INTERVIEW BY DESH KAPUR
It’s that time again, when Desh Kapur Editor/Photographer All Music Magazine UK interviews and spotlights a band he thinks are going to have a big 2024 ; a band he thinks you should listen to right now!
So welcome to BIG SPECIAL
BUT WHO ARE BIG SPECIAL?
BIG SPECIAL ARE Joe Hicklin (vocals) and Callum Moloney (drums) –
BIG SPECIAL are a visceral assault on softer dispositions; a collision of skull crunching guitars, head-wobbling synths and face-belting drums. Couple this with darkly humorous observations of personal mental struggle in a time of social depression and anxiety, through personal experience, poetry, perspective as well as varied and creative music.
Made from an intense period of reflection during the Lockdowns, finally forming when Joe and Cal reconnected after a decade of odd jobs and projects.
Previously championed by the likes of; Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson on BBC Radio 6 Music, Amazing Radio, local stations and BBC Introducing up and down the country, as well as being the top of Brum Radio’s A-list for 2 weeks in a row.
Their sound is one that comes from vital, frustrated young working-class voices that don’t always get heard on the scale they should do. It’s a frustration that comes to the fore through a voice that is at times coarse and raw, but sensitive, desperate and soulful at others. Hicklin’s brimstone-fired voice marches from guttural punk barks and serrated spoken word to soaring soul and back again, arriving siphoned from their forebears, crushed under the weight of history, and retooled for a new generation. It’s wrought, raw and angry at a world lacking options, the thinning of the common understanding between the social classes of England, exasperation at repeating cycles, and the feeling that you’re watching your own life unfold from the outside.
1/ Can you tell us about the origins of The Big Special? How did the band come together?
We played together when we met on a Btec music course in Brum.
It was very natural for us, we just clicked socially and creatively.
Cal went south to study and work, we didn’t play together for 10years but both cracked on trying to make a life in music.
When the Big Special idea cropped up in lockdown, Cal was the only person i wanted to do it with, but he initially said he couldn’t start a new band, he was finally making a living on drums with function bands and van driving, but after hearing some demos, he went for it and we got cracking on the album and after lockdowns we got in a room to start getting the live show together.
2/ Your band name, “Big Special,” is intriguing. What’s the story behind it?
Big Special is the greatest show on earth
Big Special is your Friday night Fish n Chips
3/ Your music encompasses a variety of genres. How do you approach blending different styles, and what influences have shaped your sound?
We are big music nerds so we have infinite influence, so we just try to let it all in without actively following any pre-beaten pathways.
We just love to mess around and experiment with sounds and build on what excites us.
4/ Your album POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES is out 10th May. Can you share some insights into the creative process behind it?
Spent 3 years on the album, it was the reason to start the band. It’s been growing with us as a band and the live show has informed the studio recordings and the other way around.
5/ Each of your songs seems to have its own emotional depth and narrative. How do you approach songwriting, and what themes do you often explore?
I think its just building up a skill set so you can pounce when you need to, and just let stuff happen. The only theme for me is honest depiction, thats the art i love from others, so i try to do the same. It usually ends up being about depression or class awareness, but there are so many branches to those two examples that i could list a hundred topics.
6/ Many listeners connect deeply with your lyrics. How do you ensure authenticity and relatability in your songwriting?
You don’t need to ensure authenticity if you are being honest. If part of your conversation with yourself or your band is how to be authentic in your music, you probably already aren’t.
7/ Are there any particular artists or bands that have had a significant influence on your musical journey
There’s a million.
Newer bands that inspire us now are;
Lankum, Sleaford Mods, benefits, billy woods, John Grant just to name a tiny few.
8/ What’s next for The Big Special? Any upcoming projects, tours, or collaborations on the horizon?
Big focus on the album launch right now.
Already got a bunch of songs written and demos done for album two, so looking forward to cracking on with that.
We have got a load of touring for the rest of this year two, so just trying to concentrate on them two things. Albums and shows are the main things anyways.
9 / How do you envision the future of The Big Special, both musically and creatively?
Just stay honest and follow what inspires us and keep having fun on stage together.
Just want to keep doing that if we can, that’s all there is to hope for really.
10 / and finally do you sing in the shower if so what is you go to song
Of course!
I usually just make songs up about washing my arse.
UK TOUR DATES
07 May – District, Liverpool, UK
08 May – The Key Club, Leeds, UK
09 May – XOYO, Birmingham, UK
10 May – King Tuts, Glasgow, UK
12 May – Strange Brew, Bristol, UK
16 May – Jazz Café, London, UK
17 May – Horatio’s, Brighton, UK (The Great Escape 2024)
18 May – Deaf Institute, Manchester, UK
20 May – Kasbah Club, Limerick, Ireland
21 May – Workman’s Cellar, Dublin, Ireland
22 May – Ulster Sports Bar, Belfast, Norther Ireland
24 May – Netherlands, Den Haag, Zwarte Ruiter (Sniester Festival)
26 May – Bearded Theory Festival, Derbyshire, UK
27 May – Paradiso Upstairs, Amsterdam, Netherlands
28 May – Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands
30 May – Block Party Festival, Paris, France
31 May – Vestrock, Hulst, Netherlands
01 Jun – Dauwpop Festival, Hellendoorn, Netherlands
26 Jul – Low Festival, Benidorm, Spain
28 Jul – Latitude Festival, Suffolk, UK
23 Aug – Reading Festival, Reading, UK
24 Aug – Leeds Festival, Leeds, UK
Tickets on sale now here.
BIG SPECIAL – POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES tracklisting
1. BLACK COUNTRY GOTHIC
2. I MOCK JOGGERS
3. DESPERATE BREAKFAST
4. SHITHOUSE
5. THIS HERE AIN’T WATER
6. MY SHAPE (BLOCKING THE LIGHT)
7. BLACK DOG / WHITE HORSE
8. BROADCAST: TIME AWAY
9. iLL.
10. MONGREL
11. BUTCHER’S BIN
12. DUST OFF / START AGAIN
13. TREES
14. FOR THE BIRDS
15. DiG!
FOLLOW BIG SPECIAL
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
