Fine and dandy thanks
For those people who don't know who you are, who are you?
I used to be in Monkey Swallows the Universe but we broke up at the start of 2008.
How is being a solo artist treating you? Do you miss the dynamics of being in a band full time?
Half the time I’m playing solo but the other half I’m playing with a band again so I’m getting the best of both worlds. Playing solo was scary at first but I enjoy now I’m used to it. It’s always more fun being on stage with a band though.
Has your songwriting taken a different form as opposed to when in MSTU? Are you drawing on any influences which maybe you hadn't touched on before?
It’s hard to say. I haven’t really changed my methods of songwriting but it’s nice to be able to write some louder stuff!
How important has working with Thee SPC been to you? To those of us outside of Sheffield it seems to be a great label, and wonderful at encouraging the music of the city - is this a fair assessment?
They have good taste don’t they, ha ha! Yeah, they’re great at finding the best stuff in Sheffield to let people know about.
Is the Sheffield music scene still on the up? Is everyone still trying to sound like the Monkeys or is the success of people like Richard Hawley encouraging people to craft more well thought out ideas?
There’ll always be someone trying to be the Monkeys but that’s only a small part of it. There’s tons of stuff going on in Sheffield, as always! It’s a great city for music.
Who are the best new acts you've seen/heard recently?
Fight Like Apes are brilliant. I really liked Laura Marling at Green Man. And Caribou. Just discovered Lay Low, a girl from Iceland, too, she’s great. And Thomas Tantrum.
Given that you are coming over to Manchester for us, do you hold any particular fondness for the city?
It’s not somewhere I’ve spent a lot of time to be honest! I use to have friends at uni there but that was a long time ago. I only tend to come over to either watch or play gigs - I’ve seen the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Spinto Band in Manchester in the last few years.
What other things are you up to at the moment? Read any good books/watched good tv/films etc?
I recently read Stephen Fry’s ‘Making History’ which I really enjoyed, and also Nabokov’s ‘Pale Fire’ which is excellent. I’ve been watching a lot of horror films.
What are your hopes for 2009? Both personally and musically.
Well I want to try and get an album finished and released for a start!
Thanks a lot Nat, hope you have a lovely Christmas and New Year!!
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