It’s time to stop thinking of protest singers as grizzled old men with acoustic guitars. Meet Mattie Vant, a handsome, young, passionate chap who isn’t afraid to match his heartfelt political lyrics with banging tunes along with the rest of the band. Radio 1 loves them, their live audiences love going crazy in the pit at gigs and they’ve signed to one of the most reputable labels in the world, Parlophone. I spoke to Mattie about staying true to his roots and what they’ve learned thus far.
s “We owe
o much to Radio 1”
INFORMATION
VANT play the Waterfront on 23rd August. Tickets available from
ueatickets.ticketabc.com
You started the band in 2014 as a way to creatively fight against the evils of our world. It started as a solo project for you. Why did you decide to make VANT a band? I think DUMB BLOOD sounds like and is a band, it’s four people making punk rock music, therefore it felt natural to become a band in that process. You moved from the North East, an ex-coal mining town to Brighton to London. How did these changes in your environment shape your music? I don’t think my environment has ever really affected the way I write music. I’ve always written in a very insular way. Rolling out of bed into my home-made studio has always felt right to me, I guess whatever location that bed happens to be in doesn’t really matter. You made friends with Greenie your drummer, through the North East music scene, Billy, when you worked in a Dalston music venue and Henry, your lead guitarist, when he worked on some early demos in 2013. What sort of music had they been
playing previously? Greenie and Henry have both been in loads of different projects, ranging from 80s metal to synth-pop. I know Billy has played in quite a few punk bands and also a fiddle led folk band as well, so quite diverse to say the least! Do your influences include many protest singers? Yeah, Neil Young, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, MIA the list goes on and on. Your lyrics are all well considered and opinionated. How do you go about encompassing your thoughts on say global warming or war into a set of lyrics? I’ve always tried to write fairly weird and interesting lyrics, so when I moved from love to politics it was quite easy to include unusual topics and analogies throughout our work. 2015 saw the band really picked up by the music industry in a massive way. What do you think they heard in your music that made their ears prick up? I think they were excited that a rock band were using their music and their voices to say something. Tat didn’t really
exist at the time. How did you decide to sign to Parlophone? You must have had a lot of label offers at the same time. Tey are a really great, historic label and they got us right from the off. You actually have your own label, Dumb Blood Records. How come you decided to put your first 7” out on your own label? We intended on releasing our debut album in a DIY sense but then the whole major label thing happened. We decided to release the first single ourselves to stay true to our roots. Your music is a form of activism in itself – do you encourage a mosh pit as it releases those emotions and energies in a physical way for the audience? We don’t encourage violence, if people wanna jump around and have a good time that’s great, as long as they don’t injure anyone else in the process. You’ve been all around the world already, from Japan to Norway. What’s been the crowning moment internationally for the band
thus far? Fuji Rock in Japan was fucking insane. 10,000 people turned up and blew our minds. You’ve supported the likes of Royal Blood and Biffy Clyro. What have you learnt from the more experienced bands you’ve met? Don’t compromise and continue to believe in what you do. You’ve been all over the radio – is this still an important element of raising your profile in 2017? Definitely. We owe so much to Radio 1. Your debut album came out earlier this year, called Dumb Blood like your label. What does this phrase mean to you and how does it reflect in your music? It’s a comment on our generation and the fact we don’t use our voices enough to provoke change. Tankfully this is beginning to be less of a common trait. Which song on the album means the most to you, and why? Tat is way too difficult, it’s like picking a favourite child!
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OUTLINEONLINE.CO.UK / AUG/SEPT 2017 / 47
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