10 Questions with Talitha Spencer

Music Critic have arranged an exclusive interview with Talitha Spencer, lead singer of new British band called Jynxt, to mark the release of their new single The Name.
A possible break-through for this rock quintet, the single is their first commercial release.

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MC: Hi Talitha, thanks for agreeing to answer some questions for Music Critic. Lets start at the very beginning, who are Jynxt?

Tally: Jynxt consist of 3 siblings, Koa Spencer: guitar, Nat Spencer: drums, Tally Spencer: vocals, joined by Simon Walsh: bass & Dan Brown: DJ

MC: So, Jynxt - where does that name come from? Are your band members actually jynxed in some way?

Tally: We chose the name Jynxt as we thought it was strangely symbolic of certain features in our childhood while growing up. We lived in many different countries, in the far east especially, where we encountered a few close calls.

For example, when were living in Srilanka in 1983, the civil war broke out & we all had to be evacuated on old military planes. In the Philippines we narrowly escaped a volcano erruption.

Then even as grown ups, when starting the band it seemed there was something against us. Our first bass players 'disappeared' before we had a chance to hit the stage, even left his amp , which we still use to this day. One time somebody's pet rabbit escaped from his hutch & knawed every single wire in our studio, needless to say we taped them back together! The power of gaffa tape.

MC: Your bass player Disappeared? Civil wars and volcanic eruptions? And an evil rabbit? This is the stuff of legends. You pass the name test.
Lets talk about the music, what are your influences?

Tally: Our influences include The Prodigy, Jimi Hendrix, Skunk Anansie, Radio Head, Pink Floyd, Rage against the machine, QOTSA.

MC: I just got a copy of your new single, The Name. We'll be reviewing on the site soon, but having heard it myself I can say its a great peice of music.

Tally: Well, Thanks! We chose 'The Name' for our single as we felt it best encapsulated our musical ideas. Well, to an extent; as much as one song can do. It's a mixture of the harsh & the beautiful, a track for the drum & bass lovers & the rockers.

MC: Yeah it does a good job of mixing the two sounds. Who writes your songs?

Tally: Koa & Nat have written most of the songs on this album. Some were a combined effort with myself putting in the vocals, we like to work together as it gives it diversity.

MC: A stand out part of the new single was the break 'I'm only sleeping, I'm only dreaming'. When I say stand out, I mean I know it starts around 1:38 into the song since I've rewound it so many times! That's some powerfully emotive vocals.

Tally: That whole bridge has an amazing melody I really enjoy singing. Though I have to admit it's a bit of a killer on a live stage... but somehow I manage.

MC: Its not just the vocals either, who plays the guitar for that?

Tally: Koa Spencer is the guitarist. He is also the writer of 'The Name'.

MC: What about the other two tracks on the single, 'Come Out and Play' and 'Should be dead'. 'Should be dead' has an appealingly contradictory sound to it, the title and chorus being so pessimistic and the verses having optimistic phrases like 'Happy in my illusion that I could never fall'. Tell us about this song.

Tally: Koa wrote this song one day as he was coming out of the pub and he saw a friend sitting outside the kebab shop. He was completly depressed after he found out his girlfriend was cheating. It was written tongue in cheek as a scenario/metaphore of the way pepole suffer from relationships. When the feel they can't possible survive the pain, but then with time the memories seem so petty.

MC: You guys have a new video out too. How'd the filming go?

Tally: The filming of our video was amazing. We did it all in one full day from 6.30 till 11 pm. The location was an old masonic senior school & the wing we had was entirely unheated, so a lovely February day in the cold.
It was done on a shoe string budget, ie: no shoe strings. It was filmed by an friend of ours Adam Levins who has been doing short films & movies for a while. The whole crew was amazing
We will be doing another video for our next single & album Bring Back Tomorrow very soon, so keep your eyes open for that in the coming months.

MC: From what I have seen of the video, he did marvels on the budget. Or lack thereof! Is there an album on the way?

Tally: Yup, our album, Bring Back Tomorrow is due for release mid July. Though I believe it will be available on download in June sometime.

MC: In the meantime, can this single be bought anywhere online?

Tally: Yes, and cheap too! www.karmadownload.com or www.hmv.co.uk

MC: Anyway great work guys, exceptional tracks, and I hope they break through for your band. What are you doing today? Celebrating?