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13.07.12MusicWeek 31
LEFT Eclectic: Honey Ryder credit the likes of Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page and Crosby, Stills & Nash with influencing their new album’s sound
makes us think that we need to explore some of our connections there.We’d love to do well in Europe as well. I’d love to be playing in my home continent. The world’s the limit!
Is it true that youworked atMTVin your past? It is. I was rehearsing and playing in bands in the evening but to pay the rent I worked there for a while. It enabled me to carry on my career because I had to earn money so I worked in the studios.
Iwould agreewith that... the trackMarley’s Chainswas inmy head for a fewdayswhen I heard it… It could be described as an earworm. It’s a very simple melody where it’s sort of nursery rhyme-like in its appeal where you can remember it pretty quickly as soon as you hear it.
Do you have any particular ambitions for this albumonce it’s released? I just want lots of people to hear it and for it to be as far-reaching as possible.We’ve had some fantastic radio support so far and I hope people continue to support us.Once the music’s out there you’re then judged by the public and you have to accept what they think of it.But I just want the opportunity to be heard. So far we really appreciate all the support we’ve had and long may it continue.
Do you knowwhat your audience is like?Do you have a target audience? I suppose people in their twenties, thirties and above.We did some market research for the new tracks and we used to think our audience was more female-oriented but it’s actually coming out more equal now. I think the album’s got some interesting instrumentation and the lyrics are relatable to men and women. Perhaps the first albumwasmore autobiographical
There seems to be a range of tempos and genre blends on each track… Hopefully the album has a cohesive feel but I do like different sounding tracks to change your mood, uplift you and take you to different places – that’s what we tried to achieve. Also,we have a range of different influences and
I think you can hear
that.For instance, Jason’s influences guitar-wise are Jimmy Page andMark Knopfler and on some of the tracks you can hear some interesting guitar
solos.There’s a track called Remedy – it’s the heavier side, our rock side coming
out.AndMatt and myself are into Crosby, Stills and Nash and JohnMayer,Neil Finn and Neil
Young.There’s lots of different influences and that’s why the album’s quite varied.
The albumcertainly seems to have popular appeal,where do you think that comes from? Growing up I listened to all sorts of things but my main emphasis was
melody.My mum and dad would playMotown, a lot of country, singer- songwriter types. I like strong female artists that have got brilliant
melodies.The thing that links it all up is relatable
lyrics.People can relate to our experiences that we’ve had through life - and the uplifting melodies hopefully link the songs too.
and the second albumismaybe a bitmore journalistic -me observing other people’s situations - and therefore it appeals tomen and women. I remember listening to albums in the car when I
was little; some of the most successful albums in history are when you have three or four generations in a car from grandparents to grandchildren and parents, and they all enjoy it – that’s an amazing achievement.We have hopefully a contemporary feel but it’s more classic and therefore it isn’t something where our target audience would be teenagers, but at the same time I would love it if we appealed to an entire family.Have different generations listening and they can all enjoy it – hopefully we’ve pulled that off.
You’ve got a big sync [on the programmeBody of Proof ] coming out onUS television – do you have any other international plans in the pipeline at all? We’d definitely like to explore America.We’ve got some really good connections in Nashville now and we’ve got support from the president of the CMA (CountryMusic Association), SteveMoore,who pledged his support and said he really likes the music.A lot of people,when they hear our music, say Americans will like this
album.The fact that PaulWorley loved it and wanted us to go out there and write on spec for Lady Antebellum as well
Do you thinkMTVshould playmoremusic videos?That’s a common debatewithin the industry over the past fewyears... I would absolutely love them to be playing more live music, and filming more live music, but I understand that it’s a business and you have to make money - they would probably argue with us that they don’t make as much money from that. Sky Arts now are doing loads of things [with music]. I just want music to be accessible to people.
People who can’t get to the concert, I want them to be able to see it on telly. So I would love it ifMTV and VH1 went down that road but I also understand the issues of money, especially in the day and age that we’re in. I’d rather the station keep going than disappear so they’ve got to do what they’ve got to do. I love watching interviews before the
concert.These days we’re able to get to know artists better throughTwitter and Facebook and all the social media but it’s still interesting seeing the artist talking and playing live, and that will never fail to interest me – it’s why people become musicians.Hopefully in the future the programming will veer towards live music.
“A lot of people say Americanswill like this album. The fact that PaulWorleywanted us to go to the States andwrite on spec for Lady Antebellummakes us think thatwe need to explore our connections out there” LINDSAY O’MAHONY, HONEY RYDER
If therewas one thing you could change about the music industry,whatwould it be andwhy? I don’t want to sound all airy fairy but I don’t go around looking at the negative side of stuff.We try and think outside the
box.For instance, the first album,we wrote a business plan and signed up to EIS [Enterprise Investment Scheme].The people investing in us got a tax incentive. Instead of thinking what is terrible about the industry and all the obstacles,we tried to think outside the box and find our way around it to launch ourselves. My main frustration is the fact that it’s so diluted
now.There are so manyTV channels, so many radio stations, that it’s hard to reach a big audience.You can get your music out there because of the internet but it’s [tough] getting enough people to hear it to be able to earn money to keep going. I suppose the biggest thing is downloading for
free…my short answer is – the illegal side of the internet and people downloading for free and not being able to police that, that’s the frustrating thing. The younger generation almost believe that music should be free and if they really understood how much it cost to be a full-time musician then maybe they wouldn’t do it.But I don’t know how you’d change that…it’s really difficult.
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