Hinds

Hinds are a Spanish indie band full of energy and youth and promise. Receiving mountains of critical acclaim and legions of devoted fans since they started in 2011, their debut album Leave Me Alone was released earlier this year. Their gigs are full of life, vigour and enthusiasm, and they're coming to Norwich to put on a show for us. I spoke to bass player Ade about eating in Europe and how unsupportive Spain is to its young musicians.

How have your lives changed in the last year?

Very much. Our lives change almost every week cause we’re either playing in crazy places we’ve never been before or we get told we’re gonna play a festival we love or things like that, so imagine a whole year of that! Ha ha!

You’ve already supported some big names like The Libertines, The Vaccines and Black Lips. Have you been given any advice by those bands to help you in your career?

Well, I remember one day we started asking Arni from The Vaccines lots of stuff about travelling with instruments cause we found it so difficult, especially flying. So he told us a few tips to make it easier and safer.

You played across the world last year, from Thailand to the States. What were the most memorable moments of the year for you?

Buff, it’s always been horrible to pick one, but the one we still think about and still get nervous about is Glastonbury. Just the fact of going there was impossible for us, imagine PLAYING! Ha ha!

What’s the hardest thing about touring?

Eating. Specially in Europe. When you are in a city there never is time to eat because we’re either sound checking or doing interviews or playing, so the only time we have to eat in peace is when we’re on the road and that’s always horrible, specially in Europe. All you can find are tiny gas stations with a few weird tasting sandwiches.

Can you tell me about the themes or subjects covered in your new album?

All the songs are about love. The songs are like the 12 phases on love we know.

How did you find the recording process?

It was great but tough. It was the first time we ever recorded in a real studio so we had to learn very very fast; we only had 10 days. The good thing was that the producer was one of our best friends, Diego Garcia. He has been with us from the beginning, and also the engineer and owner of the studio, Paco Loco is such a great guy and also knew Diego. This made everything smoother and easier.

I can’t think of too many other Spanish acts that have come to my attention before. Why do you think that is?

Well, I think it’s because no one talks about them in foreign press or anything. No one even stops and think they may exist.

Does Spain encourage their young people to make music and get involved in music as a career?

Definitely not. Music in schools is usually very badly taught and if you want to study music as a career you can’t, because it doesn’t exist as such. The only thing you can do is go to a Conservatory which is only classical music and a very stressful career. If you want to do it you have to find your own way like going abroad.

It’s a well known unfortunate fact that men outnumber women in all areas of the music industry. Has it been hard for you as a female band, to reach the level of success you already have?

Not really, the fact that we are women hasn’t been a problem for us to get bigger or known. It’s more a problem we’re finding on the way mostly with fans and the press. Most articles or reviews we read about us say the words girl band at least four times, and we never stop having sexist comments on social networks or even on the street or gigs.

Seeing footage of your live shows it seems you have a lot of fun on stage. Do you ever have days when you’re really not up for partying?

Of course! There are days when we really are very very tired or hungover but we always find a way of cheering up and getting the energy to go on stage. We warm up and have a Red Bull or a beer.

What are your plans for the rest of this year?

Play and play and play and play and play and write when we have a bit of time between tours.

Hinds play Norwich Arts Centre on 16th February.

Tickets available from http://norwichartscentre.co.uk