The Heavy Heavy perform in The Current studio
November 30, 2022
While on tour across the United States, U.K. band The Heavy Heavy were living a real-life version of their song “Miles and Miles,” which landed at No. 1 in The Current’s Chart Show the week the band visited the studio for a session hosted by Ayisha Jaffer. Life and Life Only, the debut EP from The Heavy Heavy, originally released in late 2020, but was re-released as an enhanced edition on June 1 of this year.
Blending elements of ‘60s folk, cosmic Americana and good-old rock and roll, The Heavy Heavy performed a lively set in the studio, after which The Heavy Heavy’s Georgie Fuller and Will Turner sat down for an equally lively conversation with Ayisha.
Watch and listen to the complete session above, and read a transcript below.
And just this week, the Heavy Heavy announced a U.S. tour for spring 2023, which includes a stop at the Fine Line in Minneapolis on Friday, April 7.
Interview Transcript
Edited for clarity.
Ayisha Jaffer: I'm Ayisha Jaffer; I'm the host of The Current Chart Show, which these guys have knocked Brandi Carlile out of the number one spot with "Miles and Miles." How does that feel?
Will Turner: Nuts!
Georgie Fuller: No words.
Ayisha Jaffer: Actually, well then, okay, so "Miles and Miles" is our listeners' favorite song, right? So that's proof. We have proof, knocking Brandi Carlile out. So can you give us any lowdowns about "Miles and Miles," the track, that you haven't shared so far?
Georgie Fuller: What, like, little ...
Ayisha Jaffer: Just, like, making of or like something we didn't hear in it, or inspiration of it that you may not have shared.
Georgie Fuller: I don't know if there's...
Will Turner: I mean, it's about driving across America.
Georgie Fuller: Yeah. Which is cool, because that's what we're doing now.
Will Turner: It's fairly obvious, really, isn't it? It's quite simple track. But it's, you know, it does... It does what it was meant to do.
Georgie Fuller: I went out — so Will and I created the Heavy Heavy in our London apartment: one bed; the kitchen was the living room was the office with, you know, everything. And I went out for an afternoon, and I came back and this song was written. It was complete. And I think that's quite cool, because Will was just dreaming. And, you know, his imagination went wild with not being trapped in this little flat in London, and road-tripping across America. And now it's happening, isn't it?
Will Turner: Yeah. Which is, again, quite weird.
Ayisha Jaffer: I was gonna say, before now, had you been to the States, period?
Georgie Fuller: Yeah, as a visitor. We came in July to do CBS Saturday Sessions. But that was very quick. You know, it was fly in, record in the studio, go. So it's really nice to be playing live and meeting people and yeah.
Ayisha Jaffer: Is there any like takeaways of touring the States so far that have surprised you?
Georgie Fuller: It's even bigger than I thought.
Will Turner: Yeah. Yes.
Georgie Fuller: I'm daily— I'm surprised on a daily basis at how far it is to drive from everywhere to everywhere else.
Will Turner: Yes, it's nuts, innit?
Georgie Fuller: But also, actually, the music lovers here are such music lovers. And the crowds are — I'm not throwing shade at the U.K., but we're quite a reserved people — and Americans are a lot more vocal, and that's awesome. You know, people shouting out during certain stuff. You're like, "Yeah!" It's like a conversation.
Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah. So you've been given permission, everyone, to shout out as much as you love the Heavy Heavy.
Georgie Fuller: Yeah, just heckle us!
Will Turner: Yeah, bring it on!
Ayisha Jaffer: So Life and Life Only, it's out. You've got six songs on that record. We love it. And to me, it feels like it's something like this is like, live in the present, like, do it in the present. But what is what is your hopeful takeaway for people for this record?
Georgie Fuller: I think kind of that, right?
Will Turner: Yeah, and dream big, you know? Like, let your imagination go. You know, it can be more than just what's in the room. It can be, you know, dream. It may be cliché but that's what it is. It's extra. Go the extra mile.
Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah. Is that the "heavy, heavy" part of it? Because to me, the music is so light and fun. I'm wondering why the Heavy Heavy?
Will Turner: Good question.
Georgie Fuller: Well, we were listening to an interview with [David] Bowie on the BBC, when he released Ziggy Stardust, and they asked, "Can you explain it to us?" And he went, "It's heavy, heavy, man." Well, that's cool.
Will Turner: Yeah, but it is quite a contrast to the music, and it's really quite cool, you know?
Ayisha Jaffer: But I like that. I love it. I feel like now you gotta take that answer for most future interviews. If you don't want to answer a question, just say that!
Will Turner: Yeah!
Ayisha Jaffer: So okay, so you made this, you self-produced this in London flat, but like, what led to creating the Heavy Heavy as you're new kids on the block here?
Will Turner: Yeah, so I was in a band doing similar music for quite a while back home, and then all of a sudden, putting George's voice into that world was like, you know, euphoria. You know, epiphany. It was like, "This is it. This is how it should be," the male male and female harmonies thing, and you know, we've always grown up, we've grown up with the music of the 60s, sort of being thrown at us by our parents. So it's kind of inevitable, really, and like, that's what we listened to all the time, really, as well as all the other stuff, but we felt like we could do it. That was where our tastes and sort of talents lie in that kind of, that world.
Georgie Fuller: And what makes us feel great.
Will Turner: Yeah.
Georgie Fuller: Those records are what move me the most, make me want to kick down doors and hug people, and, you know, if that's the music that makes you feel that way, I feel like that's the road you're going to take if you're going to create some.
Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah.
Will Turner: Yeah, it seemed inevitable really. As soon as I put George's voice on, I was like "Whoa, this is it. This is what we're doing now." And it's a seems to be, people seem to like it, which is cool.
Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah, just a nearly sold-out U.S. tour!
Will Turner: Yeah, yeah. It's a little bit mind blowing. Yeah.
Ayisha Jaffer: Number one knocking out Brandi Carlile. So like, and you touched on this: I know the goal is to make records that are your favorite records.
Georgie Fuller: Yeah!
Ayisha Jaffer: Someone's favorite record. So what are those favorite records for you guys?
Will Turner: Woooah!
Georgie Fuller: I mean...
Ayisha Jaffer: It's a big question.
Georgie Fuller: It's a long list.
Will Turner: Yeah. Let It Bleed by the Stones; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Déjà Vu, you know, a favorite.
Georgie Fuller: Aretha Franklin.
Will Turner: Yeah, I mean, that whole era.
Georgie Fuller: Joni Mitchell. I mean, the... it's kind of, we could get very specific on each kind of area. But you know, as a whole, I think it's, it's like putting everything into the pot, and mixing it up and going. "Well, what have we got in 2022?" You know, from from all of that glorious stuff that we love.
Ayisha Jaffer: You mixed it up, and it didn't turn gray. It turned into this, like rainbow of colors. I love that. Well, this, isn't it. I heard that you guys have written hundreds of songs now in these last couple of years. And I'm wondering if that's stillness or inspiration and excitement or...? And then like, of course, I have the cheeky question of like, "When can we expect a full album?"
Georgie Fuller: Well, this guy never stops writing.
Will Turner: Yeah, sort of just comes. There's no, there's no real... I don't know, it just happens. So yeah, I'm trying to fill a gap in my own brain of what I want to hear. I want to hear more of certain things. So I just keep making more. And yeah, there'll be more next year. But at the moment, we're sort of putting all these various demos into a kind of pile and working out just what to do with it. You know, we could go quite a few avenues of, you know, direction; we could do quite a few different things. But yeah, it's coming together. And we hope it will be ready next year, sort of mid to late next year, I think.
Ayisha Jaffer: Yeah, I would say that's exciting. Well, also, so this is a question of kind of for musicians because you seemingly came out of nowhere, right? So like for an aspiring musician, I know that you probably put out music before you were signed to ATO. But it's shown as a debut record on ATO. So I always think of that as a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck. But what is your happenstance story to getting to that, and no pressure, because I know your exec's, like, over there.
Will Turner: They called us one day, didn't they?
Georgie Fuller: They did. That's the crazy thing. Like, I think you dream of this situation, but it might never happen. But if you're compelled to create, you have to create, and you work hard, and you do loads of different jobs, and you keep going and you get doors shut on you. And I don't know; something happened. And I mean, well, I'll tell you what happened: It was we were found on social media. I complain about the thing, but it's where we were discovered, so you've got to love it. And yeah, they... we were put on a playlist. And then someone heard that and they sent it to the record label and the record label sent it to management. And suddenly everything kind of came together in about three days after wanting it for years and years and years and years and years. You know?
Ayisha Jaffer: And now you're miles and miles down the road, and here we go.
Georgie Fuller: Down the river!
Ayisha Jaffer: Exactly. I mean, yeah, we got this, we can make this a whole story.
Will Turner: Yeah!
Ayisha Jaffer: Before I let you guys go, is there anything else you want our listeners to know? Because you're new here around the block, and I want them to know you?
Georgie Fuller: I don't know.
Will Turner: I don't think we've got an answer for that.
Georgie Fuller: I don't think we have an... Do we have an answer for that?
Ayisha Jaffer: Go to the shows.
Georgie Fuller: Yeah! Come see the shows. Come buy a vinyl, come get it signed. We want to meet you, and let's have a great time.
Will Turner: Yeah, let's have some good times.
Georgie Fuller: Yeah!
Ayisha Jaffer: Awesome. Well, thank you guys so much. The Heavy Heavy, Life and Life Only is out now, here at The Current studios. Thank you, guys.
Georgie Fuller: Thank you so much.
Video Segments
00:00:00 Miles and Miles
00:03:27 Go Down River
00:07:40 All My Dreams
00:11:16 Interview with host Ayisha Jaffer
All songs from The Heavy Heavy’s debut EP, Life and Life Only, available on ATO Records.
Band Members
William Turner – guitar and vocals
Georgie Fuller – keys and vocals
Frank Fogden – guitar and vocals
Tom Holder – bass and vocals
James Porter – drums
Credits
Guests – The Heavy Heavy
Host – Ayisha Jaffer
Producer – Derrick Stevens
Video – Evan Clark
Camera Operators – Evan Clark, Peter Ecklund
Audio – Cameron Wiley
Graphics – Natalia Toledo
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor
External Link
The Heavy Heavy - official site