TEN HANDS HIGH
In the run up to their sold-out show at the 100 Club in central London. I wanted to talk to Ten Hands High backstage about their personal journey, navigating self-doubt and advocating for important causes online. Summarising music as a force that connects people while being an embodiment of yourself.
To start with reflecting on your early days as a band, can you share the first project, whether that be song or live show that you showcased to the public?
Joe (Guitarist) - The first song we released was called ‘A Jet’s Pink Trail’. We still have great memories of that song, it feels very nostalgic. Alexi wrote the chords and lyrics when he was doing a year abroad at uni and as soon as I heard it, I loved it. It was a great moment when he came back, and we all got together to record that song. Even though our sound has changed a lot since then and we have become better musicians and songwriters, we still look back at that first song fondly!
What motivated you to take that first step?
Joe (Guitarist) - To be honest it was a long process to even get to that first step for us. We always wanted to be in a band and release music, but it took a while to find the right line-up and then to have the songs as well. Throughout our uni days we were always jamming and practicing without really playing any gigs or having songs, but we had to do this to find our sound and the people we want to do this with. Once we got to that stage there was no hesitation in putting ourselves out there as we knew then that we had something good that was worth sharing.
How did any initial feedback to your first release influence your approach towards future work?
Joe (Guitarist) - It’s a bit cliché but I don’t think many external factors have affected our output. I think that we would have released the same songs even if nobody was listening, as we make songs that we really like and would listen to. Obviously though the community that we’ve built so far and the amazing support from friends and family has encouraged us a lot, as well as creating some amazing moments and memories at our live shows. Playing new songs at live shows can also be a good test to see how much of a reaction they get!
As industries today are flooded with new talent, that we are constantly viewing and engaging with on social media, how do you manage self-doubt in your own creative abilities to move forward?
Alexi (Singer) - I think if you don't rate your own abilities as a songwriter you can be too easily influenced by wanting to conform to whatever style of music you think will be most successful, and then not writing songs that are true to you. For example, if I was trying to write songs that were deemed 'cool'/serious I think many people would see through that and be like "hang on why is this guy who we know is a pretty wet bloke trying to act like he's being all pretentious"... They wouldn't believe it for a second. So I think as long as you write songs that people believe would come from you, or at least a character like you, then I think there's no real need for self-doubt. Bit cringe but I think if you present to people songs that are a musical representation of your 'authentic self', they'll decide whether they want to listen, regardless of anything you do or say, you can't change what people think so there's not really much point in self-doubt.
Lastly, you all seem very passionate about fundraising for men’s mental health through your Right-Hand Man campaign. How important do you think it is for emerging artists today to not only show their personality but also advocate for matters important to them.
Alexi (Singer) - If you don't show any personality, it's difficult for people to connect with your vibe online and that's basically half the battle these days. I think all artists should speak about whatever matters they want to speak about publicly, just like we've done with this campaign about men's mental health - it's a really important issue that's affected all of us and we wanted to use our new song to raise money and awareness about it. I think the problems arise when artists think they have some 'special' voice that should be taken more seriously than other voices just because they have a large following.
I definitely agree, I think it’s important to speak about what you believe is important in an authentic and educated way.
Yeah it's like “mate, you're a singer, no one has to listen to you or agree with you if they don't want to”. I do think as well that sometimes artists will speak out about things that maybe they don't actually know that much about and haven't spent the time to read into loads, and so are more just making public statements that they think they should be making just for the sake of staying on top of culture, instead of speaking with genuine purpose.
Follow Ten Hands High On:
Instagram: @tenhandshigh
TikTok: @tenhandshigh