When you stumble upon some great new music you weren’t expecting to find it is a great feeling. You can enjoy them all to yourself, until that point when they turn into Coldplay and then you are forced to hate them for being so popular.
Lets hope these two brilliant acts, both appearing on a very limited edition split single from Tip Top Recordings will stay nicely under the radar for a little while yet. So if you do like them, keep it to yourself for now (it can be our little secret).
Looking Glass (Jim Wallis)
First up is Jim Wallis. The drummer for rising UK band My Sad Captains and now the creative musical mind behind Looking Glass.
Is Looking Glass a long term project?
Certainly. Although I’ve only started using the name Looking Glass comparatively recently, in many ways it’s the same project as when I started recording 10 years ago: I’ve always written and recorded music on my own, and I’m sure I always will.
There’s a real neophilia in music at the moment- press looking for bands that are incredibly new so they can be the first to champion them, bands changing their name so that they can be ‘new’ again- but I’m happier building up a catalogue of releases and material, so that people can see its development and progress.
I definitely feel like my best work is ahead of me.I should say though that this is assuming that the 70’s American rock band of the same name don’t catch up with me and ask me to stop using the name.
Now Looking Glass is a 4 piece, do you write as a group?
We have a 4 piece band for live stuff now, but on record it is still very much me. On this new EP, I play everything- except for the strings, which are by my good friend Andy Bell. I really enjoy working like that, I think I would find it hard to do it differently and relinquish that control.
What instruments do you play live?
I play an electric guitar. Although on record the songs are often acoustic guitar-led, it’s hard to get a good acoustic guitar sound live- on a limited budget, anyway. Similarly I’d quite like to play the piano live, but it’s not really logistically possible at the moment.
Apart from myself, so far we have played with drums and bass, then Andy playing cello and a bit of keyboard and guitar. I’m sure this will vary though in future- I like the idea of an ever-changing line up, to keep things interesting.
What is your fav song (of yours)?
I’ve been going through my songs lately to work out which from previous releases to re-record to include on the album. I think my favourites are from the Fish/Fowl/Flood mini-album and from the EP before this one.
I’m also proud of on the new EP, which is a little bit different from my previous stuff- I’m pleased I kept it as more of a slow burner and resisted the temptation to make it more immediate.
When can we expect to see (and hear) an album?
I’m going to start recording later this summer for an album, to be released at some point next year.
Who would you like to go on tour with?
Supporting Bright Eyes and then also playing drums in their set would be ideal, if you could sort that out for me.
Who is better, Beck or Badly Drawn Boy?
While I like Badly Drawn Boy, for me Beck is in a different league. Consistently inventive and inspiring.
This way for interview with Vio/Mire (Brendan Glasson) >
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