Interview: Jolly White of HAGUE

Creativity, quarantine and The 1975. Just three things I discussed with HAGUE guitarist Jolly White....

You frequently play gigs around the central London area, which I’m sure you’re missing now more than ever. What would you say the best thing about performing live is?

One of the things we pride ourselves most on is the energy and showmanship we bring to our live shows. It’s something we always try to emulate in our recordings but you can never beat the real thing. Music has always been a communal activity, something you do amongst others and join in with, so listening to a song on headphones will always be second best. If you want to really experience music, go see it live. That way you can see the band really getting into the music and you’ll always hear and feel things that you’ll never hear on a record that you’ll hear live. 

What was the inspiration behind the song ‘2AM’? 

We’re in our first year at uni so generally you don’t get to bed till pretty late. When you’re lying there before you fall asleep after a night out, you relive parts of the day again in your head and that’s what 2AM is about. The ups and the downs of life put into the perspective of a night out gives the once boring and dull moments a new vibrance and somehow positive outlook. As if you can take the next day completely separate from before.

If you could pick one musician/band to perform with, who would it be and why?

The 1975. We always talk about touring with them. We love the way they write their music and we would love to be a part of that.

How did you all meet/get into music?

Jolly and Thom on a night out in their second week of uni in the back of a Wetherspoons - We spent the next day playing music and really hit it off. Then, over the next 2 days, we recruited Harry and Seb. We still have the posters we put up which are absolutely awful haha. 

Do you have any advice for musicians reading on how to stay creative during quarantine? How have you personally continued to stay creative?

Creativity always comes at the worst times, I’ve had to miss lectures because a good idea for a song has come along at the wrong time. So don’t try to be creative. Read books, listen to music, paint, watch movies, just absorb as much art as you can. It will rewire you to pay more attention to your artistic side. Everybody has one, it just needs nurturing. 

Who are your biggest music idols?

We have a tonne of musicians we look up to. To name a few would include Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Death Grips, Arctic Monkeys, Elton John, The Cat Empire, Steely Dan, Frank Carter, Foals...
That's already enough music to fill your time in quarantine!

A huge thank you to Jolly for taking the time to speak to me! With their debut EP 'HAGUE' released earlier this week and available for streaming on Spotify, check out our review of it by clicking here!

Feature image source - Aaron Sylvester