On Tuesday the 27th of August, The Mic's Ted Culley sat down (virtually) with Wunderhorse drummer, Jamie Staples.
I’ve been a big fan of Wunderhorse for a while now and I thought their first record, Cub, was one of the best indie rock releases of the past few years. Wunderhorse’s new album, Midas, was due for release on the 30th of August so I was keen to find out more about Jamie, the band itself and this new release.
I began the interview by asking Jamie about his early drumming influences - I wanted to know who inspired Jamie to pick up the drumsticks. Jamie recounted that he ‘kind of fell into playing drums’ and that his schoolteacher, Mr Bush, was largely responsible for the start of his drumming journey. John Bonham and Dave Grohl were two drummers that Jamie named as having a big influence on him in his teen years. He spoke of how drumming was ‘the perfect vehicle’ for channeling ‘teenage angst' and described a love for heavy hitting drummers at that time.
The Wunderhorse drummer says that since then, he has branched out and has a lot of other different drummers he likes. Interestingly, Jamie also noted that in more recent years, he'd been able to put drums ‘more into the background’. He says that he has a lot more appreciation for ‘songs that might not even have drums at all’. Unsurprisingly, Jamie did confirm that he remains, as he has been for a long time, absolutely obsessed with drums.
As an album, Midas appears to represent a new artistic direction for the band. Therefore, I was keen to understand if this artistic shift had been accompanied by a new set of influences. Jamie relayed that, yes, the band had definitely been taking on board newer influences but was very keen to emphasise that Midas was an album that sees the band return to its beloved roots. ‘We wanted to make something with a bit more rawness to it, you know, leave the mistakes in, have it sound like you're right there in the room with us’. Jamie recalled the band listening to the likes of Rolling Stones, Nirvana and the Pixies during the creation of Midas.
Next, I asked Jamie if there were any tracks he felt particularly proud of or proud of finishing on this album. To this question he replied:
'Yeah, honestly all of them. We didn't stop until we were sure we were proud of every song. Speaking from my point of view, I think July is probably my favourite song on the record. When I play that song, it’s like the little kid in me playing drums on that!'
…
'I think Midas is our first record as a four piece. When we first started with Cub it was very much a Jacob Solo project. We were in the midst of Covid and it was just a strange time. I think when Harry joined and we started touring that record, we realised that yeah, we could do this with the band. And then we started to come together on what we all actually loved about music. And I think that's where Midas came from.'
Wunderhouse have had an extensive circuit this year and late last year, touring up and down the country playing many gigs and festivals, from supporting Fontaines D.C. on tour and performing sold out shows. Therefore, I was keen to know how they felt about playing festivals compared to playing the indoor gigs of the Winter months, wondering whether there were any differences between the two types of performance environments. Jamie sung his praises for winter gigs, explaining how they can allow bands to really ‘hone’ their crafts and allowed bands to ‘really get into the swing of things’. Jamie also used this opportunity to highlight his love of festivals and his love of the uncertainty that comes with them.
'Just speaking for myself, I love playing at festivals. I think there's a much more unknown element to what's going to happen. You turn up, you don't get a sound check, and you don't really know how many people are going to show up or what your ticket sales are. You're just kind of at this thing. So, from a live point of view, it's exciting in that way'
At this point, I commented on how the beginning of their set at TRNSMT festival this summer had begun with a very interesting improvisational section. In response to this Jamie went on to say:
'Yeah, we do try and do that a lot really, and honestly not least of all for our own sanity in doing this day in and day out, churning out the same polished set every night, it's just not who we are. I think we would just go insane. So we try and leave an element that's unknown even to us. You know, someone might, you know, continue a section longer than it needs to, or do a little something before or after a track and try and make some segways. I mean, the other night in Leicester, we had Jacob's guitar pedalboard pack in and he chucked his guitar on the floor and the three of us basically made a tune on the spot and he'd like started romping around, running around the stage with a mic in his hand. So just things like that we just embrace now, I think it keeps it exciting for us.'
Later on, I asked if any live mishaps had ever translated into any studio songs he expanded on this story:
'Well, funnily enough, maybe the thing we did the other night might do. I think in a live environment there's maybe a slight heightening of the senses that allows for something quite good to happen. I don't know, I'm gonna have to listen back to some of those things if I can find them. But yeah, I'd like to think some of those jams could make it into a song, we'll have to see.'
When discussing his personal highlights of the time period between cub and Midas, Jamie pointed to supporting the Pixies across Europe. He described Pixies as ‘just a legendary band’ that he ‘looks up to’. He also focused on one particular night and discussed celebrating his birthday on the same night that they played a show in the French capital. Jamie discussed a real love for touring in Europe and a love for the way that Europe treats touring musicians. As Jamie recalled ‘I got to go to some of my favourite places and eat great food, hang out with friends’. Jamie was also very open in discussing that this time period was ‘quite turbulent’ for all in the band.
Finally, to draw the interview to a close, I asked Jamie about the music he frequently turns to before going on stage. The general consensus was that something heavier is usually in order. He discussed listening to everything from Nirvana to hip hop to psych himself up. He talked about all the boys in the band always wanting to really get into the zone before a gig, so they are able to ‘live up to the songs’ and make performances as ‘raw’ as possible.
Ted Culley
Edited by Alice Beard
Image c. Polocho (2024), video courtesy of Wunderhorse via Youtube
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