The Hare And Hoofe
Proggers schooled in the garage and steeped in sci-fi and folk horror.
The duality at the heart of The Hare And Hoofe is precisely what makes them tick – and it all came together in the wee small hours.
“It’s such an evocative name and it literally came to me in a dream,” explains bassist Kate Hodges. “Things can be separated in to ‘Hare’ and ‘Hoofe’. If things are kind of heavy and menacing then that’s a Hoofe thing. The new album, 'Compasse', is split into that.”
“Each member of the band is either hare or hoofe,” expands guitarist Stu Perry. “There’s a mythos about it. We spend a lot of time in rehearsals making up this fake history of The Hare And Hoofe, and there’s a whole science about whether you’re a hare or a hoofe. And it translates to the music – the heavier side is the Hoofe and the lighter, more pastoral side, is the Hare.”
The members of this quirky prog quartet had orbited around each other before getting together. Perry, Hodges and singer-guitarist Jim Hargreaves grew up in Folkestone and, as teens, had gravitated towards the local garage rock scene. Perry then met drummer Jamie Owen at university who, coincidentally, was already friends with Hodges via bands they’d previously been in. Those projects over, Hodges and Perry originally intended to head back to the garage, but they soon took another direction.
“After two rehearsals, we were writing songs about hidden horses and mystic, Kentish folk and it completely changed instantly,” recalls Perry. “As we needed new members, we just drafted in people that we knew who’d get it. Jim and I had a lot of shared history, and Jamie and I had done stuff at uni, so I knew he’d be into it, so it went from there.”
Key to bringing to life The Hare And Hoofe’s mix of prog, pastoral sensibilities, space rock and psychedelia is a story telling approach that creates a self-contained and believable world influenced by sci-fi and folk-horror.
“The thing about science fiction is that is could exist in the real world,” says Hodges. “It’s quite logical and the facts are right; it’s just where it spirals to and that’s the important thing. Our songs are like that and the basic idea is rooted in truth.”
Elaborating on the content of the songs, Hargreaves adds, “Very few of the songs have ‘I’ in them and they’re populated by characters and written in the third person, and they all have a considerable back myth.”
Other unexpected influences play a role too, says Perry. “Kate and I are obsessed by 'Jesus Christ Superstar' as well, and we’re always striving to get something as good as that.”
“On a pro rata basis, we want to get to that level,” adds Owen with a grin.
The Hare And The Hoofe are equally adept at bringing their concepts to life on the stage with a sense of fun. “Live sums us up,” says Owen. “We love being in this band and you can definitely feel that sense of joy at the gigs.”
- Julian Marszalek
PROG FILE
LINE-UP: Jim Hargreaves – vocals/guitar, Kate Hodges – bass/vocals, Stu Perry - guitar/vocals, Jamie Owen – drums
SOUNDS LIKE: A musical version of Jon Pertwee’s incarnation of Dr Who engaged in battle with the Daemons.
CURRENT RELEASE: //COMPASSE// is out now via Bandcamp
WEBSITE: www.thehareandhoofe.bandcamp.com