Chew Magna Talk New Album, Band Name And More

 UK four-piece Chew Magna have released their new album and we were intrigued by their sound so invited them for a chat. Read on: 

Who is in Chew Magna and what do they play?

Joel –plays Bass, Ben plays Drums, Simon plays guitar, Laurie plays guitar and tries to sing.

 How did you want to approach the making of your album?

We had a really long gestation period as a band, we started playing together in 2016ish we released an EP in 2019 and then started working towards this record. We knew we wanted it sound raw and exciting and to capture the different elements of our sound. We were writing and waiting until we had enough good songs.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

We did the drums and bass and 2 of the songs at Strangeway studios in Salford with Martin Hurley because we knew he could get the raw, but well produced sound we were after. We recorded the guitars and vocals ourselves which in retrospect was a bit of a mistake because it took AGES to track them and even longer to get them to sound good! Any musician reading this, take my advice and just do it all in one go! Martin half mixed the record and my brother Alex Hulme (Hybrid Heart Studios) finished it off and then we got it mastered at a 80Hz in Manchester.

 Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals etc?

Simon and I are both pedal fiends, he has a mega board now with loads of lovely pedals on it (DBA apocalypse, Zvex Lo Fi Junky, etc) I’m still struggling to get the right main overdrive, I’ve tried about 10 now! For my first drive I use a Boss OD200, and for my lead/really loud bits I use an Earthquaker hoof.

I love slapback on my vox too!

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the album recording sessions?

 As we were tracking the final guitar tracks Simon injured his fingers quite badly on a saw so he tracked some of the songs with butterfly stitches all over his bleeding hands which was really impressive!

 You have also released the track ‘Secrets’. What was the story/inspiration behind the song?

It’s a good song to ask about because it started as an acoustic song I wrote for my folk group (Songs For Walter) but I ended up not putting it out and I brought it to the guys who transformed it. I guess on the surface its about embellishing anecdotes to make them more interesting to the people listening but its tapping into themes of bull*****ing and hyperbole we all see everyday on social media.

 Do you have any plans for live shows in Europe/UK in 2024?

Watch this space

 How do you look after your voices?

Unless I’ve had loads of sleep and a really quiet day I find it really hard to sing in tune! As a parent and a teacher its quite rare I get those optimum conditions! My favourite thing to do before we play is to have a couple of pints and then quite a string black coffee and really inhale the vapours – it seems to help!

Which tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

Happiest is 4232, angriest is Watching Paint Dry and most reflective maybe Pretty Loose which is about the pointlessness of revenge.

 Was it a difficult album to write?

No just hard to finish. We were jamming more and more and incorporating more Kraut Rock into our sound so we were just trying to get the balance right between Indie Rock, Post Hardcore, Punk and Kraut Rock.

Who created/designed the album artwork?

Our friend Josh Sowa – he’s a brilliant abstract portrait painter, I’m so happy with image we chose.

 What is the background behind the band name?

The UK is full of crazy place names and I kept a note in my phone when I ever I would see an interesting one. I thought Chew Magna (In Somerset) sounded like a gnarly 90s inspired rock band. In retrospect it was maybe a mistake because everyone, understandably, calls us Chew Manga or Chew Magma.

Photo Credit: Supplied By Cannonball PR

Chew Magna’s self-titled debut album is out now via Stray Cat Records.

For more information visit: https://straycatrecords.bigcartel.com/