A Conversation with Ben Howard – HuffPost 8.29.12

Mike Ragogna: Hey Ben, How are you? Congratulations on your debut album, Every Kingdom.

Ben Howard: Hey, thank you! It’s been kicking around for a little bit, but it’s nice that it’s finally getting over your way.

MR: It’s not only getting over our way, but I’ve noticed that a few critics have been praising this album as well. And you’re very blessed to be on the new Communion label. Mumford and Son’s Ben Lovett is involved with this.

BH: It’s his little brainchild, certainly.

MR: I’m not sure you remember, but The Huffington Post debuted your “Over The Hill” Communion Jam.

BH: Oh yeah, I remember that very well, yeah. That was a great day.

MR: It showcased the camaraderie that’s formed over at Communion. Can you tell me what’s going on for you acts with Communion and with your life?

BH: I think for all of us, Communion’s a different thing. For me, it’s really nice to find a bunch of like-minded musicians. I think more and more these days, there’s a big divide between music and entertainment, and it’s quite nice to find a group of people that are really into music from all over the place. It started in London and we were never really part of that scene. We came up and did a couple of shows with everyone a few times, a few hours away from London. It’s just a good vibe around everyone. Everyone has a similar ethos about music. The people really love live music. It’s a cool thing to be part of. It’s definitely a huge throwback, listening to everyone’s record collections that they’ve got. We all listen to a lot of old stuff. I guess it’s kind of bringing a tiny bit of that back, even if it’s just a slight ethos of the old days when people used to play music together and not think about when they were going to do their next interview and their next TV thing.

MR: And by “we,” you mean you and the other artists as a collective playing together?

BH: Yeah, exactly. That whole Communion collective. I don’t know how it works, there’s a whole lot of ins and outs of record labels, but fundamentally how it works is that we’re good friends most of the time, and we have a pretty good idea of each other’s music and each of our outlooks on music.

MR: Ben Lovett is both the cheerleader and the ringleader, right?

BH: Yeah. He’s the cheerleader. He wears the tutu and he runs around and goes “T-E-A-M, TEAM!”

MR: Let’s talk about songs on the album. “Old Pine” has a rustic flavor to it that goes beyond the music itself. That’s no accident, right, since the recording environment for this album was in a barn?

BH: Yeah, it was a converted barn near where the woman who plays cello lives. I think the only conscious choice in that was to record near home so that we could have some home time. We were recording quite a lot, just to be at home and have a little time and space and not have any pressures off of other people. It’s been glamorized a little bit as this disheveled little cowshed in the middle of nowhere since it’s out in the countryside and it didn’t have too many amenities and stuff, but it was time and space for us, really. We had electricity and we’d just chuck loads of stuff in there. We brought a desk in and our own microphones and stuff, and just made sure we had a lot of time. We probably had too much. It took about a year and a half to record the album. It took way too long, but it was good.

MR: That’s because you guys were having too much fun.

BH: Yeah, I think it was one of those things where time can be a real burden sometimes when you’ve got lots of it. And as musicians, you’re always perfectionists, so there were always extra little bits we wanted to put in there while having a blast. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but the most rewarding as well. It was an epic experience.

MR: “Old Pine” starts with this beautiful guitar piece as if you were listening to, excuse my comparison here, an Alex De Grassi album. Then the vocals come in and sets us straight on that, but also sets up the mood of the album. What was the inspiration for the writing and creation of “Old Pine?”

BH: “Old Pine” is a song about memories, really. It’s a song about being younger and a bit freer with plans and life and stuff and the real life responsibilities haven’t hit yet. It was a song I wrote about a trip I did as a kid, and it was that first little bit of independence. I was sort of fiercely independent as a kid. We went to France as a camping trip and nearly got killed by a pine tree, so I guess that’s sort of the loose basis around it. But it’s a song about friends when you’re a kid, and going away and just getting loose, you know? We went away for about six weeks when I was sixteen and the song is fundamentally about that. The joy of being young at heart, really.

MR: May I ask how old you are now?

BH: I’m twenty-five now.

MR: Twenty-Five.

BH: Older by the day. I’ve been trying to grow a mustache for the last three weeks, but it’s not going very well.

MR: That’s why they invented magic markers.

BH: Yeah, exactly. I think I’m going to need one. I thought at twenty-five years old, I’d be able to grow a beard or a mustache or something. I’m really struggling with it.

MR: (laughs) Ben, there are songs on this album that are inspiring, such as “Keep Your Head Up.”

BH: That’s probably one of the oldest songs on the record, if not the oldest. I was at university and in a little bit of a pickle at the time, when you’re growing up you go through those little stages of falling out and going separate ways from people and learning how to deal with it, and it’s just a song about that, really. It was a beautiful sunny day–I still remember the day clearly–I went out with a few friends on the Coast down in Cornwall and we found a new little place to hang out. It was just a song about how easy it is to fall into a really negative mindset and how easy it is to suddenly wake up from it.

MR: This is a gold album in the UK, and it debuted in the top ten. Impressive.

BH: Yeah, I think we got to number seven, which is pretty cool. Very unexpected.

MR: How do you explain such magic and mystery?

BH: I don’t know. To be honest, I’ve just always concentrated on playing a lot of live shows. I love going out and playing music. I don’t know how it all happened, to be honest. I never really focused on much of that. Let’s put it down to luck. The only lucky thing in music is whether people get your music or not, and I think we were definitely lucky there. Let’s put it down to Lady Luck.

MR: There’s also your song, “The Fear.” You do your shopping list of things that we all kind of fear or have some reservations about. Can you go into what motivated that one?

BH: I think “The Fear” was one of the first songs that I wrote while kind of being on tour. A lot of musicians write songs about being on tour and being away from loved ones and stuff like that. I think that was the first song that I wrote about being away. I just realized what you miss and your concerns about yourself. You get a bit self-reflective and a bit thoughtful when you have one of those little hotel room moments when you’re like, “Wow, what am I doing here?” It’s a song about questioning yourself and questioning your purpose. I think we all do it, like, what on Earth we’re up to on this planet sort of thing. I think especially the musician. You always wonder why you get to be a musician. It’s all transient. We’ve been to all these crazy places and seen all these crazy things. What’s actually going on here, why am I here? I think that’s what the song’s about, really. Am I getting too deep and heavy on you?

MR: No, no, I understand, and I’m going to ask you a deep and heavy question based on what you just said, sir. Where do you put yourself in the whole scheme of things right now? Do you think you have a glimmer of what your purpose in this world is at this point?

BH: I feel pretty confident at the moment. I feel pretty happy just kind of rolling with it. It’s a real privilege to be playing music for a living. I think a lot of people forget that. You see it in the UK music scene all the time, people who have just totally lost the plot and just take it for granted. Every now and then, you get a little glimpse of your purpose and you realize what it’s all about. Most of the time, you’re just trying to get on with things and do your own thing and hope people appreciate it. It’s great to be able to travel the world and play music. Amazing, really.

MR: I love how you put it in the context of musicians, because I think there’s a fear in the heart of every musician about not “making it,” whatever that means these days. On the other hand, they continue to persevere, just like you do.

BH: Yeah, it’s funny, when you get to go to so many places and you see how many people just sort of crack on with their own thing. It doesn’t matter what you do. We’ve all got these funny little jobs we do and we just entertain ourselves and amuse ourselves along the way. I think you’ve got to be confident carrying on and doing what you do and somehow, it’ll make sense eventually.

MR: Can you give us a little background on “The Wolves?”

BH: We’re going for the whole record here, this is fun! “The Wolves” is a song about frustration, and getting really frustrated with other people and kind of digging into that a little bit to try to figure out why. I always like having these kind of juxtaposed songs, like a real upbeat fun little hook and rhythm and then putting some sort of really serious content in there. I guess that’s the sort of bones of the song, really.

MR: Now, you were on Jools Holland’s show recently, right?

BH: Yeah, we played a couple of months ago. That was a childhood dream for me, that was a sort of Holy Grail. I’ve watched that program ever since I was a kid. That was a big moment.

MR: And also another big moment for you, in the States anyway, was that “Promise” was played on the show House.

BH: Yeah, I heard about that, that’s really cool. To be honest, I don’t watch that much TV, but it’s amazing that it got so much recognition. That’s one of my favorite tracks on the record. It’s a funny one because the singles that usually come out are the more punchy songs on the record, so it was nice that that one got so much exposure. It’s one of my favorites and it kind of definitely has a sentiment that’s carried on through the whole record.

MR: I have to ask you my traditional question for all artists, which is what is your advice for new artists?

BH: My advice. Ooh, I don’t know. I never feel privileged enough to be in that position.

MR: Are there any basics that you’ve come across in your own career that you would share with others?

BH: I think it sort of boils down to two things. One is play as much as possible. Just play gigs and learn your music and learn your style and where you want to be and what you want to play. Something that comes into that is be true to yourself, play music that you want to play. Don’t write a song because someone says that want you to write a song about grinding in a club or something like that. The other one is take things as they come. I think music — especially when you start gigging and traveling around — it becomes a pretty twisted and crazy place at the best of times and you just try and keep quite focused and you just try to keep quite steady about things and take them as they come and not let all the other things rattle you. Just carry on and make sure you’re happy in your own skin with it.

MR: Ben, I imagine you’ll be touring the states for support of the album, right?

BH: We’re back on the road in September. We’ve got quite a lot of shows in the States and we’re really looking forward to it. It’s our first bus tour in America and it’s going to be fun, yeah.

MR: I believe you’re playing Washington, New York, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Vancouver…

BH: … all over the shop. It’s going to be a good laugh. September in America, it’s going to be a beautiful time of the year to tour.

MR: Yeah, and you’re popping back and forth between Canada.

BH: Yeah, we pop into Canada. I get good vibes off of Canada. It always seems pretty chill up there. I know the Americans give them quite a hard time.

MR: I think we just have a good time at their expense because they’re like our little brother or something.

BH: Yeah, it’s a funny relationship. It’s like Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand always seems to be the little brother of Australia.

MR: Right. Hey, I really want to thank you, Ben Howard. Congratulations on your debut in the United States, Every Kingdom. I wish you the best.

BH: Thanks a lot man, thanks for having me. Cheers!

MR: Cheers.

Transcribed by Galen Hawthorne