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An Interview with HUSH MIKOLKA
Other | Tuesday 22nd October 2013 | Natalie
Guestlist were lucky enough to catch Hush Mikolka’s very own Ali Warren for a quick natter, prior to their highly anticipated E.P launch of ‘A Thousand Faces.’ Formerly known as the 'Ali Warren Band,' Hush Mikolka promises new releases, new music, new name, same soul. Let’s take a listen to see what these guys have been up to…
So tell us a bit about the name ‘Hush Mikolka,’ how did it come about?
Mikolka is a character from Dostoyevsky's book, Crime & Punishment. Mikolka owns up to a murder that he never committed and he is a really interesting character. He kind of does it to purge himself of his own sins. He was described as someone who loved to sing and dance and people would travel from all around to listen to his stories and tales. I found him quite an inspiring character. And basically the Hush bit is saying “shhhh,” so technically the name is ‘Shhh Nicholas’ as that's what Mikolka translates into - it is very rock n roll! *Laughs*
Would you say that the name expresses the sound that you are delivering?
Yeah, well we get described a lot as sub-folk, sub-indie and soul. A lot of the band come from different backgrounds; some classical, some pop, etcetera. And yeah we all like to tell stories and tales, so yes I guess that is what we try to embody.
So you have your brand new E.P coming out soon. Would you like to tell us a bit about it?
Yeah sure, it's called ‘A Thousand Faces’ and it will be available online on the 11th November. The launch party for that will be taking place on the 7th November at The Macbeth. It is our debut E.P under this name so we're trying to do something a bit different and embody a few new sounds in it. We are really looking forward to seeing how it’s received when we share it with the wider world.
Awesome. So who else is in the band? What is the set up?
So, I [Ali Warren] am rhythm guitarist, vocals and keys. We also have Miriam on the cello, Paul Love on the Drums, Reck as our lead guitarist and Dan on the bass.
So how did you guys get together?
The band formed because the guitarist Reck invited himself in for a cuppa one day, I was singing out of the window and he lived across the street and invited himself round. We just got on and had a jam in the garden and ended up getting that together. I grew up with Miriam in Somerset, so I like to keep that real. And I got thrown onto the stage with Dan at an open mic night.
What have you guys been doing recently? Did you play at any festival this summer just passed?
Yeah we played at Sofar, Lamer Tree and at the United Island Festival in Czech Republic, which was really cool. We met a band called ‘Please The Trees’ at UIF who I then did a solo tour with in Czech and Poland, which was great and really eye opening to get out of the UK and do music there. I’m off touring Poland again in a couple of weeks and will be promoting the band and stuff. We have also been on it in the studio, trying to get things together and find our sound and make waves!
So if you’re going back to Poland again, you must feel as though your music was received really well there. Did you have an enjoyable experience whilst you were there?
Yes it’s a really pleasant place and there are lots of interesting people trying to make a scene. I will admit though, I do find the language very hard - it is hard! It was amazing; the warmth they gave us. The thing that's cool about touring is that you don’t go and see the churches etc. you skip the small talk and all that crap and people go straight to asking you about yourselves and telling you their life stories. Because you are on stage, people are compelled to give you their life stories and you get a good feel of the people and places, which is a really exciting experience.
Do you have any other gigs lined up anytime soon in London or elsewhere?
At the moment we have got the launch on the 7th and in December we are going to try possibly getting some dates in Brighton and some other gigs here and there – represent!
What’s on the horizon for you guys?
We are really excited about next year – the last year has been really exciting too. It’s interesting for a band at the start to see if you’re all going to commit, and obviously we have done that. We have had a single and now an E.P released and we're now mainly looking to get the album together, do a lot of festivals and just enjoy it and have a laugh, which is most important.
Thanks for your time Hush Mikolka and best of luck with the launch of your new E.P ‘A Thousand Faces’ - we cannot wait to hear it ourselves!
Natalie Blow
