Snowpoet Interview

Alt-folk collective, Snowpoet, have released their eponymous debut album. Paying homage to improvised and composed music and with a special launch show this 29th January, we spoke to them to find out more about how the duo comes together to create such a record.

Your album has just been released. What’s the response been like so far?
Wonderful. Everyone has been really lovely. I guess the people who don’t like it never tell you though, which is also very nice of them.

Your music is folk instrumental with jazz influences in some songs. What or who are your influences and inspirations?
Björk, Iron & Wine, Grizzly Bear, The Books, John Martyn, Radiohead, Kate Bush, Bon Iver, Joni Mitchell, Feist…

What attracts you to this kind of sound?
Atmosphere. All of these artists understand that the sounds they use tell part of the story they’re trying to communicate, and the world you can create can be so full of mystery and beauty. It’s about bringing the listener into something, rather than taking a performance into the listener’s living room. You can close your eyes and completely forget where you are…

When do you create most? What is the working harmony between you as a collective?
Everyone contributes something different at every step. When we’re in the studio everyone’s contributing ideas through their instruments, and then you go away and see if what you’ve created has spirit. If not, you take it back and look at it from a different angle, which might involve reinterpreting ideas or even scrapping them entirely. It’s hard to pin-point when you’re at your most creative, but when it happens you have to seize the moment and go with it.

How was it working with Mandy Parnell knowing she worked with Bjork, Depeche Mode and Paul McCartney? How did that affect the mood of the album?
She’s great. Having a mastering engineer you trust with your music is absolutely critical, because you don’t want to get the music home and suddenly realise it’s completely different to the stuff you’ve been pouring your soul into for the last few months. She understands the music, she understands that music can be beautiful without shouting and screaming it at you. The devil is always in the details and she gets that.

You are having a special launch show in London. Does it make you nervous or just excited? Do you feel like you need to interact with your audience a lot or do you just let them listen?
There are different moods and intentions behind all the songs. We hope the audience will enjoy it, but it will almost certainly not be in the way you think they’re going to.

What have you got lined up for 2016? Will you be hitting the festival circuit at all?
You’ll have to ask Michael Eavis…