The folk from Stoke Newington
Spindle and Wit
Despite forming just over a year ago, Hackney based indie-folksters Spindle and Wit are already making noise in all the right places. Having just completed a UK tour as well as a six-date jaunt in New York, they have now been asked to play the Isle of White’s Bestival at the personal request of founder Rob da Bank. The youthful six piece consists of Paul (drums), Charlie (guitar/banjo), Charlotte (cello/vocals), Elliot (bass), Philip (vocals/guitar) and Nathalia (violin) and their fusion of laid back folk songs with a harder indie edge has been well received in the music press, leading to comparisons with Mumford & Sons and Noah & the Whale.
Growing up in the New Forest and playing in various ‘crap bands’, the four lads already knew of each other, but hooked up with the girls after sharing a flat with them in Stoke Newington. Deciding they all wanted to be in the same line-up, a plan was hatched which involved Charlie learning to play the banjo, whilst on holiday and carrying a fracture. No easy feat, he explained: “I had to do my homework; I was going away, they wanted me in the band and I wanted to be in the band. A broken collar bone while trying to learn the banjo was pretty difficult.”
Speaking of the groups’ formative days, Paul and Charlie are self-effacing: “We played everywhere and anywhere people would book us. We played round Old Street, the Hoxton Bar and Grill, one of the first ones was Catch. We played 93 Feet East – our friends were putting on a night and we needed some petrol money to get to a festival.”
The formula worked – crowds got bigger and word spread, so much so that Radio One DJ Rob De Bank contacted them out of the blue asking them to play at Bestival, alongside The Flaming Lips and The Prodigy.
They play the Band Stand stage, which suits them better than a bigger platform: “It’s perfect for us, as we can take the live show and translate it to an outdoor stage without feeling out of our depth. We just hope it doesn’t rain.”
July saw the release of the group’s first single Way Down the Street on indie label Smoky Carrot Records, which has been critically acclaimed and received air play on BBC Radio 6. Despite this success, the band are still looking to improve: “Recent recordings we have done don’t really emulate our live show. That’s the most appealing thing about us – the energy we have on stage – and that’s what you want to hear through the speakers. Some bits [of our music] are really heavy for a folk band, bits that are meant to be like ‘bang!’ and we need to get that on the record rather than being all twee.”
If you want to catch Spindle and Wit but can’t get to the Isle of Wight, they have a series of secret gigs planned around Hackney during the autumn in a variety of unusual locations. Spindle and Wit play the Band Stand Stage at Bestival on Friday 10 September. Their debut single Way Down the Street is available now.