“Is it daft to ask about influences? … Yes!”
There’s a lot of love for new bands around at the moment. Some might call it hype, but from what I’ve seen the UK is currently awash in great new talent. Against this backdrop, I came out of my first experience with PINS, which you can read about here, absolutely blown away; utterly convinced that if anyone was, ya know, destined for greatness, these girls most certainly are. With great lolloping beats, insistent snaking guitar and bass, and vocals carried on the ether from who knows where, the music is awash in punk sensibility and had me at the first song. Their recorded output so far consists of a cassette tape (first run sold out in milliseconds), a brand new 4 track on see through glittery vinyl courtesy of their recent tie-up with Bella Union, and a small but oh-so-significant slew of videos, the latest of which got released into the wild today, and is embedded at the end of this interview. They started a short headline tour last night, which was by all accounts all it could be and more. We were lucky then that they found time to answer some questions, in some cases with the contempt they utterly deserved
So, hi there PINS. I know we’ve already met once very briefly, but would you like to introduce yourselves properly for our readers at GIITTV?
Faith – I sing and play guitar in PINS
Lois – I also play guitar and do backing in PINS
How’s it going today? I guess you must be just about loading up for the start of your tour – your first night is in Liverpool? What are your thoughts on setting off on your headline tour?
Lois – Yeah it’s gonna be great playing live again, seeing some new bands, cities and venues.
Faith – The first night is Liverpool, yea, we have played there twice before and both shows were really fun with a good crowd so I think it will be a good city to ease us into it. I’m excited, we all are. We haven’t played live since August, we have new songs that I want people to hear. The PA in our practice room sounds so bad, I’m looking forward to hearing myself through decent speakers!
You’ve got different support bands at different venues I think? Bird are opening for you twice? What was the reason for not taking one support band right through?
Faith – We handpicked some bands that we liked from different cities and asked if they wanted to play with us, it will be good to meet new bands and to watch them live.
Have you got plush Travel Lodge rooms booked all through or will it be mate’s floors, or even worse, motorway services in the van?
Faith – haha, a mixture of all those things.
Lois – With an emphasis on the floor side of things.
You’re playing Manchester on Saturday, right in the middle of the run. Weren’t you tempted to make it a last night home-coming?
Faith – home-coming, we’re not Oasis! I don’t think anyone cares – it’s on a Saturday night, party time.
Lois – We’re playing with September Girls that day, it’s gonna be special.
Are there expectations, welcome or otherwise, simply because you are a Manchester band? Is it a help or a curse?
Faith – I think, because ‘Madchester’, 90’s britpop, lads bands, clearly isn’t an obvious reference for us we don’t get lumped in with that like a lot of Manchester bands do. People speak of our Joy Division influence, that can never be a curse. Honestly, I think that right now there are a lot of amazing musicians emerging from Manchester, it’s a good place to be.
Lois – I think people mention that you can hear the Manchester rain in our music, which may be true, but definitely isn’t a curse.
You seem to be keen on strong visual imagery. In fact for a photographer like myself, your level of awareness of the visuals is quite daunting, there’s no pulling the wool. I think I’m right in saying that most or all of you have been involved in other arts projects, either at Uni or elsewhere. Do you want to tell us more about that? Is it something left behind now there is the music, or is it more complex than that?
Faith – PINS is the most creative thing I have been involved in, I like how everything we do documents a point in my life. For me, music is a true love, it’s the only thing I want to do.
Lois – I do feel like PINS has become my main creative outlet. We have a lot of control over every aspect of the band and we spend pretty much all day everyday talking about ideas and making plans, and it’s really exciting. I have other projects that I’m working on, but in the end it all feeds in together – ideas can be applied and transferred where there are needed, and in doing so can become more interesting and diverse .
Your videos, although there are only three so far – is that right? – seem to have almost as strong an identity as the songs – are they two sides of the same coin, equally supporting each other, or is the music ALWAYS first?
Faith – Yes we have three videos out right now but another one is coming this week. (Ed – there are now four – the new one is right here on this post) The music always comes first, we record a song and then make a video to go with it. We don’t like to do anything half-heartedly.. if we’re going to make a video then we might as well do it properly.
Lois – ALWAYS.
You’ve been working with Sing J Lee for the videos, to great effect, but what’s it like having another creative voice there, from outside the band?
Faith – Sing did the ‘Eleventh Hour’ video and the ‘LUVU4LYF’ video, Anna made the ‘Shoot You’ one and we have been working with Amy Watson for the ‘Say To Me’ video. Sing is fun and easy to work with, he just makes it happen. we haven’t ever had an idea forced on us, it has to be a collaboration.
Lois – Yeah, it’s really interesting bringing someone in to work with. We have ideas as a band what we want, and we work with them to make that happen. Everyone we’ve worked with so far has been really open to that, and they’ve been confident in bringing their own ideas in too. We like to work with people that are ambitious in their own projects so we can make the best possible. Same goes for recording, it was fun down at SWAYS.
Tell us how you met. Faith previously mentioned being at uni, and about putting up posters with little tear off tags with phone numbers on, like they do for lost cats. I understand too that it’s Faith’s first band, which is pretty amazing. What about the rest of you? No hidden pasts as Stage School kids or X-factor contestants that we need to be made aware of?
Lois – I’ve been in a few bands before, but just playing with friends with a few gigs here and there. PINS is the first band I’ve got my teeth into – shall we say.
Is it a ruthless process, getting the line-up right? Were hundreds cast aside in auditions?
Faith – Prior to putting PINS together I was kind of ruthless, only with myself though.. I would try out with people who wanted to make bands .. and they would want to work with me .. then I would text them 2 days later saying sorry but it’s not for me. With PINS there were a few people that tried out and it just didn’t work. I think it was mutual; I hope it was.
More to the point, WHY did you start it all? What are you here for? The sex, drugs and rock’n’roll or some nobler purpose?
Faith – I feel compelled to make music, I can’t imagine not doing it. Being in a band is the most fun I’ve ever had. It must be down to the people you are in a band with, I guess I lucked out in finding the best bandmates.
Lois – It is loads of fun, and hard work. Which is my favourite kind of fun.
Part of the reason I ask that is from a half heard comment… that you wanted, needed to be in a band that was all girls to avoid the traditional role of being “the girl” in an otherwise male band?
Faith – I certainly wanted/needed to be in a band for my own sanity but i didn’t initially set out to be in an all girl band. At the time I thought the problem I was having with playing music with boys was because they wanted a girl in the band as some sort of novelty, but in retrospect I think I just really wanted to do my own thing.
Is the music business still sexist? What do you reckon?
Faith – I’ve read a few reviews were I have thought: I doubt they would have said that if we weren’t an all female band. But no, not really, not beyond the computer screen anyway. The promoters, industry people, audience, other bands etc.. have always been lovely, maybe it depends on who you let yourself be surrounded by.
Lois – I agree that it depends on the people you work with, I think it still exists, but you can avoid it if you want to.
Is it right then, in 2012, to have festivals where all the bands are female?
Faith – it’s important to celebrate and make a point of an important change; in the future it probably/hopefully won’t be necessary. Its a funny time to be alive, isn’t it.
You’ve just signed to Bella Union, who I might add are (from where I’m sitting) the nicest possible people, the absolute antithesis of the ‘old’ type record label. Is it a deal for one release, or will it take you through to albums and beyond? They’re a great label of course – did it feel like a big deal?
Lois – We didn’t want to rush into anything, and we were being approached by other people at quite an early stage. We felt like when we spoke with BU they were someone we can work with, and so far so good.
You’ve got a very distinctive sound. Was it like that from day one? How did you find your voice as a band, and is it what you imagined it would be?
Lois – We spent time trying to figure everything out, everyone trying different roles. I was drumming/singing at one stage – not a good stage either. We realised we needed an actual drummer so we could all concentrate on our own strengths and then we really got going…
Is it daft to ask about influences?
Faith – Yes..
Initially you seemed to be playing everywhere – plenty of festival dates, but I also saw a picture of you playing a shop that I happen to know very well, just by Rough Trade East – has there been a deliberate plan about taking gigs, or is it more just taking the offers that were made?
Faith – At first it depended on the offers that were coming in as we didnt have a booking agent or anything like that, now its more about organising tours. We like doing interesting shows, like the one in the shop you mention; we’ve just confirmed to play a show in Glasgow for a group of feminists – that should be interesting. We also want to put on some of our own ‘Haus of Pins’ shows.
Have you got any of them limited edition cassettes left? Seriously, your first single was cassette only and sold out in milliseconds, now you’ve gone all glittery vinyl for the new EP. You’ve got some pretty determined views then, on not being too conventional getting your music out there?
Faith – We did some more of the black tapes so we will be selling them on tour, the gold are gone forever. We did the tape because we were self releasing it and didn’t have enough money for vinyl. We get that it’s a bit of an obsolete format but it was important for us to have something physical. Glitter.. gold… we like shiny things.
Lois – It’s great that music is available digitally – it’s so easy, but it’s great to hav e somet hing tangible too. Shiny and tangible.
I’m told you’re all vegetarian. I’m trying to be, my kitchen was awash in marinading tofu earlier, it really was. Have you got any views about whether musicians should use their positions to campaign, on animal rights or anything else? And have you got any great tofu recipes?
Faith – you mean like Morrisey? I don’t know, I’m pro-choice.
Lois – People should do what they think is right. Salt’n’Pepper Tofu is pretty good.
Right, I could go on all night, I really could. But instead – what should I really have been asking about to get under the skin of PINS?
What do you think Bill Murray says to Scarlett Johansson at the end of Lost in Translation?
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That of course, the question of what Bill Murray says, shall remain one of the great unanswered questions of the modern era, so it seems like a good place to end. As for salt’n’pepper tofu, I think I’ll stick to searing in sesame oil….
