Electronic duo Picture Book are set to take on London this Wednesday, headlining a gig with The Voyeurist and Ghostcat at Hoxton’s The Macbeth. Wonderland chatted to the Liverpool-based band’s Dario Darnell and Lorne Ashley, as well as Greta Svabo Bech, whose vocals are used throughout the band’s debut EP, At Last.
Greta – how did the collaboration with Picture Book come about?
We have collaborated and performed a lot together over the past three years, and after writing a large collection of songs, we felt it was time to share some music. Music is meant for ears, after all – not hard drives!
The EP is self released – have you been approached by any labels?
There have been labels, there have been many many players in the band’s career, but, as they say, if you want something done right… do it yourself. Picture Book just need to release music – by any means necessary.
Are there physical copies of the EP available or is it just sold digitally?
At Last is just digital at the moment. If we can, and if the EP becomes important enough to people, we’ll get them made.
You now live in Liverpool – having relocated from New York then Manchester – why there?
I finished university in Birmingham and moved in with Dario in Liverpool while he was still in university, studying music. When the student life ended, Liverpool proved a cheap place to live and a great place to make music. We had some really fun times there. Our studio, Pandora, is in Liverpool.
With a gig in London this week, will you be touring the rest of the UK soon?
Yes – bring on the gigs! We have a crazy live show, which is something we’re very very proud of. The songs available to the public are the tracks we want them to hear, written from an honest place and presented in a timeless formula of verses and choruses. However, our live show is those songs and hooks torn apart and re-written on stage from scratch, with as much groove and body-shaking as possible. We like to think we’re doing something quite forward-thinking… but the reality of it is that it just feels so damn good to play.
Words: Katie Wilkinson
