[music]

Alison: You are listening to All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. The Heavy Heavy or a UK-based band who are in the midst of a tour around the States, already their second tour this side of the pond in 2023. They will be playing at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn on August 10th. The group was formed in Brighton by co-founders Will Turner and Georgie Fuller in 2019. Last summer, they released an EP called Life and Life Only. Their debut album is expected next year. One spring morning after a show in New York, all five members of the band joined us in studio for a special live performance. We started by hearing them play their song Go Down River.

[music]

Go down river,

Won't you go down river with me.

Walk into heaven,

Don't look back.

Lie in the sunset,

Won't you lie in the sunset, babe.

Fly into heaven,

Don't look back.

Because I'm no fool, babe,

I'm your man.

I'm no fool, babe,

I'm your man.

Time flies, babe,

I'm still your man.

Feel my heart beat,

Under my feet.

See your reflection,

You see your reflection in me.

Wading in the water,

I got your back.

Try to shake the mountain,

Won't you try to shake the mountain, babe.

Better together,

I got your back.

Because I'm no fool, babe,

I'm your man.

Not somebody else,

I'm your man.

Time flies, babe,

I'm still your man.

Silver nor thunder, babe,

In my veins.

Shine on my friend,

Until the end.

Golden dreams, babe,

Until the end.

Time flies, babe,

I'm still your man.

Water come crushing down,

Upon my soul.

Angel cry

Cry out loud.

Alison: That was gorgeous. That's Go Down River by The Heavy Heavy. The rumor is that was one of the first songs that y'all wrote together.

Will: Yes, that's one of the very first.

Alison: Okay, so the rumor is true. [laughter] Can you take us back to that time? Can you paint it like, where were you, what headspace were you in?

Will: At the time, I wrote that before we moved to London, so I was in a very, very rural English countryside. It was very green. I spent a lot of time outside on hills with my friends having good times. It's just this dreamlike vision of the great outdoors as it were. It's meant to sound like it's outside. You haven't asked me whether ever thought about it. Now you mentioned it.

[laughter]

Alison: Georgie, you said, the band was born in Brighton. For folks who haven't been to Brighton, it's this seaside city. It's got its own sort of personality.

Georgie: Very much so.

Alison: Very much so. How would you describe?

Georgie: They call it London by the sea. It's got all of the creativity and the pace and excitement of London. I know New Yorkers will appreciate this, then suddenly you look out and there's the water. That's a really amazing thing that London doesn't have so much as New York, I don't think, Brighton gives you in the UK which is super cool. You just get this moment where there's a whole wall of sea and no people.

Alison: I was going to ask since you've been touring around the States, what is something about the United States that maybe you had one thought about, and touring it maybe changed your mind?

Georgie: I knew it was big, but I don't think I realized quite how big. Also, how many varying terrains there are. It's unreal to drive for 8 to 10 hours and you're in mountainous Colorado and then you get to flat more New Mexico or Texas or something. It's just beautiful.

Alison: We're going to have you play another song for us. Will, can you set up this? It's Miles and Miles?

Will: Miles and Miles indeed, yes.

Alison: Tell us a little bit about it before we listen.

Will: Miles and Miles was conceived with the imagination of driving across America.

Alison: Oh, nice segue. Well done.

Will: It's come full circle.

Alison: Here's The Heavy Heavy with Miles and Miles.

[music]

Out on the road, riding all night,

Heading straight for morning light,

I know it's been some time,

Going to get home to you soon, it's all right.

I know y'all know my name,

Hitch-hiking loner, vagabond, traveling light,

Fire burning through mainline,

Going up to the junction, turning right.

Ooh-ooh, now you're on the midnight train, child,

You gotta take it by the reins and pull down hard,

You know that your heart beats as fast as the band.

It's the hitch-hiking loner trying to get out West and

You know that your heart beats as fast as the band.

Miles and miles out on our own,

Thundering through the country, ease my soul.

I know you're doing all right,

You're going to have to forget that I'm out all night.

[music]

Alison: Okay, Will, I'm going to ask you to introduce everybody again. You'll do a better job than I did.

Will: On drums, we've got Houston Matthews. On bass, we have Thomas Holder.

Thomas: Hi there.

Will: He's got two names. Frank Fogden on Guitar, myself, Will Turner, and the lovely Georgie Fuller on the vocals.

Alison: Georgie, when was the moment when you two and maybe when all of you realized, "Oh, yes, this might work. We might be able to do this for a living"?

Georgie: It was around this time last year, ATO Records and our management got in touch with us and offered us a record deal and management, and we went, "Whoa." The rollercoaster hasn't stopped yet, and there's such a force. We have such an incredible team. We have a lot of faith and excitement in the project.

Alison: It got real.

Georgie: It got real very fast.

Alison: How about for you? When was the moment when it got real for you, Will?

Will: I think it was when those guys rang us up because we were doing everything ourselves, very DIY, just navigating the internet. Then these people, they were like, "If you're ready, we'll start Monday." They weren't joking.

Alison: Really, it was that fast?

Georgie: Yes.

Will: Yes, and booked us as well with Black Pumas. That was our first gig.

Alison: That doesn't stink to open.

Georgie: It was very intimidating because we'd only played about six gigs as a band by that point, and we are opening for-- Black Pumas were going, "Oh, my God."

Alison: All right. You got to play us out. What's the last song we're going to hear?

Will: All My Dreams.

Alison: This is The Heavy Heavy.

Georgie: Thank you for having us.

[music]

Dreaming of a place where the sunlight never sleeps,

It's a beauty, colour paradise,

Paradise.

Trees don't grow old and the blue sky's on your mind,

And it's forty miles, forty miles back from here.

You don't mind if we stay here for a while?

Dreaming of summer paradise,

Paradise.

Your love is real,

You're all of my love,

You're all my dreams.

You don't mind if we stay here for a while?

Dreaming of summer.

You don't mind if we stay here for a while?

Dreaming of summer.

Your love is real,

You're all of my love,

You're all my dreams.

Alison: That was my conversation with UK Rock Band, The Heavy Heavy. Their EP is called Life and Life Only. Keep a lookout for their debut album which is expected next year. The Heavy Heavy will actually be playing in Brooklyn on August 10th with our next band. You may have seen the Revivalist play at Lollapalooza, Red Rocks, and other big venues. We sit down with the band's co-founders, David Shaw and Zack Feinberg for an acoustic performance from their new album, Pour It Out into The Night. This is All Of It.

 

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