Band Of The Week #203 - Head Ballet
This week’s Band of the Week is Essex duo Head Ballet - who have just released their stunning debut EP ‘Suddenly It’s Making Sense’.
The EP captures the elevated highs and dramatic lows of relationships and the complex emotions that are prevalent when exploring who you are and how you feel.
‘Our debut EP is a collection of music we made together at a time where we were incredibly isolated, like everyone else, in the world. It’s like a diary entry and documents a moment in time full of firsts: first love, first break-up and first-breakdown. Each song takes one experience and elevates it - we loved experimenting with sounds and vocals on each track making them uniquely individual songs but fit when combined together to tell a coming of age story. “Suddenly It’s Making Sense” is a collection of contemporary production paired with classic indie-pop songwriting at its core.
The EP name came from the first verse in our song “Eraser” and we feel it’s an apt summary of how an emotion can weigh so heavily on you at the time or a break-up might seem like the end of the world but with time and perspective, the way events unfold and why start making sense.’
They took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Hey Head Ballet, how are you? So your debut EP is finally here - how does it feel to have it out there in the world.
Hello!!! We’re very well thank you! It’s reallly exciting. We love all of these songs and it's such a precious moment to be able to present our music in this way for the first time.
It is called ‘Suddenly It’s Making Sense’ - what is the meaning behind that?
It’s a lyric from our song ‘Eraser’. We feel it sums up the overarching coming of age feeling of the EP, where you’re experiencing a lot of intense emotions for the first time and coming out the other side of them. It also nicely describes the lightbulb moment we had making music together for the first time. We didn’t put pressure on it and almost let the motives and moods reveal themselves as we went along, the EP is a product of what we found in the process.
Where was the EP recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
We recorded the majority of the EP in Manchester during lockdown when we were living together. We literally met, decided to form a band and then began living together writing the EP. It was so spontaneous that Danny didn’t even bring toothpaste so I lent him mine. We spent most of our days and evenings writing, making food and going for walks. When restrictions opened up a little, we were able to collaborate more which is why Yungblud guitarist Adam Warrington features on a couple of our songs. ‘To Know Yours’ was the last song written for the EP in London and was a product of a spontaneous outburst two weeks fresh out of a breakup.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
We’ve a wide range of influences but we always leaned towards anthemic songs that had a euphoric, dreamlike feel to them. We loved the ethereal and whispy vocals of Grimes and Cocteau Twins, indietronica bands like Chvrches and guitar based alternative groups like Wolf Alice. The key theme of our EP is a nostalgic, romantic surrounding the kaleidoscope of feelings you have when falling in and out of love.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
Our favourite lyric is ‘waiting for the moment and we never know we’re chasing bliss’ from ‘Eraser’. It’s about realising you’re prone to romanticising situations, building them up in your head, creating a false reality when you need to face the one you’re in.
If your EP could be a soundtrack to any film - which one and why?
Lost in Translation - it’s one big vibe and explores the intimacy of human connection, which we mirror in our EP.
Now the EP is out there - what next for you?
Gigs! And more music. We’re playing Notting Hill Arts Club in London 4th August.
