Pillowfish Interview - The Talk Magazine, Feb 2008

Both of us are from the Moon. We met in a small cabaret in Berlin, where Helen was receiving training from a llama on how to get hamsters out of a balalaika, and Tom was working as a temporary magic carpet engineer. Our eyes met across a crowded snail.

And the unusual name? What's that about?

Strangely, lots of people ask us that. One of our first tunes was called 'Pillowfish'.   One day when Helen asked someone the time, they replied 'Ten to eleven' and she somehow misheard this as 'Pillowfish'. A small but noticeable percentage of people then ask us, 'What drugs were involved?' Just a cup of tea, I'm afraid.

Who does what to make your sound?

Tom sings lead vocals and plays guitar and bouzouki. Helen plays viola, violin, and sings backing vocals. We play other instruments, but haven't used them much yet in Pillowfish - except for Hammond organ on the track "Fingerprints and Smudges" on our CD.   In the future look out for cello, saz, crumhorn, banjo, bass, keyboards, synthesisers and a gamut of electronic noises....

We each write songs and tunes separately, then work together on the arrangements and recording production.

A song often takes on a significantly different sound as a result of the collaborative arranging process. We most often write the parts we play ourselves, but not always, quite often the part one of us plays in an arrangement was actually written by the other. We often don't remember whose idea it was to do a particular thing.

What is your recorded catalogue to date?

Our main release is our album, "Common Knowledge" released Dec 2006. We also have a few demos and a promotional 4-track EP released in September 2007. We're working on more recordings, both acoustic and more adventurous. Increasingly, we are releasing recordings through our website as direct downloads.

Obviously, instrument-wise, you fall in the broad genre of Folk. Being free to invent any definition you like, where exactly within this would you place your style?

Right now we are calling ourselves bohemian-art-folk.

What influences would you be happy to openly acknowledge?

Whiskey.

What influences would you openly deny?

Pink gin.

Listening to your recorded material it seems that you lean heavily towards original songs and instrumentals. Do you avoid including more interpretations of traditional material for any particular reason?

For the same reasons that rock bands avoid playing covers. We're both writers. Fitting in all the originals we want is hard enough, without doing traditional material as well. We know a part of the 'folk' audience likes to hear something that they know and recognise, but we can't expect to please everyone. We aim to write songs that say something that's new or from a different angle.

We are less and less a folk band as defined by the self appointed arbiters of "what is folk" but we will always retain a heavy influence from the traditions of folk and folk-rock.

On the occasions when you are arranging traditional material, what would you say is at the forefront of your minds?

Where our next meal is coming from.

Recent press bulletins from your camp have stated that you are deliberately holding back on your live shows and opting for a more cyber-based representation. This is an interesting step forward. Tell us more.

We're doing lots of gigs in the virtual reality world Second Life. Suzanne Vega and the Rolling Stones are probably the best known acts to have done this. It's essentially a radio broadcast with added graphics, plus you can see the audience and they can chat about the music.   We're getting a truly global audience this way.

It's also fun, we have a virtual café and a virtual zeppelin with our logo on it to go to gigs in. Our virtual landlady wears a dragon on her shoulders, and we have conversations with people in Germany about currywurst and wolpertingers.

We've been putting live videos on YouTube as a replacement for brief live promo appearances. We're also being scrobbled on last.fm, and played on internet radio. We are starting to make our recordings available on the website as downloads.

We're not holding back on proper full length real life gigs, but we are steadily eliminating the short promotional appearances at folk clubs and acoustic nights where you drive for ages to play two songs in the hope of increasing your profile and maybe getting a booking later. It is prohibitively expensive, and environmentally irresponsible. We can reach more people, and more adventurous listeners, using the net.

We're also offering our album and new tracks for digital download from our website, and we are watching closely the alternative business models being tried by Radiohead, Saul Williams, Nine Inch Nails and Issa (Jane Siberry).

You performed at Beverley Folk Festival in 2007 and also supported Julie Fowlis at Pocklington Arts Centre. What kind of gig are you aiming for in 2008?

We already have a mixture of house concerts, festivals and folk clubs lined up for 2008 in various locations around the UK.   We are always open to more.

Your image and press shots are very inventive. Is this how people could see you live?

Some of the outfits worn in the publicity shots had to be carefully taped in place, so in live performance they aren't always practical!   However, we do dress in a similar style in live performances - because that's the sort of clothes we normally wear anyway. We regard our image and photography as part of our overall art.   It should integrate with and reflect what we do, not just be a means of promotion.

Who would you love to share billing with?

As listeners we prefer shows with just one band, so you can really get into what they do.

But we'd love to play at a festival with Martyn Bennett, Syd Barrett, The Incredible String Band, the Bonzo Dog Band, a jelly sculpture and several life-size self-powered robots.   In the event that they're unavailable, Patrick Wolf and Mika playing a duet.   With Rammstein unplugged, as support.

Which Venue or Festival would be a coup for you to be booked for?

Tate Modern.

How can readers find out more and hear your tracks?

At our website www.pillowfish.co.uk where we have some free MP3 downloads of full tracks, plus samples of the tracks from our album. People can buy CDs from our site and we have new download options as well. Also our MySpace account at myspace.com/pillowfishmusic.

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