Brighton duo ARXX are ready to blast into your eardrums with their seething new single, Tired Of You, out now.
Taken from their forthcoming debut EP Daughters Of Daughters, Tired Of You is propelled by a thrashing energy as the immense power of Hannah Pidduck’s gritty vocals rage against a backdrop of racing riffs and pummelling beats. Reflecting on the failed expectations of a relationship, it fuses together angst-driven garage-rock with soulful pop sensibilities, with a sound akin to the likes of The Coathangers or Deap Vally.
Impossible to pigeon-hole into one single genre, ARXX pride themselves on creating unapologetically loud music, playing with the expectations of what they ‘should’ be as women and as artists. With subject matter ranging from cats, to misogyny and addiction, Daughters Of Daughters is a tribute to the music that Pidduck was brought up on by her mother, drawing on an eclectic range of influences and an underlying raw emotion.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with ARXX about the latest release, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I don’t feel like I had a choice with the writing, it was just whatever came out. We’re both influenced by very different styles, but we have a lot of fun playing together and seeing what happens.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
We’ve been playing together since March 2017. The band had existed before (with a different line up), but it only found life in the last year.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing?
Hannah is the songwriter.
Hannah – “I have so many influences it’s absurd, but the two biggest influences on my song writing are definitely Kate Nash and Bright Eyes. Listening to Kate Nash’s ‘Made of Bricks’ taught me how to write music. Deap Vally are also a massive influence, I remember seeing them and that’s when it clicked that we didn‘t need any more members because they managed to create so much with just two people. The Daughters of Daughters EP is massively influenced by the music my mum played when I was younger (hence the name). She showed me a lot of country music like The Dixie Chicks, Dolly Parton and John Denver. Country music has a lot of badass female icons which is super cool and it always has really strong melodies. The anger and loudness in our music comes from the fact that I use music as an outlet for a lot of my emotions, so it‘s largely influenced by my own personal experiences and mental health.
Also what motivates you to keep going?
It’s the thing we love the most. There’s no beating it, and nothing we’d rather be doing. We’re both super lucky to be in a band together where it’s our top priority and we can help support and motivate each other. We also have really wonderful pals.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
It’s our first release, so we just wanted to take our favourite songs and record them really well. This EP is our chance to show people what we’re about and put ourselves on the map.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CD’s? MP3’s?
I think ideally everyone prefers vinyl, but it can be quite inaccessible. We both love the tradition and sense of occasion that comes with the physical CD though, it makes it into an event. MP3s are also pretty great because it opens up the whole world as your audience. It’s mad that there are people in Australia and America and Sweden listening to our music, it’s a beautiful thing.
How about this one… Do you prefer Spotify? Apple music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
That’s tricky, we’re all falling victim to the state of the industry where it’s hard to get people to pay for music. The thing we love most is people paying to come out and see our shows and hear the music how it should be.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
As an artist starting out now, at a time where development deals aren’t a thing anymore, it can be really tough to navigate yourself and be your own manager. It’s hard to know what the next step should be and who to trust.There’s so many platforms to promote and consume music on, it’s difficult to be consistent.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
Our website is our hub, you can get to everything from there. https://www.arxxband.com/
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Always have car snacks.
