Meet: Witch Fever at Leeds Festival

BM

So I’ve just come back from watching your set. How was Reading compared to Leeds?

WF

They were both pretty even I think. I think Leeds felt slightly more bit. Bit crazy maybe. Yeah, the crowd were like I think. The crowd were crazier there in Leeds. They were, they were sick in Reading. Northerners do it better, innit.

BM

Were you down in the crowd as early at Reading?

WF

Well, we have big news. I (Amy) crowd surfed for the first time today!!! Congratulations.

BM

Congratulations!!

WF

Lost my crowd surfing virginity. Amazing, right? No one grabbed my tits, I’m happy.

BM

So, like, as an artist playing the festival, how do you make a set for a festival compared to, your own gig? Do you just sort of try and play the ones that have got the most hits on Spotify, but you try to leave those last? Or the ones that you just know people really want to hear and you go, just fuck it. Or, do you go, these are the songs we want to play. Sit down, shut up and listen?

WF

Yeah, we kind of see what we want to do. I think sometimes, you know, like, at Outbreak, we’re like at the hardcore festival, it’s a heavy a festival like we want them to probably hear slightly heavier songs. Yeah, our most streamed song on Spotify we literally never play. Because like it’s so old for us, it’s not something that we particularly like relate to anymore. I mean, all of them go off. So we just do what we want.

BM

So you supported My Chemical Romance in Milton Keynes when you got a call like that, they say you’re supporting My Chem, you’re going to play Reading and Leeds. How do you react to that?

WF

We found out in work! It was kind of a last minute thing My Chem, I was at work when I got the message I had to lock myself in the bathroom for a minute, I was so excited. It was crazy. It was like one of the best days.

BM

You’re releasing your first full length album on the 21^st October. How long have you been sitting on those particular songs? Are they quite new? Are they older songs that you’ve rejigged and reworked

WF

No, I think all of them are new. We recorded the EP, that was our whole back catalogue. I think we approached the album with kind of fresh ears, so none of them are older than 2, 2 and a half years old.

BM

Yeah. I know some bands when they release their first album, they maybe get like the odd song from like an EP, rework it, remaster it, you know..

WF

We did consider that yeah! Some of some of the songs we were actually finishing writing whilst recording. It was a very quick and intense process and turn around.

BM

I know we’re at the back end of it now, but how did you find the creative process in the lockdown? Were you uninspired or did it keep you, like, fresh and inspired, like to create that sort of different music?

WF

We were really lucky that Julie, who heads up our label, came to the very last show we did before lockdown. So we were so, so lucky to be in talks with the label at that point, so we had something to kind of keep us engaged. Yeah, but I think it made us realise how much in (EP) The Resurrect, we wrote it in separate households and shared it online and still now a song doesn’t gel with us unless we do it together. Well, I think it made us realise the importance of us all being together.

BM

Yeah, absolutely. Do you sort of just work better then if you just let all sit in a room and go, right? Yeah let’s go! Does someone come up with like the lyrics first or do you get like a melody and then go, right, let’s build on that?

WF

I usually start with the music like we’re all in the practice room jamming. We all give each other a look when if we do a riff or something, if we write something cool, we all kind of know it immediately. Things tend to gel together very quickly or we just scrap them.

Or we’ll say, “we’ll come back to this” but we know we ain’t gonna, because if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work! But yeah we start with music and then if it’s good enough, this one *points at Amy* will write something nice!

BM

So, your thing isn’t just the music. I got real, like, sense of passion from, like, the aesthetics of music videos and just in general your look, what else inspires you outside of music as well? Could it be other bands, or do you get inspired by, like, film or fashion or anything like that?

WF

It’s kind of different for all of us. I think we all kind of bring our own personal aesthetics and interests. I’m (Alex) definitely inspired by fashion and Amy likes a lot of horror. So I think that influences a lot of things. I (Amy) read a lot and watch lot of films so that inspires me too.

BM

So I know we’ve already touched on the album, but what else is coming after the album? We’re going headline tour? Support slots?

WF

Nothing we can talk about haha! Lots of exciting shit!

BM

That’s good. So you’ve got things in the pipeline? So this is just the start this weekend for you guys…!

WF

If this is the start we’re doing pretty good!

BM

To be fair, you know what, I would say today’s probably the heaviest day on that stage. The festival this weekend doesn’t have many heavy in inverted commas acts on, but people were losing their shit today. And it was really good to see.

WF

Honestly when you see like crowd going mad. I can’t help but smile. Seeing them losing a shit it’s amazing to see.

As much of an aggressive and kind of angry band that we are. We all like to have the best time. I was smiling earlier when Amy was in the crowd. It was like a proud Mum moment.

BM

I did like the bit when you got in the crowd and then the pit started and you were like, Nah, I’m just going to go right a little bit. I’m just going to I’m just going to go that way… away from everyone