Little Fish Interview

Juju and Nez are Little Fish, an incendiary two piece garage punk-rock outfit from Oxford who've been tearing up venues over the past few years in support of acts such as Blondie, Hole, Alice in Chains and Them Crooked Vultures.

For a stripped down lineup they pack an astonishing punch - Nez nails down the beat with the finesse and dynamics of a guy who's spent most of his life behind a kit, creating an unshakeable foundation for Juju's razor sharp, minimalist guitar lines. Vocally and lyrically, there's no shortage of passion and intensity - rowdy and upbeat one minute, low key and moody the next, Little Fish know how to hook a crowd and batter them into willing submission. The reaction of the fans speaks for itself; support for them is growing rapidly and they're starting to break through into the festival arenas and radio play, no doubt assisted by their willingness to keep in touch with their fans over the internet and make every single follower feel appreciated.

Juju was kind enough to find some time during a hectic weekend at Sonisphere to answer a few questions for us:

There haven’t been a great many rocky two-piece bands in recent history– The Black keys, The White Stripes and The Kills spring to mind. Have you found that the format has presented challenges or opportunities that a larger lineup might not have encountered?

I think that starting out as a two-piece really pushed us both to our limits as we have had to make the most of what we have. To compensate for what we lacked in terms of players and instruments we both intensified the music and the performance. Although it has been challenging, it may have been a blessing, it forced us to become the performers and players that we now are.

Both of you seem to have quite different musical tastes - do you find that your best moments come from the cohesion when those tastes connect, or the tension when they don’t?

I would love to say that it comes from when tastes connect, but I’d have to be honest and say that our best moments probably come from the tension that is created when they don’t. If Nez and I were the same kind of musician, the band would never have become what it is. It is the dichotomy between us that creates the energy in the music – the constant battling gives off electricity. We are both passionate about what we play and so we battle with conviction.

Reading through your webpage, tour diaries and twitter/facebook pages reveals an openness and willingness to connect with the fans that’s both refreshing and rewarding. Do you think that approach has changed the way you've developed as a band? Should new bands follow that lead and make good use of technology if they want to build the kind of respect and rapport you’ve earned from your fans?

I have no idea whether it has changed the way that we’ve developed as a band. It’s just something that we have always done because both writing and acknowledging people is important to us. We started from nothing and had to create something. Apart from playing live shows, using the internet was the only way we had to reach people. Although I’m aware that it may not be considered very cool to communicate with your fans, I think that the artist has to change with the times. Gone are the days when you can hide and be mysterious, especially at the start of your career; it doesn’t help to be mysterious if nobody knows who you are. In my view, new bands should make use of whatever new technology they can. What harm can it do?

Following from that, the garage/punk ethic was always about making things happen for yourself. Does taking your presence back from the labels and controlling your own image and PR so successfully ever put you at odds with them?

So far everything has been ok. When you work with people, there are some compromises we all have to make and I think we have managed to strike a balance. A lot of the stuff we are learning as we go along, so it’s not always going to be perfect first time.

While we’re talking about the DIY ethic and self sufficiency, I notice you’re hugely optimistic about the positive potential in digital distribution. Do you think we’re approaching a point where bands can realistically opt out of the traditional route of working up towards a major label deal and attain the same degree of success without the old received wisdom?

I’d love to say yes but unfortunately, unless you have a rich granny or cousin, there is no way that we could do what we do without the support of a label. We have been blessed in that we have signed to a label that fully understands what kind of band we are: free spirited and very self-motivated when it comes to working and getting out there. We work on all the things that are within our reach, like the music, the writing and communicating with our fans, but there is no way that we could afford to do the touring without the backing of the label. For that, we are grateful. There is a lot of politics within the music industry and without the connections and clout of a label there are some barriers that are very hard to break.

It sounds like recording your forthcoming debut album ‘Baffled and Beat’ was an intensive experience, with producer Linda Perry taking control and pushing hard to get the best out of you. You both seem to be pretty strong willed, so was it tough to strike a balance between your ideas and hers? Do you think that experience has changed your approach to writing?

When we first went in to record we were pretty green to the entire process so although we may have been confused we weren’t very demanding. I think maybe we frustrated her at times because we didn’t know what was going on. There were a few tense moments, but you have to choose your battles and know when to let it roll. We were really happy to work with Linda because we knew that she understood us. There were only a few moments when it was evident that we had completely different ideas about the song we were recording. These songs simply didn’t make the record. Linda refused to do any writing with me so I learnt a lot about writing under pressure. In the mornings I would go and write a song with everyone simply waiting for it to be finished. It was very intense. I learnt that writing under pressure is possible and can be a very productive process.

In a past interview, whilst mulling over life on the road, you said "whatever we experience, the good and the bad, we have to just keep on moving". That no-nonsense approach shines through in your songwriting, but I was wondering where you draw the boundary between what you share, and what remains private?

I am a very emotional person, and so common sense doesn’t always prevail. I can write personal stuff because my emotions take over. I don’t mind that – thinking too much can block creativity and natural thought. The one thing I won’t talk about is other people. That, I suppose, is where I draw the line.

One of the things that immediately grabbed me about your music was the feeling that you absolutely nail the tracks without mucking around and overpolishing them; it sounds great, but it also has the rawness associated with the best garage music, and is a killer antidote to the autotune brigade. Do you think that a lot of new bands are finding themselves railroaded into adopting those glossy production values, to their own detriment?

Completely. That is one of the main reasons why we decided to record our album as live and real as possible. We are tired of hearing perfect polished albums. This ‘perfect’ sounding approach to music has taken the breath and the human touch out of music and I find that devastating and false. Life is not like that and people aren’t either. Life can be hard for many people because we are constantly told that we have to strive for perfection to be happy, and we feel insecure because we’re not. Media has fed the wrong message to people for too long now and music has followed. That is our philosophy. I am not sure if it would suit every band, but I certainly think that it would suit many that I see playing at the moment. Being true to yourself is vital in life and in the music we make.

As I’m writing this in the early hours, the news has just been released that you have a headline slot at the Reading and Leeds Festivals this year, congrats! You’ve already played to some serious crowds through the shows with Blondie, Hole and Them Crooked Vultures - do you have to go through a mental readjustment to make the transition between those large scale gigs, and the more intimate shows? Given the choice, which would you go prefer?

We are still slowly learning the craft of performing on a big stage but we are slowly getting to grips with it. Small, hot, sweaty pub venues were our training ground so we are used to exploding in small confined spaces. We are still trying to figure out how to translate that energy onto a bigger stage. It’s a different craft, as you have a bigger space to fill. We have started to focus on making the audience feel part of the show rather than just spectators. Given the choice? Wow! I think I will always feel most at home on a small squashed pub stage. Having said that, I am really starting to enjoy the space that a big stage gives you to perform in. Tough choice. Things have to move forward, right? We can’t stay in the same place forever. I hate walking down the same road twice.

As well as those two shows, you have a great festival schedule lined up for the rest of the year. When that’s all over and you’ve got your breath back, what’s next on the cards for Little Fish?

Now that we have learned a lot more about the life of music, both as live performing artists and as recording artists, I am already looking forward to recording our second album.

Little Fish's debut album Baffled and Beat is released on Monday 16th August 2010. Many thanks to Juju, and to Division Promotions

http://littlefishmusic.com/