It could be said that there is something of a renaissance occurring in the United Kingdom’s Hardcore and Punk communities at present. With bands at the heavier, noisier, more inventive end of the scale gaining wider recognition and going on to accomplish things that might previously have been considered over-achievement, it surely won’t be too long before more than a few have broken out of the British Isles and are smashing faces on a global scale. What’s most exciting is that the majority of these bands aren’t losing sight of their DIY roots and are growing in an organic, ethically admirable way, making art for its own sake.
One of the finest examples of this, in this writer’s humble opinion, would be Southampton’s The Long Haul. Technically stunning without losing any of its honesty and emotional weight, the band’s music continues to evolve just as their reputation spreads, with the release of their most recent EP, Debtors, in late 2011 via Tangled Talk. What better way to introduce the four-piece to CVLT Nation than to speak to their vocalist and all-round nice bloke, Harry Fanshawe, on what’s been going on in their world recently. Check it out after the jump.
Hey The Long Haul, how is 2012 treating you all so far?
It’s been a bit stressful but mostly extremely awesome!
In the months prior to the recording and release of your latest effort, Debtors, you downsized to a four-piece and replaced your vocalist, Curt, with Harry Fanshawe. How did this affect the writing of Debtors? Do you feel a more solidified unit having undergone these changes?
It made it very unpredictable because I (Harry) had a lot to learn! I think it’s safe to say we are a tighter unit than ever at the moment.
Debtors was recorded later on last year, but not released until February of this year. Was it difficult sitting on the record for such a length of time, or did you feel it right to wait in order to give it the release it deserved?
It was only difficult when we didn’t have a release date set, once we did it gave us something to work towards and I think had we released it any sooner it would not have been done properly. It’s better to look back on it and say that it was done in a way we can be pleased with.
The sound of Debtors is refreshingly technical and greatly impressive in terms of sheer musicianship by comparison to a lot of young British Hardcore bands currently popping up all over the country. Similarly, the artwork seems to have shunned the current trend of using Nautical/Masonic/Satanic imagery in favour of something more unique, though still heavily symbolic. Were choices made in this regard in order to somewhat distance yourself from that current crop, or did your sound and it’s visual representation come about naturally?
I think if you work simply to distance yourself from something then your results will only have negative effects. For the artwork we simply gave Jamie (McDonald, Bear Face Design) some themes of the record and he took it from there. But yes I appreciate something original in someone’s art, it really makes it their own that way.
It seems like almost every band that springs up in the UK in recent times has some comment to make about where they are from/where they grew up and how it’s affected the way they approach their music, something I haven’t heard from The Long Haul camp. Does being from the south coast hold much importance to your identity as a band?
I don’t think it has had any direct influence on what we write necessarily. Of course where you come from and the society you have grown up to know and identify with all have implications in the things you create; it’s the world you have come to know. But the UK doesn’t vary from place to place to the extent that other countries do so I don’t think that we can say our cultural surroundings are that unique as opposed to other places here. Saying that we do owe a lot to Southampton because if it wasn’t a city that had bands and places to play then we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to first play our music to other people and become a part of a local scene.
Could you touch upon any of the lyrical themes running through the record? What would you say are your non-musical influences?
At the time I had been reading a lot of Nietzsche because I felt a lot in common with his ideas of the decline in moral foundation; knowing exactly why you feel like something is right or wrong. I grew up going to church on Sunday’s and it had an impact on how I treated my own course of action. I actually felt as if there was an ever-present God watching my every action and reading my every thought. This is not a healthy or comfortable way to feel and if that is how religion affects the way people think then it’s a life for the sick.
Mostly what churned my abhorrence to a religious way of living was the need to feel constantly indebted to a creator you simply believed to exist. Now since scientific thought has become more popular, fewer people believe in God. But this feeling of indebtedness has turned toward other authority figures from which people can take their values, such as the state. The government in this country especially feels the need to tell people how to live their life. The first thing to do is to set up a system of values that you have created not just followed, there is something that you can truly believe in.
You recently released a new bonus track, Anhedonia, and put it up on Bandcamp. Is this song entirely new or something you’ve had since the original sessions for Debtors? What was the motivation for recording it live and putting it out the way you did?
We wrote this song after Debtors was written. We felt that we had grown musically between the four of us since we wrote Debtors, which was when I had only just joined the band, and so we wanted to put up a track that sounded like us now! We did it live sort of as an experiment and sort of because we didn’t really have the time or money to do it the other way.
Do you have any thoughts on the current state of heavier music in Britain? Having ventured into Europe once already, and heading there again soon with Veils, do you think about heavier music in a wider context than just the UK, if at all?
Personally I think there is something happening in the UK with heavy music at the moment. There is a wonderful group of bands at the moment who can all identify with each other through other ways than simply having a similar style in music. This country has always had a hardcore punk scene but I wouldn’t feel so comfortable calling the group of bands I have in mind a part of that if it relates to the bands in this country normally associated with that. There is a lot of exclusivity in holding such strong ideals such as straight edge and veganism. It can lead to a lot of closed mindedness and division within what is supposed to be one community. On top of there can be a big trend thing that narrows the whole scene down. I enjoy being able to get on with everyone despite their lifestyle choice because I know that is a personal choice, not one I am concerned with. Of course if someone is a total dick then that’s different.
The standard of musicianship is also incredibly high at the moment with a lot of bands here. It’s always better when you genuinely enjoy your mate’s band but a lot of bands here in this community I can list amongst some of my favourites. I think this is something that is on the rise and it is an improvement on the state of heavy music in the UK a few years ago. I hope that it can go into a wider context with time! I’m sure when enough bands get on tours abroad it shall!
What’s next for The Long Haul? Full-length? Please?
I think that’s exactly what we’re doing next recording wise.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks for the cracking questions!
You can pick up The Long Haul’s Debtors on 12″ Vinyl from Tangled Talk.
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