I live in the South Hams and have heard wonderful things about a local band called Abrasive Trees, many people told me to get along to one of their shows but they always seemed to clash with other events that I had on the calendar. I finally got a tip off that they were playing in Dartington and after checking the calendar, I was free!

After seeing the show, I was mesmerised, I wanted to find out more about the band and after a conversation with the singer/guitarist, Matthew Rochford, he agreed to take part in a Q&A session. Read on to learn more about how the band formed, its members, musical influences, the local music scene and details of forthcoming live shows.

You’re in a band called Abrasive Trees, take a moment to tell me more about the band, its members and the music you perform

The band is Matthew Rochford (guitar and vocals), Ben Roberts (electric cello, bass keys and backing vocals), Jay Newton (guitar and keys), Jerome Hitchens (drums and backing vocals) and Jess Wooller (live visuals). Our sound is pretty massive, psychedelic, post-punk, sometimes improvised rock music.

Where did the name ‘Abrasive Trees’ come from?

It comes from descriptions of a lower state of existence, much like a nightmare or hallucination. In Buddhism there are different realms or worlds that beings inhabit – one of which is called the Mountain of Abrasive Trees. Originally I had written a song with the same name that I was going to take to the previous band I was in, Council of Giants, but decided to start a new project with it. I then just called the new band Abrasive Trees. That was back in 2018.

How and when did the band form?

I had met Ben Roberts a few years ago, via an episode of the Generating Steam Heat radio show where I had played an Evi Vine song. Ben, who's been playing in Evi's band for over ten years, left a comment saying he was living in Totnes, so we met for a coffee. We then ended up working with Jo-Beth Young, both live and on her album, Strangers. So working with Ben happened very naturally and I sent him some early demo's and asked him if he'd play some cello. We worked out a fairly skeletal set, along with the singer/dulcimer player Nadia Abdelaziz and played a support slot and a couple of open mics. Then lockdown happened so it became a home-studio project for quite a while. In some ways this was quite liberating and I invited other friends to play on what would become the releases. This included Steven Hill (also from Evi's band), Mark Parsons (from Eat Lights Become Lights), Jo-Beth Young (aka RISE/Talitha Rise), Laurence Collyer (from Diamond Family), Mark Beazley (from Rothko), my brother Seb, and Peter Yates (from Fields of The Nephilim). I was very lucky in that they were all really happy to play on the initial recordings and later Jay Newton and Jerome Hitchens joined us. Gradually the nucleus of the band crystallized – Jay, Jerome, Ben and myself with Jess creating both the single videos and live visuals.

Does each member bring something different to the table or are you all pretty much in sync when it comes to musical tastes? 

Everyone brings something unique and incredibly interesting – and our tastes overlap nicely and we're always introducing each other to new music. Jerome loves Deftones, Ben introduced us to Emma Ruth-Rundle this year, Jay got me into Slint, Jess told me about Dark Star. From a creative perspective we all complement each other, there's a lot of respect between us, and that sense of ease makes things flow.

It's also a very non-ageist band. Jerome is in his early 20's, Ben his mid-30's, Jay is just 40 and I'm 52 now. It's hugely refreshing to be with people who don't care about age. 

Tell me something fascinating about you or a member of the band.

Me and Jerome met over a game of connect four. Ben just played a gig with the drummer from Placebo, Jay is famous in Reading, Jess makes analogue synths.

Were you raised in a musical house?

Yes, very much so. My Dad was a huge classical music fan and listened to a lot of Bach, Arvo Part. My mother was a fan of Miles Davis and Bill Evans – there was a lot of jazz in our house – as well as Carpenters and Stevie Wonder. My first musical memory is of hearing Maxwell's Silver Hammer as a toddler in the living room. We had concerts at home sometimes, jazz or even my brother's thrash metal band. In fact both my brothers were drummers and many of my (seven) sisters played piano really well.

Which bands or artists have influenced you musically over the years?

So many. The first two Cult albums, The Dead Kennedys, Nephilim, early Sisters of Mercy, Radiohead, Bauhaus, Burial, Godspeed, Bonnie Prince Billy, Alice Coltrane. I recently started listening to New Space Music by Brian Eno, I can't stop playing it.

Have you ever met any of your heroes? If so, how did it go?

I don't really have any musical heroes as such, but I have been lucky enough to work with some incredible people like Elisabeth Elektra, Stuart Braithwaite and Peter Yates. As well as Evi, Jo-Beth, Mark Beazley and Steven Hill. I am very happy to say that in each case it went well and we're still on speaking terms, lol.

Tell me your best joke….

Glass coffins? Will they catch on? Remains to be seen.

Has the style of music that Abrasive Trees produces changed since you formed the band? If so, what factors would you say have brought these changes about?

We're undergoing quite a big shift musically. This is the result of moving from being a bedroom project to becoming a live band and crucially having Jerome as our drummer and ditching the heavily reverbed analogue drum machine you can hear on all the releases up to Replenishing Water. Naturally, as we have rehearsed and arranged the material together it's changed a lot. I love what we're doing right now, it's the best thing I've done creatively so far.

Post-punk.com describe Abrasive Trees as "a transcendent experience of euphoric dissonance" – do you agree?

I do. We have moments when it goes a bit weird and then explodes into noise, but sometimes we just want to play something with more of a punk-rock-hook on it (like Bound For An Infinite Sea). We just go with it. I think it's a fair description of how I feel when we play together.

Your latest track ‘Replenishing Water’ was released on December 3rd, tell me what it’s about and what inspired you to write it?

I wrote it pre-covid and me and Ben played it few times. Then when covid happened it took on a different atmosphere. Much more 'spectral' as Steven Hill described it. I wanted to really express how I was feeling through layers of distortion and delay. As well as going through the restrictions and anxiety like everyone else during the spring of 2020, my Dad had just died, so the track became very cathartic. It's essentially a track about the expression of grief and anxiety – but also of finding healing and peace.

The track was written, produced, mixed and mastered by yourself and Mark Beazley, do you tend to use the same people for these processes or chop and change depending on the song?

Up to now it's very much been about working with Mark in that way. We've forged a incredible bond through the first four releases. Now we are in a different phase – more about the band and playing live, so Mark's role has changed. He's going to remix something on the next release and we'll do something live together again during 2022. It's nice to let that relationship evolve and change. Mark works very fluidly – Rothko is an ever-evolving project and he's an ever-evolving human.

Do you use a studio to record? If so, which one? 

Everything we have released so far has been done remotely in the various people's home studios. But recently we've started working with Lucy and Matthew Board in their studio, Penquit Mill. Their place is perfect and I've worked with them for a few years now – with Council of Giants and now with Abrasive Trees. They have the perfect balance of technical knowledge and creative energy.

Would you say that the live music scene in Devon has recovered well since we’ve been able to gather again after a bleak summer of literally no live events?

It's been pretty incredible really. Things have definitely bounced back both here and elsewhere in the UK, up to a point. Although as I write this, things have become uncertain again. I'm praying that things will be ok. I've been to lots of gigs since July and they've all been pretty well attended.

Local events seem to be blossoming in the South Hams (Dartington, Totnes etc), this is primarily thanks to a couple of local promoters (Christian Murison – The Blackbird Collective and Katie Whitehouse – From the Whitehouse) how have this pair helped you in the past with live events?

Christian has promoted all of our shows so far, and they've all either been sold out or packed. I think to be a promotor you have to be relentless and both him and Katie are just that. Katie hasn't helped me directly with the Abrasive Trees gigs, but in my other life she's my boss. She's en exceptional human being – either managing or developing 13 artists. It's quite incredible really. The next phase is about touring outside of this part of the world though – London, Bristol, Brighton are on our radar or been booked. The autumn tour will hopefully see us further North, hopefully Scotland too.

If you were given the chance to nominate the three headline acts for a massive music festival, who would you choose and why? (can be dead/alive/split up etc.) 

Crikey. I don't know really. I would have loved to have seen Magazine or Siouxsie and The Banshees. At present though I'm just looking forward to seeing Emma Ruth-Rundle.

Social Media is a multi-headed beast, which platforms are best to keep up to date with Abrasive Trees?

Probably Instagram and Twitter.

There are loads of incredible local bands and artists in Devon, which would you like to give a mention?

Pale Blue Eyes – their pop sensibilities often give way to the post-punk aesthetic and shoe gaze thing which I like. Also I love Fusea.

It’ll soon be Christmas, assuming you’ve been good this year, what’s on your Christmas list?

I do need a pedal board case. My current case is a picnic rug, which is ridiculous.

I’d like to thank Matthew Rochford for sparing the time to chat to us and wish Abrasive Trees all the best for the future. If you’re a company that produces pedal board cases, please feel free to reach out to Matthew directly so he can replace his current picnic blanket with something a little sturdier to keep his pedals in order!

You can catch the band performing live at the following shows (click on links for tickets);

Sat 29th Jan - Bread And Roses - Plymouth

Wed 23rd March - Hyde Tavern - Winchester

Thu 24th March - Servant Jazz Quarters - London

Fri 25th March - Rising Sun Arts Centre - Reading

You can listen to their brand new track ‘Replenishing Water’ below;

To keep up to date with their musical happenings, follow them on the socials, links below;

Instagram

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Interview by Steve Muscutt