Interview: Hector Gannet

Alongside preparing for their October tour and dates supporting Sea Power, North Shields’ folk-rockers Hector Gannet are also set to release their EP, Into The Deep, with its lead single dropping today. This latest work, which you can pre-order here) sees the band collaborate with other musicians and individuals to discuss environmental issues and will consist of new material, a live track and mixes by other artists. The title track, Into The Deep, gets a ‘Lanterns Radio edit’ and is mixed by Paul Gregory of Lanterns On The Lake, and features some stunning vocals from Lanterns’ singer Hazel Wilde.

We catch up with Hector Gannet’s singing/songwriting talent, Aaron Duff, to find out more…

How are you and what have the band been doing over lockdown?
Very well thanks! We’ve kept ourselves pretty busy over the past year or so. Like most people when the pandemic first hit, I was left with an awful lot of spare time, luckily I was able to use it to write, so there’s quite a lot of new stuff in the pipeline. We started recording a few months back and I’m really excited with how things are sounding, we can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on.

Into the Deep is the lead single to your new EP of the same name. This ‘Lanterns Radio edit’ is mixed by Paul Gregory of Lanterns On The Lake and features vocals from Lanterns’ singer Hazel Wilde. How did this collaboration come about and what has it added to the song?
Hazel’s vocal sounds amazing on this, it’s beautifully haunting and it brings such an eeriness to the track which I love and which I don’t think could have been achieved otherwise. Paul’s mix is stunning, he actually mixed the whole of our album ‘Big Harcar’ too. As an artist I find it’s sometimes difficult to trust a mix engineer with your work, but Paul really is on the same page as us and I feel like he really understands and appreciates what we’re all about, so I’ve always loved working with him. 

The EP highlights the plight of nature being affected by pollution. Was there any environmental event in particular that inspired this focus? 
I think this has always been a topic of great importance for us, but perhaps the pandemic, or rather its effects on social behaviour has made me think even more about our impact on nature. As the restrictions began to ease last summer we saw many people flock to the coast here, and it was heartbreaking to see just how much litter was left behind. It really was tragic to witness such disregard and it highlighted just how important education is, so with that in mind I wanted to put something out that would help to raise awareness and at the same time support some brilliant organisations who do a lot to protect nature and reverse the effects of our impact.

Who else have you collaborated with on this release to help highlight this issue?
We’ve been working alongside ‘Wild Intrigue’, they are a Community Interest Company and small ecotourism social enterprise who create unique opportunities to inspire, educate and rewild through the discovery of British Wildlife. We’ve also been working alongside registered charity ‘British Divers Marine Life Rescue’ (BDMLR), who since 1988 has been involved in the rescue of marine wildlife, attending thousands of incidents around the UK every year. We’re keen to help raise further awareness for both organisations as we believe their work is extremely important for the protection of wildlife.

What else can you tell us about the upcoming EP? 
Well, we’ve decided to make the EP and associated merchandise available in a way which allows everyone to get involved, thereby indirectly contributing to Wild Intrigue and BDMLR. Through our Kickstarter campaign you’ll be able to choose from a number of options, or a mixed bundle if you’d prefer. The options include a limited run of ten-inch vinyl, which will be the only physical release of all four tracks on the EP, as well as tee-shirts, specially commissioned badges and gig tickets. Profits will be shared with Wild Intrigue and BDMLR. You can find out more and get involved at hectorgannet.com.

Have you got any shows in the region to support the release?
We have a sold out show at The Globe on September 10th, and some local festivals to play too, Lindisfarne Festival (September 3rd), Northern Kin Festival (September 17th), This Is Tomorrow (September 18th) and Hit The North (October 23rd), Were also heading out on tour in October to celebrate the EP and the album more fully, because we haven’t been able to do that with the pandemic situation. Part of the tour is supporting Sea Power, in Scotland and York, so that’s a real bonus. All dates and info can be found at hectorgannet.com.