Start Listening To: Wednesday’s Child
Welcome to the wicked world of Wednesday’s Child.
Wednesday’s Child, a London based five piece, today share their second single ‘Paula’ from their debut Seven Sisters EP. We caught up with the band and learnt more about the EP and the music they make.
For those unfamiliar with your music can you tell us who you are, where you’re from, and something about the music you make?
We are a five piece made up of Amelia, Emily, Georgia, Joel and Patrick. Our motto is more bassoon less bullshit, and we also enjoy some cowbell when the mood calls for it. All of us grew up in different places but came together in London to make this band. Our songs are often about dreams and desires, sisters and serpents, monsters and mermaids.
We love the singles you’ve released so far from your Seven Sisters EP. Can you tell us more about the concept?
Thank you for listening to the tunes! Seven Sisters is a collection of seven songs about seven women across time and space. The women we honour on this EP inspire us with their experimental creativity, reclaiming narratives and rewriting their own stories. The first two singles were about Theda Bara and Paula Rego, and up next is one dedicated to the late great Ronnie Spector.
What was the production process like for this EP?
All of the songs were recorded live at a studio over 48 hours. This was back in the summer, and then we did overdubs bit by bit through the Autumn. We wanted to capture the energy of our live performances and the studio helped us do that. It was a different process to our first EP which was created when we were just a two-piece. In fact, we only did our first Wednesday’s Child gig after the release of that first project. This time around we were gigging loads and the songs were changing as we played them live. It meant we were well rehearsed but the sound was still fresh and exciting for us.
Do you have a favourite track on the EP?
Ronnie is special because we all feel so joyful when we play it. It was only finished a few days before we got into the studio, and it originally had a plinky-plonky cabaret vibe! We re-vamped it and then there were some last minute additions… At Palace Garden Studios there is a piano from 1890 and it had such a magic sound we decided to have Amelia playing it in the outro. It made Georgia cry and brought the whole track together. It’s also a special song because Ronnie Spector died a few months beforehand, and the world had lost a magnificent artist. Our song is from the perspective of someone feeling lost in love and nostalgic for what could have been, but finding ways to stay hopeful through Ronnie’s music. Love is never lost.
What inspires your music?
Experimentation and growth in our own lives, the relationships we are building with one another, our families, folklore and mythology, other independent artists.
What has been your most memorable live performance?
We have a residency at The George Tavern and there have been some wonderful nights there. We’ve done a tribute to Medusa, a circus of clowns, a possession ceremony… And then last summer we played the main stage at Great Estates Festival before Manic Street Preachers and that was pretty wild.
If your new EP were a movie which would it be?
Maybe Alice in Wonderland or Daisies directed by Vera Chytilova.
What has been the most difficult challenge you have faced as a band?
It’s tough living and working as independent artists in an expensive city and, more generally, in a country where the arts are increasingly undervalued. Each of us are working other jobs to support ourselves, and it can be like herding cats to all get in the same room for a rehearsal when time and resources are tight. But the fact that we make it work is a testament to how much we believe in this project and each other. Hopefully this country will have new leaders in power soon who do a better job at supporting the arts. And taxing the rich. And not deporting asylum seekers.
Name an artist you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why?
The Beatles, The Beatles, The Beatles. Because… The Beatles.
What do you love right now?
Each other.
What do you hate right now?
Paying London rent.
Are there any other releases you’re looking forward to in 2023?
Scarlett Woolfe with ‘Poor Suzy’. Scarlett is a fellow witchy woman and she makes such strange and beautiful songs.
Where would you like to see Wednesday’s Child one year from now?
More writing, more gigging, more growth, happy and healthy.
Thanks for speaking with us! Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
The release date for Ronnie is April 14th, and then the whole EP will be out in early May. We will be doing a big EP launch show around that time, and you can follow our socials to stay up to date here.
