Stay Home Interviews: Psychic Lemon, Murman, Forest Mourning

​Part 4 of the Stay Home interviews, and Cameron Pettit of Fish Bowl Events talks to Psychic Lemon, Murman and Forest Mourning, all of whom have contributed music to the 'Stay Home: Independent Artists Against Covid 19'  compilation in aid of NHS Charities, which you can listen to and buy from Bandcamp here.

Psychic Lemon 

Tell us a bit about the band

We are three guys from Cambridge and our sound is a mixture of psych, space rock and krautrock. The band used to record in a studio in the back of a small garden in Cambridge, but got evicted and now lead a nomadic existence. Our influences include bands like Hawkwind, Goat and Amon Düül II. Most of our rehearsal time is spent trying to understand why people vote tory.

What has changed for you as a band during lockdown?

Everything and nothing: we are used to playing together every week, and have done for years, but a band injury forced us into taking a break just before lockdown started. So while not playing together every week is a big change, we would be in the same situation with or without lockdown. However, we have decided to swap the bass for an analogue synth so we can get around this injury and play together again, so that could be a big change in our sound.

Are there any tips that you can give to bands for the remainder of the lockdown, anything to help keep them sane, busy, productive etc.?

Just look after yourself and your friends and family. Everything else is secondary. If that's all ok and you want to get back to your band, keep up with musical things -- keep playing, record new ideas, try new things, work on your technique, maybe make a plan for what the band does next. Find out if your favourite venues and rehearsal studios need your help. We'd like to hear other bands' suggestions too.

Can you recommend any artists that you’ve found during lockdown?

Since Tony Allen died we've been listening to a bit of afrobeat, both Tony Allen and Fela Kuti. Andy B: I've gone back and trawled the classics from my collections - Lots of The Birthday Party, early Sonic Youth, early The Cure and of course Joy Division and 70's Hawkwind.

Murman

Tell us a bit about the band:

We're MURMAN, a London three piece formed in 2018 through a Gumtree ad. We play high energy, loud live shows, and are inspired by post-punk and indie classics. 

What has changed for you as a band during lockdown?

We don't live together so can't really practice at the minute. It's been really strange not rehearsing in the same room for months! Abbi doesn't have a kit at home so can't play, but we're still writing and trying to develop new songs through the madness of it all, and we've already booked in a few shows for the Autumn so we have something to aim for. 

Are there any tips that you can give to bands for the remainder of the lockdown, anything to help keep them sane, busy, productive etc.?

Don't put too much pressure on yourself to use this time productively! Going out for walks and keeping in frequent contact with others should definitely be a part of your daily routine from a sanity perspective, but you shouldn't feel pressured to create music during this strange time - if anything, there'll likely be a flourish of new material and songs developed in the first few weeks of people being able to practice together again.

Can you recommend any artists that you’ve found during lockdown?

Our friends Bokito have just released a new song which is a great addition to the lockdown playlist. Aside from that we've spent a lot of time diving into older musicians' back catalogues, from Siouxsie to Erykah Badu.

Forest Mourning

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Forest Mourning is my solo project birthed from my ruminations on decaying natural landscapes
and expansion of housing in rural communities. Most of the Forest Mourning material is recorded in a natural setting to capture the environment sounds and my sound responses to them.

What has changed for you as an artist during lockdown?
​
Not a lot has changed for Forest Mourning during lockdown. I have been sending out recordings to do proxy collaborations with people around the world to be released in the future. 

Are there any tips that you can give to other artists for the remainder of the lockdown, anything to help keep them sane, busy, productive etc.?

I'd totally recommend reading 'Deep Listening' by Pauline Oliveros. It contains practices to apply to general listening and performance of improvisational music at home or elsewhere. Some roots in yoga and spiritualism but also an introduction to sound creation even if you don't play a conventional instrument.

Can you recommend any artists that you’ve found during lockdown?

I've been listening to a lot of Jana Winderen (field recording sound artist), Lao Dan (Experimental Saxophonist and Flortist), International Harvester (Trad Folk/Psych act that evolved into Träd Gräs och Stenar), Toru Takemitsu's soundtrack to the film Kwaidan and loads of Sun Ra.