Introducing: Hot Face
Today, we’re turning up the heat with Hot Face, South London’s psych-punk trio who are setting stages ablaze with their ferocious sound and wild energy. Fresh off the release of their blistering new single ‘17 Day Migraine’, Hot Face are blending Osees-inspired chaos with 60s British garage melodies, delivering a sonic ride that’s fast, raw, and utterly unhinged. From sweaty basement jams to sharing stages with the likes of Opus Kink and LIFE, this band is quickly becoming a force in the London gig circuit. Let’s dive into the madness with the guys behind the noise.
1. Your new single "17 Day Migraine" has been described as a blend of psychedelic fury and 60s British garage rock. What influences did you draw upon when writing and recording this track, and how do you feel it represents your sound as a band?
Typically we draw influence from a broad range of music ranging from alternative/post rock music of the 90’s to the burgeoning punk scenes of the 70’s and 80’s to the more avant-garde practices of freaks throughout the ages. ‘dura dura’ was a pretty good example of this, but I think with 17 Day we really channeled the sound of 60’s psych/garage. That genre and era are something that have been a pillar of the band’s sound since it’s inception.
If you were to take ‘Rollercoaster’ by The 13th Floor Elevators, ‘Defecting Grey’ by The Pretty Things and ‘Lucifer Sam’ by Floyd and make a Venn diagram you’d find 17 Day somewhere in the middle.
That being said though it wasn’t explicitly a conscious decision, as per usual with us we just followed the idea down the rabbit hole until we ended up with a song or…a headache. Once the idea started to blossom from a riff into a more fleshed out idea, that was when we probably started throwing bands and songs into the mix as influences.
2. The lyrics of "17 Day Migraine" recount a surreal story inspired by a rainy night in Soho. Can you elaborate on the narrative behind the song and how it reflects the band’s aesthetic of anarchic scenes and surreal nihilism?
It was midweek shenanigans instigated by the boredom of being at work all day. A dear friend (hi Kai) began to tell me a story about how he had experienced a migraine that had lasted for 17 days and I remember being completely enthralled by his story.
Initially the preciseness of this ordeal had me hooked, who the fuck has a migraine for 17 days! Then followed his description of living with the blasted thing. He told me that the intense pain just became a part of his life and that’s essentially what the lyrics are; a tale of discomfort that outstays it’s welcome for so long that it becomes the new normal. All these dreary thoughts surrounding the headache become a dialogue in the back of your mind.
With regards to our aesthetic; surrealism can be described as an expression of the subconscious, liberation of thought and chance. That’s pretty much the ethos for how we make music.
If anarchy and nihilism are the posts and surrealism is the net, Hot Face are the ball that is repeatedly kicked into the whole thing.
3. You recorded this single with producers Alexis Smith and Tom Wilson Kellet. How did their production styles contribute to the raw energy of the track, and what was the recording process like?
We’ve actually worked with both before but never both together so we knew what we were walking into and at the same time we didn’t. Both Alexis and Tom are pretty intuitive with what they do, they understand what you’re looking for and make it happen. It’s a pretty dreamy set up. They both had valuable ideas on what gear, tones and effects to use, but they never drew a line under anything. They knew what would add to the recording and equally knew what would subtract from it.
I remember Tom suggesting a particularly ugly fuzz tone for an underlying guitar track. I initially thought it would never work, but then in conjunction with the track, it made total sense. Sometimes a little uglyness is what a song needs!
Lex is one of the calmest heads in the game and that’s something you can always do with having around, you definitely feel like you’re in safe hands when you work with him. If the session were a ship, he’d be the one that would keep it from sinking.
4. Hot Face formed from an impromptu jam in a pub basement. Looking back, how do you think that spontaneous beginning has shaped your music and the chemistry within the band?
Fun fact, we started life as a bedroom project but it was only when that jam happened that we actually grew flesh around the bones.
Jamming is an essential aspect of Hot Face, it’s how we operate. Most if not all songs are born from tiny nuggets found within extensive jams that we extract and polish until we’re happy.
5. You have an exciting series of live shows coming up, including appearances at the Left Of The Dial Festival and supporting Wax Head in London. How do you prepare for your live performances, and what can audiences expect from your shows?
A shot of tequila, couple of star jumps and some silliness thrown in for good measure. That’s the preparation.
Audiences can expect to see 3 become 1 in a cacophony of noise and a flurry of movement. And if they stand still for too long they’ll probably see an axe wielding lunatic, a snarled bass face and Hulk Hogan on drums coming at them with full speed.
