ONE ON ONE…WITH Swansea Sound

with David Kasheta, May, 2024

One On One…Swansea Sound! If this is the first time you’ve heard about The Swansea Sound, then congratulations, and welcome aboard. Secondly, I must inform you there is no going back. Admittedly I’m late to the party, first digging my hooks (and theirs) last September with the release of the fantastic album “Twentieth Century” (Skep Wax Records) (https://swanseasound.bandcamp.com/album/twentieth-century). Discovering new music and their influences and unique lyrical perspective can brighten any day, especially mine. I’ve lifted the curtain to get a full-throttle view into the band as they prepare for their US tour in June. 

This indie pop supergroup from Kent and Swansea, UK, formed in 2020. The group consists of Hue Williams (Pooh Sticks), Amelia Fletcher (The Catenary Wires, Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Pooh Sticks), Rob Pursey (Talulah Gosh, The Catenary Wires, Heavenly), Bob Collins (The Dentists, The Treasures of Mexico) and Ian Button (Death In Vegas, Papernut Cambridge, Wreckless Eric’s live collaborator). This indie pop supergroup has allowed us the opportunity to dive into their pool of pointed lyrics and bask in the warmth of infectious grooves from which there is no escape.

The band has been releasing material since 2020. Albums include “Live at The Rum Puncheon” (Nov 2021) and the aforementioned “Twentieth Century” (September 2023). Swansea Sound took their name from a radio station located in South Wales, and they even use its abandoned logo. They’ve been described as “the funny, angry, gleeful and savage past, present and future of indie” (https://bigtakeover.com/ (October 19, 2021), and it’s an absolute perfect way to describe their sound.  

I spoke with Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and Hue Williams.  

Thanks for joining us today and taking the time out of your busy schedule. How are the preparations going for the US tour?

Hue: We all have personal trainers and specific diets to follow. I'm also waiting on some cosmetic adjustments in order to make sure we make the most of this opportunity.

Amelia: For some reason, Rob has decided we need some new songs in the set, so he’s written an Oi song for us to practice. I’m sure the US fans will love it!

How would describe your feng shui on stage?

Rob: Crowded

Hue: Amelia needs the most space as she has lots of instruments from guitar to synth to tambourine to melodica.

I'll use whatever space is afforded to me, depending on how my arthritic hips are doing. 

Amelia: There’s not usually a lot of feng shui going on. Which may help explain why our music is a long way from calm!

How do you decide on a playlist and does it change nightly?

Hue: We have two albums to choose from now and we often do change things up but having played lots of shows recently some songs know their place. Rock n Roll Void often starts the show and Twentieth Century bookends it. 

Is there any pre-show ritual(s) that are honored? Superstitions?

Hue: Synchronisation of last toilet visit is important.

Amelia: We spend ages playing with adjustments to the set list, before realising we’ve made it pretty much the same as before. 

Your music has been described as representative of the “twee pop scene”, “characterized by its simplicity and perceived innocence, some of its defining features are boy–girl harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics about love.” Agree or disagree?

Hue: Amelia and myself often wear T shirts with the legend Riot Twee emblazoned across it. I think that can sum up certain sections of our show.

Amelia: We used to feel uncomfortable about this tag, but we’ve come to embrace it. So long as we can mess with it a bit.

I agree but I’d like to reference the quite pointed and sobering view of both corporate influence and the pervasiveness of social media and electronic communication at the cost of losing some of the interpersonal, nonverbal aspects of human conveyance. In promoting the band and its sound, how do you find the balance between addressing the largest audience possible while bypassing a smaller but more intimate approach?   

Amelia: Many of the songs are about corporate influence, and big tech in particular, but we have to admit to using social media pretty extensively. It does help to foster small music communities, like ours. 

Rob: Our issues aren’t with digital technology, they are with its owners and controllers.

I love the video for the title track of “Twentieth Century”, which includes likenesses of Gary Numan, Richard Branson, Joe Strummer, Roger Daltrey, Joey Ramone, David Bowie, Thomas Dolby, Johnny Lydon, Ray Davies, Sting, Liam and Noel Gallagher, Robert Smith, Lou Reed among others. (https://swanseasound.bandcamp.com/album/twentieth-century). Who chose these icons and why?

Rob: It was me that chose them. I wanted to create a patchwork of men (because the song is about men) who were influential in the 20th Century - at least for me - many of whom have gone sour in the 21st. There are a few heroes in there, such as John Berger and Dan Treacy, but most of them are fallen idols. 

Was it musically, philosophically or culturally related?

Rob: All three. The song is about the existential crisis of a male singer who promises revolution but struggles to reconcile that with his major label obligations.

Who produced the video? What equipment or software did you use?

Amelia: That would be me. I used Photoshop for making all the still images, and then put them into the video using Final Cut Pro. I also nicked a lot from the artwork which Catrin Saran James put together for the album sleeve. The colour choices and backgrounds are basically hers.

Multiple members have played together in other bands prior to forming Swansea Sound. I sense both a musical and personal camaraderie developed during that time and the result now is this band. In your opinion, what percentage would you apply for a successful musical partnership choosing between ability as a musician versus a preexisting friendly relationship?

Amelia: In my case, friendship obviously counts for a lot, as I’m really not much of a musician! In general, both matter, but those long drives between shows are much much more fun if you are in a band with friends.

Hue: There is a lot of musical skill in the band, I just try not to spoil it too much. We are all of a certain age so in many ways it makes it easier and we have to stick together.

Amelia, you have an impressive and extensive career in the study and implementation of economics and policy, including earning a Doctorate with the dissertation “Theories of Self Regulation”. An impressive career ensued with multiple positions for various governmental regulatory agencies. Reflective of your commitment to and work within the field of economics, you also been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

I’m intrigued by the dichotomy of left and right brained high level functionality. Does your obvious analytical expertise influence your creative side?

Amelia: Haha, I actually don’t know the answer to that. I suspect music and economics use pretty different parts of my brain. Although my more nerdy economic skills do become useful in helping run the label!

Amelia and bandmate/husband Rob Pursey co-founded independent record label, Skep Wax Records. 

What is the specialty of the label?

Rob: Alternative pop music

Amelia: It can really be anything, as long as we both love it. Putting records out is such a lot of effort that you only want to bother for the stuff you are passionate about. In our case, yes that does tend to be mostly alternative stuff. 

How did you come up with the name?

Rob: It’s a very long story, but the most important thing to know is that a ‘Skep’ is a very old word for a wicker beehive that was used as a disguise by smugglers local to us in Kent, UK. They put the skep over their head, cut out eyeholes, and scared everybody.

What are the most important ingredients in running the label?

Rob: That your liking of the music and the people involved is greater than your dislike of the many tedious tasks involved.

Amelia: Having someone who is good at writing (Rob) and also someone who is good at spreadsheets (me)!

What is the worst thing?

Rob: Filling out MCPS forms. (MCPS is the UK’s mechanical copyright protection society).

Amelia: Realising I’ve sent a broken URL to everyone on the Skep Wax mailing list, and that I’m going to have to email them all again.

Is it as rewarding and as hard as one would imagine?

Rob: Yes - both of those things!

What are the plans for Swansea Sound for the next 6 months?

Rob: To play shows on the East Coast of the USA, to write and record a Christmas hit single, and to bring about the demise of Spotify.

What advice, in life, music or both, would you give your younger self?

Amelia: You’re not as bad at this as you think - in fact, you’re pretty good!

Rob: Write more songs!

First moment where you thought that people dug what you had to play and say?

Rob: That was definitely in response to the first Swansea Sound single, Corporate Indie Band, where it seemed that we could get away with very sardonic lyrics and happy pop tunes. But to be honest, it came as a surprise how much people liked it. We were mainly trying to entertain ourselves during the darkest days of lockdown.

Amelia: We were actually quite lucky starting during lockdown, because no one else was really releasing anything. We got quite a bit of attention pretty quickly. Obviously it also helped that the band was reuniting Hue and me, after a long hiatus since The Pooh Sticks.

When did you first discover your singing or playing outlet?

Amelia: I sang in stuff at school, but not very successfully. I remember I was cast to be Delilah in a musical called Swinging Samson, but I got such stage fright that they had to bring on the understudy alongside me and make it ‘Samson and the two Delilahs’.

Rob: Being thrown out of recorder class in primary school for playing an inappropriate rendition of the national anthem on the recorder.

First album, cassette, or CD purchased? Where? When?

Rob: I think it was ‘London Calling’ by The Clash. I did own ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ by Queen, but I think that was a gift.

Amelia: ‘Faith’ by The Cure. Up to that point, I was taping albums owned by my friends, as a cheaper option.

Dream band to open for?

Rob: Heavenly!

Amelia: Hehe, a bit of self-promotion there. We’re probably opening for Love soon, which is pretty cool. 

New or recent bands you’re most excited about?

Amelia: I really love the new album we are putting out by a Leeds band called Crumbs. I am also keen on NY bands, Jeanines and Lightheaded.

Best stereo system you’ve ever had?

Rob: My dad’s when I was a teenager. It was his pride and joy. He’d spent most of his saving on it. I still feel guilty for damaging one of the speakers by playing dub reggae too loud through it.

First concert attended? (who, what, when, where and why)

Amelia: Teardrop Explodes, Aylesbury, probably around 1981.

Rob: The Clash, Bristol, around 1979.

Most unforgettable concert attended?

Rob: Josef K at the Trinity Hall, Bristol. 

Amelia: A great riot grrrl band called Mambo Taxi, playing at Headington School in Oxford. It is a posh girl’s boarding school, a bit like St Trinians. Goodness knows why Mambo Taxi were booked to play there but it was total mayhem. I don’t think I have ever laughed so much.

Top 5 albums?

Amelia:

Girls At Our Best - Pleasure

Beat Happening - Jamboree

Lesley Gore - It’s My Party

Orange Juice - You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever

Broadcast - The Noise Made By People

Rob:

Killing Joke - Killing Joke (first album)

The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour

Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville

The Only Ones - Even Serpents Shine

Bo Diddley - Hey Bo Diddley

What thoughts would you like to share with your American fans prior to the tour?

Rob: It would be very nice to see you in real life!

Amelia: You can tell we’re keen to see you by how hard and expensive it was to get work visas!

Appreciate you taking the time for our listeners. We’re real excited to see these great songs presented live and excited to get as many ears as possible on your amazing catalog. How can listeners convey their appreciation to the band?

Amelia: Um. I’m keen on Reese’s Pieces!

Rob: By buying duplicate copies of our new album! 

Where can listeners grab your music?

Rob: Swanseasound.bandcamp.com

Thanks for taking the time and for your continued creativity. Can’t wait to see you on stage!