LimeWire Music Blog

British band The Heavy takes its name literally, but that doesn’t mean they’re devil-sign-throwing metal merchants. Rather, their from-the-gut mix of garage rock, R&B, funk, punk, and reggae delivers a cathartic kick that can be felt as well as heard. Even though they’re a relatively new commodity, they’ve already made their presence felt in Europe and are making inroads on our side of the pond as well, having been singled out as a band to watch by the likes of Spin and Rolling Stone. With a brand new album, The House That Dirt Built, just unleashed on the world, we caught up with the band’s frontman, Kelvin Swaby, to find out what it’s like carrying the weight of The Heavy.

LWMB: How did the band first come together?

Kelvin Swaby: We came about through the meeting of myself and Daniel [Taylor, guitarist]. After sharing a similar passion for each other’s tastes in film, music, and the arts, it was a matter of time before we would start bringing offerings of dirt to each other’s tables.

How has The Heavy’s sound evolved from its inception up to the present?

I think the biggest change has got to be time. With time you are able to hone your craft and I think you can hear a definite progression in the songwriting from [2007 debut album] Great Vengeance and Furious Fire to The House That Dirt Built.

There are a lot of elements to the sound: soul, rock, reggae. Who are some of the artists that have been most influential to the band?
We as individuals were listening to so much different music throughout the writing of this album, so it’s hard to start fingering influences. The attitude of true R&B and garage punk runs through the new record, I believe. The eccentricities of amazing artists like The Sonics and Don Drummond, through to the productions of The RZA, were definitely rolling around my head as we were laying things down.

“The way we put our style together is something that is uniquely British, though, as we — through our cosmo/multicultural upbringing — cannot help but take things that you would imagine shouldn’t go together and make them work in our melting pot.”

Do the band members have shared musical tastes and backgrounds, or do they each bring something different to the table?
Collectively, it seems as if there is a shared musical appreciation between us. Anything new that is introduced to our ears generally gets taken on board. It feels like four heads definitely work as one brain when it comes to what is required for The Heavy.

There’s a lot of American influence in your music, but is there also a uniquely British aspect of your sound that an American band wouldn’t have?

I grew up listening to a lot of rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm & blues, ska, bluebeat, rocksteady, reggae, and hip-hop, so you can say that there is definitely a strong American influence to where my input comes from. The way we put our style together is something that is uniquely British, though, as we — through our cosmo/multicultural upbringing — cannot help but take things that you would imagine shouldn’t go together and make them work in our melting pot. It’s something that is inherent within the offerings of bands that have come before us like The Specials and The Clash for example.

What are your feelings about the current crop of young British R&B artists?
I think they need to get a little more dirt under their fingernails.

Have you found a difference in reception between U.S. and U.K. audiences?

Good question, as we have noticed over touring in the summer, that the British are really becoming very receptive to our sound. It feels like the music industry in the U.K. is more media-driven a lot of the time, and our presence on the radio and in magazines has definitely helped… Great Vengeance was probably a little too raw for a lot of the media here, so we remained a credible underground band. The U.S. audience just seemed to get what we’re trying to do and jumped on board, pretty much immediately… [That's] why we keep being asked to revisit.

What’s the achievement of which The Heavy is proudest so far?

Keeping nine-to-10,000 people rocking at the Montreal Jazz Festival felt like quite an achievement, as I’m sure a fair few of them hadn’t heard of us, but became part of the vibe and the show. Amazing night.

What’s coming up next for the band?

The next few months are gonna be really busy for us, as we head back to the U.S. and tour different areas and experience different audiences… We also have a full tour in Germany a few days after we arrive [back] from the States, and as we have only ever played festivals there, we’re really looking forward to getting sweaty in the clubs. Work until the end of the year is all looking pretty good right now though, so it’s all exciting.

What’s the biggest goal you’d like The Heavy to achieve in the future?
Just to be able to keep on working and developing this beast.