We spoke with Ex-Ninth Wave member Calum Stewart and learnt all about his new project Health and Beauty.

What inspired you to create your own solo project?

For a long time, I have been writing electronic/dance music. When I joined The Ninth Wave in 2019, some of the music I was writing worked for the band and others didn’t. Over time, it became apparent to me that many of the songs I was writing were becoming a cohesive body of music in their own right. I had always wanted to have a project that was at its core pretty danceable but also maintaining a solid, Scottish melancholy. So, it seemed the right time to start showing the world what it is all about. I have about two albums’ worth of material now, which is nice but also pretty overwhelming.

What does the process of creating a song look like for you?

I’d probably describe it as industrious. Perhaps that isn’t the sexiest of adjectives, but I’m certainly not a writer who can rely on a creative spark to get me going. I will usually have an idea of what kind of song I want to write, but nothing more concrete than that. I often need to force myself to sit down for a good number of hours and just work at an idea, but once it gets going I can have a complete song pretty quickly. I have a nice, simplified workflow that I don’t need to spend too long setting up, which helps to just dive in and get started. Musically, I usually build a song around a specific beat or percussive idea; most of my melodies are a consequence of a beat I start from. I’m also not too picky about things; if a sound works then it works. I don’t spend too long searching for that elusive synth sound or bass tone, as I find that can bog me down a bit and sap my enjoyment.

How has your experience in The Ninth Wave influenced your work with Health and Beauty?

Being in TNW definitely taught me how to be a more professional musician and writer. In the studio, I realised the importance of taking risks and using more leftfield thinking. For live shows, I quickly learned the importance of being well-practiced and having a streamlined set up (my live setup is now streamlined to the point of obsession). Musically, TNW has had a profound influence on Health and Beauty. There are definite 80s inspirations that I wouldn’t have integrated otherwise. 

What is your process for writing lyrics?

I like to have a vocal melody first, before writing any lyrics. So, I’ll just record me singing absolute nonsense first to try and flesh out a melody. Then, I’ll put lyrics to it. Some of the ad-libbed lyrics end up staying in if I like the way they sound. I’m actually not too precious about every sentence having a definite ‘meaning’. Sometimes I just like the way words sound. That might be shallow but I like the idea of listeners attributing their own meanings to words. Not all the time, but certainly sometimes. I also like to fillet lyrics; distilling them right down to just a few sentences. For example, in ‘In Disarray’ the original demo has way more lyrical content. But, I kept coming back to the one line that is in the final version and eventually decided to just have that on its own. It’s almost like a sample or something, and for this song in particular I felt like it completely captured what I thought the song was about, so I didn’t feel a need to pad it out with more lyrical content.

How would you describe the sound of Health and Beauty?

It’s like a sad 80s disco covered in a blanket of indie/shoegaze influences.

What are some of your biggest musical influences?

Dang this is tough. I think with Health and Beauty I’m channelling a lot of New Order, early Aphex Twin and some Cocteau Twins. Vocally, I’m really inspired by people like Kate Bush and Hayden Thorpe of Wild Beasts.

How do you balance your indie and dance music influences in your songs?

I think I write like I’m still writing for a band. Most of my songs have a structure to them which isn’t dissimilar to a lot of indie music structures. Maybe it’s my attention span, but I find it difficult to write like a ‘real’ electronic music producer. I get tetchy if a song gets over the 5 minute mark. So, I think this does a lot of balancing in the early demo stages. I really like the idea of mixing ‘band’ instruments with synths and drum machines. I think bass melodies often add a real melancholic feel and can take a song in a really different direction, and a lot of my guitar work is influenced by Kevin Shields with the drifting, wall of sound vibe. Saying that, my next single has a guitar solo because I was simply like ‘fuck it I want to do a guitar solo’. 

What message do you hope to convey through your music?

I want folk to be able to have a wee dance or have a wee cry, or both.

How has your experience as a multi-instrumentalist shaped your songwriting?

I think it allows me to approach a song in a more holistic way, maybe seeing the bigger picture a bit sooner and freeing me up to be a bit more reactive in the writing and recording process. I’m not particularly amazing at any one instrument, but I have a decent enough grasp on quite a few of them. There’s a practical benefit to that, insofar as I can just do most things myself in the studio, whether that’s guitar, drums, synths and so on. That can save a lot of time when demoing and recording. But, I think it has benefits in the songwriting process, too. I think that knowing how to play each instrument within a song means that you can kind of fit the pieces of the jigsaw together a bit more easily; knowing what parts will work together and what won’t.

What do you enjoy most about performing your music live?

At the moment, I’m doing everything myself. I don’t use a laptop live. Not because I disagree with the concept, it’s more that I don’t trust my laptop and I also don’t have Ableton live. I use hardware sequencers and things like that, so that involves a lot of button pressing and things like that. I also like to play bass and guitar live, too. So that means I’m probably stretching myself a little thin. But that’s what I really enjoy – I like the fact that things can go wrong and that my heart is usually in my mouth. I remember watching Nils Frahm live and he was literally running around the stage turning things on and off and sweating profusely, but I loved the way that he was constructing a massive sound in real time. I felt that he was so connected with his performance because of that, and it made for a really compelling experience. I’m keen to emulate that as much as possible.

What are some of the challenges you have faced while creating your music?

I think it has taken a while for me to find my own sound. When I started writing electronic music, I was trying too hard to emulate a lot of modern producers and worried a lot about things not sounding ‘electronic’ enough. I think with the songs I’m now releasing, I realised that I could incorporate all the stuff I was ‘good’ at, like guitar and drums and things – the ‘indie’ stuff – into the electronic music I was aiming for. I learned to worry less about my influences showing through, too.

How do you feel about the success of your debut single?

I’m really happy so far. People have said some really lovely things about it. The track was intended to be an introduction to what the project is about, and to generate a bit of interest for the next few songs I am releasing. My next single is released on 17 January and I’m pretty excited for that, as it probably shows off a little bit more of the ‘indie’ side to the project.

What do you love right now?

Taking the dog out for a walk. I’ve also been loving Haydn’s (also of TNW) debut single as Last Boy, called There Must Be Something Better than this. It’s really bloody good.

What do you hate right now?

I’ve been pretty ill over the festive period, so that has been a bit loathsome.  Maybe the lack of daylight, too. Especially here in Scotland.

What were your favourite albums of 2022?

I loved Daniel Avery’s album ‘Ultra Truth’. So many good tracks. I also loved ‘Gnosis’ by Russian Circles. ‘Now Is’ by Rival Consoles, too. Not an album, but an EP – ‘For Seasons’ by Theo Bleak is very lovely. I rinsed ‘Blush’ by PVA a lot, too.