25 Feb 2011
Interviews
Interview | The Joy Formidable
The Joy Formidable first released their début single ‘Austere’ in 2008, a year when (alarmingly) Canadian crooners Nickleback climbed to the top of the charts once more. In light of this, The Joy Formidable‘s expansive and ethereal sounds were a beacon of light in a sea of otherwise mundane indie. Three years on and Chad Kroegar and co. have just announced plans for their seventh, yes seventh, release. Yet, there is something to be said for a gradual career building and, with their début album The Big Roar finally released just last month, The Joy Formidable certainly prove that slow and steady really does win the race. the girls are were lucky enough to catch up with the Welsh trio before their sold out show in Paris last week to talk about influences, a possible Febreeze sponsorship and incorporating cannons into their stage show…
the girls are: Your new record, The Big Roar, was released just last month. It’s been a long time coming (current single ‘Austere’ was released originally back in 2008). How does it feel to have it out there now?
Ritzy: It feels good! It feels great to be playing it on this tour. Some of the tracks from it, we are playing for the first time, in fact, and we’re just enjoying celebrating it. We’re really proud of the record.
Rhydian: It’s funny because we essentially did ‘A Balloon Called Moaning’ ourselves and have just been gigging the songs since. Of course, it’s all about what you’re happy with and what you’re proud of but for some people in the UK, who have been following us from the start, you’ll hear them saying ‘oh, why have you got ‘Cradle’ on the album, it was done like two years ago?’ Essentially, ‘A Balloon Called Moaning’ was just a demo though that we wanted to get out there for people to hear our songs.
Ritzy: I like the fact that, I mean obviously I still love ‘A Balloon Called Moaning’ and we’re still very much a hands on band but, we don’t have to fold all the copies of this album! I could definitely leave the manufacturing of the CD…
tga: Your sound has been described as dreamy, dark indie pop. For people at the girls are who don’t know you, how would you describe your sound?
Rhydian: It’s always a tricky one, you know because I think it’s difficult to sum it up. There’s a lot of spectrum; a lot of influences and not really influences that we would think of directly. With The Big Roar, it’s definitely aggressive when it needs to be aggressive but it’s also more fragile than ‘A Balloon Called Moaning’ so you’ve got a big spectrum there. I would say, it’s honest, it’s passionate and very lyrically driven. The songs mean a lot to us and there’s a thread of that throughout the album. The rest of it, we treat it on a sort of song by song basis. Whatever you call it, the style or genre, I think it differs between a lot of things. I would say it’s more of an album for people who like good songs rather than if you like shoe-gaze or something for instance…
tga: Bands like Belly, The Breeders and Arcade Fire are often referenced as sharing some similar sounds but what bands kind of inspired you initially when forming The Joy Formidable?
Ritzy: Oh, so many different ones and none of the ones that tend to be cited. Someone was quizzing me the other day about My Bloody Valentine… I mean, I got into them so late in the grand scheme of things; Loveless is a beautiful album but I certainly wouldn’t cite them as an influence or anything that has influenced my musical taste. All of us listen to, and have grown up on, very different music. Myself, I was really into a lot of my parents’ records collection which was vast and consisted a lot of Yes and Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison. A lot of sixties soul and Motown – and you, Rhydian?
Rhydian: Right from the start, it was initially Hendrix but that just opened up the door to a lot of other things. I do definitely think there’s some sort of thread with bands that are actually passionate, not always aggressive but very committed. If you think of people like Springsteen, he was 100% committed on the stage and in his songs. Hendrix was very vitriolic and very committed in his performance. I’m not really a fan of those kind of twee bands, you know, where everything’s happy. A good song is a good song but I like it when someone is pushing the emotions as well.
tga: You had an amazing year in 2010 with performances at Glastonbury and Reading as well as headlining the NME Radar tour: how’s 2011 going so far?
Ritzy: It’s all been great, I really enjoyed the UK tour. We had two great bands with us, The Chapman Family and Airship, and it was a really happy tour. The camaraderie was high which always helps and they’re two great bands. There is no bullshit or pretension which is very refreshing. We’re very happy to be here in France and to be going on to all the other places in Europe for the first time, as well as some revisiting. We are delighted with it all! We really like being on the road which is fortunate really as it doesn’t look like we’re going to come off the road before the end of this year! We’re all a bit fucked…
Matt: We’re in need of some sort of tour washing machine at the minute!
Ritzy: We’re all a bit stinking at the moment. The Febreeze came out yesterday which is never a good sign..
Matt: Not when you’re spraying it on your pants.
Ritzy: Or spraying it down your pants! I think we’ve mentioned Febreeze four times so far today. We definitely deserve some kind of years supply of it. We’d have to check they’re ethically sound first though, of course, we don’t want to endorse anyone that spray their test products in some poor animal’s eye.
Matt: They actually create it from draining the loins of a lizard.
Ritzy: Oh well, we’re not interested if that’s the case!
tga: You guys also headlined an American tour last year: how was the reaction in the States to the Formidable sound?
Ritzy: It’s been really good. Obviously, the introduction we had to the States was a bit different. We were lucky as we played some very early shows with Passion Pit. There seems to be a really good connection with the audience and they seem to be enjoying what they are doing.
Rhydian: We’ve done East Coast and West Coast and now we’re doing some of the South. We’re doing that for quite a long period too… I think it’s about five or six weeks. I think, again, they kind of appreciate that live commitment. You can’t just rely on good songs in the States, you’ve got to cut it live.
tga: Having toured so much and playing numerous festivals, do you have a favourite place from your travels?
Rhydian: Yes, but it’s always nice to visit new places too. Touring is such a great way to travel whilst doing something you love; meeting new people and visiting new places all the time.
Ritzy: There’s quite a few stand out places. We’re always happy to go back to Norwich. In the first sort of six months of our life as a band, we sort of got adopted by Norwich, we were doing shows with wombat wombat and it’s probably where we gigged most in the beginning. We’re always happy to go back home to North Wales and London is always a great base for us too.
Rhydian: Manchester is always fun.
Ritzy: Manchester’s always well up for it, those naughty Mancunians.
tga: What bands are you currently listening to?
Ritzy: I’m really enjoying Edwyn Collins‘ new record, that’s terrific.
Rhydian: I’ve been listening to Anna Calvi‘s album.
Ritzy: I started listening to the new Boxer Rebellion record today, only about half way through so far, but I am really enjoying that. It was our little soundtrack to our journey to Paris today actually.
Rhydian: I quite like Interpol‘s new album. I know some people are a bit indifferent about it but if you actually invest, you can get something out of it. I like a bit of Alex Winston too and a little bit of PJ Harvey‘s album too. I haven’t heard much of it but from what I’ve heard, it sounds great.
tga: Can you describe The Joy Formidable in five words?
Ritzy: No. No way. And Never. (laughs)
Rhydian: That’s about five words though…
tga: To end, I thought we would play a little word play game so we at the girls are can delve a bit deeper into that dark element of the band. Rather than The Joy Formidable, I thought we would play An-noy Formidable and you can pick which thing out of the two annoys you… well, formidably.
Hecklers or people who talk during your set?
Rhydian: People who talk.
Ritzy: Oh fucking people that talk.
Rhydian: Bring on the hecklers! We encourage a bit of banter…
Ritzy: I’m also tempted to get a paint gun for those fuckers, definitely give them a bit of a shock. Or a taser. A taser on the end of guitar.
Rhydian: That’s a bit extreme, maybe…
Matt: You should just get a massive bodyguard to get over there and bring them to you so you can slap them in the face.
Ritzy: I was thinking more that he would bring them over to me and I would take them and put them in a cannon and salute them with an explosion during the explosions in ‘Buoy’ and into the audience.
Rhydian: Ah, The Joy Formidable circus act.
Ritzy: Slash torture…
Matt: Slash manslaughter…
tga: Equipment breaking or instruments that are out of tune?
Ritzy: There is no choice between that, they both happen regularly and are both annoying.
Rhydian: I would say equipment breaking, personally but yeah, they’re both pretty annoying.
Matt: At least tuning is something you can actually do something about but broken stuff, well, that’s it, isn’t it?
Ritzy: You could break it some more…
tga: Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga?
Ritzy: Bieber.
Matt: Bieber.
Rhydian: Yeah, I’d have to say Bieber too.
A resounding Bieber then and on that teen-dream note, my time with the band is done. For an act who began their career with a track based on the idea of austerity, The Joy Formidable are far from lacking in adornment. With such soaring soundscapes, surely it is only a matter of time before the band are playing equally capacious venues. Catch them now before they are explode into sonic stardom.
The Big Roar is out on Canvasback/Atlantic Records.
Cheri Amour
Photography by Richie Soans for the girls are.
That’s a ROARsome interview, Cheri, with a truly awesome band: the joy formidable, indeed, ACw ♥ x