Interview: Getting Better with New Hope Club
Interview & Photos by Yising Kao
British pop trio New Hope Club - consisting of members Blake Richardson, George Smith, and Reece Bibby - released their latest album, Getting Better, this summer, and recently finished their US tour for the album. Recently, the band recorded “Can’t Lose This Fight” for the Ring of Fire showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usky. Additionally, New Hope Club charted on BBC’s Radio 1 Future Pop with “Don’t Go Wasting Time” and BBC Radio 1 Best New Pop for their title track, “Getting Better.” Getting Better is full of compelling and energetic tracks with an empowering influence of 60’s rock. We got to chat with the band before their Los Angeles show at Teragram Ballroom!
I really love how the Getting Better album has a 60’s rock-inspired vibe with songs. You’ve mentioned some of your inspirations are The Beatles, The Strokes, and Vampire Weekend.
Over the years how have you guys challenged yourselves to incorporate different musical influences into your sound and sonically evolve?
Reece: Obviously since we’ve started the band, so young, we’ve pretty much since day one, been growing and evolving as artists. Growing as people. And with that, obviously the music changes. We have so many different influences over the years, obviously you mentioned Beatles and strokes. We just have such a wide range of interests in music. And were always just trying stuff out. I think we’re not really like, precious about staying with one particular sound. We like to experiment, we like to just get in the studio, see what happens, try different genres, try different sounds, with guitars and see what different drums sound like on different tracks.
Blake: We never like to put ourselves in a box. Its always fun to go into the studio with no expectation of what song you're going to leave with. And I think we kind of held on to that especially with 2 and a half years, I think we’ve really focused on not trying to be anything and focusing on what that energy of that room is giving us and what we should come out with. It’s just kind of like, one of those things. I think we feel into a trap of when we were younger of, “Oh we need to sound like this, and we need to write a song like this.” And you just end up with a bad version of that song you wanted to make. I feel like now, whether it comes out like a dance track or a song like the strokes, whatever it is, it feels more organic to who we are in that moment.
Yeah, I think it’s so important for bands to not only stick to one sound and you guys are doing amazing.
Thank you.
Your new single “Swimming With Sharks” is incredible! I like how it has a funky pop vibe. What inspired you guys to take this creative direction with this song?
George: We like to push ourselves out of our comfort zone and we actually wrote this song about 3 years ago and I feel like we’ve now just found the right time for this song to come out now. We’re on tour right now so having new music out for the fans, to play. They actually learned it extremely quickly and I feel like it’s become somewhat of a fan favorite. They already know all the words. I've seen a few people coming up with cool dances with it. Sadly we’re not very good dancers but maybe we’ll partake at some point. Like we said, it’s a fun one for us to experiment with and it’s got that dark funk disco-y vibe which we’ve never done before. Definitely, like you said, pushing our boundaries and experimenting with different sounds. It’s an exciting time for us with loads of new music, to push our boundaries even more. It’s an exciting time to be a New Hope Club fan and a New Hope Club member as well.
The music video is very raw and gritty so what was that experience coming up with the concept to match the lyrics of how dating can be like swimming with sharks, as you’ve shared before?
Reece: Yeah, I think that was our initial idea when we were writing the song. We really wanted to capture what dating’s like. I think when we were younger we were just like going on dates and meeting new people and it can be tough like it can be hard and it feels like swimming with sharks. You don’t know who to trust and yeah, we wanted to be beat up (in the video) and bouncing off one relationship to the next. And that was our initial idea and while we were in New York filming and playing at Baby's All Right, the show on this tour, we met up with a photographer and I think you can really tell that in the music video. He had an amazing eye and picked out some really cool shots. And we had ideas, he had ideas and we love that when we can bounce off of a director and just really create something that we’re both happy with. And we love the video and it’s one of my favorite ones. Because it just feels like New York. We were on that rooftop in New York and the last time we were on the New York rooftop we were doing a secret rooftop show in Times Square and look at us, full circle, we’re back on a rooftop. It was absolutely pissing it down as well. All our guitars were getting wet.
Blake: We thought we wouldn’t be able to do the next show because we were filming in the rain. Reece’s bass is really delicate and it was not the environment for it.
Reece: You can kind of see me grimacing in the video.
You gotta sacrifice for the art.
Reece: Exactly.
You guys collaborated with K-pop group P1Harmony on “Super Chic” how did that collaboration come about? Do you guys want to collaborate with more K-pop artists in the future?
George: We spent a lot of time in Korea playing shows and we have a big fanbase there. We do end up going there a lot and meeting a lot of K-pop artists. We actually went over to New York from England to support them at a show.
Blake: We actually met them for the first time at a festival.
George: Yeah, Haus of Wonder. We met them there and they were so sweet to us. We got their numbers and we made a big group chat with them. And the song kind of came about. We were on tour and bouncing ideas back to them and we ended up writing that song. And then we went back to Korea in October and got into the studio with them, shot a video and they recorded their parts. It was a cool collaboration for us, we’ve obviously never done that before. It was interesting seeing their side of everything. And I think that’s the main thing for us when we collaborate, seeing other people and how they collaborate. So it’s exciting for us and obviously now, they’re crushing it. They’re doing so well so it was awesome to be involved with them but we’re still good friends and they're so sweet to us. We try to see them whenever we can if we’re in Korea or when they’re in Los Angeles. If our paths cross, then we’ll be able to say hi.
You guys have such a large fanbase in Asia so that’s perfect too.
George: Yeah they’ve been amazing and so supportive since we’ve been there for the first time. It’s amazing to continually be able to go back. Even like, us coming to America especially from England, coming from this far across the world and still having this many people show up. You know, who actually want to listen to our music, it’s sort of mind blowing. So that part of the world is so sweet and we’re forever grateful for all of the support.
Since you're on your US tour right now, how do US shows compare to UK shows, do you notice any differences between the crowds, and do you have any favorite cities you enjoy visiting?
Reece: The crowds have been amazing honestly. They’ve been so welcoming and we’ve not done a US tour in a while. And we’ve just been shocked at how amazing the crowds have been, how lovely everyone’s been. I think there’s just such a good live show culture right now in the US. And you can really feel that in the room. Everyone’s just like, having a good time, the vibes are very positive, singing along to the new songs, a lot of new faces as well in the US which has been really cool to see. But we love it. We just did New York, Chicago, Minneapolis. That was our first headline show in Minneapolis which was cool, so it’s nice to go to new places. I love Chicago. Chicago is my favorite city in the US. But LA is like home to us so that’s the special one.
I’ve been supporting you guys ever since you released your first EP, Welcome to the Club, in 2017. Since then, it’s been amazing seeing how you’ve grown as artists and developed your sound while experimenting with different sounds.
What’s one thing that you’ve learned about your journey as an artist, either songwriting or touring that’s stuck with you? This can be advice you’ve gotten from someone or just something you’ve learned individually that’s really impacted your journey as an artist.
Blake: We’ve been given lots of advice over the years. We could talk your ear off probably about that. I think one of the things that has made us feel closer than ever is just being really hands on with everything and not letting things just like, people making decisions for you and that can like subconsciously make you feel detached in a way. Being able to make every little decision and being hands-on in all those decisions has brought us even closer because it really feels like it is the three of us. Of course we have an amazing team who’s really helpful and they do amazing jobs. But I think for the start of the band, yes we were very involved and we had our input, but we were younger and we were learning the business. And I think for us being as involved as we possibly can, makes a huge difference for us.
George: I think believing in yourself is important. But there are times where it’s harder than others and sometimes you question like what you’re doing. I think we’ve created such a strong bond between us and we can sit down and say, “This is why we’re doing this.” I think playing live shows is sort of like a validation for us. It’s all great doing that stuff online for social media but like when you see these people in front of you, and they’re there for an hour and a half or whatever. I think that in some way, is so special.
Blake: It’s a real human connection.
George: Yeah, that’s so important. It’s been amazing to get back on the road. It’s been a minute since we’ve toured so getting to see lots of new faces and old faces as well, even like yourself – you’ve been around for like 7 years?
Yeah.
Which is crazy so thank you so much. We’re still getting started so with every new release, every song, every album, is a way, not rebranding or reinventing ourselves but it’s like an extension of what we’ve done before, which is important to us. Like, after so long, we’re still so close and I think you can see that from how we talk and how we still want to hang out with each other, apart from the “Swimming With Sharks” video where we punch each other.
You released “Can’t Lose This Fight” for Ring Of Fire, the world Heavyweight championship which seemed like such a really unique opportunity to write a song for a sporting event.
What was your experience like preparing to write this song and did you guys ever watch boxing matches before this?
Reece: Yeah, we’re massive boxing fans. To do it for Tyson, which he’s probably going to go down as the biggest British heavyweight boxer of all time. Unbelievable, very honored.
George: He already likes the song as well.
Reece: He’s got a fight coming up as well – a rematch.
George: Ring Of Fire 2? Ring of more Fire? a
Blake, you play a young Paul McCartney in Midas Man coming out this month. What are some things you did to prepare for that role and what was your favorite part of filming this movie?
Blake: I watched every video I could possibly watch – interviews, live shows. I learned a lot of the bass lines. I had to learn to learn left-handed, which was probably the hardest part. And I think just like immersing yourself into that time. It wasn’t even necessarily just The Beatles. It was all the other bands that were working at that time. The main thing for me was not being like a caricature of Paul McCartney. It was like, how can I show the energy that whenever the Beatles were in that room, there was that energy – you can’t see it, you can’t smell it, it’s just there. Any video you watch, it’s just like so alive. I think that was the main thing, getting really close with the other guys playing the Beatles and we got on so well. We would hang out not only on set but off set and just chill. And that really, in the film, I hope you can feel that, that we actually got on and we tried to create that infectious energy.
And my favorite part of filming – I think it was really cool to be on Abbey Road – what a historic place. But I think they rebuilt the cavern to like how it was. Because there’s a cavern in Liverpool now but the old cavern that they played at was a lot smaller than this one. So they completely built a fresh cavern. And when that was full and we were playing it, I enjoyed it.
I’m excited to see it.
Blake: Thank you, I hope you enjoy it.
What message do you guys hope that your listeners take from your album Getting Better?
Blake: There’s kind of different stories throughout the album. Obviously Getting Better was written coming out of COVID and I hope everyone kind of needed that kind of song, like we can see the light at the end of the tunnel kind of thing. But I think people can take a lot of things way from it. You know, there’s songs that are more emotional songs that make you want to go out on the town, the songs that you just want to play in the car that’s more for a chill ride. There’s a bit of everything in there.
Reece: I think this album is like us taking control of the band, really being hands on for the first time with everything from the music to like every music video from the album. The styling and everything about it is like 100% us, so take some control inf your life. That’s the message.
Rapid Fire Questions
In 2017, you guys opened up for Sabrina Carpenter’s tour (The De-Tour). So I have to ask what’s your favorite Sabrina song?
Reece: All of them. Absolutely all of them.
Blake: Mine’s “Coincidence.” I like that one.
Reece: “Fast Times.”
George: From her new album, probably Sharpest Tool or Juno.
Reece: They’re all bangers, to be fair.
Are you guys seeing her on tour?
Reece: I saw her at MSG.
Blake: I had COVID, so I couldn’t go.
If you guys could write a song for any movie or TVshow, what would it be?
George: How about the New Hope Club TV show?
Reece: I’ve always loved the music in Succession. If you did like a violin score. Kendall would 100% sing “Swimming With Sharks.”
What’s a song you wish you wrote?
Reece: “Only Ones Who Know” by Arctic Monkeys. I love that song.
Blake: “If You Leave Me Now” by Chicago. That song right now is just hitting.
George: “Maneater” by Hall & Oates. I love that song.
Check out photos from their LA show HERE!
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