11 Questions with Talking Horses

If you could share one thing with an audience before they first tuned into your music, what would you say?

Our songs sound best when you sing them with us!

What’s a non-music thing, a book, a place, a random job, a conversation you overheard, that actually changed how you create music?

Two things that have always hampered me as an artist are comparing myself to others and being a bit of a perfectionist. I recently read Rick Beato’s book, and this was really helpful in showing me how to move past this.

Give us a song origin story. Where did the idea come from, and did you know straight away that it was something, or did it take a while to reveal itself?

Our latest single ‘Sunday Morning’ is about being at a crossroads. I started really pursuing music quite late, and a lot of the people around me started moving into ‘real’ jobs, and I watched as a lot of these big dreams just kind of fizzled out. This song is about choosing the path that really excites you, not the path of least resistance. I wrote the song years ago, and it lay dormant until Talking Horses started. When I brought it into a room with the lads, it completely transformed. All the verses got completely re-written, and it felt like our first real collaborative song written together. Whenever we play live, this song always surprises us with the reaction it gets. 

Pick a song that you’ve released that could only have been written at that exact moment in your lives. What was going on, and is there any part of you that wishes you could still be in that moment?

Our tune ‘Falter’ is just about carrying on. No matter how many times you get knocked down or fall short of what you might hope for, just get up and go again. It was a bit of hope in amongst a whole series of disappointments, and it was beautiful because it made all those disappointments make a bit more sense and sting a bit less. There isn’t a part of me that wishes I was still there, but I am glad I went through it!

Tell us about a gig that went somewhere unexpected: a night where the room, the crowd, or just something in the air made it feel like more than a show. What happened?

Last year we went down to London for the first time to play at Strongrooms Shoreditch. We only knew a few people in the room and no one knew any of the tunes, but for some reason it just connected. People were singing and dancing, and it was a really beautiful moment. All our music is written with the hope that it will make people want to get involved, to be a part of something, and this was the first time where we really could see that happening.

What’s going on in the world right now, nothing to do with music, that’s quietly making its way into what you’re working on?

Both our drummer Kirby and I are big football fans, and this year both our teams won for the first time in years. Going and being part of all the celebrations and seeing so many communities being joyful together has really inspired us. Life is about moments, and the idea of creating beautiful moments with people is something that really drives us.

There’s a sound, an instrument, a texture you haven’t used yet, but it’s there in the back of your head. What is it, and what’s it waiting for?

We love old speeches and poems. I would love to try and sample some of these and incorporate them into our tunes.

Which artist, alive, dead, from any era, would you most want to play your music to?

Man, that’s tough! Both myself and the drummer are massive Frank Turner fans, so let’s go with him!

Forget the big moments. If your music was the soundtrack to one small, ordinary moment in someone’s day, what would that moment look like?

For anyone whose life isn’t where they want it to be but still has faith that one day it will be. Working a job they hate but they know one day they will make it out!

What’s next for you? Tell us what you’re working on and if you have anything exciting in the pipeline.

Our debut album is out on the 4th September, and we have a few festivals and a tour which will be accompanying the release, which is really exciting!

Any final words to leave us with?

When life is tough, Keep the faith and listen to Talking Horses!