Younghusband‘s Preaching From the Pews entry went a little something like this:
“Younghusband began as the solo project of Watford born musician Euan Hinshelwood, who spends a portion of his time in Emmy the Great‘s band. But a tenuous link with a better exposed artist is not all the four piece have going for them; they create some decent and original psych-pop tunes, too.
Hinshelwood’s debut single “Could They be Jealous of Us” was released in November 2007 as a digital download, and followed by two EPs – The Judas Cow and Secret Mirkin with Emmy the Great – on limited 7″ vinyl. In 2008 the band toured with Pedro the Lion and Diane Cluck, before finalising their current line up in 2009. Their first live set was performed at Truck Festival that same year.
In the summer of 2011 the band will release their debut single proper “Carousel” through Too Pure. The song was recorded last year in London with Archie Bronson Outfit’s and XL signing Capitol K (Ariel Pinks Haunted Graffiti, The Vivian Girls and Viv Albertine) and mixed by Nicolas Vernhes (Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Stephen Malkmus).”
With Younghusband’s debut single “Carousel” due for release today through Too Pure, Tiffany Daniels spoke to frontman Euan Hinshelwood about forming a band, not recording with Nicolas Vernhes and acting as Emmy the Great’s sonic generator.
Why are you called Younghusband? Whose young husbands are you?
The name comes from a book called 7 Years in Tibet. It was the surname of one of the characters. Joe is the only one with a girlfriend so I suppose he’s the closest to a younghusband.
Younghusband began as your solo project. How did it develop into a band?
Well I needed some people to play the tracks live. At first [the band] were just playing what I had recorded. Quite a few different people played live to start with, [and] then about one to two years ago this line up was the one that stuck. We got more ‘serious’ then, we all play a part in writing [the songs]. We used to rehearse and hang out in an old fire station and gelled musically and personally. The sound [has] changed as a result.
How do you balance your time between this band and your other projects? Which would you rather sacrifice, if you had to?
The other [band] I [play in] is Emmy the Great, which I really enjoy; I get to play the role of sonic generator, interpreting Emma’s lyrics and descriptions of tracks sonically. But I have done that for a few years now and the time has come to concentrate on Younghusband. It feels right to do it now, to make it the most important thing I do, whereas perhaps a few years back it didn’t.
How do you think you’ve developed as a songwriter over the years?
I think the most important thing I’ve learnt is simplicity, space, making the content cordial. In the studio you can do a lot with really well written song in terms of arrangements, style [and] sounds. It’s trickier with a song containing 40 chords, loads of time changes [and] key changes. I’m not averse to that sort of song writing at all. I just find it interesting when people make complex things sound simple, like Brian Wilson. Broadcast did it really well too.
Your new single is the first release you’ve not put out through Culturedeluxe. How did you get involved with Too Pure and what lured you away?
Culturedeluxe were friends of friends. It was great that they put out my early stuff, but it has really moved on since then. I just felt like we should have some separation from what had happened in the past. We sent the single to Too Pure and they got back in touch the same day, that]s how that came about!
If/when you release an album, will you use any application like Pledge Music to raise funds, or would you prefer to leave it to a label?
I think you have to have a certain profile to really gain from Pledge Music, and I’m so impatient that I wouldn’t want to wait that long before we record our first album. I would rather self fund it or get a label involved.
You worked on “Carousel” with several well known names. Have they particularly influenced the finished product and how?
We had such a limited time to record it we kind of self produced it prior to going in. Kristian was a brilliant engineer and gave very, very wise words and encouragement throughout the recording process. The tracks had been mixed a few times before Nicolas got hold of them, and he did a great job, he made them sound natural. We chose him because of his previous work, so yeah, I suppose he has had some influence.
Who do you hope to work with in the future?
Nicolas Vernhes again, but this time in a recording situation!
Where do you hope to be in a year’s time?
In Bruges.
Adrian Mules wants to know whether you like kippers. Do you?
I do like a kipper. There is a brilliant Ian Dury and the Blockheads track that mentions kippers….
”Home improvement expert Harold Hill of Harold Hill, Of do-it-yourself dexterity and double-glazing skill, Came home to find another gentleman’s kippers in the grill, So he sanded off his winkle with his black and decker drill”
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You can order “Carousel” from Banquet Records or directly from Too Pure.
Vote for the band in our Featured Act poll over here.
