Hamilton Hound On the Making Of “Graves.”
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind "Graves." and the story it tells?
“Graves.” is the story of growing up in a working class town, my education was a process not an an achievement, using humour and wit to to get through. The education system in the UK back in the 80's did not recognise such things as ADHD or Dyslexia. You were cast aside and seen as disruptive or belligerent. Luckily with tenacity and ambition, I was able to write a children's book, have a successful career and create music which has become a therapy.
How did you work with the producer or engineers to bring your vision for "Graves." to life?
We are actually a duo, working with James Mason who I met through a mutual friend, James is a musician, sound designer and producer we have crafted our own genre which is very difficult to define, it's a mix of soul, jazz, funk mixed with soft smooth vocals and the power of spoken word.
What impact do you hope this song will have on your audience?
This is our second single and this track really is about a personal journey of how you can do anything you want with drive, talent, passion and ambition, letters/qualifications are not everyone, most creative people fall on the neuro Diverse spectrum.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in music?
I have always been interested in music from a young age, growing up with twotone and ska music to hip hop of the early 80's which was heavily influenced with soul, funk and blues. I have always written poetry and meeting James we decided to mix poetry with music and that's how our tracks were born, never to late to join the party.
Can you walk us through your creative process when writing and composing music?
The creative process feels like a journey to us, we have an idea when we get in the studio. We start with a beat and then layer the tracks, James and I have similar musical interests and trust each other, sometimes where we start is not where we end up, it's organic and love this approach. We are both strong enough to say when something doesn't work and we also have a great network of people around us, Liz Arcane has sung vocals on our last two tracks, her voice is like pouring honey in your ears that's a quote from one of our listeners. We also have Ben Williams who designs our artwork and and puts together our insta videos and then a bank of musicians who we collaborate with Dan Evans on drums, Dave Matthew's on guitar and Mo on keys. This is a real collaborative team which makes it so special.
Not forgetting Dusty Defjam a local photographer and all round Dude who gave us the image for the cover of “Graves.”