What we love about collaboration, is that all parties widen their sonic horizons, birthing music that transcends their individual strengths. Now, imagine two very peculiar projects, already at the far end of the edgy spectrum, coming together in the hope of creating something powerful. Will they be able to do it?
The answer can be answered by 9 o’clock Nasty, legendary Leicester-based band, and I am the Unicord Head, mysterious alt-rock duo balanced between UK and US. Both projects champion their own brand of rock, both sharing gritty guitars and an eclectic punk aesthetic.
‘Existential Dread’ is the result of their collaboration, a haunting, marching, fierce slice of post-rock goodness. Boasting a massive bassline that continuously drives the track forward, the marriage between 9 o’clock Nasty’s punchy instrumental and I am the Unicorn Head’s intense lyricism gives birth to an absolute stunner. A tune that will instantly catch your attention, spitting you back in a sort of confused ecstasy.
Intrigued by the project, we sat down with 9 o’clock Nasty to find out more about the circumstances around the record, and what the future brings… Interview below!
Hey guys, thanks for talking to us. How have these gloomy times been treating you?
We are blessed. We are surrounded by friends in a cool place and life is kind to us – but we know that we are fortunate and it is hard to see the world twisting and turning to make life harder and harder for people so that a few people can be richer and more powerful. It is like a piece of elastic, the tension will grow and it will snap.
So, THE UNICORN HEAD and 9 o’Clock Nasty together. How did you notice each other? Was there an instant connection between your musical outputs?
When we first started releasing songs and looking on social media, one thing we wanted to do was see what other bands did and learn. I Am The Unicorn Head instantly got our attention both because we loved their music but we also just liked their “style.” We have a very low tolerance for nonsense and these guys were nonsense-free. It was all about good songs, good hearts and playful humour and sense of decency. There are a few bands we’ve found that connection with that use the #NewIndie hashtag.
What would you say are the common features in each other’s sound? It seems to us that IATUH’d sonic references are way more poignant and shoegaze-y than 9oCN; how did you find a common ground?
Our musical taste is very eclectic and what we have been producing in the last year is one dimension of what we like. We decided to focus on writing short firecracker garage-punk songs and that is what we did, but we’ve also done electronica and bhangra and pure pop. IATUH are similarly varied. In a year or so, when you listen to the songs we will release this year, you’ll probably think we have much more in common than it might seem today. We are both in love with simple pop songs that land in your ears and stay with you, so there was never a moment where it felt like we weren’t on common ground.
So, ‘Existential Dread’ is out. Personally, we appreciate the electro-rock aesthetic. Guitars seem to be taking a little holiday on this one, but it really works eventually. Are you satisfied with the results?
Yes. IATUH took us in a direction we didn’t expect. Our original idea was quite a hopeful love-song, so when they took it much darker that was interesting. We are used to being the subversive and difficult people in the room, it was fun to see someone else step into those shoes. We like synths – listen to Walkman Walk for example. IATUH use them really effectively, and it lifts the song.
What is the one thing you would like people to feel while listening to ‘Existential Dread’? Perhaps solace from existential dread? 🙂
The song is a groove. It is very cool. I think it is the kind of song I’d play when I was getting ready to go out. It lifts. The closest parallel I can offer is Bauhaus. A song like Passion of Lovers is dark but it is up, you want to dance to it. I think we’re in the same space.
Can we expect further collaborations between the two projects, in the future?
Yes. We did a song with Golden Plates and this one with IATUH and we have learned a great deal from both. Right now we are planning a collaboration with The Qwarks but both of us are incredibly busy so it may take a while to see the light, but we will definitely want to work with IATUH on something. We have an idea that we have shared with them but we need time to talk over the practicalities. But yes. We also really want to work with the Margaret Hooligans and Molosser, two bands that have been huge for us this year.
Both of you have been extremely productive this year. Could you share some advice on staying creative with our readers? Do you find it difficult to write new material?
Our greatest problem is controlling the flow of songs from idea to rough mix to finished product. At any one time we have a lot of material in the pipeline all demanding attention. When we did an EP every month that gave us space to release them all, but now we have worked on a single per month that has actually slowed us down. It has been good for reaching a wider audience, we get many, many more plays since we released Playboy Driver, ever single gets lots more attention. But we like doing EPs. Probably the biggest thing we try to do is when we have a new fresh idea, we try to capture it in some form. One evening we wrote Darker Star and I’m Bent. On the same session are two other songs, equally good, called Paint Me Like Graffiti and Rise Up. We just haven’t had time to finish them. To help we’re making a second studio space to demo ideas. Our number one piece of advice would be to release early and release often. The more you write, the more you release, the more ideas you will get.
Leave us with a quick pitch about why our readers should listen to your track. The quirkiest, the better!
There are hundreds of new songs every day, but only one made by raccoons and unicorns working together. Existential Dread is the kind of cool song you can play to a friend and make them think you are way cooler than you really are. WAY cooler.
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