Get to know... Haze • Neu • DIY Magazine

Hello and welcome to DIY’s introducing feature, Get To Know… getting you a little bit closer to the buzziest new acts that have been catching our eye as of late, and working out what makes them tick.

We’ve recently introduced you to punk-funkers Public Practice, Big Scary Monsters signings Orchards, Brooklyn bunch Barrie and Yala! Records newbies Talk Show. Today, we’re with Bristol’s Haze!

Haze hit up our own Hello 2019 series of gigs back in January fresh from supporting faves Whenyoung, the Bristol band’s hoedown murky punk and incisive, rattled lyrics coming with a twinkle in their oh-so-fresh eyes. Here’s what makes them tick.

Describe your music to us in the form of a Tinder bio.
Four boys absolutely loving each other .

What’s your earliest musical memory?
Weirdly I [Will Harrison, guitars] vividly remember going to HMV in Milton Keynes with my grandad to buy Peter Andre single ‘Insania’ when I was about six. My passion for Peter was rekindled in my early teens when he visited our local park. Hero.

Who were some artists that inspired you when you were just starting out (and why)?
We started playing together from a very young age and have had a pretty generic teenage boy music taste trajectory. When me and Dan started playing age 10 we had just watched the School of Rock, and then got into Led Zeppelin and Guns n’ Roses. Then 14 year old indie stage hit hard and we tried to replicate Foals and Bombay Bicycle Club. In our current form, we are all listening to a lot of Television, Velvet Underground, Dead Kennedys, which I think still sort of resonates through our music.

You’re based in Bristol - what’s the music scene like there at the moment? Are there other artists breaking through at the same time that you take inspiration from?
There is such a diverse range of great stuff coming out of Bristol at the moment. There’s loads of experimental electronic bands at the moment doing well, most notably Scalping who are incredible. LICE cannot go without mention, lovely lovely boys who have been very good to us. When I moved to Bristol most shows I went to were Lice ones, so have a special place in my heart. Another band, Norman (used to be called Tropic), are also dear friends with mean tunes, but unfortunately have fled to Brighton.

Who would be your dream collaborator?
Parquet Courts. Next question.

Musically or otherwise, what are you most looking forward to in 2019?
We are buzzing for festival season. We’re playing Truck again, which is sort of local to home and a popular attraction for our 16 year old selves, along with a few more festival things and our first gig abroad later in the year. We’re also itching to stick out some new tunes which have been brewing a while, so the studio is calling loudly. Band stuff aside, me and Ollie are doing Glastonbury for the first time this year with his Dad, which has always been on the wish list.

If people could take away one thing from your music, what would it be?
Don’t, leave it there, it’s shit.

Tags: Haze, Features, Interviews, Neu, Get to Know