An interview with Speak Easy Circus
An interview with Speak Easy Circus
What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences?
The name came about because we wanted to create a name that wasn’t something that already existed, we wanted to have something that would create a unique image in people’s mind that would reflect the eclectic mix of music we wanted to make. So we picked ‘Speak Easy Circus’ because we thought it was a strange enough combination of words that it might make people think twice.
All of us come from very different musical backgrounds so our influences are incredibly varied, it could be jazz, funk, soul, rock etc. What tends to remain the same is that these influences inevitably find themselves in our music. Music is such an important part of all of our lives that for all of us it has become second nature to express ourselves this way.
Some artists that we have been listening to a lot recently:
Vulfpeck, Sons of Kemet, corto.alto, Joesef, guitariccadelafuente, Snarky Puppy, Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, Phoebe Bridgers, Hinds, Lucia and the Best Boys, Nathan Somevi, D’Angelo, Rosalía, Marina Rolink, Marika Hackman, Frank Ocean
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I (Jack – guitar/vocals) started writing songs when I was around 9, which was basically just a process of taking songs that I liked, changing the words slightly and calling it a new song. Since then though it has kind of become a habit where I just keep notes of little phrases/ideas etc, and then at some point something will stick out to me and that will be the seed of a song. I find lyrics more difficult than music, so the lyrics tend to progress more slowly than the rest of the song.
‘Lions Should Hunt’ came after I saw an advert featuring a busty blonde model seductively selling something and I was annoyed that this was what people thought would be an effective advertising technique, and annoyed by the fact that it probably was effective! I took that further to think about how men are taught to think about sex, the effect that concepts of masculinity have on us etc.
Musically, most of the songs start as a loose song idea or a demo recorded in my room and then the band all throw in their individual influences. We have always wanted to be an eclectic band and the fact that each member of the band is so good, and comes from a different musical background, means that we can really try to create some unique music.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I (Jack – guitar/vocals) started writing songs when I was around 9, which was basically just a process of taking songs that I liked, changing the words slightly and calling it a new song. Since then though it has kind of become a habit where I just keep notes of little phrases/ideas etc, and then at some point something will stick out to me and that will be the seed of a song. I find lyrics more difficult than music, so the lyrics tend to progress more slowly than the rest of the song.
‘Lions Should Hunt’ came after I saw an advert featuring a busty blonde model seductively selling something and I was annoyed that this was what people thought would be an effective advertising technique, and annoyed by the fact that it probably was effective! I took that further to think about how men are taught to think about sex, the effect that concepts of masculinity have on us etc.
Musically, most of the songs start as a loose song idea or a demo recorded in my room and then the band all throw in their individual influences. We have always wanted to be an eclectic band and the fact that each member of the band is so good, and comes from a different musical background, means that we can really try to create some unique music.
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
We have always wanted to be a band that sounds unique and demonstrates its eclectic influences, so we try to incorporate aspects of lots of different genres; jazz, soul, funk etc. At the end of the day we want to write music that we would like to listen to, and the music we listen to is eclectic, exciting, tongue-in-cheek, so if we can bring across any of that then we would be happy.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
We play the songs that we like most. We like watching bands who look like they are having fun, it is more enjoyable for the audience, and so we always make sure that we are enjoying what we are doing and keeping things fresh for us.
We are also very influenced by the musicality of genres such as jazz and funk, so when we play live we like to include different versions of songs, extended solos and jams, just enjoying playing with each other and challenging ourselves.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
We play the songs that we like most. We like watching bands who look like they are having fun, it is more enjoyable for the audience, and so we always make sure that we are enjoying what we are doing and keeping things fresh for us.
We are also very influenced by the musicality of genres such as jazz and funk, so when we play live we like to include different versions of songs, extended solos and jams, just enjoying playing with each other and challenging ourselves.
What plans do you have for the future?
Our new single has just come out, ‘Lions Should Hunt’, which we are very excited about. We have some more singles lined up for 2021 and potentially an EP is in the works. We want to keep developing as a band and playing together as much as possible.
In terms of live shows we are going with the flow, we would love to play some festivals and shows in Scotland and further afield, but given the current situation we will play it by ear and take whatever we can!
We also want to play Madison Square Gardens, but we’ll take it one step at a time!