Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Shy Plant

What is your earliest memory connected to music?

Timur: Parents’ classical, sufi, alternative and pop music at home.

Gab: My parents playing records at home when I was a kid:Talking Heads: Little Creatures, King Crimson: In the Court of The Crimson King, Traffic: John Barleycorn Must Die.

Kiran: My dad was a music teacher and every week he’d pick us up from school and take us back to where he worked while he finished his planning, we had free reign of Ashmole secondary school’s music room. That room had everything. Keyboards, shakers and an enormous gong. My mum also ran a dance class there in the room next door so destiny’s child and other 90s rnb songs were always blasting in the background.

How did your passion for creating music begin?

Timur: learning violin at school, then drums.

Gab: An early obsession with piano and piano music, and the discovery of multitrack recording by accident while listening to music on a broken pair of headphones.

Kiran: I was enrolled in the Chickenshed theatre group from a really young age. Singing, dancing and then later playing flute for their youth band. By the time I was 14 I had my first stratocaster and some friends and I formed a band. The first song I wrote for them was “A Cat Called Sabbath”….

What’s the story behind your current music project?

Timur: Started by Andrew and Kiran as a duo, who met at university. Added Timur then Gab later to complete the band.

Kiran: Right at the beginning of the first Covid lockdown, Sturge approached me with some ideas for a music ideas he wanted me to play bass and sing on. I’d never really seen myself as either of those but we’re both teachers so initially we had a fair bit of free time. I said why the hell not and we recorded the first couple of songs on his MacBook.

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?

Band: Indie dream sophisti-pop

What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?

Timur: learning Bebop

Gab: Ear training has helped me to be a better listener when performing with other musicians.

Kiran: Developing a basic understanding of scales, chords and harmonies, mostly by ear but i’ll write down or draw any kind of weird diagram or system to help me keep track of what im playing and how it fits in.  

What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?

Timur: Outside of instruments and recording gear, voice note recorder and our rehearsal space.

Gab: For recording and mixing I mostly use Logic; to write music I mostly use electric piano and acoustic guitar.

Kiran: I’m incredibly basic. An acoustic guitar and maybe a piano is enough to get me started. I’m trying to learn how to record and mix a bit now though but with a newborn baby at home it’s a little tricky to find the time! 

Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?

Timur: late Talk Talk, Susuma Yokota, DjRUM, Max Richter, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Fela Kuti, Harold Budd, Bohren & Der Club of Gore.

Gab: Panda Bear

Kiran: In terms of indie music, certain albums by Glass Animals, Alt J, Tame Impala, Chet Faker and The Klaxons. It’s not indie at all but I can’t get the song “Partha Para Gugu” by Trinix Remix out of my head. Incredibly catchy.

How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?

Timur: I was fortunate to grow up in London in an open musical environment and then lived in France, Germany and in the US to study music and worked in NYC for many years. I feel lucky to be a part of that music scene for so long and privileged to work with some very talented and supportive people. Added to that the musical friends I made during my time in Berlin, these influences on my music are immeasurable.

Gab: I have been in bands and been experimenting with recording and mixing from an early age so I tend to gravitate towards projects that allow me to perform with other musicians and experiment with the technical side of music production at the same time.

Kiran: I was lucky enough to grow up around lots of musical role models and join in with loads of musical events in and outside of school. When I went into teaching little ones I had to choose a subject to specialise in so music was an easy choice. Working as a music teacher and seeing how enthusiastic young people are made me realise how much as adults we lose our confidence to engage musically over time. It made me want to make music that anyone can access and enjoy but would still show them something a little different if they listen carefully.

What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?

Timur: anything positive, whatever that may be.

Gab: It might sound cheesy, but I truly believe music main purpose is to bring people together and strengthen our connection with the subconscious and the primal.

Kiran: We have themes in our songs and the lyrics were certainly written with intent, but whatever emotion or message someone gets from our music is subjective in my opinion. The idea that anyone could get that experience of feeling something meaningful through something we made would mean the world to me.

 What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?

Timur: how people can successfully work together for a bigger goal

Gab: Learn to embrace imperfections and live in the moment.

Kiran: listen hard, focus, enjoy yourself and take on the criticism with as little ego as possible! 

What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?

Timur: Union Chapel, Wembley, Roundhouse, Albert Hall, 100 Club

Gab: I would love to perform at Union Chapel in London, and would also love to be invited to perform for a Tiny Desk Concert.

Kiran: I love venues that are on the intimate side so I reckon getting a gig at the Jazz Cafe in Camden or the 100 Club would be amazing for me. Tiny Desk performances are also so cool, love what they do, playing for them would be a great experience. 

If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?

Timur: Kate Bush, Bjork, Bill Frisell, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, Jimi Hendrix, Chris Cornell, Mick Karn

Gab: I would love to collaborate with David Lynch who sadly passed away earlier this year

Kiran: I could make a huge list here but if I had to choose someone I’d love to work with chet faker. Something about the way he uses textured sounds in his songs with these off beat heartbeat-like rhythms is just addictive to listen to.

Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)

Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?

Timur: Develop our songwriting, grow our following, record and play live more.

Gab: Being able to build an audience, perform regularly and produce other artists

Kiran: I love teaching but to be able to make a living by making music would be the ultimate dream. I’d probably still want to teach a class every now and again though! 

What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?

Timur: our growth as a group

Gab: I hope our listeners will connect with our music and discover our influences

Kiran: The way our music has developed in true indie fashion, largely thanks to Gab who has put so much work into the recording and mixing. We’ve been able to do so much creatively but still remain true to our vision for the songs without someone telling us what to do or how we should sound. 

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