Start Listening To: Low Harness
The Falmouth quartet’s debut album Salvo is a bold, introspective collage of sound, crafted with DIY spirit and raw honesty.
Low Harness may have formed just earlier this year, but the Falmouth-based quartet comprising Hannah (vocals, guitar), Martin (guitar), Alex (bass), and Ed (drums) has already carved out a unique and compelling album. Rooted in DIY ethos and nurtured within Cornwall's creative hub Fish Factory Arts Space, their debut album Salvo is a powerful tapestry of heavy moods, visceral themes, and sharp political commentary.
In Salvo, Low Harness combine evocative lyricism with layered, dynamic instrumentals, exploring personal struggles, introspection, and a world teetering on instability. Their process is organic and collaborative, mirroring the raw honesty of their music: written together in the practice room "the way nature intended," they dial into a distinct emotional atmosphere for each track.
In this interview, the band reflects on their creative process, the importance of DIY spaces, and the inspiration behind their bold debut.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Low Harness is Hannah (vocals, guitar), Martin (guitar), Alex (bass) and Ed (drums). We formed the band earlier this year in Falmouth, Cornwall. Hannah and Ed moved down here from London about 3 years ago, after playing in bands there for a decade or so. Alex and Martin are Kernow natives and are old friends who have played music together for many years.
Our music is a collage of many things that we enjoy. Most of it is composed as a group, playing together in the practice room- the way nature intended. We work together & try to dial into a mood for each song. We talk about the films of David Lynch & play in abhorrent guitar tunings.
"Ready From the Start" begins with the declaration "I feel fine." What inspired you to frame the album with such an assertive statement?
That song was the first one we brought to the group. I had made a demo of which I really loved the intro, it was unapologetically long and kept building up but then it had to go somewhere and I just couldn't help but scream those words at the end! That song was a realisation for me that I can write music. I have always been so hard on myself from when I very first started writing songs 15 years ago, it took me years to play live, then get a band, and just allow myself to enjoy it.. That song was a more positive meditation, if you want to do something you can do it! I think that's a good way to start an album.
Salvo grapples with themes of instability and personal turmoil. Can you tell us more about what inspired these themes?
The whole world just feels like it's being assaulted at the moment and I couldn't help but acknowledge it. The art on the sleeve was made by Peter Kennard and I think he is such a brilliant man and artist. His work has never faltered to speak the truth and call out wrongdoing- his analogue and anarchic approach, cutting and pasting- it all works so strikingly together as a complete art form. He inspired me to collage many years ago and I made the first H.Grimace sleeve called Self Architect. But this time his work felt much more apt and powerful. So we feel honoured to have his timeless work on our record.
Martin recorded the album in an old Methodist Chapel, which we tracked in a couple of days and then he mixed it for some time…
Tracks like "Blood Play" and "Forever in My Head" are conceptually bold. How do you decide which lyrical themes to explore, and are there any ideas you left off the record?
I find the lyrics are always led heavily by the feel and mood of the music, what it evokes and if that adds something back into the song. In Bloodplay Ed wrote the lyrics and i think they are very provocative and add so much more to a seemly catchy pop track. Forever in my head is complete dreamy stagnation of not being capable to get past melancholy and rumination, ‘Swarming round with flys” literally rotting in the inertia.
Low Harness was born out of the Falmouth DIY hub Fish Factory Arts Space. How has being part of a DIY community influenced your creative process?
The Fish Factory is the only DIY space in Falmouth and I would say most of Cornwall. You can put on shows, exhibitions, events or play your first gig as a new band. We had a first timer night of young new artists last week. We have just had a wicked weekend of sonic arts called Electronic Symposium. Basically if you can dream it up you can do it. And that is brilliant for your creativity. We can sometimes feel a bit cut off from the rest of the country (which is no bad thing) but we still manage to convince out of town artists to play here...for example, we have Colin Newman (Wire) & Malka Spiegel (Minimal Compact) playing here on December 7th with their project Immersion. Also big love to Offworld Endeavours who bring many weird and wonderful punk/metal bands down to inspire us: Rubber, Middleman, Sneer, Immy, Can Kicker & Coffin Mulch have been recent favourites!
The album features heavy political and social commentary, especially on the title track. What role do you feel music plays in responding to global crises?
Music is an amazing portal through which you can look at your concerns about the world- or escape from them. I can’t help but feel pretty worried about the future at the moment. If music can make us think and feel something then maybe other people can share that too, in a way that isn't always conscious or contrived. I don't know how you will feel listening to our music- but maybe it will open up some internal dialogue.
Tracks like "Forever in My Head" capture inertia and introspection. How do these themes connect to your personal experiences or the collective experience of the band?
I think everyone to a certain extent has moments of introspection and inner stagnation…periods of inactivity and lack of motivation. In a society that is pushing us so hard to achieve more, look better, do better, work harder- it's understandable that the psyche might push back & revolt sometimes!
What do you love right now?
Martin
Broadcast ‘Spell blanket’
Bogdan ‘Raczynski’ - ‘Samurai Math Beats’
Autechre ‘NTS sessions 1’
Ed
Allan Wachs ‘Mountain roads & city streets’
Jeff Cowell ‘Lucky strikes & liquid gold’
The Chills ‘Submarine Bells’
Hannah
Cate Le Bon ‘Pompeii’
My Dad is Dead ‘Peace, love and murder’
Dusk ‘Dusk’
Alex
45 Grave - ‘Sleep in Safety’
The Fall ‘Perverted by Language’
Gang Starr ‘Daily Operation’
What do you hate right now?
Getting older.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
Oh, I still am obsessed with David Berman and have never stopped listening to the Silver Jews. Let's say the album ‘Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea’. It's got a track on- Suffering Jukebox, which I still love as much as when I first heard it and Cassie Berman's voice is so beautiful.
What’s next for Low Harness after the release of Salvo?
We are planning to record an EP with Phil the owner of JT Soar in Nottingham. Our friends’ band Holiday Ghosts went there to record and said it was a magical place, in an old Mill in Wales. We’re going to record 4/5 songs & give ourselves a bit more time to focus on each track. Then we’ll hopefully be touring some more in the new year.
