Glasgow-based duo Pretty Preachers Club formed during lockdown released their debut EP Going Nowhere Fast in December 2020, donating all the proceeds from their first pressing of the EP to the Music Venue Trust.
The soaring vocals and harmonies are simply divine and they are a breath of fresh air in amongst the current crop of post-punk bands. Their track ‘Just Tell People How You Feel‘ has already had an astonishing 148,000 streams on Spotify.
Good to meet you Martha and Hannah of Pretty Preachers Club. Please can I ask you to introduce yourselves and tell us a little about your roles in the band?
PPC: Of course! We are Martha and Hannah. Martha plays bass, violin, writes most of the lyrics and sometimes sings. Hannah plays piano, guitar, sings and writes most of the melodies.
You got together during lockdown. How did that come about?
PPC: We had spoken about starting a band for years but lockdown was our kick up the arse because we had so much free time to be creative and thought “let’s put it to good use”. A bottle of wine later, Pretty Preachers Club was born.
I know you have a DIY work ethic. Congratulations on releasing your debut EP Going Nowhere Fast on 11 December 2020. It’s an extraordinary achievement in such a difficult time. Do you have any background on how to get your music recorded and out there? How did you write and record the songs during lockdown?
PPC: Thank you so much! We are so proud of that EP. We really had no idea what we were doing so just learned as we went on. We had to be quite inventive as we didn’t even have much equipment – we even recorded some vocals via my apple headphones!! Our process is usually Martha sending me lyrics that she’s written out in poem form, and then I’ll work out some melodies and chords and we kinda just go from there.
Also I noticed that for the vinyl EP release you are donating all the proceeds to the Music Venue Trust. This shows a strong social conscience towards your industry. Would that be fair to say?
PPC: Thank you so much! We are incredibly passionate about MVT as I’ve seen a number of my favourite grassroots music venues shut down due to the pandemic and it was heart-breaking to watch. We aren’t in this industry to make any money, we just love making music and performing together.
Martha you played violin on Courting’s EP Grand National. How did that happen? How did you record your music part for it in lockdown?
PPC: Yeah! I am good friends with them – they’re great guys. Sean sent me some demos and I just recorded random, improvised violin parts over the top and sent it back. Turned out quite cool!
If I took a look in your fridges right now what would I find?
Hannah: very sauce under the sun, some out of date cucumber and almond milk.
Martha: three shelves of Irn Bru xtra, hazelnut milk and Tennents.
Because of the pandemic am I right in thinking you haven’t played live yet? So what are your plans as gigs are beginning to be arranged for the future?
PPC: Yeah you’re correct, we sadly haven’t performed live before however we recently filmed a live set type thing with Tenement TV for their artist collective programme – so that will be available to watch soon!! We have a few gigs arranged for this year including a main stage slot at Doune The Rabbit Hole, supporting Dizzee Rascal and 10CC! We also have a headline gig in September at Broadcast to look forward to and are in the line-up for Great Western Festival.
Pretty Preachers Club’s Community | Pretty Preachers Club (bandcamp.com)
Photo credit: Pretty Preachers Club
