We caught up with Hoofa, a London based indie-pop band, ahead of their EP release. The band are set to release their EP 'Live at Bonafide' on Friday 29th June, following this with a gig at Camden Assembly on 5th July.
‘Olivia’ is a pretty moving piece with some thought provoking lyrics. What was the inspiration behind the masterpiece?
It’s a literal description of what happened to me when I was in the second year of University. Yes, her name was Olivia. Yes, I did cry outside a church. I have a saying in life, worst case scenario, write a song about it.
Of course, the London music scene is perhaps the biggest in the whole of the UK. How do you guys compete with others and stand out?
I don’t think it’s a competition per say, everyone runs their own race, if you know what I mean? I write songs with the general aim of making people dance around and sing along and I think there’s space for many really great songs for that, across different bands. That said, the quality of indie bands at the moment is really high. We focus on an energetic live show and catchy choruses, and hope people come back for more.
Do you have a specific song writing process?
I wrote the whole first album worth of material back in October, then a bunch of mates decided to join me to play the shows live. I’m currently writing the second album worth of material. Generally, I write the music and then the lyrics, but occasionally lyrics just come to me. Think about you, a track from the Live Session EP, was wrote lyrics first. I just go with the flow I guess!
At what moment did you realise that you were ready to record an EP opposed to releasing singles?
We played a few shows and people came up to us after complaining… that they couldn’t find our music online! The live session tracks are meant to satisfy that desire.
You guys have supported a fair few bands in your time. Who was the most memorable to be the supporting act for?
I supported The Twang with an old band back in the day, but the best bands always tend to support us to be honest! Sam Fender’s old band supported mine ages ago, we’ve played with Faers a couple of times and they’re ace, whilst The Luka State and Monico Blonde we’re great to play with as well. We played football with on the streets of Camden with Monico Blonde, so I’m gonna give it to them.
Your upcoming EP ‘Live at Bonafide’ is of course live. What is your reasoning for a live release of your tracks?
The primary reason is that people were frustrated that they couldn’t find music online, but secondly, we felt it gave us a chance to perform the tracks. We had 2 takes of each track by the time everything was set up, so there was a lot of pressure as well. Certainly a good learning opportunity!
3 Southerners and one Northerner. How did you guys meet each other?
I decided to turn Hoofa from a one man solo project into a band around me. I had jammed with the bassist (Alan) and the drummer (Archie) before and we all had a great vibe when in a room. I met the acoustic guitarist/backing vocalist (Paul) at a mutual friends stagg do and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. They are all from the south in some aspect, whereas I’m from a town in the North West called Warrington.
Collectively, what musical figures do you look up to/ take inspiration from?
For my writing, it comes from all over the place. The Wombats, The Smiths, Saint Raymond and Peace to mention just some. As a musical figure, it has to be Jonny Marr – he is just the man.
The name Hoofa; where on Earth did it come from?
Hoofa was my x-box gamer tag from when I first started gaming! When I started writing, I wanted to write under a name that meant a lot to me and that I could commit to a 5-6 year attempt at a musical career with. It was a choice between Hoofa or Jimmy Rooney & The Swan Fists… I’m sure you’ll agree Hoofa is more suitable!
Everyone has a song that, when with their mates, they get buzzed to. What is your song as a group?
Typically, it’s This Charming Man by the Smiths, but the occasional “Not 19 forever” goes down a treat as well.
What will have to happen in your future career to make you think “we’ve made it?”
Once I’ve played the BBC stage at Leeds Festival I can die happy.
Cliché, but what venue do you dream of playing at?
I’d love to play to a sold out crowd in Warrington at the Parr Hall, but London wise, KOKO would be class. I saw Little Comets play there and just blew me away.
What plans are you working on after the release of the EP?
We’re heading to the studio in July/August to work on ‘proper’ singles and release them later this year. Gig wise, we’re pretty much booked up in London for the year so we’ll focus on making them as fun as they can be!
Interview by Sam Hatherley
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