This week, we meet Terra Twin - the London quartet primed to fill a Parquet Courts-shaped hole in your playlists. Having notched up support slots for the likes of L’objectif and HighSchool, they’re now on the brink of releasing their debut EP ‘Head Leaking’, which boasts James Dring on production (known for his work with Gorillaz, Self Esteem, Sorry, Jamie T) and explores the struggle to find mental peace amidst the near-constant stimulation of our digital age.
The band has just finished touring the UK, and we met them backstage at their final show in London.
How did you guys start making music?
Maxim: School days. Yeah, I guess we met at school. Yeah. Like, Alex and I met at school. And then we're in a load of bands growing up. Yeah. And then finally on a project where we felt our music taste at the time, we met Lewis. We just formed at the right time. We'd recorded some home demos and then sent them to a producer called James Dring, who we just didn't think would reply at all.
Why did you think that?
Lewis: Because he's worked on a Grammy award-winning.
Maxim: Yeah, he's beyond us. He produced "Demon Days" by the Gorillas, I hope he comes tonight! He might flake. He likes to flake. But he responded to what we sent him and he produced our EP for us, which we are eternally grateful forever. And, yeah, we can call him a good mate as well because he comes to shows.
Is he based in the UK?
Lewis: He's based in Dalton and he's. Yeah, he kind of understood that we wanted to make Americana music that was kind of a little bit more melodic and accessible and I think a bit more like British, rather than sort of American-sounding country music, which we all love, but wanted to make it our own and put our own spin on it.
What is the EP “Head Leaking” about? And were you expecting this reaction?
Maxim: No, not really. I would say it came as quite a lot of us quite a bit surprised. I think we just really wanted to connect with a feeling of being a bit lost and wonky and feeling overstimulated with a lot of things, and we wanted a release for it. And I think that's why we all came together, because we liked playing music to feel good. I don't think we kind of want to wallow in sorrows and pity. Lewis. Every time we play music, Lewis just comes in with this beautiful melodic riff that just sits above everything. I think this ep is a story about feeling a little bit lost and weird and kind of celebrating that, and I think this ep encapsulated that and we're really grateful that people listened to that.
Can we say it's personal?
Maxim: Yeah, it is kind of personal. Yeah. It's also circumstance. We don't like to say too much about the meaning of each song because it means different things to different people. Yeah. It means something to us one day as well. Something on another day, yeah. And I think what we like about Americana music is it's very lyrical. And we wanted to marry that as well in our sort of interpretation of Americana music, which is that it's lyrical, it's also very melodic. And we want that sort of marriage to kind of permeate to a listener.
What else inspires you the most?
Lewis: Haircut.
Maxim: Yeah, haircuts! Emotional ones!
What is an emotional haircut?
Maxim: I think it's an experience of feeling trim, cleansed of an emotion. And you know how when you get a haircut, you sort of feel like a new person? I think an emotional haircut is when you sort of go through an experience and you recalibrate, giving you a new perspective on a situation. And I think, yeah, a lot of this experience for me has been emotionally cleansing and rejuvenating. And I feel good about making music inspired by you guys as well. When we get in the room together, okay. We feel each other very well. We're excited about the project, I think that bleeds into each other's writing and creative process. Hanging together and going is inspired. You live opposite maximum, which is great.
You played four shows in the UK and London is the last one. How has it been so far?
Maxim: It's been amazing. Wow. We didn't expect to actually have people come. Yeah. I think one of my most favorite games played, actually, ever was in Manchester. Yeah. We played at the Castle Hotel and there were people in the front row singing along to the whole EP, and that was insane. And afterwards, we were like, "Hey, how's it going? Thanks for coming." And it turns out they flew from Norway.
Lewis: And the other girls and Dublin, and they just came to our show.
Maxim: It was a really wholesome, cathartic experience for us because we felt grateful that people respond to what we make.
Do you feel nervous about playing London?
Alex: I think I feel good because we did. I think we've done, like, two really good shows last week, and then Bristol. Well, that was a few weeks ago, but I think especially after Manchester, I still feel like we're on a bit of a high from that. So having those shows to warm up to this was perfect because London is always a bit scary, and it's not necessarily even that.
What's next for you guys?
Maxim: Back in the studio for EP number 2!
Jonny: It should be out this year, maybe.
Lewis: Yeah, this year maybe more shows as well.
Maxim: More shows, but I'm quite excited to work on EP 2 and kiss goodbye to “Head Leaking”.
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Article By Sal Fasone
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