Haze

Name, where are you from?
Will Harrison from Haze, a band birthed from the bosom of middle England, a shire like no other… Buckinghamshire. We’ve now moved to Bristol after having realised that we have actually been living on a country road in the middle of nowhere.

Describe your style in three words?
Unfashionable 00s Dad.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Duds at the Old England in Bristol is a gig that sticks with me. The show was completely sold-out, and the crowd was uncomfortably packed into the room. Militantly tight as always, Duds had to battle against sound issues in a room where they had about as much room to move as the audience, which led to chaos. There was a sort of democratic parity with the audience… their performance was faultless and it was a special show for me.

If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
Wire and Pavement would be my crazy albeit unrealistic lineup. In terms of influence, I draw a lot on late '70s British punk, early-'80s post-punk but also '90s American indie, so sharing a stage with these legendary bands would be a realization of everything Haze is about.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Nestor Makhno would be a strong contender. He was a crazy Ukranian anarchist who led a peasant army in the Russian Civil War who were enemies with literally everyone else - the Bolsheviks, monarchists, bourgeois liberals. He also used to orchestrate these setups where he’d hold truce meetings with other factions and then assassinate them. Strong moustache game as well.

Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
In Bristol, it would have to be Crofters Rights. We were lucky enough to play a sold-out launch show there the night before our single, 'Ladz Ladz Ladz' was released back in April. The venue has hosted what I would consider some of the best gigs I have ever been to, namely LICE and Meat Raffle. It’s a haven for new bands to play to packed out crowds, and the lack of ventilation brings a sort of atmospheric chaos to the night, with both band and audience feeling on the brink of collapse.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
Hard to pick an individual, but Devo as a musical collective would be my pick for unsung heroes. Devo were absolute genius, well ahead of their time. I feel like Devo have been overlooked quite a bit when we look back at the most influential bands in history. Uniforms, hilarity and perhaps the wonkiest music ever created. 'Jocko Homo' off their debut is a stand out for me, and the video is delightfully disturbing.

Haze's recent live shows have included support slots with Shame, Starcrawler, Lice and Sorry, with upcoming slots such as Phobophobes, Pip Blom and Kagoule. Their latest single 'St John' was released in October 2018, on Hate Hate Hate Records. 

The first track you played on repeat?
'Anarchy in the UK' by the Sex Pistols. My cousin used to be in a punk band when he was a teenager and I nabbed Never Mind the Bollocks from his room when I was about 10. I had been proper into classic over-the-top 70s and 80s rock, as most kids who learn guitar at that age tend to gravitate towards, but hearing the Pistols opened my mind to more direct and aggressive music.

A song that defines the teenage you?
'Master of My Craft' by Parquet Courts. For years the album ‘Light Up Gold’ was basically all me and my friends listened to… except maybe occasionally sticking on ‘Sunbathing Animal’. Maybe we listened to them a bit too much, we’re always getting told we sound like them.

One record you would keep forever?
The double A-side of The Beatles 'Get Back/Don’t Let Me Down' (wholly for the B-side). There’s something about 'Don’t Let Me Down' that just gets to me. The vocal delivery in particular as Lennon and McCartney belt the chorus gives me chills, and then there’s the crazy organ solo. Production wise as well it’s so honest and just sounds like a band in a room.

A song lyric that has inspired you?
Hubert Parry’s Jerusalem "and was Jerusalem builded here among those dark satanic mills."
A bit of an odd source of inspiration but the lyrics to one of our new songs (Utopian Recipes) draw heavily on Blake’s poem and the song. The song seems to be so cherished in the English national psyche, so it sort of inspired me to explore questions of national identity and utopian ideas of building a new Jerusalem and overcoming the ‘satanic mills’ of our time.

The song that would get you straight on the dance floor?
I’d have to choose 'December 1963' by Franki Valli & The Four Seasons. What a beat, what a bass line, what a vocal performance. Every section of this song is a chorus in its own right.

A song you wished you had written?
'Moanin' by Charles Mingus. The song is perfectly controlled chaos, which we sort of aspire to achieve in our music. You probably won’t hear much of it in our music but we have all been influenced by jazz, especially more dissonant and all over the place stuff. I love how Moanin’ is so theatrical, so over the top.

Best song to turn up loud?
'Fame' by David Bowie. It always gets to that time of the night when Dan (our drummer) sticks 'Fame' on and does a scary yet beautifully choreographed routine of Fame. Only at high volumes does this spectacle occur.

A song people wouldn’t expect you to like?
'Katy On A Mission' by Katy B. A throwback to the school bus, but still a banger.

Best song to end an all-nighter on?
'Wish You Were Here' by Pink Floyd. It’s timeless. I’ve loved this song since first hearing when I was a lot younger, but in more recent years it has developed the function of making me feel human again at 9am.

Any new bands you are listening to right now?
Our mates in Jerry have a new song called 'Late Hugh' which is incredible, lyrically and musically, with a blistering vocal delivery.

I’ve also been listening to Crack Cloud a lot. Melodically they are a bit like Omni but more dissonant, without losing the catchiness They have a sort of mechanical clockwork-like style, especially in 'Swish Swash', which sort of puts you in a hypnotic trance.