Stuart interviews...The Joy Formidable

I’d always wondered how my first interview as a journalist would go; who it’d be with and where. Students of Journalism may have been mollycoddled with Dictaphones, carefully pressed suits and the ‘yes-man’ of a minor corporation; being bundled into the back of a tour bus with a faint aroma of sweat and beer by the upcoming Welsh band The Joy Formidable, with nothing but a pen and paper, it’s fair to say my first experience was slightly rawer.

You released your first mini-album independently in January; how do you feel this structure of release affected you musically?

TJF: I’d say it did nothing but benefit the music itself, we were able to experiment with our ideas more openly, without the worry of “will the label like this?” Recording was natural, and we enjoyed getting response from the fans, rather than what a label thought.

What band do you think would be most relevant musically for you to open for in the future?

TJF: I think our sound is quite versatile, we’re opening for Editors, Passion Pit and Temper Trap this winter. A rock band would be pretty cool, Steel Panther preferably. Someone legendary like Pixies or The Flaming Lips; we’d have to knock back a bottle of Champagne every night on tour with them.

Favourite venue you’ve played?

Glasgow Barrowlands last night was brilliant, we loved the Festival Republic tent at Reading and Leeds too. Playing in caves would be cool, paragliding in from above like superheroes.

If you could produce any artists next record, who?

The Twilight Sad!

Any plans for new material?

We’re looking at a couple of Christmas songs maybe, then the new album should be out early next year.

You’ve just hit the big time and every festival wants you as an exclusive; where do you go?

Ideally Europe....or do you mean in England? If so then we absolutely loved Latitude last year, it’s just a magical place.

Free music – Yay or nay?

In the right context it’s a fantastic idea, but it has to be done with dignity. Giving away too much looks desperate, and obviously you’ve got to try and at least break even.

Do you think it’s more difficult for female fronted bands to be taken seriously?

Obviously the industry is very male dominated, but it’s less ‘out there’ than it used to be.

Metric, as opposed to Paramore?

Yeah...*laughs*

For a young band you looked very together on stage; how much of this is chemistry and how much sheer practise?

Mostly chemistry, there has to be a good level of it, you can’t just put a few amazing individual musicians together to make the best band in the world.

I’d like to thank TJF for taking away my interviewing V-plates, and being one of the most down to earth bands I’ve met.