As North Shields indie/folk outfit, Hector Gannet, release their new album The Land Belongs To Us, Lee Allcock caught up with the band to find out more about their fascination with nature and more.
Tell me a bit about your new album ‘The Land Belongs To Us’ and the main narrative/theme that runs through it…
I feel like the album as a whole has an overriding sense of appreciation for the small things in life, whilst exploring their relation to bigger issues. It’s really an attempt to understand the human condition, learning from the things we regularly take for granted. In some ways, it’s a continuation of the last record, but really it has very much its own identity. It’s a reflection of a reinvigorated outlook, inspired by the world we live in. It’s an attempt to better understand our place in it. I think songwriting does that for me anyway really; the whole process seems to be a kind of working out of things that often lie within the subconscious, once you let them come to the fore you realise how much it all affects everyday life. I really tried to hone in on that way of writing with this bunch of songs, letting it all just happen, and I think it comes across. There’s a sense of freedom to it all which I feel enhances the overall theme, the call for unity and togetherness, inspired by the natural world and our relation to it. Ultimately, I believe there is a real positive message to be taken.
It’s a bit of a torch for hope, isn’t it…
It’s a clarion call for coexistence. Nature has played a very inspiring part in my life and without it, I’m not really sure who or where I’d be. I see disregard for the welfare of the natural world on a daily basis but the fact is, without it, we’re nothing. It all comes down to education – that’s the key I think – and I really believe that people have the power to do anything. I’m so tired of the empty gestures that politicians seem to continuously give on these matters. It’s blatantly apparent to me that it’s the people who can and will bring about real change. I just want to help amplify things in the hope that it may give others the inspiration to fight the good fight.
Tell me about your passion for nature and where that stems from…
I don’t really know where that began, I suppose it has just grown as I have. I was always taught to appreciate this sort of thing as a kid. I remember my dad saying that if he had the money he’d rather take us to see whales in Alaska than take us to Disneyland or anywhere like that, so as a result, I think I grew up with a pretty healthy mindset towards what was really important in life. It was probably more as I became an adult that I really did appreciate and acknowledge what the natural world meant to me on a more spiritual level and how it has shaped me and continues to do so.
What is your favourite animal and why?
I feel slightly obliged to say a Northern Gannet, for obvious reasons, but I suppose they do symbolise a connection to something greater for me, otherworldly you might say, yet entirely familiar.
Who is your least favourite human and why?
That changes on a daily basis. There are many names that spring to mind – I bet you can guess a few. It probably wouldn’t be right for me to name one individual as there are many truly awful people in the world there aren’t there? Thankfully though, the majority are lovely. It’s best to think that way I reckon.
And what are your plans for 2023?
We’ve just announced a headliner at Sage Two, Gateshead on the 6th May, which is going to be pretty special. We’ve got two support slots with the excellent CVC at KU, Stockton and The Cluny 2 in April, as well as ‘Songs From Northern Britain’ at The Georgian Theatre, Stockton again in May. We have a headline slot at Alnmouth Arts Festival in June, plus Coastella Festival in North Shields and the Between Woods & Streams event in Northumberland in July. It’s All exciting stuff!
You can purchase the new album now at hectorgannet.com.
