A Chat With: Happyness
The London-rockers of Happyness are currently in the middle of their U.S. tour in support of their sophomore album Write In. This album builds off of the momentum of their debut Weird Little Birthday and adds complexity while staying true to the softer rock that this band is known for. Jon-EE Allan, Benji Compston and Ash Cooper collaborate to the highest degree while recording. This combined creativity and drive makes for compelling lyrics and eccentric melodies. They’ll be at the 7th St Entry this Saturday with openers Fury Things and Wetter, read our interview with Jon-EE and Benj below.
Photo Courtesy of Happyness
ANCHR Magazine: In what ways does your new album Write In differ from your debut Weird Little Birthday?
JON-EE ALLAN: We wanted to make a more open album this time, and open-ended. I think it answers less of its own questions, if that makes sense. The setting for recording this album was actually pretty similar to Weird Little Birthday, we self produced it in our studio, but we were in a very different place mentally. Benji got very ill about halfway through making it so our flow got disrupted pretty heavily. I guess that's why there's a little less segue-ing and interlude type stuff. I think it's more hopeful though - it's kind of a collection of snapshots of hope through the crap.
And there are 3 less tracks...
AM: Do you guys play off of each other creatively when writing songs/recording? What was the main approach to the new album?
JON-EE ALLAN: Yeah definitely - we've worked in every possible combination of the three of us. Usually depending on who has the most concentration or drive at any given time, or who's had the most for lunch.
This is the first time we've had to make an album under time pressure and knowing that people were waiting for it. Working like that takes a bit of getting used to. We just wanted to make sure we weren't forcing it. We blocked out pretty much a year of our lives to make this record. It's a weird feeling cutting yourself off like that. It's hard to keep track of time or have enough perspective on things, so we'd leave songs for months before coming back to them - they get pretty scary to face when you've left them for that long. I don't think we'll make a record like this again, it's not a sustainable way to live... But I like what it produced!
AM: How has growing up/living in London influenced your music?
BENJI COMPSTON: London's such an enormous, sprawling place that we've actually found it really hard to identify a kind of 'scene' as such. At least for what we want to do. The city's definitely influenced us as far as it's the place we live in - but I don't think we can really claim a kind of Clash-esque London thing. It's something I really like about touring is getting to see other cities music scenes and the way they work/the people that make them work. It's inspiring.
AM: I absolutely loved your NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert. What was it like doing that/gaining more recognition in general?
BENJI COMPSTON: It's was kind of surreal...and nerve wracking. Bob Boilen gave us an enormous bag of protein bars to keep us alive on the road. It was cool to check out the NPR offices. They have nice water fountains.
AM: Your music has been described as slacker-rock, what do you guys think of that classification?
JON-EE ALLAN: I don't mind too much either way. People need a way of categorizing things. It always frustrates me when people take that label to assume a lack of effort or thought though - that's my one misgiving.
AM: I can’t wait to see you guys live in Minnesota. What’s it like touring in the U.S. and was this always a goal for you?
JON-EE ALLAN: Long. Drives. I love touring the US. There's something a little more wild and almost primeval about certain parts of the US. Like anything could happen. There's no end to the amount of weird situations you can end up in as 3 effete British guys and 1 French one, left at the mercy of the United States of America. Our taxi driver was a neo-nazi once. That was uncomfortable. We met a guy in Missoula who made a living by purposely getting himself hit by cars. He showed us all his scars - he lived off the payouts. He'd been hit 4 times.
AM: How does your live set differ from your studio work? Do you think it’s important for people to experience your music in a live setting?
JON-EE ALLAN: It took a bit of getting used to how much less controlled it is for us. But we enjoy that side of it a lot now. If we had more money for equipment and rehearsals maybe it would be more similar to the record... We have a bunch of ideas for expensive stage props, but no financial way of realizing them yet. I don't know how many people would get behind a Kickstarter campaign for an indoor beach.
AM: I love how much of a presence simple and beautiful guitar melodies have in many of your songs, especially where lyrics don’t come in until later in the song. Where does that come from? Do you think that allows for more attention to lyrics (specifically in a song like “Weird Little Birthday Girl”)?
JON-EE ALLAN: We just had no appreciation of any of the rules when we wrote those songs. Like getting a song accepted for radio, or what constituted a viable single. It's probably kind of a sociopathic musical streak - we find it impossible to tell what people's' reaction will be to anything we do - so we try to just doing what we want and hope it aligns with other people on some level.
AM: What’s next for Happyness?
JON-EE ALLAN: Niagara Falls this afternoon and then a show in Cleveland tonight. We've got a few festivals this summer - and we want to record some more music - it's the nicest thing recording music when you've just released an album - the "next-release" pressure is so far in the future, there's something very clear and blissful and uplifting about recording music right in the rain-shadow of an album.