Syd Arthur prep for a breakthrough

For someone a little insecure about his rapidly receding hairline, being surrounded by the most hirsute band this side of ZZ Top isn’t ideal. Happily, the gents of Syd Arthur are determined to restore my good humour.

“How could you not be happy here?!” enthuses the multi-instrumentalist with a porn star’s name, Raven Bush. “I love Ireland. I’ve been equating it to the fact that there’s still music in Ireland that is prevalent in the culture; people are into music for a pure reason. We’ve lost quite a bit of that in the UK.”
If anyone should know, it’s these guys. Their home town of Canterbury boasted a thriving prog-rock scene in the 1970s. However, it isn’t quite what it used to be and despite the efforts of some to portray Syd Arthur as a continuation of a proud tradition, they insist comparisons are some way off the mark.
“We don’t consider ourselves ‘proggy’,” shrugs Raven. “I suppose, though, people will hear what they want sometimes.”
“Some journalists can be a bit lazy,” says frontman Liam Magill. “Then again, you can use that to your advantage.”
Indeed, the notoriety achieved by the likes of Soft Machine and Gong has stood to the group on their ventures across the Atlantic.
“There’s almost a cult following of the Canterbury scene,” drummer Josh explains. “In America, there were people naming bands that you couldn’t even talk about back home. They really go to town in learning everything that was around. Then, other people are just oblivious.”
In reality, approaching the music of Syd Arthur without prior knowledge is a good thing; it doesn’t lend itself to easy comparison. Drawing together strands of jazz, funk, folk, rock and just about anything else you can think of, psych-rock might be the closest to a description one could muster. While it forms an intriguing tapestry both on record – best illustrated on last year’s Sound Mirror – and live onstage, it’s clearly something not woven together easily; a love of experimentation can occasionally cause problems when it comes to finishing a track.
“That’s really difficult,” Liam admits. “In truth, it’s normally just deadlines that decide it. This time round, working with a label gave us an endpoint. The previous record went on a little long, perhaps.”
Still, they must be doing something right. Their efforts not only landed them a deal with Harvest Records, but also a legion of admirers including Amorphous Androgynous and the Modfather himself, Paul Weller.
“We just slowly found ourselves in this circle,” Liam reflects, “until two years later we were on tour with him. We did a session at his studio, and he got really into the band.”
“There’s always something about him,” adds Raven. “He’s got more energy than any of us, because he’s so into what he does. That’s why he’s Paul Weller, because he’s got that determination and that fire.”
Not, mind you, that Syd Arthur are short of drive themselves.
“We shed our skin quite a lot,” says Raven. “We’ve been together, and recording, for almost a decade, doing really DIY, low-key releases. It was all part of our growing process. Most of the tracks we ever did have kind of been left behind – it’s all about the excitement of what we’re going to do next.”