INTRODUCING: Güdness

Fresh, nostalgic, and irresistibly catchy-Gudness is making waves with their latest release, Self Help Cemetery, a bubbly pop anthem drenched in mid-20s existential musings. Formed in the late summer of ’23, this four-piece band of best friends blends 60s charm with 70s groove, crafting a sound that’s as infectious as it is thought-provoking.

With a growing reputation and continued support from BBC Introducing’s Dean Jackson-who’s spun every one of their releases—the future is looking bright. With In This House on the horizon and a string of live dates set to electrify London and Birmingham, 2025 is shaping up to be their year.Expect groove, expect nostalgia, expect great things. Welcome to the world of Gudness.

Your latest single, Self Help Cemetery, blends bubbly pop with existential themes. What inspired the track, and what message do you hope listeners take from it?

So the music came first. my friend jon showed me a song called by an artist called melt mars, It has this really lovely phaser drenched guitar progression which  inspired me to use the same formula effect to create a bubbly sound. As for the line "Self Help Cemetery" that just popped into my head and day, to me it's like an ode to saying "sod it" like having a bender one night and then going out again the next night but justifing it with "fuck it, it's fine", which ultimately makes you end up feeling awful. I'd like listeners to take the tongue in cheekness of that message and look after them self's as best they can.

Gudness brings together influences from the ‘60s and ‘70s while keeping a fresh, modern sound. How do you balance these vintage inspirations with your own unique style?

I think a lot of that 70's influence we have comes down to drum beats, we pretty much always start with drums and bass and then work everything else out on top. The 70's had fantastic rhythms, Suzio quatros song 'can the can'  springs to mind which was definitely an influence on Careers, all of that stompy stuff from the chorus.

Your lyrics often touch on themes of escapism and questioning the world around us. How does your songwriting process typically unfold, and do you draw from personal experiences?

From the drums up to build a solid base and then you can weave melodies around the bassline. The escapism comes from being brought up and still living in a small city (leicester) I guess. Being in a small city we have less funding for music, a lot less touring acts and in general a lot less opportunities for jobs, "we can erode on this rubber ring road" was a line from careers that really reflects this feeling

BBC Introducing has been incredibly supportive of your music. How has that exposure impacted the band’s journey so far?

They have been massively supportive! Dean Jackson has been and will continue to be the greatest asset to music in the east midlands. We've been played put on weekday playlists on radio leicester, Notts and derby. We also went into the studio for an interview a couple of weeks ago. It was really heartwarming because his he and his team were praising Self help cemetery.

With new music on the horizon and an exciting 2025 ahead, what can fans expect from your upcoming releases and live shows?

We have one more single left from this batch which will be out shortly, it's called "in this house", We have a couple of London shows, one is a charity show for warchild, then dingwalls 2 in camden on the 22nd March, Birmingham on the 16th March. And then we'll be off to the studio in Norfolk sometime in the summer