"No More Bad Hair Days!"

I interviewed Goblyns about their latest album, "Hunki Bobo", back in May. Together with sharing it today, I'm also sharing a big sorry to the band and to you guys for the monstrous delay. I simply haven't managed to publish it yet. But enough of excuses. I think it turned out pretty entertaining and exciting, so I hope you can still enjoy it. The three musicians from Amsterdam and Berlin are giving you deep insights into the making of the record and their band history.

Anne: Thank you for taking the time for the interview! Nice to get to know you. How are you doing?

Gio: Nice to meet you too, Anne! We're doing great, thanks! Excited to answer a couple of questions of yours.

Anne: On May 17th, you released your new album, "Hunki Bobo". It's been pretty well received! Are you happy with the album, and how has the feedback been for you so far?

Gio: We're thrilled with how it came out and how it's been received. Andre really put in the work with the recording and mixing, and we're definitely very happy. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and it's quite amazing to see how supportive people have been throughout the process. We just feel truly grateful!

Anne: You said that you channelled influences from projects like Kikagaku Moyo, The Meters, Khruangbin, Budos Band, W.I.T.C.H. and CAN, "Hunki Bobo" for the record. Are these your musical role models?

"It’s all about finding the balance"

Liam: Yeah, I guess, in a way, they would be. Making instrumental music, especially with just three people, is a fun little challenge. Trying to find a balance of keeping it dynamic but not too complicated and having a good time but still maintaining someone's interest is something that makes the songwriting really enjoyable. And so, seeing how bands like these do it, you'll always admire them.

Anne: Have you always wanted to make a groovy instrumental sound? Listening to the eight songs on "Hunki Bobo", you get the feeling that this is your vocation!

Frank: I don't think it's something we've necessarily always wanted to do, but we have always loved a good groove. And then, with us having been in a bunch of bands before, it allowed us to figure out what we liked and didn't like. When it came to playing and what kind of music we wanted to play right now, which led to Goblyns. And then it felt great, so we kept doing it.

Anne: So you already had a few other projects before Goblyns?

Liam: Yeah, quite a few, actually. Frank started out in a bit of a successful kid band called River Road when he was maybe 12. Then, I started playing in a bit of an indie band with Frank when I was around 13. It went through loads of name changes and sound changes and eventually became In Bloom a few years later. Gio was in a garage band called the Gumbo Yaya's, and some years after that, when we met, we had another garage surf rock band called Skeleton Coast. I think Frank's been in 100 more bands as well; I can't remember all the names. Basically, we've always loved playing music, so we've been doing it for a while.

Anne: You come from Berlin and Amsterdam. Which of these two trendy cities would you describe as your musical home base?

Liam: I don't think we really have an actual musical home base. Most of our writing has been done in Amsterdam, but that's just because we had more Goblyns there at the time. Obviously, due to being in the capital cities, we get to watch all of our favourite bands when they tour, which is a massive inspiration. But I don't think that we draw too much influence from the scenes in either city. Which I guess comes to our advantage as it allows us to keep making music for ourselves, which is usually the most fun to do anyway.

Anne: At the moment, you are in South Africa. What brought you there?

Frank: Oh yeah, we just went for a visit. We're all actually South African, and Gio had his wedding there in February. So, we were all down simultaneously and decided to have a little homecoming show.

Anne: Last year, you released "This is Spaghettification". What has changed for you since that record?

"Our songwriting process has changed"

Gio: I think we've become a lot more comfortable with our sound and songwriting process. We experimented much more with "Hunki Bobo" and came out of our comfort zone. That's at least the mentality we have going into writing now. We welcome any idea that feels good, whether it fits a particular sound or not.

Anne: Will you be going on tour with 'Hunki Bobo'? Where can we see you live next?

Frank: In September/October, the Gobs will take Hunki Bobo around Europe. We'll be playing in cities around Germany (Berlin, Dresden, Stuttgart, Mainz, Cologne, and Hamburg), and then we have Paris, London, and Luxembourg. We're super excited about it.

Anne: What are your plans for after the tour? Do they already exist?

Gio: Glad you asked Anne; we will be playing a show at Bitterzoet in Amsterdam and working on a new album, which we will record in December, after the tour that will be the main focus.

Anne: If there was anything you could change with a snap of your fingers, what would it be and why?

Gio: No bad hair days and more time in the studio. A worldwide tour would be great, too.

Anne: That sounds like a lot of fun! Thank you so much for the interview! I really enjoyed it! Good luck with the album and your plans!

Goblyns: Thanks for having us.

Goblyns – "Hunki Bobo"