Haus is a brand new band hailing from North London who are taking their city by storm and building a scintillating live reputation having sold out their first headline show at The Old Blue Last in May.
The band, which is made up of Ashley Mulimba (Vocals/Guitar), Ellis Mortimer (Bass/Synth), Sam Kelly (Guitar), Daniel Hylton (Guitar), Lyle Simpson (Drums), release their first single ‘Haze’, a blistering slice of indie-rock with electronic influences to their eagerly expectant fans who can expect a video visual to follow shortly.
We caught up with Ash at the skate park where we swapped skateboarding tips and tricks (I was once quite good) and shot the shit about the perfect cup of tea, desert island discs and amusing games that you can play at a festival, here's how we got on....
We know that you’re a 5 piece band from North London, tell us a fascinating fact about one of the members that even Google doesn’t know….
Lyle once licked my genitalia for dare.
You have just released your first single, ‘Haze’, what’s the response been like when you play this track live?
The response has been amazing, we like to end the set with Haze because it's one our more upbeat songs. People dance to it, ultimately that all we ask for.
‘Haze’ has an eclectic taste and mixture of vocals such as Maverick Sabre, the electronic sound of Bloc Party with a touch of Mumford and Sons, how do you feel about being compared to other acts?
It's always flattering to be compared to a band you listened to growing right? I like it when we're not tied to a specific band/subculture. To me if people can't quite put their finger on who we remind them of then we're doing something right. Creating something new.
You guys recently played the ‘Barn on the Farm Festival’, what was that like and are there any stories you can share with us?
Barn On The Farm was amazing, we didn't really know what to expect. Considering it was our first time playing we had a great turn out and an amazing response from the crowd. We invented a game, which goes by the name of 'slappy beer' the rules are:
1. Slap any full beer in sight out of the hands of the person holding it. (Preferably a mate.)
2. Don't hate. It's funny.
3. No contact, (this is a friendly sport) minus the odd accidental hand slap.
4. Retaliate.
Your next Live gig is on the 20th August and is called ‘Haus Party’, what can people who have never seen you live expect?
Sweat, and a hangover.
What 3 words would you use to best describe ‘Haus’….
Black and white.
Staying with the next gig on August 20th, it’s at a secret location, is there a risk that people may not show up as they won’t know where it is being held?
We're not worried about that to be honest. We're just trying to do something different to the first HAUS PARTY. We are confident in ourselves and our team around us, we believe that we can pull this off. If not, we learn from our mistakes eh.
Your single ‘Haze’ was mixed by Cenzo Townsend who has worked with Florence and the Machine, Everything Everything & Bloc Party, what did you learn from him?
We learnt that it's always a good idea to try new things, be patient and take your time. We almost put haze out before it was ready on several occasions, luckily we didn't otherwise we would have shot ourselves in the foot. Regardless it was a great honour to work with Cenzo, he is amazing at what he does.
Who in the band is the best cook and what’s their speciality?
We are all pretty good cooks to be fair. Myself and Ellis are into our Italian cuisines, Sam makes a mean fajita and lyle's a bit of an all-rounder. Daniel on the other hand just eats chicken.
What is your favourite skate-boarding manoeuvre and what do places such as the Board Park at the Southbank do for you and other riders?
A steezy-ass Hardflip. It's nice to be involved in something you can do with your mates whenever you want and wherever you want. It's had many historical moments and can bring so much joy to a human being. Skaters live in their own community which allows you give another skater a nod from across the street and know they'll reciprocate. Everyone is willing to help one another, whether you're good or bad it doesn't matter. Personally I'm not a big of south bank, purely because the Tories tore half of it down to build a f***ing bank. Sometimes if I'm passing by on a weekend I'll stick around to watch the pro skate teams but there's not much to skate there anymore.
Talk us through a ‘perfect day’ for Haus….
Wake up, go for a skate, pub lunch and probably end on playing a show. It's hard to answer on behalf of the whole band but nothing beats playing live.
If you could choose the 3 headline acts for a big festival (let’s assume Glasto), who would they be? (they can be dead or alive by the way!)
Tough one, I'm gonna go with Joy Divison, Biggie Smalls, and MOP.
How do you make the perfect cup of tea?
Milk and one sugar, tea bag first. I usually use two bags, to this day I still don't know why.
You say that you have Math-Rock and Electronic influences, any particular bands that you would say have influenced your sound?
To be frank we have a lot of influences, for example one of my biggest influences (lyrically) is my favourite poet, Charles Bukowski. It's quite hard to pin point what particular bands influence our sound. We just like to jam and see what comes out of it.
What is your biggest claim to fame? (individually or as a band)
I don't know really, my mum had lunch with Brad Pitt once. Pretty sweet.
What has been the most rock n’ roll thing you have ever done (I’m after some dirt here, think TV’s out of hotel windows, angry hookers, snorting lines of ants etc…)
I'm afraid I'm gonna have to keep this relatively clean due to relatives and what not but we once got into a group fight, whilst in a meeting with a radio plugger. Merely because he go into an argument with a bouncer. It resulted in a broken finger and a few sore jaws but it was pretty funny In hindsight.
London is a melting pot of sound, genres and styles, how do you stand out from the thousands of other acts all trying to achieve the same?
Pardon the cliche but just be yourself and you will stand out.
You’re off to spend a year on a desert island, food and drink is plentiful, which 3 albums would you take to entertain you whilst you’re there?
Jungle - Jungle. Michael Jackson - HISTORY, Past Present & future. Justin Timberlake - Justified.
Let’s imagine I’m off to London for a day out, I want to eat, drink, catch a band and then party into the wee small hours, can you suggest where I can do each of these things?
I'd say either Lock Tavern in Camden or Birthdays in Dalston, where you can do all of those things in one.
What is your most treasured possession?
My mac jacket passed down to me from my dad. It's from the 80s and practically hugs my ankles. It comes out for special occasions only.
You’ve played live around London at venues such as The Old Blue Last, 93 Feet East and others, where is the one place that you’ve always dreamt of playing live?
I've always been a big fan of Shepherds Bush Empire.
Being an avid skater years ago, I was going to let them off having to sit through the Quickfire Questions, I then remember the pain after my front teeth punctured my top lip after landing awkwardly on a half pipe, I soon came to my senses and strapped them in ready for the inquisition to commence!
Coffee or Tea?
Coffee
Coke or Pepsi?
Coke
Drum machine or the real deal?
Real Deal
Mac or PC?
Mac
Lie in or Up at 6am?
LIE IN
Dogtown or Variflex?
Variflex. (Liking the old school touch)
Tennis or Football?
Football
Lemmy (Motorhead) or Ozzy (Black Sabbath)?
Ozzy
CD or Vinyl?
Vinyl
Big Mac or Whopper?
BM
Corporate or small boutique festival?
Medium sized festivals
Seaside or Mountains?
Seaside
Costa or Starbucks?
Starbucks
Three Little Birds or Redemption Song?
Redemption Song
Car or Motorbike?
Car
Bananas or Kiwi Fruit?
Kiwi
Acoustic or electric?
Electric
Shower or Bath?
Shower
Tattoos or Piercings?
Tatts
Smoothie or Milkshake?
Smoothie
Robert de Niro or Al Pacino?
Al Pacino, don.
God or Google?
God.
We'd like to thank the guys for taking the time to chat to us, we wish them every success with the release of the new single and hopefully, people will be able to locate the venue of their next gig in August....
Please spend some time having a look through their social media pages, some of them are listed below, just point and click!
Social Media
Interview by Mark Wincott & Steve Muscutt