Wyldeck [Interview]

BY TOM PHELAN
FRIDAY, 13TH DECEMBER 2013

1>Cece Wyldeck – Vocals and guitar

Dom Cheung – Lead guitar

Jacob Hollebon – Bass

Dave Churchyard – Drums

BS: So we know the guilty pleasure of the band.

Jacob: It’s alright, I’m not guilty.

BS: So are you guys originally from London?

Cece: Yes, just outside, but it’s still London.

BS: So what led to the formation of this band?

Cece: Me and Dave used to be in a band and then it split up and I decided to do something on my own, and then I got a call from Dave saying “I really need to do music again.” So we met up and I played him something I’d recorded, and he was like “I need to be involved in this.” And then he called up Dom and Jake and said “You’ve gotta be in this band!” We’ve all known each other since we were little so it was familiar anyway.

Jacob: Dom texted me at three in the morning telling me I was now in this band!

Dom: He originally asked me to play guitar and I said no I don’t think I can commit to doing anything like that, and then Dave said to me “you’re in this rocking band” and that was it.

Cece: And then we are Wyldeck.

Jacob: Pretty hard recruitment process…

BS: So what inspired the writing of the song Wolves?

Cece: The two people in the video are the people I wrote the song about, and they are two friends who were in a beautiful relationship who sadly are not together any more but are still both very good friends of mine. The song is about them.

BS: So was it awkward filming the video…?

They were still together then, so that was fine, but yeah it was about them, as a basis of characters.

BS: All the imagery in that video is very rural and foresty, and folk is not regarded as an urban genre of music? How do you feel about writing that in London? Do you ever need to get out?

Cece: If I ever write anything it only ever comes out folky as a starting skeleton anyway, and I think that’s because of the kind of music that I’ve been brought up on. I don’t think it’s about necessarily my environment. It’s just all my influence through life and music and that’s the style that comes out. It’s nothing to do with being in London. I’ve never really written a song out of London.

BS: Are your influences fairly similar as a band?

Cece: No, those two love Prince, they’re like mega fans. Dave?

Dave: Well, my stuff is varied a lot. The albums that I’ve got recently are so far from this type of sound. Y’know, Daughter and stuff I download them and London Grammar, blah blah blah, so you’re drawing things from that kind of thing. Yeah my music taste is so varied, but I think that’s cool. You don’t have to be locked in to one genre because you only get so far and it gets really repetitive and boring as a band – a live band. You wanna keep it alive.

Cece: It helps definitely because if you’re constantly listening to the same music that you’re writing, you’re not really going to evolve your style. I think it’s bullshit when people so “ohh I’ve got this new sound, no-one’s heard it before but it’s bullshit – it’s just all amalgamations of everything that surrounds you and everything you listen to over the years, and we’re an amalgamation of all our interests in music. But it’s an updated version I guess, of everything that already exists.

BS: So how collaborative is the writing process?

Cece: Definitely a lot more collaborative than it was at the beginning. We all have our own inputs to create the sound we’ve got. It wouldn’t be what it is without everyone’s individual style.

Jacob: We all write our own parts but Cece will come along with the skeleton of a tune and we’ll build it with our stuff, basically. So she doesn’t dictate what we play. No-one dictates what anyone plays. We might throw some ideas but there’s no “you must play this!”

Cece: A lot of our songs come from jamming in rehearsal with maybe a tiny little riff and then it’ll build into a song.

BS: So what’s in store for the new year?

Dom: Get a cool video done.

Cece: Festival season again and hopefully we’ll have a few singles soon, before that. The plan is to do three to four single releases in the next year.

Jacob: I’d like to do a tour.

Dom: Yes, very much so.

BS: Have you got a label you’re going to put music out on?

Cece: Nothing as of yet. We’ve got fingers in pies and that’s all I’m gonna say.

Jacob: Not fingers, just things.

Cece: Different appendages…

BS: So the Sebright Arms is know for its beer selection. Is there a band favourite?

Jacob: Norfolk Nog! It’s our favourite beer. I found it in my house one day and then my friend drank it, and then he was sick hahaa…

BS: For our readers, are there any other bands you’d recommend at the moment?

Cece: The Graphite Set. They are quite a cool band, friends of mine. Lily Buchanan is the lead singer and I saw an amazing single release at the Lexington recently. They just released the single Grayson Perry, which Jarvis Cocker just played on his show. So he’s a bit of a fan. But they are a really good new sound. She’s got a great voice and a really interesting songwriting angle.

Jacob: A band called The Preachers. It’s an Australian band and they’re really good. I don’t have much to say. You should look at them.

Dave: Two actually, only because I listen to the Zane Lowe show, driving back from work, so I’ve got them on my phone here. One’s called Iyes and they’re from Brighton I think. They’re super cool and their track’s called Til Infinity. And there’s a track called Cinnamon by Marika Hackman. That is also a banging tune. Oh and thingy… Was it Secret Garden Party? Yeah, MØ – Danish band.