is a fickle mistress. The prize, given to the author of the best album from the UK and Ireland, comes with £20,000 and the sort of buzz that can single-handedly bump a young band into the international spotlight.
Scottish genre-benders are the latest recipients of the award. Blending hip-hop with pop and noise-rock into something completely their own, the trio’s debut LP, “Dead,” earned them an upset victory over favorites like Damon Albarn and FKA Twigs.
The prize is good for a boost, but as itap proven several times in the past, the fame . Perhaps thatap why the outfit reacted so cooly to their win on the night of, issuing and deadpanning to the swarms of photographers—they were more concerned with what came next. Just over a year later, the band released their second LP,
Still, the group does take some satisfaction from their time in the winner’s circle. “If you win a prize, at least you get a bit of respect that comes with it,” Young Fathers vocalist Graham “G” Hastings says. “But we’re not trying to get everybody to love us.”
Overcoming a lost cellphone and spotty reception, Hastings spoke with us ahead of the group’s on Thursday, May 7, touching on Scottish hip-hop, the band’s guerrilla approach to recording, and what Denver can expect from their explosive live show.
What was the Mercury Prize ceremony like? Did you meet any of the other artists you were up against?
When we were there, Alloysious spoke to Damon Albarn. But those things are not that social. They look like they are, but they’re not. Mostly itap people that work in the industry. For us it was just a big performance. We just wanted to get on TV. You get one song, and itap before you know if you’ve won or not, so we thought we’d at least give it our all on TV.
Tell me about your first show as Young Fathers.
We’ve known each other for a long time. Our first performance was within weeks of meeting each other. We used to go to open mic’s at local hip-hop nights and do what we wanted. We’d perform these pop songs in front of people that wanted to see hip-hop battles. That was the making of us, really.
Whatap an open-mic hip-hop night like in Scotland?
Just like any other open-mic hip-hop night anywhere: itap boring. (Laughs) Just guys with their hoods up shouting at each other, really angry saying really nasty words to each other. It was pretty mundane for us. We used to go up and do little pop songs with choruses and verses and dance moves. I think we used to get on peoples nerves but it never bothered us. We thought what they were doing was really boring, too.
Are there any other groups similar to Young Fathers coming up in Scotland?
I couldn’t tell you — we’ve never been apart of it. We never wanted to be a local band, so we never bothered with being involved in the scene.
So you just went straight for the jugular of the bigger market?
Edinburgh is a sleepy city, so it makes you look outside of it. The only interesting things you see are from other places, so you imagine yourselves in other places and make the music with that in mind.
I think if we’d come from a bigger city, we would’ve done things differently. Then again, it might not have been as good. Itap a hinderance but it helps you.
You recorded all of your material except your new album in a basement in Scotland. Did your decision to record “White Men Are Black Men Too” in Berlin affect the recording?
We can work anywhere, all we need is a microphone. We were touring last year, and we would just set up wherever we were. We went to Berlin and recorded “White Men Are Black Men Too,” but it was just another basement. We went from recording in one basement in Edinburgh to another in Berlin. This basement was a bit colder, that was the only difference. The songs got a bit faster to keep us warm.
You’re known for a raucous live show. What else should fans expect at the Larimer Lounge?
In order not to go crazy, you have to apply something different every night. So I can’t promise you anything. I mean, we’ll be there. And it’ll be loud—thatap all I’ll say.
If we’re in a bad mood, you’ll know we’re in a bad mood. But sometimes, those are the best gigs.
