Slender Pins are a London based dance punk band who write songs about medieval plagues, wicked landlords and millennial metropolitan life. Alongside an obsessive appetite for melodic and rhythmic hooks, main songwriters, vocalist, Ash and, guitarist, Alex hold on to one fundamental principle when creating music with, bassist, Rob and, drummer, Ed - does it soothe both mind and body, in equal measure?
We heard the single early, and we think that it's fantastic!. Give it a listen and see what you think.
1: How did you decide on the name, “Slender Pins"?
Ash: As a phrase it comes from the MailOnline, where supposed "articles" consist of little more than photographs of celebrities accompanied by descriptions of what is in those photographs. 'Slender pins' was one such phrase invariably used by the people who produce the dogshit that they claim to be journalism, and I found their reliance on these repetitive stock phrases both horrifying and amusing. Also it was one of the few names that (when repeating it to others) did not cause us to gag.
2: What inspires you to create?
Ash: There is something pure about a song - everything squeezed into such a small amount of time, over in a matter of minutes. Like life.
Alex: It is an antidote to the roaring mundanity of daily life, and the joy of that leap into the unknown, where you play something to an audience without truly knowing whether you will be lauded or pelted with rotten fruit.
3: What advice would you give to someone who wants to be in a creative profession?
Ash: Don't. But if you must: do.
Alex: It’s important to keep in mind why you’re doing it. Money, fame - these things you could get far more easily somewhere else, by coding an app or learning to play pool really well.
4: Do you feel open minded about what you listen to? Do you like going out of your comfort zone?
Ash: I like almost every type of music in theory and almost no music in practice.
Alex: As long as it is in the spectrum of audible sound, I am willing to give it a go. I have no comfort zone - everything in life is weird and confusing to me.
5: What outlets do you find out about music from? (Record stores, magazines, samplers, etc.)
Ash: There are some trusty sources online, eg. So Young magazine. Recommendations by artists you admire are often reliable but then so too often are glossolalic prophets on the street. Good songs tend to be played at funerals. Sometimes I just listen to the birds.
Alex: One of the best is old interviews - good artists tend to know other good artists and will constantly drop references to stuff they’re inspired by or interested in.
6: What is your favorite format to listen to music on? (CD, Vinyl, etc.)
Ash: My iPod classic is still breathing and occasionally I do buy vinyl. No unusual methods though - no minidiscs. And no bloody cassettes.
Alex: Usually on my phone, ideally on a long journey.
7: How do you feel the internet has impacted the music business?
Ash: It has destroyed it. It has widened the power for the consumer but destroyed it for the producer. The true consequences of this still cannot be known.
8: Who was the first band/artist that became your favorite band?
Ash: I used to make my Star Wars toys dance on the table to Blondie and Pulp. I was 23 years old.
Alex: I became obsessed with the work of Neil Diamond as a toddler. Everything one needs to know about life has been told in that gravelly baritone.
9: If you could open a show for any artist, who would it be?
Ash: The Ronettes.
10: What was the inspiration for your song “Where’s the Money”?
Ash: It controls us all. Some of us have money instead of blood. Some of us are driven mad by it. Possibly it is even more powerful than death or than sex. The wealth of those societies in which the capitalist mode of production prevails presents itself as an immense accumulation of commodities.
11: What was the inspiration for your song “So Happy (90% Of The Time)”?
Alex: The riff came into my head on the way to rehearsal, so I had to surreptitiously record it into my phone on the train - a process that will be familiar to any aspiring songwriter. When I got to rehearsal I played it to Ash and he found a suitable title from his box of mysteries.
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