Think of Cornwall, long winding sandy beaches, beautiful pasties and lazy lunches topped off with a cream tea in the afternoon, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find some musical treasure in the form of an Alt Rock/Post-Hardcore quartet called HYPOPHORA buried beneath the delights that attract so many holidaymakers to the county.
I’ve heard a lot about this band and when I found out that they’ll be performing at this year’s BURN IT DOWN FESTIVAL in Torquay, I thought it was high time we had a quick chat to find out more about the band, here’s how we got on….
You’re playing at the Burn It Down Festival in Torquay on August 31st, tell us a bit about your band and why people should come and see you play
As BID is such a mixed-genre festival, playing a style of music that jumps all over the idea of ‘genre’ may come in our favour. We struggle to know whether it lies with alt rock, post-hardcore, funk rock or prog, so hopefully there’s something in there for everyone.
We released our debut album Douse last year and it received some really great praise! Our live show can be pretty ballsy too, so we might be enjoyable to watch, who knows..
Burn it Down is a festival but not in the traditional sense, you WON’T be stood in a muddy field somewhere getting rained on, did this thought cross your mind when you agreed to be a part of it?
Yes it did! We were lucky enough to play the main stage last year and we found the indoor festival vibes to be pretty sweet - no rain, no mud, no blistering winds… but still just as sweaty and energetic! Because it's in the middle of Torquay it has the great advantage of letting you pop in and out whenever you want. You could catch a few acts, maybe step out to grab some food or a couple drinks somewhere (if not at the festival itself) and then pop back again later. It really helps avoids the whole ‘awkward waiting’ that can come with some festivals - though with a line up like this we don’t think that's going to be an issue.
Also, the sound at outdoor gigs can sometimes be a little hit-or-miss. Playing indoors with sound guys that really know the space lets all the acts playing really sound their best.
Could you describe a typical live show (if there is such a thing?) what can the audience expect from you?
Typically, we like to perform original live music that we have written. Sometimes there’s falling over, oftentimes there’s jumping around, always a stupid face or two. Expect a decent pair of socks, too.
The festival is taking place in Torquay which is also referred to as ‘The English Riviera’, have you ever played in Torquay before? If so, where did you play, if not, what are you most looking forward to doing whilst you’re in Torquay?
We have played Torquay before! As well as playing last year’s BID Fest, we’ve appeared around this area a fair bit as a semi-regular gigging destination. We supported the wonderful Black Foxxes at the same location (upstairs, in the ‘Attic’ venue) and have done some fun shows across the road from The Foundry at The Apple and Parrot (which is actually used as one of the stages for BID) in the past with Warhorns, Dead Ground and Last Hyena to name a few.
There are some AMAZING bands performing at the festival, which ones are you looking forward to checking out whilst you’re there?
It's really hard to choose, this is such a great line up all around! There are of course the obvious choices like Basement, Black Peaks and Loathe that we’re really excited for, but a couple of other bands we’re equally excited to see are Holding Absence, Puppy, Haggard Cat, Street Soldier, Profiler and Slow Crush.
Have you any new music/EP/Album due out soon? If so, please tell us about it
We might be heading to the studio soon. Let's leave it at that.
There are MILLIONS of bands out there, name 3 that we should be checking out in 2019
Phoxjaw - The perfect blend between grungy and heavy with a totally manic live show.
Last Hyena - Mathy post-rock dreamy soundscapes, have fun keeping up with the timings!
Hops - Our new-to-the-scene friends from our home county of Cornwall who are crushing it in our local area and beyond, expect mathy melodies left right and center.
Where can people keep up to date with you
Our facebook and instagram are our main hub for social media, give them a visit….
Instagram or @hypophoramusic
We’d like to thank the band for taking the time to chat to us and we wish them every success in the future and look forward to catching them live at BURN IT DOWN FESTIVAL on Saturday August 31st in Torquay….
