What are your names?
Sioned Camlin – Drums/Vocals
Jack Hunter – Bass/Vocals
David Thomas – Guitar/Vocals
Occasionally with others, including Rob Harrison on flute/saxophone and Eric Heath on synths.
What is the band’s name?
Mascot Moth
How did you come up with the band’s name?
The name is taken from a conjuring trick created by the magician and illusionist David Devant in 1905. In the trick a woman dressed as a moth disappears completely in full view of the audience. To this day no one knows exactly how Devant pulled the illusion off.
What is your genre of music?
We play a sort of psychedelic rock with diverse influences, from prog and jazz rock to krautrock and other vibes.
Give us a little bio about you.
We have been friends for many years, and have been playing music together for just as long. Jack and Sioned are both founding members of the psychedelic space rock band Strap The Button and Dave (also known as Gravy), was a member of the great band Call it a Clunes, and later also Strap The Button. Mascot Moth formed after Strap The Button went into an extended hiatus, and we have been performing together since 2016. Jack also played bass in the Bristol-based jazz-prog band Sweet Potato, and various other projects including Robert Redford for Bedford and The Leatherette Barn Owl. Dave toured the free improv scene in various ensembles, studied Indian classical music in Mumbai, and played in a number of Nottingham bands including Long Dead Signal and Garrison. Sioned also plays with the Welsh language protest band Twmffat, and has toured Europe as a Zydeco washboard player.
What made you go into music?
We discovered long ago that music never lets us down. It has been a friend since childhood. Music is everywhere. We found our instruments (or did they find us?) early on, Sioned was introduced to the drums by Gwyn Maffia, legendary drummer of the Welsh music scene. Dave was inspired and encouraged to get into music by Eddy Gartry, another legend of the Mid-Wales music scene. When we were younger we were part of a thriving rural youth music scene in Mid-Wales, putting on gigs in village halls and building lasting friendships and communities. Music is synonymous with friendship. Music and songs also provide a different way of thinking through and exploring ideas, concepts, moods and feelings in a way that is not possible with conventional analytic processes (e.g. rationality). Music and altered states of consciousness have also always been connected in our minds, and there is a current in our music of attempting to express different states of consciousness. We also love to rock out, and get lost in the music!
Who are your influences?
King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Can, Caravan, Gong, Soft Machine, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Anweledig, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Moondog, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, David Lynch, Angelo Badalamenti, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Beatles, Mogwai, Gruff Rhys, Burning Spear, Bjork, Joy Division, Talking Heads, Gorky’s Zygotic Monkey, Aphex Twin, Pink Floyd, Sinead O’Connor, Goldie Lookin’ Chain, Broadcast.
Aldous Huxley, Edith Turner, Philip K. Dick, Twm Morus.
Are you signed?
No.
You released your Album ‘No I Annwfn’, tell us more about the album and the meaning behind it.
The album is a Welsh-language musical voyage between worlds. The title – ‘Nol i Annwfn’ – means ‘Back to Annwfn.’ ‘Annwfn’ is the ‘otherworld’ in Welsh mythic tradition, the spirit world or fairyland. Music lures us back there. The album has just been included in the longlist for the Welsh Music Prize, alongside lots of wonderful music from all over Wales, which is very exciting. You can check out the longlist here: https://wmp.cymru/2024-longlist/
Describe each track in two words.
1. Psychedelynores – psychedelic queen.
2. Cetyn Uchelwydd (Mistletoe Pipe) – subversive initiation.
3. Annwfn (The Otherworld) – mysterium tremendum.
4. Treiglad Meddwl (Mutation of Thought) – playful metamorphosis.
5. Trwmgwsg (Heavy Sleep) – slumber jazz.
6. Y Twll (The Hole) – the void.
7. Mwynder – static ecstatic.
8. Crafangau (Talons) – existential dread.
9. Stafell Gynddylan (Gynddylan’s Room) – bardic tradition.
10. Nol i Annwfn (Back to Annwfn) – becoming underworld.
11. Chwildod yr Ucheldir – transcendental awe.
12. Heddlu Dyfed Powys Police – country-lane paranoia.
What was the writing and recording process like?
The album is made up of a mixture of improvisational tracks and more deliberately composed pieces. The tracks were mostly recorded live and spontaneously in our rehearsal room at Y Dolydd in Llanfyllin, a community arts space. We then work on the jams, refining them and adding overdubs to create something that is more than the sum of its parts. We enjoy the energy of live improvisation.
Who did you work with on the track?
We worked with a number of collaborators on the album, including Iris Gordijn guesting with some wonderful jazz vocals and accordion, Gavin Williamson-King on synths and Eric Heath on the Ondes Martenot. We also work very closely with multi-instrumentalist Rob Harrison, from the Swansea-based band Z Machine, who has been recording and playing live with us for a couple of years now. We have also been working closely with the pop/punk artist Brian Jones from Llanfyllin, who has been designing and creating our marvellous merchandise.
Will we see a music video for any of the tracks and if so tell us more about the creative process.
It is certainly a possibility.
Do you have any live shows coming up?
We are, at the time of writing, about to embark on our first summer tour, consisting of five dates, four of which are festivals! We will be at Kozfest on the Daevid Allen Cosmic Stage on Friday 26th July, Landed Festival on the Khaos Stage on Sunday 28th, Green Gathering on the Floating Lotus Stage on Saturday 3rd August, and at the 20th Dream of Dr. Sardonicus Festival of Psychedelia at the Cellar Bar in Cardigan on Sunday 4th August. To round it all off we will be at CWRW in Carmarthen on Friday 23rd August, supporting Karma Sheen.
Let us know where we can get tickets if so.
Festival websites.
What else can we expect in 2024?
We are looking forward to having the opportunity to return to our moth cocoon for some creative pupation after our busy summer of festivals. We have several songs that are quite gig-hardened by now, that are ready to be recorded, as well as some new compositions that will likely comprise our next album. We hope that we might get some more radio play, and spread our mothy wings further.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Nestled deeper into the undergrowth. Still jamming and having the opportunity to play good gigs with good bands.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
“More concept, less album.”
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Ceremonial herbs. Flask. Instruments. Moth garb. Turmeric tea.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Yes: https://www.instagram.com/mascotmoth/
David Nash
September 29, 2024 at 11:59 pm
I love who you love. Also wish to add The Bats