Bells and Blues - Vienna Ditto
Liz Crosthwaite • Published 10 Feb 2012 09:30
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THINGS are getting buzzy again in the
voodoo sci-fi blues camp of Vienna Ditto. Perhaps understandably, for a band who performed their second-ever live gig on Glastonbury's BBC Introducing Stage back in 2009, and were hyped by Radio One at lightning speed, the Reading band felt the need to take some down time and catch their breath.
But now they've returned, with a slimmed-down line-up of vocalist Hatty Taylor and guitarist Nigel Firth (though both play multiple instruments), a new single, (the sweet yet slightly unsettling Bells, with sultry vocals, bells and chugging electro-bass), and the promise of an EP and album later in the year.
"I guess we had sort of gone to ground," Nigel told The Guide, when I asked him how the initial burst of attention from fickle taste-makers had affected the band. "Definitely we were not ready - that [Glastonbury gig] was mad because we had only done one tune and suddenly we were doing all sorts of stuff. Now we have had a chance to write a few tunes and we want to start doing a bit more of the visual stuff at gigs - so if anybody knows about that and wants to help us out, that would be great!"
So, what have the pair been up to in the past few months?
"A lot of recording, for an EP we have coming in the summertime, and an album which we are going to release in autumn hopefully. We record on my houseboat by candlelight in the freezing cold for the vibes, then we get it nice at Silver Street Studios!" Nigel revealed.
"We've been mucking around with making a video for Bells, and we're working on making an experimental film with the music from our next EP. In terms of recording and writing, being a two-piece has not affected us a great deal. On stage it's the sort of thing where we are using loops and loops and loops, linking synths and drum machines and things. Down at the studio it's just finding people to play the drums, so we've been doing a lot of banging on tubs and hitting cupboards with drumsticks to get that drum sound!"
The ghostly yet upbeat tones of new single Bells, to be officially released on Valentines Day, prompted the inevitable question - are Vienna Ditto going pop?
"That's what everyone's saying - that we are going pop!" Nigel countered. "But an album's got to have at least one happy song on it! We will soon be back to our usual miserable selves - our next EP is just going to be doom!"
Visit www.viennaditto.com
Vienna Ditto play at Play in Reading on Saturday, with Talk In Code, Albatross and Violet Class. Get tickets, £5, from www.wegottickets.com
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 09 Feb 12
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