One third of the Italian art-rockers on their brilliant new EP.
Husky Loops are making their claim as one of the most unique and endearing bands around right now. First meeting at school in Bologna, Italy, the three-piece – made up of Danio, Pietro and Tommaso – eventually moved to London and, in the way of all great music-themed indie films, a band was formed.
Dropping their debut self-titled EP earlier this year, the trio’s unique take on rock music saw them pushing musical conventions to their limits, distorting sounds to delightful results. Now, they’re releasing the follow up – “EP2” – which sees the group flex their musical muscles even more. Four incredible tracks exploring unique melodies, the record blends the chaotic energy of their live shows with meticulously sharp recordings (and a dash of popiness for good measure).
An exhilarating glimpse into what Husky Loops have in store, we caught up with Danio to get the low down.
How did you guys all meet?
We met in Bologna, where we are from, but didn’t really hang out together when we were there. Me and Pietro went to school together. Then we re-met in London – we all moved here for different reasons – but ended up in a band together. It’s good to be in a band with people that have your same background, makes you feel safe.
So what’s the Italian music scene like?
Dead. But I don’t think you can call it a scene. Personally I prefer music from the past, the great Italian pop music of the 60s and 70s is stunning and I am not much informed about new Italian music. There are some really good bands of course, but good bands are everywhere, people just know the ones from England and America for obvious reasons but, you know, great music really is everywhere.
What artists do you draw influence from?
A lot of different people. Lately I would say Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Skepta, Fela Kuti… but mainly the people and artists we love and are around us, like Count Counsellor, Pleasure Complex, Estrons, this new project called MEI which is great… But not just musicians, we get inspiration from Federico Fellini, David Rudnick…
Where do you find most of your songwriting inspiration?
Erm… my personal life. I feel like I need to give you a long answer here to satisfy this question: I want small, intimate personal moments to become huge, and through music I can make that happen. When we went to see Frank Ocean, the guy was projecting his shoes on a massive screen. I thought that was brilliant and represented Husky Loops so much. It was like expanding reality. And this is why I write about my own experiences, because I can have a very insightful perspective of what’s going on in a relationship or in a certain place at a certain time and then expand that feeling, make it into a song, encapsulate the moment. A lot of fans might feel like our songs are not following a normal formula but the lyrics are essential and I really try to keep them minimal, I am not trying to do anything original, I just want to be honest and talk about what I know well. Writing for me is like zooming into a detail of your personality, it’s interesting to give that insight to people today, much more interesting than telling a story that they might have heard already. We are all different, so little photographs of human life are unique.
“I can’t wait to see if people will dance to it or if they will perceive it as a weird little experiment.”
You dropped your debut EP earlier this year. Can you tell me a bit about the ideas behind it?
It was important for us to make a statement and try and establish our sound as much as possible, so we tried to include so many ideas into four songs and we created a little mini album (this is how we like to see our EPs). We will always change, but that was the most Husky Loops thing we could create at the time, and we’re very proud of it, I think we managed to release something that shows very well what we can do both in the studio and live.
What do you all, individually, bring to the table when creating a song?
We often jam and come up with concepts together, but the creative process is always different, I sometimes write a song and bring it to the rehearsal space, sometimes songs start from jams, sometimes we mix old and new ideas together. I can’t really say how it happens and what we bring, I would say that our personalities always come out in everything we do, everything we play together will always sound like us. Even if I write a full arrangement, if Tom and Pietro play it, it will always sound like them. I think this is why we are a good band really!
You’re about to release “EP2”. How does it differ to the debut?
The two EPs are really connected, but I think this time we took things a little further. There are poppier songs and crazier songs and this record definitely shows even more what we can do as a band and our different sides.
Can you tell me a bit about the inspiration behind the four tracks?
Lyrically, probably all songs are about love. It’s a theme that I love to explore and I feel very close to. Musically it was very inspired by repetition and simplicity. I think this “EP2” is more minimal, we tried to push ourselves further with this record, it fully represents the concept of Husky Loops for us. We love to write the music we want to listen to, and we love to concentrate on riffs or beats that sound good and we can repeat over and over again. We listened to a lot of hip-hop and rhythm based music; I like the way hip-hop people write, it’s simple… bass, drums and melodies on top. It’s the roots of music and it will always sound fresh. And we are creating the roots of our sound right now.
Which song are you most excited for people to hear?
“Re-collect”. No doubt. I can’t wait to see if people will dance to it or if they will perceive it as a weird little experiment. I think it’s groovy as hell and I’m sad we didn’t make the drums louder actually, I wanted it to sound more like grime music. Next time!
What’s next for you?
We’re touring lots and lots. We’ll be playing with Placebo too, which will be so much fun. We’re also writing new material right now and we can’t wait to record again.
Finally, where does the name “Husky Loops” come from?
We wanted to call it “Lusty Hoops” but Tom choked while eating a hot dog and trying to say our name at the same time and “Husky Loops” came out, I thought it was really funny, I laughed a lot, for about, four and half minutes. Then I stopped.