15 Juil INTERVIEW – Willie J Healey talks about his album, Fender, Jamie T, and the Arctic Monkeys audience
Meet a very talented boy from Oxfordshire.
Version française à retrouver par ici.
Sound of Brit : Congratulations for your show! What did you think of this audience?
Willie J Healey : I think they were very receptive and welcoming. Knowing that they probably didn’t know who we were. You know, it’s a great crowd!
Sound of Brit : You just played on a Fender guitar. Why this choice?
WIllie J Healey : It’s just so good. I love that guitar. I mean, I think everyone I grew up listening to played it. So I always wanted to go in that direction. And this guitar in particular, I’ve done a lot with it though, but I’ve stayed true to it. I changed the paint and put up different easels. It’s mine now, I’ve put a bit of bridges into it. Made to measure. A personalised one. Yes, that’s it.
Sound of Brit : For those who don’t know you yet, how would you describe your music?
WIllie J Healey : It’s a kind of funky guitar music!
Sound of Brit : Bunny, your third album, will be released on August 25. How did you go about writing it? Who were you with?
WIllie J Healey : I wrote a lot at home. I had a small room and a studio and I’d just bought a new drum machine. So we used this drum machine and there were so many funky rhythms on it. So I started playing around with that. And a lot of the songs came out of that sort of exploration of the drum machine and I didn’t really think about it. And then I took a few months off. I looked at it and I had 15 songs. And the more I did, the more I thought I sounded like this. That’s more my style, to tell you the truth. And then I spent all my time at home and worked with my dear friend Loren Humphrey, who lives in New York. He produced them. A lot of great musicians played on them too. I can’t take credit for all that, for all that magic.
Sound of Brit : Your album and single covers are very beautiful, and we can tell you spend a lot of time on them. Why is this important to you?
WIllie J Healey : I think the expression « eating with your eyes » really comes into its own here. That’s what I do anyway. I judge books by their covers. And I think that in the same way that music is rewarding to make, works of art are also rewarding to love and ideal for collaborating with people. It’s important to me because, you know, there are so many extraordinary artists, photographers… I couldn’t sleep at night if I was really proud of the music. And then I had artwork that I wasn’t proud of, you know? And again, I grew up listening to a lot of music and the first time I saw a cover, I think it’s like magic according to an image, a font… So I think we have to move in that direction.
Sound of Brit : Can you tell us about your relations with Jamie T?
WIllie J Healey : Jamie’s a good friend of mine and he actually gave me the drum machine and let me borrow it. He said, « Oh yeah, you can borrow it ». And um, we’ve been talking for years now and as I’ve grown up, he’s been a great inspiration to me and, you know, when I first started out, Jamie came into contact at one point and, you know, he just blew me away. I grew up listening to him, and he’s such a nice person and, you know, it’s a credit to him. He’s obsessed with music. And I think that’s kind of how our relationship was born. He was into what was new and fortunately I trust his poetry and we got on really well. And I think, like a lot of songwriters, we can understand each other, you know, we can understand each other. Sometimes you wonder who to call at 11:30 on a Monday morning, you know, to talk about a song. There aren’t that many. A lot of friends have jobs and, somehow, we find these connections and identify with each other. And that’s a wonderful thing because it can be a bit isolating sometimes as a solo artist playing with the band. But we’re both very similar. I think we both enjoy that and it’s very comforting.
Sound of Brit : You like to share your day-to-day touring life on your networks: what’s your schedule for a day on the road? Today, for example?
WIllie J Healey : I’m not very good at networking content, more at songs, and it’s like a constant battle to get it into your head that you need to film everything. So people can see what you’re doing. You know, these days it’s important, it’s trying to keep people involved. Today, for example, we sat in the van for eight hours. Oh, yeah. And, you know, to get here, it’s a really beautiful drive. I’ve never been here before, so I enjoyed it. Um, but basically I wake up, get out of bed, try to have breakfast, and then there’s a lot of time in the van. We talk a lot with my tour manager. There’s also the shower, visiting new places, seeing who the other artists are. Yesterday I went to pick up some records, it’s always good to have something to do. It’s not like drinking beer. Also, we can play badminton, we love table tennis and we have a football team. Yes, that’s it. We do anything. It’s like becoming a child. You have someone looking after you all the time.
Sound of Brit : You’ve toured quite a bit with Arctic Monkeys. Did you get a good listening audience?
WIllie J Healey : Yes, they were really open-minded. I’ve toured as a support act before, so it’s really hard to convince people, which makes sense. Yes, it’s a difficult position to be in. Sometimes it’s a bit difficult to try and convince a few people. But I found that on these dates people were really nice, enthusiastic and ready to have a good time.
Sound of Brit : How it was to play at the Accor Arena in Paris last November? Do you feel stressed in front of such venues?
WIllie J Healey : I think I had a moment when I thought this was really huge. For a second, I thought I really had to do something out of the ordinary. And then I realised that I just had to be myself and have fun, and that people would realise that.
Sound of Brit : Your next date will also be with them at the Nîmes Festival, and it’s already sold out! Finally, do you have any special memories of France?
WIllie J Healey : Yes, in a superb venue. I can’t wait for this concert. Well, I had a great time on stage earlier. In Paris, it was very quick: we arrived and left. I had a quick look around and had a great time seeing Paris, but we only had an hour.
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