Mayhew interview

25th March 2010

After thousands of votes, Edinburgh-based folk-poppers Mayhew were the winners of the People’s Choice vote which took them into the finals of this year’s Emerging Talent Competition. Ahead of this weekend’s live finals, we caught up with Cathy from the band.

When did you folks get together?
About two years ago, in early 2008. But we’ve only been playing with Gordon (drums) for about a year.

How would you describe your music?
We put a dark and atmospheric spin on the new folk sound by getting our ideas from lots of different musical genres and playing instruments only made of wood.

Have you eveer been to Glastonbury?
I had an amazing time in 2007. It was a wet one.

What made you enter the ETC?
We really wanted to play at Glastonbury and we decided we couldn’t just sit and wait for a couple of years to see if we ever got big enough to get invited. So we looked on the internet for ways to sneak in!

Were you disappointed not to make the judges’ picks?
Not at all, we were over the moon to make the last 21.

You must have been pretty happy to go through in the People’s Choice vote?
I nearly hit the roof when we found out. It had been a truly crazy two weeks of promotion and we couldn’t believe it had actually paid off. Massive thanks to all our lovely voters!

Are you looking forward to the finals?
Yes! It will be amazing to play in Pilton to such a prestigious crowd. Hopefully we can channel our nervous energy and deliver a great set on the night.

Do you think you you can win the competition?
Well, we are on a winning streak so you never know!

Have you checked out any of the other bands?
Yes, there will be an awful lot of talent in Pilton – it’s hard not to feel a bit intimidated! We really like the variety of bands in the final and can’t wait to see them all at the weekend.

What else have you guys got planned for 2010?
We are releasing our debut EP in the next couple of months, so we’re going to be pretty busy with that. Then we’re looking forward to having some time to write new songs incorporating new instruments. Chris (cello) is going to be showing off his skills on the synth and Greg (classical guitar) has a really awesome custom made electric guitar which we want to use in future. I’m dying to get my hands on a loop pedal too.

For more info on Mayhew, check out their MySpace

For more info on this year’s 12 Emerging Talent Competition finalists, click here