Hefner's Antony Harding talks about his legendary former band, John Peel, Barbapappa and his current solo project.

 

It's no wonder that a few years ago Hefner got the honorable title "Britain’s Largest Small Band". Even today, 6 years after their break up, Hefner is still a big name in the music industry as its ex-members have tons of fans and every second artist mentions them as a major influence.

 

A while ago, Alon wrote here about Darren Hayman's last album and it inspired me to check what's going on these days with the other Hefners. While I was wandering onto different sites, I was lucky enough to stumble upon a wonderful singer/songwriter under the name of ANT, who turned out to be none other than Antony Harding, Hefner's drummer. I was even luckier when Antony accepted my interview request and found the time to answer a few questions.

 

Why did you choose an alias and didn't stay with your real name? I mean, I get the connection between ANT and Antony, but still, it's not entirely your full name. I suspect you lose some potential listeners.

 

"It's always hard to get your stuff heard. It's nice when someone stumbles across it. I plan to start making records as Antony Harding one day, maybe when I hit 40. ANT was just what my friends called me and what I went under when I started doing gigs. It's a bit twee for a middle aged father innit! Mind you I'll have to sell all the ANT merchandise first though! Or I'll get into trouble."

 

Oh, I would hardly call you middle aged. So you're a father as well. How many kids? Have they seen you in old Hefner videos?

 

"Well I'm 38 next month so I'm knocking on the middle aged door surely! We have a 2 year old son. He comes over sometimes when I'm looking at stuff on youtube and asks to watch Barbapappa instead. I'm sure he'll enjoy winding me up over certain Hefner videos in the future!"

 

 

Let's talk about the past for a while. Allow me to go back in time to 1997, the day when you got a record deal. Do you remember your thoughts back then?

 

"I just looked through my diary from 1997. It's just full of setlists, gig and rehearsal dates. I remember Too Pure showing up at a show we did at Upstairs At The Garage and them being very pleasantly surprised with how Hefner had suddenly become much tighter- the last time Too Pure saw Hefner it featured another bass player and drummer and it seemed like it was about to self destruct at any moment. Darren took me and John to our local pub in Walthamstow that weekend and asked us both if we fancied being part of the record deal. I remember feelings of excitement. We were actually going to make records and albums and go touring!!! But we all stressed the fact that it had to be a fun experience and that we had to do things the way the 3 of us wanted. I imagined we'd be one of those little scratchy bands that John Peel liked and we'd break up after the first album or something! These days it's easy to forget how many fans we had and how much we achieved. But I'm always meeting people who say... Hefner? I love Hefner!"

 

Do questions like this upset you? Do you find it irritating when you are asked about your past?

 

"No not at all. It's all about the past innit? Nostalgia. Music especially, how it's played its part in the soundtrack of your life. Hefner was the soundtrack to many lives."

 

Still is. Which artists take part in your life soundtrack?

 

"My schooldays: Adam and the Ants, The Jam, Madness. Sixth form: The Smiths, The Cure, The Woodentops, The Damned, The Pogues, Prefab Sprout. Art College: Galaxie 500, Kitchens Of Distinction, The Wedding Present, Fieldmice. Isle Of Wight: David Bowie, Bob Marley, Kate Bush, The Clash. London: Iris DeMent, Tom Waits, Nick Drake, Guided By Voices, Lambchop, Vic Chesnutt, Belle And Sebastian, Tim Buckley, John Martyn, Stina Nordenstam. Sweden: Townes Van Zandt, Sandy Denny, Richard Hawley, Clifford T Ward. That's about the size of it!"

 

 

Oh, right… You moved to Sweden. May I ask why? And what do think of the Swedish music scene?

 

"For love and to escape London for a while. I've now been here happily for 6 years. The alternative Swedish music scene is very healthy at the moment. A big export. Very impressive for such a small population."

 

What did you feel you had to escape from?

 

"Well the band had just finished, so had the money, and I was back working a day job, in the kitchen of a very nice cake shop- free cakes every Friday evening! And my Swedish girlfriend was working in a chocolate shop- free broken chocolate bunnies and broken chocolate eggs at Easter! We had a very small and damp flat, all the money went on rent and bills, it seemed like a good time to move. So we went to Sweden. Life became much easier and calmer. London can really wear you out after a few years."

 

But you are still in touch with Darren, John and Jake, right?

 

"Yes. Darren played piano with me at my last London show. And while I was staying with him he recorded, mixed and performed on a track called 'Time I Was Gone' which is on my next CD. We usually hook up a couple of times a year. Jack was also playing at that show and Darren and Jack are planning some shows together where they'll play Hefner songs to promote the 'Fidelity Wars' reissue. John's a little harder to meet up with but I plan to do another song together with John soon."

 

Back in the day. Hefner.

 

Is there any chance you guys will reunite?

 

"I don't think any of us are interested in reforming. We reunited once for the John Peel tribute a while back. There's talk of reuniting again the day that Thatcher dies but that's a bit tricky to plan towards! I think we're much more into the idea of playing on each other's records. Jack also performed and mixed a track on my next CD. I like the idea that all 4 of us might appear on the same record again but not a Hefner record!"

 

I know, all of you readers are on the verge of breaking into tears, but you should cheer up and find comfort in 'footprints through the snow', ANT's last album. The album is beautifully made out of Antony's voice and guitar with simple tunes that prove sometimes complexity isn't necessary in music. It's pretty amazing when a singer/songwriter really knows how to get the job done. I can count the ones I like on one hand, since most of the time I equate intimate music as boring. There's a secret ingredient that lies within the artist, which makes the difference between a good singer/songwriter and a bad one, an ingredient that can't be captured in words. Ant has certainly got it.

 

 

Do you feel there's a big difference between Hefner and your solo project? Do you feel more exposed being in the spot light?

 

"My work in Hefner was mainly drumming & singing backing vocals (I did do the odd bit of guitar and harmonica in the early days until Jack joined and took over that side of things properly!) so my solo work was always going to be a bit different from Hefner, But I think you can hear my personality in all the stuff I've done. Even the drumming. My solo work definitely exposes me the most, unless you count the 'I Took Her Love For Granted' video."

 

Finally, what would you do if you had 8 hands?

 

"Play in goal for Arsenal. Or be the best one man band ever heard!"

 

Download: ANT - When Yolur Heart Breaks (live)

Download: ANT - Cry Your Little Eyes Out (live)

Download: ANT - Spoil (live)

 

If you follow our blog, you must be aware of our Swedish obsession. It's not that we are all happy people, and it's not because all Swedish girls are blond and hot, it's simply because Swedish indie pop rocks!

 

 

So, after having fun with Suburban Kids with Biblical Names and Irene, crying with El Perro Del Mar, Dancing with I'm from Barcelona and feeling proud of Jens Lekman, I am thrilled to share with you my latest Swedish discovery: A Smile and a Ribbon.

 

 

A Smile and a Ribbon have actually been out there for a while and released their debut album last September, but I figured that if I only just heard of them, surely some of you haven't been exposed to their magic as well.

 

 

This great combo is made up of Rebecca Mehlman and Martin Lindqvist, who took Rebecca's misfortunes in love and made an album out of it. On their MySpace page, they describe themselves as the musical equivalent of a lemon pie and I couldn't agree more - their music is sweet and yummy with a twist of sourness.

 

Usually, we don't post live shows videos. but it's dedicated to Darren Hayman, and we L-O-V-E him.

 

If this description is not enough for you, I can also say that their album, "The Boy I Wish I Never Met", derives its influences from 50's girl bands and 90's twee and contains 10 awesome songs that will probably make you fall in love with Rebecca Mehlman.

 

So go ahead, enjoy another Swedish wonder and thank me later.

 

Download: A Smile and a Ribbon - The Boy I Wish I Never Met

Download: A Smile and a Ribbon - Pebbles

Download: A Smile and a Ribbon - Book Cover

 

We 8hands people are very sophisticated, that's for sure. Still, we love Snoop Dogg's pimpish ways – we were into him since '92. I mean, how can you not like the d-o-double-g?

 

Ok, let me get to the point - the godfather of rap is back. Not that he had ever left, but his new single, "Sensual Seduction", is already a classic and it doesn't even matter if you heard it or not.

 

 

This time Snoop Dogg is not the only one running the show. The song, which is some freakish and totally amazing ode to the early eighties Prince era, was produced by Shawty Redd who provided the robot-voice effect and the cheesy-as-hell tune, and the video was directed by Melina, who made sure to put all of the clichés that were common in music videos 25 years ago in one place.

 

Snoop, as always, dropped it like it's hot and entered the soft ladies-man position without a single hiccup. P-E-R-F-E-C-T.

 

 

Our video of the week spot is given to our favorite Swedish band, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, and their video to "Rent a wreck". Of course you know what that means… All of the superb 8hands alpha users will get the video straight into their 8hands. Sweet!

 

 

Even though we were sure they were mega-internet-geeks, Johan Hedberg changed our mind. Damn, SKWBN hardly even use their MySpace page. But what can we say? They are still one great band.

 

As our Swedish pop obsession refuses to go away, it's only obvious that we'll write about the finest of all the sweety-pie Swedish bands, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names. If you never heard that name before, we demand that you'll stop reading us and run or surf to get one of their releases.

 

 

So far these guys released two EPs (named #1 and # 2) and one LP (with the incredibly original name, #3) that came out in Sweden somewhere around 2005, and worldwide a year after that.

 

 

Because of songs like "Loop Duplicate My Heart", which contained lines like "I'm making out tonight with my computer" and "So many interesting effects / I wanna try / I wanna try them all on you", and because they are an indie act that reach a level of some popularity all over the world, us 8hands people were convinced that Suburban Kids with Biblical Names are the perfect band to interview in our music blog. But before all of those internet questions (that made us realize that not every indie musicians are virtual creatures), I must ask something that's been bothering me since I first heard the "Noodles" song.

 

What does "noodles are the smell of denial that you'll never grow old” mean?

 

"It's about being a poor student living on shitty noodles. Studying just because you're not mature enough to try and get a proper job. Like lots of people in Sweden does".

 

So I guess all this time you've been studying, cause it's been a while since #3. what have you really been up to?

 

"We've been up to a lot actually. I guess it's the same story you've heard about millions of bands. We released our record again in USA and England about a year after it was originally released in Sweden and did promotion and toured. We just came back from a small tour in Brazil. It was wonderful getting to see the world. Other than that we've been recording new songs since the end of 2005 or so and hoping that the time would come for them to see the light, but we both have busy schedules with work and studying which makes it very hard for us to get the time we would need to advance in the recordings".

 

 

"Loop Duplicate My Heart" could be an all-time geek anthem. How nerdy you really are?

 

"Not at all. We are cool guys, or might I say normal guys. None of us does anything nerdy except playing in bands and recording music".

 

Does that mean you are not as social networks active as I thought you are?

 

"We answer mails and comments and such and occasionally we upload music. That's it. I recently started using facebook. It's a community that makes it very hard for you to be alone".

 

As a band I assume you don't want to stay "alone". Do you think that networks like MySpace/imeem/Last.fm helped you achieve recognition?

 

"Probably. But we don't see that. We started out with the traditional stuff as our own webpage. Our fans are very polite".

 

 

Do you find new music online?

 

"I don't look for music that much but I hear a lot of interesting artists as i scrobble my way through MySpace and such".

 

What were your recent findings?

 

"Recently I listened to a Swedish band called Twig which sounded really good".

 

What is the worst album you've heard lately?

 

"Justin Timberlake's latest isn't that good".

 

What would you do if you had eight hands?

 

"Scare my girlfriend".