Black Hats

Black Hats are set to release their debut single and debut mini album this April.

The Oxford band have already received support from BBC Introducing Oxfordshire and BBC 6Music and with their debut album produced by Sam Williams (Plan B, Supergrass), they are certainly ones to look out for.

To support the release of the band’s debut they will complete a ‘Secret gig’ tour across the UK engaging social media and radio to find out where the band will be performing.

We caught up with Nick (Guitar & Vocals) and Mark (Drums & vocals) to find out more.

Who would you cite as your strongest influence musically?

Nick – I love so many different styles (the first music I learnt was 50’s rock n roll), but my real passion is for testing lyrics. Usually ones about life being hard and stuff like that. I love Billie Bragg and the images he conjures up, also bands that just hit you straight in the head, bands like the Futureheads really do it for me on the this count.
 
Mark – We wear our punk, ska and dub influences on our sleeves for sure. Because there is only three of us, it is easy to slip into a classic spiky guitar-edged post-punk sound (think Gang of Four or The Police) but there’s a big ‘dance’ element in there too.
 

What can we expect from your debut mini album?

Nick – It’s a great reflexion of our live show and it gives you a great idea of what Black Hats are doing. There’s a couple of banging punk/pop hits and some definite ska and dub sounds going on. The lyrics are pretty shouty and confrontational in places, but overall it’s an album that you’ll put on a constant loop!
 
Mark – A lot of reviewers pick up on what they call a “pop sensibility” in our music. I think that’s fair in that the songs are accessible in the best possible way. They’ll stick in your head for all the right reasons.
 

What track is your favourite?

Nick – The second single is called ‘Impossible View’, this track really stands out for me. It’s really fresh and powerful and has some challenging lyrics.  It’s pretty much about your actions and why we conform to society’s rules. Is it because of law? Or our own morals that we’ve learnt? It asks the question, are we just animals? Begging the question are we restrained from just letting loose all the time, by what we think we should be doing….sorry I’m getting a bit deep now!
 
Mark – I agree on ‘Impossible View’ although I’m also really chuffed with ‘You Make us What We Are’ and ‘Just Fall’. The latter is the oldest song on the album and I’m really pleased with the version we’ve finally committed to CD.
 

For those who have yet to discover your music, how would you describe it to them?

Nick – Someone recently described our music as intellipunk, I really like that, I think it sums us up? But really I guess we do punk/pop with some ska and dub. There’s definite nods back to the early 80’s new wave music and to bands like the police.  It’s uplifting and challenging and good with a pint! 
 
Mark – We’ve semi-embraced the description “yob savants”. I say ‘semi’ because we don’t see ourselves as being as “laddish” as that label might suggest. But we’re definitely more Arctic Monkeys than we are Elbow…
 

Which ‘fan base’ do you think you would appeal to?

Nick – Women between the ages of 18 and 50? No I’m joking, but I think it’s for anyone who still likes a band to be a band! We’re not all sensitive and emotional on stage, we go out and sweat and play songs. So if you like that, you like us!
 

How did you get involved with producer Sam Williams?

Nick – I’ve been aware of Sam, his work and his band (The Mystics) for years. I love what he did with the first Supergrass album and he is always someone I wanted to work with. We were advised to talk to producers in 2011 and the first person that came to mind was Sam, I knew he would like our sound and would get what we were trying to do. I dropped him an email and we went around to his studio (a converted chapel) to chat and listen to the music.  We then booked in a week to work with him and recorded ‘Kick In The Doors’ and ‘Death By Record’. Sam only works with music he likes, so we were well happy that he ‘got’ our stuff.

Do you have any festival plans for this year?

Nick – Our management are approaching festivals at the moment and we’ll hopefully be playing a good collection over the summer. I would love to get on the introducing stage of Reading festival like a couple of Oxford bands did last year.

What would be your dream festival to perform at?

Nick – I’ve been going to Reading Festival since I was 16 and I’ve seen some of the world’s biggest and best bands there! I would love to play there at about 9pm, as I think that’s when there is a really exciting atmosphere in the air. People are getting wasted, but are not completely gone. My uncle also lives over the bridge from the festival, so I could pop up there for one of his amazing veggie curries!
 
Mark – Reading would be awesome. We haven’t played Truck Festival yet. That would be a great one for this year. As it’s our ‘home’ festival that would be special…
 

What can we expect from the band in 2012?

Nick –  More videos, a tour, festivals, parties, national radio, TV, Jools Holland? Mercury nomination???? Am I getting carried away?

Find out more about the band via their website http://www.blackhatsmusic.co.uk/.

You can follow the band on Twitter @theblackhats.