Interview: Veronica Falls

Indie popsters Veronica Falls present a winning combination: a little pinch of Your Twenties and a generous sprinkle of Royal We and Sexy Kids.

Coming from musical backgrounds, the London collective enlisted the help of final member Marion Herbain; formerly of no musical experience yet now a bonafide bass player.

Their debut self-titled LP was initially produced by veteran producer Guy Fixsen but ‘for reasons unknown’ the 2011 work was scrapped and re-recorded in three days. Marion Herbain guides Jasmine Phull through the short-history of Veronica Falls.

A few of you had been in bands prior to joining Veronica Falls. List three things that describe the ‘you starting in your first band’ vs the ‘older, wiser you’.

1: This is a fun hobby VS This is your fun life
2: Crashing on a stranger's sofa/floor is fun VS I could really do with a comfy bed tonight
3:" Oh cool, a pack of crisps and a dressing room" VS " What?! A pack of crisps?!" (only joking!)

For the self-titled debut you teamed up with veteran producer Guy Fixsen. How did that collaboration come about?

We had a choice of people to work with and picked him based on his previous collaborations. Unfortunately for us, it didn't quite work out and we ended up scrapping this album and re-recording everything in London with someone else in three days, but he certainly was very professional to work with.

One thing you learnt from him?

We learnt that for this specific album, the songs worked much better recorded in a live set-up as opposed to the way we initially tried recording them, which was to a click, with all the instruments and vocals separate.

A phrase he often used?

Mmm it's been a while but I remember him saying "born in a barn?" quite a few times as we'd always forget to close the soundproof studio door when we'd get in and out of the recording room. (Laughs).

The debut was released in 2011; is a date set for the sophomore?

No. We'd ideally like to not leave it too long this time, and have the second album out by the end of this year but it all depends on how ready we are. We will never put anything we're not entirely happy with out and we've been so busy touring that it has left us very little time to write new material. We have a few new songs we've started playing live and a few new ideas too.

Would you ever think about self-producing the next album?

We pretty much ended up self-producing the first one so we're not ruling anything out. We usually have a pretty good idea of how we want the songs to sound when we get in the studio. The new songs are slightly more complex in texture though. I think we'll study our options nearer to the point!

How important is the name of a track?

I think it can be pretty important but we don't overthink it too much when it comes to it. It usually ends up being a lyric from the song.

Why do listeners think genres are so important? Why does everything need to be labelled?

I'm not sure but there has been quite a few in depth studies about the importance that music and music genres play in developing personal and social identities. I find it's not just music which contributes to being labelled a certain way, but the overall image and aesthetics a band generates that people may or may not identify with. Everything from the way a band dresses down to the imagery used on record sleeves seems to play a part in it...

Since signing to a label are there some things you no longer have complete control over?

No, we're very lucky in that the label we are signed to is ran by Simon Raymonde who used to be in The Cocteau Twins. As a musician, Simon understands perfectly the importance of giving the band as much artistic freedom as is possible. We have control over pretty much everything, from the sleeve's artwork down to our videos, which is great. I don't think we would want to have it any other way.

One piece of advice you’d give to the ‘you first starting out’?

Sleep while you still can!

Did you study?

We all studied art related topics so I guess we get to re-use whichever skills we acquired, be it in our music or the artwork which comes with it. For instance, we often design and screen-print our merch ourselves.

As a band are you avid on any other platforms, such as the blogosphere, social media etc.? How important are multi-platforms when reaching out to fans?

We try to be as present online as our schedule allows us to be. It's a good way to interact with our fans and a good way to get direct feedback from them but it's also the fastest and most effective way to pass on information. It's not always easy to stay on top of it when you're on tour and constantly on the move but we try...

Would the music industry be better or worse without the Internet?

It would probably do a lot better financially but it also would be a lot more boring and less diversified.

Is there someone from your youth that had a big impact on your musical direction today?

Ok, this is going to sound cheesy but both my parents were pretty musical. My dad played bass for a living until I was born and we sometimes listened to a whole album in the evening instead of the usual bedtime story. It must have helped...

Do you ever rehearse the banter prior to your live shows? There must be quite a bit of pressure connected to entertaining a crowd.

We don't do that much stage talk at all and the little bit we do is definitely not rehearsed, no! We like to play our songs back to back with minimum interruption and we try and entertain people later on at the merch table!

Last song you listened to?

'Find The River' by REM.

First album you bought?

I want to think that it was The Pixies 'Surfer Rosa & Come On Pilgrim'... but it was probably 'Take That & Party' by Take That. I honestly can't remember.

Veronica Falls play at The Deaf Institute in Manchester on Friday 9th March. Tickets are available through Skiddle below.

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