![\"\"](\"\/\/media.wonderlandmagazine.com\/uploads\/2012\/10\/F1000030-e1349270455948.jpg\" "\\"Savages\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nSavages \u2013 [lead singer] Jehn\u2019s gain-friendly post punk band with musicians Ayse Hassan, Gemma Thompson and Fay Milton – have whipped up a storm of buzz in recent months, grounded almost utterly on word-of-mouth, some guarded press coverage and a clutch of otherworldly, sublime live performances that seem to have intoxicated audiences. <\/p>\n
Singles \u201cHusbands\u201d and \u201cFlying to Berlin\u201d are pointed, confrontational brooders \u2013 simmering at the seems with sexy, heavy-browed angst. The project started back in January 2011, when Jehn sent an email to founding member Thompson \u2013 who had played live with John and Jehn for the Time for the Devil tour \u2013 asking whether she could join the band. \u201cShe took two days to reply\u2026 I fully knew I wanted in after hearing the name. I knew I wanted it to be dirty, speedy, repetitive music.\u201d<\/p>\n
Had Jehn fancied herself as the band\u2019s frontwoman? \u201cNo, I was too shy to begin with, I didn\u2019t want people seeing me sing the words \u201chit me\u201d \u2013 but I\u2019d always dreamed about it. My musical education was listening to Iggy Pop, Bowie, Lou Reed. I remember at some point simply knowing that I wanted to front it. I was reading lots of poetry when I wrote our lyrics \u2013 lots of English shorts about the French Resistance and war; something fragile and precious being assaulted by an evil force. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted the music to reflect these ideas, too \u2013 we were listening to a lot of Black Sabbath and really wanted to create something tight and loud and very precise; something that could propel us through any wall. I see music as an armour: it has been written so precisely and so consciously, that you\u2019re somehow protected [behind it].\u201d<\/p>\n
The main reason Savages\u2019 rise has been so overnight is that the band\u2019s breakout gig \u2013 supporting British Sea Power in Brighton venue The Haunt \u2013 was also their first. BSP\u2019s Scott Wilkinson contacted the foursome to ask if they\u2019d play a show later that day. \u201cHe called at 12pm, so we immediately started organising. It was like an adventure and turned out to be the best show we\u2019ve done. When we got there, John asked the band\u2019s manager how much he\u2019d pay us for it, if anything. He said; \u2018Let\u2019s see how good they are, shall we?\u2019 As soon as we started, I could see them frantically negotiating a price! [laughs] \u00a3110 was what we were worth that night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though \u201cHusbands\u201d has solidified their position in the limelight \u2013 and has gone far in fleshing out the Pop Noire team\u2019s contacts book – you get the feeling the project never needed justification. They won\u2019t be signing a truckload of bands any time soon \u2013 John and Jehn alone have experienced the oily inner workings of labeldom, and quite vividly \u2013 but for a team bound at its core by such pedal-to-the-metal principles, let\u2019s just be thankful they\u2019re doing what they\u2019re doing \u2013 Viva La France.<\/p>\n