A Chat with Midnight Mouth (03.07.20)
West London-based Midnight Mouth combines dreamy melodies with ambient sounds and undertones of hopeful melancholia. The band began as a solo project of frontman Scott Viney (SV); however, in 2018 Scott teamed up with long-time friend Arthur McBain (AM), Poppy Kavanagh and Pierce Kavanagh (PK). We had a chance to sit down with Midnight Mouth (MM) to discuss their music, their new single and getting into trouble.
OSR: As you’ve been friends for a long time, when did you decide to form Midnight Mouth?
MM: About 104 weeks or 728 days ago. Depends on what unit of measurement you like.
OSR: Who or what inspired you to make music?
SV: My dad is the one who got me into music. He played guitar so then I did as well. I would say he’s a pretty big inspiration. Then, of course, the likes of Dave Grohl, Chester Bennington, Simon Neil and the late Scott Hutchinson pushed me to start writing my own tunes.
AM: I had put my ambitions to be in a band to bed in favour of my acting career, but when I heard Scott’s first set of Midnight Mouth songs (which he was doing solo for a while), I could hear twinkly guitar parts in my head all over the place. I just knew I had to get involved. Hang on, am I actually saying that Scott is my inspiration? You can have this one Scott… pay me later.
OSR: Describe your sound in two words and an emoji.
MM: Emotive. Volcanic.
OSR: Do you feel good about ‘Feel Better’?
SV: Yeah, we feel great about it. It’s one of the first songs we developed together as a band so it’s very close to our hearts.
PK: Yeah, the four of us have a deep fondness for ‘Feel Better’. We love playing it and it’s been part of our live shows since our first ever gig. Also, given the crazy times we are currently in, the message of the song seems kind of pertinent.
OSR: Where have you performed and what are your favourite and least favourite venues?
MM: We’ve performed all over London and New York. Can’t really say our least favourite venue as we probably won’t be asked to play there again, so nice try. Any venue filled with people who care about music is a good venue.
OSR: Do you think your initiatives to inspire positivity, such as Instagram shows and free merch, will actually inspire positivity among listeners?
SV: It should inspire positivity because getting free stuff is great. Especially when it’s a surprise and especially during this time.
AM: It’s hard to tell, really. There are so many Instagram live shows these days that we do worry that we will get lost in the fray. We go into it with all the passion and enthusiasm we possibly can and hope that the message lands. So far the response has been fantastic; lots of people getting involved with comments and stuff. Whether it actually inspires positivity is difficult to answer. What we can say is that we are trying our very best and hopefully people will get on board!
OSR: Do you sing while you cook and which songs?
SV: Something different every day. Depends what I’m listening to. At the moment I’m singing ‘Spotlight’ by Jessie Ware.
AM: For some reason, I always sing ‘In The Hall Of The Mountain King’, but with each note replaced with the word ‘yo’. It’s so annoying it does my head in.
OSR: If you were a feather, what colour and how soft would you be?
SV: I’d be a dark grey feather. It would have miniature stones inside it, so not that soft.
AM: That’s really deep, Scott. I’ll be that too.
PK: I’d be a Red-Tailed Hawk feather. They are majestic.
AM: Actually, I think I want to copy Pierce now instead.
OSR: What is the most trouble you have ever been in?
SV: I got caught running through a field of wheat once.
AM: I drove to Barnard Castle to test my eyes during a national lockdown. Oh wait, I didn’t get into any trouble for that whatsoever.
PK: I got fined by the police for urinating in public once. I was behind a tree FYI – nothing weird, I promise! Very, very bad. I’ve even got a video to prove it.
OSR: Do you enjoy interviews? Why or why not?
AM: You know what, we love chatting so it’s not too bad. The only thing that is sometimes difficult is having to answer similar questions time and time again. Not with you guys though! How on Earth did you come up with the question about feathers?!
PK: Yeah, I second that! We are made up that people seem to be enjoying the tunes and we are grateful for these opportunities to talk about our music.
OSR: What are your plans for any future releases?
MM: Two new singles in August and an EP in September.
OSR: Do you have a message for your fans?
MM: Thank you for the support so far. You’ve been great!! Also, let us know of any other ways we can spread positivity!!!
Thanks to Scott Viney, Arthur McBain and Pierce Kavanagh for chatting with us! You can find more about Midnight Mouth on their Facebook, Spotify and Instagram.
