British vocals of top bands like Razorlight and The Libertines with skilfully slamming electric guitars and drums in perfect unision. The group are another sign of the current renaissance of non-mainstream British music.  HABITATS' blend of harmony and traditional punk rock make for optimistic and refreshing listening! Take the first song I became enamoured with, 'Peace of Mind':

This mood is particularly pervasive in their track Diamond Days, a demanding refrain for the freedom and fun that seems to have been systematically taken away from us:

Their tracks are a fine homage to  David Byrne-esque high tempo funk and have vocals that equal his enthusiasm: demanding you to dance.While maintaning the folk-punk edge of tracks like 'Jungles' this band could be the sincere, rebellious band we desperate youths all needed!

I got in touch with the band to find out a little more and their guitarist Mike kindly answered some questions, with influences from Bill Oddie and great music recommendations...

Interview:

I first saw you guys live at festival no.6 in Port Merion and you really stood out as an original yet unpretentious act. The crowds seemed to really respond! How was it- it seemed an epic set-despite the torrential mudslides!?


AHAHA yeah, the weather was horrific for sure, but that’s all part of the game ain't it… made it feel like we were auditioning for the sequel to the Day After Tomorrow or something? We had camped with some of the staff and other artists the previous night, everyone had zero amount of sleep and were covered in mud and sh*t before the festival had even kicked off, and yet, spirits were high.  Those chaotic mudslides didn’t seem to dampen the mood of the crowd so we f*cking gave it some. It was lot of fun, amazing festival and a decent set!
Man Made, John Cooper Clarke, Broken Social Scene, and the van that sold really good dirty chai lattes were some other highlights that made that festival.

You just finished another UK Tour how was it?

  We love touring and this was the best and most hectic yet.  The fans really go for it at our shows and we try to put on a great show for them, it tends to get pretty wild.  We played a load of new songs on this tour which was cool and they went down well, particularly our new single Guilty Pleasure which was nice!

 

Your music seems to draw from a lot of different influences, do you bring together your personal tastes or are you just into exploring different generic sounds?

Well I can pretty much guarantee that there hasn’t been a day we have all sat down together and talked about what we are listening to or what we want the next song to sound like. We don’t really have a process/ritual or specific way of writing, it’s all very spontaneous and unpredictable. I will be completely honest here and say that I have no idea how we even end up with finished compositions… We can’t even decide on our walk on music at a gig let alone what influences to draw on. Maybe it’s a subconscious agreement.

  Which has been your favourite track to have worked on together as a band?

Probably ‘Jungles’. It came together very quickly and naturally, everyone knew the role they had to play out to make it effortless work.  It's become a fan favourite now and it's usually the track we finish with live.

I read that you prefer to move between frontmen, sharing the mic and audience connection, do you feel this gives you a more varied voice people can relate to?

  I just think the general ethos of the band is that it shouldn’t be fronted by one face or one voice. We’re not Coldplay or Bastille and we are not selling car insurance for commission. There is a lot of ego and vivid imagination in the band and it is healthy to let that breath. We all contribute to the songs and rely on each other to get the job done so it’s only fair that we all carry the weight and share the wealth.

Who were the biggest musical influences on you? Or, who do ya just really dig at the moment?

 Individually, I am sure we could pick a thousand each and then some…Tammy Wynette – Stand by your man was the first piece of music I ever owned (Mike) emotion sung like that will always stay with you.  We've seen too many great new bands on tour and at festivals to mention, a new band called Ngod are doing some good things at the moment.

You've just released your new single 'Guilty Pleasure', which was recorded in the famous Abbey Road- can we expect the same lovely surrealistic sound or are you heading toward a different direction?

The Abbey Road experience was ridiculous and beautiful all at the same time. We only had a day or so to record a couple of tunes so we tried making the most of it and we are really happy with the finished outcome. It’s a glossy production but still has that rough around the edges vibe. We are back to writing and recording in our friends bedroom at the moment so as for a clear direction in sound…there isn’t one.




Say there is a kid out there too scared to express themselves? What words of wisdom you give them? 

 Oooo ok deep! We may need to consult our good friend Bill Oddie on that one, maybe that it's easier to get forgiveness than permission to do something.

What advice would you give to aspiring artists?

BILL!!!???  Work hard and do what you feel is right!

Do you have any highlights or low points from your tour?

Playing a gig in Newcastle as we haven’t been there before. It’s also £6 for triples and the locals wear nothing but a smile. Other highlights would be playing our own version of Would I Lie To You in the van and finding out each other’s darkest secrets.Low point is that the tour just wasn’t long enough dammit!

Who are you listening to at the moment? Reccommend our readers some tunes! 

Errrrrrr Warpaint – New Song, James Blake – Always, Sundara Karma – Flame, Laura Mvula – Let It Fall, Mauno – (Any song) & Local Natives – Dark Days.

Any gigs or projects we should keep an eye out for? 

We are mainly just writing and Christmas shopping. We might have a very special London show in the pipeline and we are long overdue to play in our hometown soooo….keep your onions peeled, new shows will be announced soon along with some more new tunes! 

 You can keep up to date with HABITATS new releases and tours dates on
Twitter,  Youtube, Facebook, Soundcloud or, their official site.