Hex Girlfriend (Noah Yorke and James Knott) have released their debut 4-track EP ‘No Golf Cart Parking’ via sly-tone Records. It was produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, Yard Act, Amyl & The Sniffers) with additional production from James. The band is an amalgam of various influences, from left-field pop to rock, dense electronica to hip-hop. For James, inspiration has often come from performance-based artists such as maximalist electronic musician Kate NV and techno producer VTSS, artists with a healthy dose of fun, energy and expression. For Noah, Death Grips have been an immovable force, highlighting the production, the sonics, and the cryptic poetry of the lyrics. Crossover artists include The Prodigy, who could straddle both rock and dance worlds with their incendiary live show, another crucial element in Hex Girlfriends world.
The Decibel Decoder had to find out more.
Welcome Hex Girlfriend. Can you share your first impressions of each other! How was the band created?
Our first impression of each other was one of abject horror, but we soon realised that we had to get around this in order to fulfil our morale obligation to save rock and roll, since Royal Blood told us it was dead at that year 6 party they played. We have learned to tolerate each other through hours of therapy, breathing exercises, and psychedelic ritual – also, finding ourselves trapped in close quarters (we live together xox) forces us into co-operation, and Ableton Live as a therapeutic tool has been a helpful conduit. Occasionally some guys in white lab coats come round to check on us. Also, James has cool hair and that was very important for the overall band concept.
I understand you both wanted to “go against what music education instilled.” Could you expand on this a little?
We just wanted to take music, especially the performance aspect, less seriously than a lot of what was around us, and put a bit of fun back into it, because it can have serious messages and depth to it without presenting as super severe. Music can be silly while saying serious things, and in many ways it’s a lot easier to be dead serious (or faux-severe) on stage than it is to be weird and comical. Lots of bands have done it, but it seems like it happens a lot less now and everything has to be from the bottom of your soul all the time, and frankly we’re bored of it.
Congratulations on debut EP No Golf Cart Parking. I have to be honest I’ve had ‘Midnight’s Ink‘ on repeat. Can you share a little on this track, where did the inspiration come from?
‘Midnight’s Ink’ came from James sequencing a drum rhythm (which we later recorded on live drums) and me playing a disco-type bass line over it, and then it was just built on from there. Lyrically, ‘Midnight’s Ink‘ is mostly about having the confidence to face yourself, which relates also to snapping out of narratives that it’s easy to get swept up in. If you have the confidence to take yourself seriously, but also with a pinch of salt, that’s a good way of not becoming a Jordan Peterson-following loser who can’t believe the world doesn’t revolve around them. Give yourself some time to think, look at the world around you, reach out to other people, see yourself in context, good and bad, and you’ll realise your anger at the world around you is mostly anger at yourself. You’re not living in a movie, you’re living in your own head, and the only way of getting shit done that you want to get done is to realise that. That’s basically the gist of it.
‘No Golf Cart Parking’ was produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, Yard Act, Amyl & The Sniffers) with additional production from James. How was it working in conjunction with Ross Orton?
It was great to have Ross invite us to his lovely studio in Sheffield, and we enjoyed chatting with him, drinking some lovely beer and meeting his dog Lola. We’ve got a real interest in treating the computer/studio as an instrument, especially as we write everything together on a laptop vs the usual bands playing and writing in rehearsals kinda thing – so it’s always cool stepping into someone else’s workflow and seeing how they do things. Collaboration is something we individually both struggle with, especially studying music throughout school/college/uni, it’s often pushed onto you as an integral element of music making, which makes sense from the perspective of a traditional musician, but with all the tech etc now, there’s a real space for the introverted musician that seemingly hasn’t quite been acknowledged in academia. With this in mind, we really sympathise with anyone that we work with because we think we can be a bit of a nightmare! In an ideal world, we’d have sat in that studio with Ross for eternity and worked through every corner of the EP until it was exactly where we wanted it to be, but unfortunately life doesn’t pause and deadlines linger – so we were grateful to have Ross work with us to let us know when it was time to call the record finished and head out for a pint.
Hex Girlfriend played an EP headline show at Bermondsey Social Club in London to celebrate the it’s release. How did it go?
The headline show was fun – we spent some time battling ghosts in various machines but once we got the best of them we were able to shake ourselves loose and unleash the sonic destruction that we sought to bestow upon those who were brave enough to bear witness. It was also really loud in there and that is always fun. Cool lights too. Glad that people came out for it, it was freezing.
In fact 2024 has been eventful in terms of live gigs with performances at Pitchfork Paris, Mutations and The Great Escape in Brighton, London Calling in Amsterdam, headline shows at The Windmill and The George Tavern plus supporting NOISY across the UK. What does it mean to you to play live?
It means everything to us to play live, we find a lot of freedom in it, and playing consistently over the last couple of months has been great. Every song is better when presented under flashing lights to rooms full of unsuspecting people.
Any plans for 2025 we need to know about?
So many plans, but none that can or should be revealed as of yet for public safety reasons.
If I looked in your fridge right now what would I find?
Coconut water, protein shake, energy gels, so much vegan mayo, DNA samples of non-earth origin, orange juice (with bits), Moët (disgusting), Lurpak, two shrunken heads of our previous homunculi (for the mems), ginger shots (one for each day except Tuesdays because we’re not psychopaths), half a mouldy tomato (breakfast), ayahuasca edibles, 3/4 of a falafel and hummus wrap, experimental vaccine research materials, iceberg lettuce, can of Dragon Soop.
For more information on Hex Girlfriend please check their facebook and instagram.