Originally a two piece band formed by David Startin and Matt Cooper, the band has more recently brought onboard members Chris Moore and Tim Maddison. For me they remain one of the best live bands to see in Nottingham and I was keen to know what plans they have for the new year. David Startin kindly agreed to an interview about the band's past, present and future....
Thanks for the interview David, can you tell us about your musical backgrounds, how you met and describe your sound? It was Me and Matt at the beginning, we had an idea of making soundtracks. I was listening to a lot of Hip Hop and Dark wave stuff at the time and Matt was on his trip, he turned me on to Captain Beef heart, Tom Waits and some seriously mad shit. So, yeah, we were a two piece, me on Bass/Guitar, him Keys and Vocals with a drum machine. I knew Chris Moore, well before Lono. He started to seriously help us out with programming and shaping what we wanted to put out. We put out a few releases, Chris did a stint on the drums, now he’s on the bass. We met Tim through a mutual friend and he was just what was needed. The whole dynamic of the unit really took off when he came on board. Who has influenced you most in music and what are your most treasured records?
Ahhh too many. Me and Matt went deep with listening to stuff like Suicide, Vangelis, NIN, Depeche Mode, Berlin Bowie, Eno, The Soft Moon. The Doors, was the first band that ever drew me into music. I was so fucking obsessed with them in my early teens, I brought a fucking awful pair of leather trousers from the littlewoods catalogue, more Strelley than LA! So their LPs are my most treasured. I always get a new obsession every other month. Over the lockdown I’ve became obsessed with King Crimson, OutKast and Alessandro Cortini, oh and the latest Dry Cleaning track is off the chain. I seriously can’t wait for the new Viagra Boys album. Those guys are like a garage Roxy Music and I mean that in the most positive way. Outrageously good.
I've seen you guys live many times and regard you as a vital part of the Nottingham music scene. Who do you consider vital to the Nottingham music scene?
I think that the most vital part of the Nottingham scene are the venues and we all need something to come back to play on. You’ve got Anton and the DHP guys, The chameleon, JT Soar, Will from I’m not from London, all of these have helped us out massively and run incredible nights. Really looking forward to getting back to that.
How has lockdown affected your creativity?
Well I’ve definitely spent more on gear. Ha! Loads of it. Synths on credit. Yeah, it was tough at the beginning, our process is usually me and Matt in the room for 8 hours at a time trying to figure out where a new idea is going. But, we’ve adjusted and there’s plenty of new ideas to shape.
I understand you are working on a new album; can you tell us the idea or theme behind the project and when it will be out?
Yeah, we did a weekend stint at Rockfield at the end of December last year with Chris Olley at the helm. We had demoed the songs and wanted to get it down as live as possible with the intention of going back for another longer session. We managed to record ten tracks over that weekend and came back with five that we were happy with, then the plague hit. So we’ve had to re plan what we originally set out to do. You can have a listen via our bandcamp page to four of the tracks that Chris has mixed so far. It’s Titled “Hollow Ghosts”. We may just proceed with a 5 track release then, work towards a full album in the new year.
Thanks David and finally where can folks get to listen to your music?
Here’s a link, though check out the new stuff on bandcamp link first
https://iamlono.bandcamp.com/album/hollow-ghosts-demos
https://www.facebook.com/iamlonoband
https://twitter.com/iamlonoband
https://www.instagram.com/iamlonoband/
Comments