Heisenberg Principle

The name Heisenberg Principle is a fascinating nod to uncertainty. How does that idea influence the way you write and produce your music?

I found it interesting that the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle shows that even in science, which so much relies on fact, there is still uncertainty in science. How much more then, is uncertainty part of our life and making music. The song on the album which best reflects the uncertainty we have in life is 'Mountains out of Molehills' which is essentially about how relationships are sometimes very messy, and we have to embrace the uncertainty and mess to make sense of it all. The way I make music embraces this mess and uncertainty, trying to work things out through lyrics and melody.

Your debut album Icarus explores themes of risk and ambition. What inspired that title, and how does it reflect your own creative journey?

This song really reflects the way I have tried to live my life, always pushing things a bit further than logically you think you should go. Taking risks like going to compete in a fencing world championship competition, even knowing your chances of success are slim. Basically it embraces a positivist mindset, that even in spite of all evidence to the contrary, you can succeed. Even if you don't, it develops your personal character and resilience, to get knocked down and keep getting up again, something which is especially useful in the field of music as well. To make music, I always have to take risks, but need to back myself and create what I want to say.

You decided to release Icarus on CD and vinyl before making it available digitally. What led you to take that approach, and what does the physical format mean to you?

Having an extensive CD and vinyl collection myself, I think there is a certain connection you find with artists through a piece of physical media. The artwork, reading the liner notes, and the selection of which tracks to play, all gives a physical connection to the music. I also love the warmth of vinyl in particular. Whilst you could argue other formats have higher fidelity, vinyl seems to be more suited to how people actually hear, with less tinny digital artefacts. As an artist, building a connection with an audience is very important to me, and I feel that by prioritising CD and vinyl releases first, I have a stronger chance of building that connection.

You’ve cited influences ranging from Wet Leg and Paul Kelly to Maggie Rogers and ACDC. How do you fuse such different energies into your own sound?

With both Wet Leg and ACDC, there is a certain sparseness and simplicity to the way songs are put together, with riffs that drive the song forward. Songs such as 'Bachelor of the year' and 'No ones property' off the album owe something of their feel to listening to these two acts. Through Paul Kelly and Maggie Rogers, I resonate with their storytelling approach and song construction with recognisable hooks that pull things together. Songs such as 'Automatic Love' and 'Not the end of the world' bring this storytelling element to the fore, gleaned from personal experiences and a sense of yearning sometimes also found in music from Maggie Rogers in particular.

Many of your songs wrestle with the tension between control and chaos. Do you see that as a reflection of life’s unpredictability or a guiding philosophy in your art?

When I think about how I put songs together, there is often an element of chaos in how a random thought can trigger an association that might act as a metaphor for exploration in a song. A song like 'Whiteout' started when I was on a beach, thinking about how there are a lot of songs about surfing, but I could not think of one about skiing, so I made up the lyrics right there on the beach. With the song 'Appreciate,' it started as a bit of an internal dialogue reflecting on how I am sometimes too critical of others and myself. Channeling these random thoughts into a cohesive song with a structure, essentially applies a layer of control to the chaos, so people can digest it as a song and hopefully, relate to it.

What do you hope listeners feel or think about after experiencing Icarus in full, from start to finish?

I would hope that people would feel a bit hopeful that the uncertainty or struggles they might have had, are part of a shared communal experience. Hopefully people would feel energised and perhaps even encouraged to make music of their own, or simply open up to others in other ways, knowing that their experiences or struggles are maybe not so different after all. Above all, I would hope that people feel some of the blinding optimism of Icarus, and think that they too, can fly up to the sun.