Marking themselves as ‘ones to watch’ from their inception, Home Counties have had a very big year. Releasing singles ‘Modern Yuppies’ and ‘White Shirt / Clean Shirt’ to mass acclaim, they’ve garnered a warm reception from the likes of Jack Saunders, and have been championed on 6Music by Steve Lamacq. Born from the ashes of their previous band Haze, the Bristol five-piece signed to Alcopop at the business end of last year and haven’t looked back. As they prepare for a few weeks in a splitter van, traipsing across the country, we caught up with them in the second of our Green Man Festival Spotlight Interviews…

What’ve you been up to lately? Live music is back, how has that been for you guys to get back on the road?

We’ve had our first gigs back and been absolutely loving it. We were lucky enough to play a distanced show at the 100 Club in June, which has always been a venue we wanted to play when we were younger. Then in July we had our first non-distanced show at a packed-out Servant Jazz Quarters, which was pretty surreal.

It’s been great to finally play songs written over the last 18 months live. It took us a while to work out how we were going to play the new ones, as they have a lot more going with all the synths/electronics, so we are relieved that we have worked out how to play them! As the project started in Jan 2020 and lockdown came in March, we have never really found our feet in a live setting, so it feels like we’re going through that process now, which is exciting.

Is this your first time playing the festival? If not, could you tell me one of your favourite Green Man memories?

Different members of the band have played Green Man in the last few years. Me (Will), Conor and Dan played in our old band Haze there in 2018, and Barn played with his band Jerry in 2019. For all of us, it was our first big festival gig, and we received such a welcome reception, so Green Man has a big place in our hearts. I have hazy but fond memories of HMLTD’s late-night set in the rain that year. DUDS (rip) were also a highlight for me, seeing them on a big stage for the first time. It was also the first time I managed to see Snapped Ankles live, who definitely have one of the best live shows at the moment.

Tell us about some of your go-to festival essentials? Any do’s and don’ts?

Lidl gin, the cheapest lager possible (served warm), and box wine are essential for any festival experience for me, each paired to morning/afternoon/evening needs. Any drink is going to taste awful anyway at a festival so it might as well be cheap. A don’t (which I always end up doing) is spending all my money on £7 pints and £10 burgers.

Hypothetically speaking, you can handpick your dream festival - what are you naming it, where is it being held, and who is playing?

Boonfest: held in Barn’s garden and headlined by Robbie, Britney, and Slipknot. Napes Thursday headline supported by Barn’s jungle soundcloud on aux.

Your latest single ‘White Shirt/Clean Shirt’ is a real groove. Any news on a debut album, guys?

Thanks! There is no album in the pipeline yet, although hopefully at some point we will have the opportunity, as it is every band’s dream. We’re currently working on a new EP which we hope to get out early next year, with the first single landing this Autumn. I think the material sort of bridges the gap between our first EP and our latest electronic stuff. It definitely captures more of the sound of the band, but keeps the wacky synths etc.

Have you got any special plans for GM? Will you be playing any unheard tracks for us?

The set we’re working on for GM is shaping up well. It’s got a real continuity between songs, almost like a DJ set, so we hope it will be one big danceable 45 minutes for people. Quite a lot of the set is made up of new unreleased stuff written over the last year, so we’re looking forward to seeing how that will go down.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

We’re hoping to finish the new EP off by the end of summer and release a new single in September. We are also excited to be heading to Europe for the first time in Autumn, including Left of the Dial, a festival which we had a lot of fun playing with Haze a couple years ago, alongside a tonne of other UK shows. We’re just buzzing to be able to get back writing together and playing gigs again after last year.

Green Man Spotlight: Home Counties