Page 75 - ION Indie Magazine MayJune 2020 Issue

Mal Whichelow: You and Mike started out as a duo in 2016. Did
you gig as a duo or were you more of a songwriting team?

Bernadette Dales: We gigged just the two of us when we were
working on the first EP, ‘Ghosts.’ it was a good way of testing out
material on an audience and tweaking the arrangements before we
recorded. Plus, I'd only just moved back to Sheffield and didn't know
any musicians yet! Obviously, the places we gigged were different to
the places we do now - we did lots of folksy places then. Now we're
more likely to be at a rock bar.

MW: I read that you and Mike have contradictory influences.
What are they?

BD: So, Mike is very much into his jazz and math rock like Giraffes?
Giraffes!, Wulfpeck, etc. He's the one who puts the detail and the
intricacies into our songs. I've always been into ones with strong
vocals and lyrics, understandably, I guess! I love System Of A Down,
Alanis Morrisette, and Incubus for that reason. Interestingly, one
thing we do have in common is a love of hip-hop. We actually first
bonded over Biggy Smalls, Eminem, Tupac, and The Fugees.

MW: Was the idea in the beginning to go for an alt-rock sound,
or did that come about when Josh joined on bass?

BD: When we first started gigging as a band instead of a duo there
were 5 of us and we had a more pop-y sound I guess then, complete
with synth. They were incredible musicians, but we always wanted
that dirtier, rockier edge, and when Josh joined the band in August
2017, replacing our previous bassist, we got to incorporate that a bit
more.

MW: You refer to your output as ‘music for outsiders’ and ‘those
on the fringes with a story to tell.’ Can you elaborate on that?

BD: I guess I've always felt like an outsider, ever since I was young.
Abuse is insidious…it's not just the event itself that messes you up,
it's the aftermath. And if it happens when you're a kid it can have real
effects on your brain and how you form friendships and relationships.
It makes your boundaries wonky; unable to tell dangerous people
from ones who actually care for you. Young people who go through
that tend to get stuck in a pattern of it and it made for a very lonely
youth. I only recently got help to deal with those demons. It was really
tough, but it gave me the strength to actually write my story of being
a kid on the outside looking in. As an outsider, I've always gravitated
towards others who don't fit in. We're not the conventional straight-
man band. We're an angry, feminine, queer rock band instead. And I
really like that. I think there's room for all voices in rock music and
more outsiders should be given a platform.