A few days ago, you would have seen Mass Lines storm through their Papercrane session on this site. Now its time to watch their Hot Salvation label mates Kind Eyes give an intense performance of two of their tracks in session.
“We’d spent a good chunk of 2015 writing for what will be the follow up to our recently released LP, so the thought of playing songs we’d shelved for a little while was pretty daunting,” says one half the Kind Eyes, Chris Dow. “The Papercrane team were absolutely first class though. Supportive when we fucked up, able to offer helpful suggestion without seeming condescending, mega stoked when we nailed a take. These guys love music, and that shows in every part of their approach. Professional yet laid back. Nerves faded as soon as we started playing for them – they set up in such a way that it just felt like a jam.”
Once things took shape for Kind Eyes, the two tracks came across perfectly. Dow admits there were a couple of false starts, but things eventually smoothed out and it became an enjoyable time. “We got the tracks locked down in what was record quick time – you should’ve seen how long some of the original record took to capture,” laughs Dow. “The space sounded great despite being reasonably unconventional, there were Jaffa Cakes on tap (even though our friends in Mass Lines seemed to have decimated the stock somewhat by the time we arrived) and we wrapped things up pretty quickly. In between takes we talked about art, music and Jim’ll Paint It – it was just a really nice day.”
Despite being a band who put their entire being into their live performance, Dow confesses the nerves of playing in an enclosed setting to cameras did get to them at first. “We thought playing to a camera would require the same awkward shift of priority that comes about when trying to translate a live performance into a studio recording,” he continues. “Papercrane just told us to play as if it was a gig though which really did set us at ease – once we’d got over having cameras three inches from our faces we just played like we would to friends at a practice room show. Because there’s only two of us, songs sometimes evolve slightly when we play live or jam – not full on psych freestyle, more altered fills, chord variations, tempo changes, whatever. The two cuts taken from these sessions reflect this really well. Recognisable songs, just rejigged here and there, like a deleted scene or alternate take on a DVD extras menu.”
Holding the all the bands he works with in high regard, Hot Salvation label/store owner George Clift expressed his enthusiasm about working with bands and labels that share the same D.I.Y ethic as Hot Salvation. “Both the Kind Eyes, and Mass Lines records have been a collaborative effort for me,” explains Clift. “Mass Lines was co-released by London garage-punk label Rip This Joint, and Kind Eyes being a collaboration with Super Fi, City 17 and Boslevan Records. All labels full of friends fully active within punk and that we greatly admire. Both records have been a pleasure to work on, and we’re stoked to be working with such incredible bands from East Kent.”
Kind Eyes are just as appreciative of the support they have been given from Hot Salvation. “They have been awesome to work with,” beams Dow. “The record took a long time to get sorted owing to it being a multi-label split project, but it was arguably HS who kept everything in check and pushed things forward when momentum got slack. HS is curating and releasing some amazing stuff and it’s great to see our record next to bangers like Za!, Mass Lines, and That Fucking Tank.”
Speaking of the both sessions by Mass Lines and Kind Eyes, Clift explains how much of a pleasure it was having the Papercrane team onside for these sessions. With his store being based in Folkestone, Kent, working with a fellow local endeavour seemed only natural, and one he hopes will see more performances from other Hot Salvation artists. “They are an incredible little production group from Folkestone, Kent that we’re so pleased to be partnering with,” says Clift. “It’s important to us to keep as much localised as we can. There’s so much creativity in our small corner of the country, and doing new and interesting projects with good people is high on our agenda.”
For more information on all things relating to Hot Salvation, including the labels releases, and how you can visit the store in Folkestone, check out the labels website.