Interview #114: The Webb Sisters

Charley and Hattie Webb (pictured Left and Right) are The Webb Sisters and together, they make music, so beautiful, intriguing and interesting, that if you haven’t heard much about them yet, you soon will! Having started their music career playing the harp and piano as children at parties for the likes of Princess Anne and living and making music in both Nashville and Venice Beach, the girls have learned a great deal along the way. The culmination of their journey so far is their debut album, Daylight Crossing, released to critical acclaim on June 26.

I Like Music caught up with the very lovely Webb Sisters to talk about mushroom tea parties, making music in Nashville and going to gigs in pyjamas.

“I Like Music because… it rocks my world.” Charley Webb, The Webb Sisters

“I Like Music because… it’s so cathartic and inspiring and it’s like a fire.” Hattie Webb, The Webb Sisters

ILM: Daylight Crossing, your debut album (is out June 26) – can you tell me which track you had the most fun writing and laying down in the studio. And in a nutshell can you give us your own personal description of it?

Hattie: There’s a different story behind each one. We’ve got some crazy memories. There’s one song on the album called Boomerang and that was the first song that we heard orchestrated and we went to Olympic Studios to hear the whole orchestra record it, and that was the first in a few experiences of listening to orchestras play our songs and that was amazing and moving and incredible. And then we went over to Abbey Road Studios to hear the orchestra play in the old Beatles studio there and that was amazing.

Charley: Something else with our song Please. We’d been working on Still The Only One, and we were coming to the end of the day, it was getting quite late, and we thought we’d be shutting down pretty soon, and then we started jamming on our song Please and we recorded it in about 20 minutes and it was a pretty magical moment because it all came together.

Hattie: It was a real high for the whole band, it really was, because we had some of the Verve band play with us, when we recorded with Youth, and that was a pretty special moment. Because at that point they’d played on a couple of the songs, and Please just came out of nowhere; we weren’t expecting to record it and it’s ended up being one of our favourites on the album.

ILM: That organic process must be really enjoyable. Now, your music is charming, heartfelt, melody-rich, thoughtful, and well… brilliant. Can you describe the Webb Sisters songwriting and music-making process?

Hattie: I think it’s different every time really, you can’t confine it into one method or one explanation, like for example, on the song I Still Hear It, I was playing that harp riff that’s throughout the song and Charley came along and put some chords to it, and that’s how that evolved. Musically we felt there was something there first. But sometimes a lyric comes and the song evolves around the lyric. Some songs come in about five minutes and some take…Everything Changes we wrote about five different choruses fo it, and we love how it is now, but sometimes songs take a process of months and sometimes it takes hardly any time at all. So it’s different every time.

Charley: It’s always very fulfilling, because once you’ve finished and got to the point where you think you’ve got the song how you want it, it’s a very satisfying feeling.

ILM: Charley you began studying the piano at six, Hattie the harp from eight and that led to as teenagers giving recitals around the country, appearing at parties and posh functions, often earning up to £600 - Twice played for Princess Anne, and once for the Queen. Tell us about that one?

Charley: Yeah, that was definitely a great grounding for Hat and I in terms of just being prepared and making sure we’d rehearsed and stuff like that. Even though it was very different music to what we play now, it’s the same elements of practicing and trying to eradicate any nerves and trying to do the best performance you can and trying to portray an emotion or a message to somebody. And, even though the music is different now, we do both still enjoy playing classical music and it’s been a huge part of our background and how we’ve learned our instruments, so it was definitely a great time for us. And it was a great time for me and Hattie working together and just being like it was just the two of us out there, when we were really quite young.

ILM: Like an adventure I guess?

Charley: Yeah, it really was. And loads of different kinds of adventures like that too, because we did those and a lot of them were posh and some of them were not very posh, and some of them were pot plants where you’re just stood at the side. And that’s something every musician has to go through, you get the good gigs and the gigs where you’ve got to work a lot harder, and I think that’s been a really important part of our musical journey.

ILM: You’ve no doubt learned a lot on your journey so far. What’s your advice to young musicians, just starting out?

Hattie: I’d say get out and gig as much as you can, speak to promoters of different clubs, get your band playing and go to a lot of gigs where other bands are playing and get inspired about different kinds of music. And also never put yourself down. Always think positively about what you’re doing, because even if someone says something negative to you, it doesn’t matter, because if you feel happy with what you’re doing, that’s all that matters

Charley: And also, believe in yourself, because there’s always someone else who does too. And never make excuses for what you do, because you’re doing it and if you do it, just do it wholeheartedly.

ILM: Did meeting all of those interesting people must’ve prepared you well for life in general and a life in the music industry?

Charley: I think one of the main things was the fact that our dad was a drummer, and from a really young age, one of my first memories is of mum waking us up in the night and getting us in the car to go and pick up dad from his gigs, because we only had one car, so it’d be pretty early in the morning by the time we’d be going. We’d all file in at the back at the gig.

Hattie: In our pyjamas!

Charley: And it was always the moment when the crowd go mental at the end of a gig. And that was very inspiring, so being surrounded by music and live venues and that rock lifestyle definitely influenced us a great deal and made it something that we really wanted to do too.

ILM: And your family must be proud of you now and your brothers make their livings as drummers.

Hattie: And we’re proud of them too, our eldest brother Rocco is in a band called Rex Radio on the same label as the Kaiser Chiefs, B-Unique and they’ve got a single out in September, and he’s an amazing drummer. And then our younger brother, Brad, he’s been playing on the road with us and he’s brilliant too, so it’s kind of a really good community and family.

ILM: You’ve said you didn’t choose to sing together, it kind of chose you and was meant to be. What are the advantages of being sisters singing together? And the disadvantages?

Hattie: Well the advantages are that we’ve got a great connection and we’ve got a bond that is not breakable and we’re very loyal to each other and very supportive of each other and that comes through in our music. We’re there for each other on stage and we’re there for each other with the harmonies, and you’ve got to be connected in order to sing in tune together. And that’s something that’s a great advantage for our singing and our writing, because we’re very instinctive and very in tune in terms of how we feel. But I suppose equally that quality can also be a hurdle for us, because there are times when we know exactly what the other person is thinking, right when we don’t want them to think that. So, sometimes if we are songwriting, we know the other person doesn’t like an idea the other person has come up with. And in the end it makes sense and it’s a good thing because you choose something else, probably, and you go down a different road and the song ends up being what it is, but equally we challenge each other quite a lot and sometimes that can be quite annoying.

ILM: But then you’re freer and probably less diplomatic with loved ones as you can just say what you feel and free up the creative process perhaps.

Hattie: Yes.

ILM: As you understand one another better than we do anybody else. Can you tell us each others best and worst qualities/habits?

Hattie: I think Charley has so many qualities it’s hard to answer that question. There’s things like really fun to be around and hosting a good party and being a great cook and being a great musician, but I think the more important things are almost that Charley’s very loyal and very reliable and very trustworthy. Charley often has a lot of bags, so there’s a lot of lugging about of gear I suppose, yeah, she’s a bag lady.

Charley: Hat is a brilliant friend, that’s one of her best qualities and she smiles very easily and if you want something that isn’t so much a quality, growing up she always used to borrow my clothes. But now I do the same to her.

ILM: You spent six months recording in Nashville over six years ago. What did you learn during that time in the studio?

Hattie: It’s the kind of environment where there’s so much authenticity, and history and quality music has come out of there for so long, we were really inspired by everyone’s high level of musicianship and the way everybody was so focused in what they were doing. I love the music there and the culture and some of the countryside is incredible. Really we had a great opportunity to go to some of live clubs and to see people playing live and hear people playing live, and that’s something we walked away from with a strong sense of inspiration really, about how everybody who’s there really believes in what they’re playing and plays it wholeheartedly, and with emotion and we’ve come away from that experience trying to do the same.

ILM: You settled in Venice Beach, living in an artists' commune, full of creative people, spending lazy Sunday afternoons hosting mushroom tea parties. That sounds brilliant! Tell us about those times?

Charley: Well we lived about four blocks up from the beach. And we were in a really small apartment living with another band. It was definitely an exciting time because there were a lot of other artists in the same gated area we were in. One was a painter and another guy was a painter, and another guy made film and there were people who designed houses and were architects, so it was a really creative environment. And one of my favourite times was we did this pot luck thing… it didn’t always include pot. But it was about people making a dish of whatever they felt like making, and bringing that over to whoever’s apartment we decided and just having a big dinner and chatting and getting out our instruments and jamming. So that was what was going on with the mushroom tea parties. So we’d have parties and when I say we, I mean the whole block. And we’d have loads of people come, and out of the block we’d all provide something, and even if it was a mushroom tea party, for some reason, me and Hattie were always asked to provide a bit of music, a bit of entertainment and bring along something nice to eat. So that was what we did and somehow the mushroom tea parties seemed to happen thanks to some other enthusiastic member of the group. It went down well though.

ILM: You’ve been playing live for a long time. What’s your current favourite song to play live?

Charley: I love playing Torches, and opening the set with Torches because it’s got such a great groove and we all feel really settled and enjoy playing it. Plus it’s a really personal song, for me and Hattie, we’re inspired to remember different memories, each of us. The lyric is something that means a lot to me and I just love the vibe of the band.

ILM: And it must be great on Everything Changes to really connect with the audience on an emotional level.

Charley: Yeah it is. That song came about, we wrote it when we were living in Venice Beach and we were playing around on the harmonium, which is a little piano you pump the back so the air goes in to it. And we wrote the verses from playing that, and then we wrote about four different choruses, because for some reason every chorus that we wrote wasn’t quite what we were looking for until we got to the one we’ve got now. And it was a lot of fun writing that song, and it was a song that spanned over days and nights writing it, so there are a lot of memories and moments associated with it. I really enjoy playing it because it’s got lots of different elements in it. We start off just with Hattie and I singing in close harmony and then it gets stronger and finally the rest of the band come in. It’s got a real dynamic flow to the song with ups and downs just like life I suppose. And we had a great time recording it in the studio. We had the pleasure and the honour of working with a guy called Steve Gadd on drums and he’s been a hero of ours for a long time. He’s a drummer who we grew up watching play in bands and with artists like Eric Clapton, Paul Simon and people. So to hear him playing one of our songs, and a song like Everything Changes means a lot to us was an incredible experience. He plays with such passion and verve. That’s something that I feel with me when we play it live too. I just feel that energy on the song.

ILM: Daylight Crossing is the summation of a lifetime's worth of preparation. Everything you’ve done, your dad’s drumming, Nashville and LA, this new album, how are you enjoying the journey so far?

Charley: We’re loving it. We’re both enjoying playing as much as we can. And we had a great time going to all corners of the UK on our independent local radio tour and our live tours with bands, and it’s been great to meet people that we wouldn’t have come across ordinarily and its been great to introduce our songs to people for the first time, we’re really enjoying it.

ILM: It must be an exciting time.

Hattie: Yeah, it really is.

ILM: What music is rocking your world right now?

Hattie: I like the Cocteau Twins, the album Bluebell Nile, and I’ve also been listening to a lot of Ryan Adams stuff. I love his record 29.

Charley: This past weekend I’ve been listening to a record by a guy called Teddy Thompson, the son of the Fairport Convention guys and I’m really enjoying that album, there’s some really great songs on it. The album’s called Separate Ways. And today I heard that song by Snow Patrol, the one about, "if I just lay here and I’ll forget about the world," I think that’s amazing that song.

ILM: Can you describe your favourite place on earth?

Hattie: Two places spring to mind, one is near my mum and dads there’s a spot at the top of the field where you can overlook about four different fields and whatever season you’re in its always gorgeous and I love it, it’s so peaceful there. And then I love being in Venice on the beach and taking maybe a Chai Tea down to the beach, drinking it and then wandering back, watching the sunset and then maybe going out and having some dinner. I love the view of Venice Beach as well.

Charley: I think one of my favourite places is being in bed. I’m nearly always happy to get into bed and nearly always sorry to leave.

The Webb Sisters album, Daylight Crossing is out now.