BACKSTAGE AT TRNSMT WITH BEN WALKER

You don’t need to delve too deep to discover the best new talent on show in Scotland right now. The scene is buzzing with fresh music and the community which supports has never felt so nurturing. Whilst TRNSMT is best attended for its main stage acts, just a little wander further under the trees and you will arrive at The River Stage. Full of the best new music from Scotland and beyond, this is one stage that you won’t get on the Beeb catch up. So, if you want to catch the next big thing, you really just have to be there! We had the pleasure of chatting to one of Friday’s most anticipated River Stage artists, Ben Walker, ahead of his TRNSMT debut.

Anne: How are you Ben? Feeling relaxed?

Ben: I am, yeah, I’m feeling relaxed today. I’m really looking forward to today to be honest.

Anne: Is this your first time at TRNSMT?

Ben: It is! This is actually just my 3rd festival ever! The other two I’ve done were Youth Beats so I’m not really well versed in the festival thing.

Anne: So this is quite a big one?

Ben: Yeah, it’s not one to break you in easy. Youth Beats were a few thousand people as well but I’m just looking forward to going out there and enjoying the moment. We’ve worked super hard to get to this point, I mean everybody works so hard, there’s a lot of people who deserve to be up there too. So the fact that we have the opportunity is just amazing and you never know when it’s going to be your last go, so we’re just going to go on there and stand and absorb the moment

Anne: Well I know a lot of people are planning to come see you, that’s what I’ve been told.

Ben Walker (Hope Simmers/Northern Exposure)
Ben Walker (Hope Simmers/Northern Exposure)
Ben Walker (Hope Simmers/Northern Exposure)

Anne: It has been quite a 12 months for you though?

Ben: Yeah it’s been a mad 2 years! It’s been 2 years and 9 months since my first gig and that was with Callum Bowie then I had 3-4 months off before I did my next gig. I started the clock a bit early but it’s been a bit of a mental few years. Like this time last year I was in spain with Kyle [Falconer/The View] and Callum Beattie and I was like, where do I go from here? This is insane, and this came through and I cried then I’ve been smiling ever since.

Anne: Like 2 years ago you were playing songs in your bedroom…

Ben: I still am! (laughing)

Anne:…to going on tour with The View, becoming like besties with Kyle, writing songs with him.

Ben: I’m actually going back out on Sunday with Wardie (Micheal Ward) – it’s Wardie that has the songwriting camp out in Spain with Kyle. This is Mr La Sierra Casa himself. So I’m looking forward to going out there, I think it’ll be a good decompression. Like the past few months, I think since like April, have been mental.

Anne: Yeah, you’ve been very busy!

Wardie: I don’t think this is going to be any less hectic like (laughs)

Ben: I never stop anyway! That’s the thing, everyone’s like that and it’s no different in the music industry.

Anne: Do you get the fear though that if you were to stop and take a step back then that will be it?

Ben: yeah, yeah, that’s what happens. I think you just have to make hay when the sun shines – a wee farmer reference for you. But it’s absolutely true, summers when you work, isn’t it? It’s Christmas time you get your wee break.

The BAND!! (L-R Calum Hart, Corrie Barrow, Charlie Gilfillan, Neeve Zhara)

Anne: Let’s talk about Ronseal, your latest single.

Ben: Yeah Ronseal, like after the sealant (laughs). So we were out in Spain writing, Kyle and I we had finished breakfast and there was a couple of guitars sitting there – we were down by the pool – and I was telling him about a relationship I was just in and I was gutted about it ending. The crazy thing was that it was neither of our faults. It was that insight that relationships, whether that be an intimate one or just with your mum, dad or sister, when you have an argument [the best thing] is just to take a step back and allow space to breathe. So the opening line is ‘Im not the problem and your not the antidote”: like I’m not the problem here but I’m certainly not the fix and neither are you, so really [we] just need to take a bit of a breather.

I get quite defensive as a person, so it’s good to have that insight. Part of that is point scoring and it’s always kinda been like that. But realising it’s trivial and being able to take a step back, and not trying to win the argument but to leave it. And since I realised that, I’ve actually been getting on a lot better with everybody…well [that’s] subjective (laughs). I sometimes do go back to that.

Anne: Do you find writing with somebody else helps the process?

Ben: Yeah, I mean, I like doing both. Sometimes things just come really naturally and I just want to get on with it myself. But then other times, it’s like what is a good song? Because it’s so subjective, but having someone else who can pull it in another direction – kind of like a tug of war – and you’re fighting, saying ‘this is a better hook’. But it’s about finding your people skills to say ‘it’s not a bad decision but here’s a better one.’

I love writing with people, it’s kinda 50/50 but I think I maybe prefer writing with other people because everybody has lived a different life with different experiences. It’s such a vulnerable thing writing, you get a lot of insight into a person, who they and how they would deal with things. Even phrases people use.

Anne: It’s how people take the song and interpret it into their own lives?

Ben: Yeah, and on the flip side of that is going to the listener and seeing what they take from the song you’ve written. I try not to tell people what my songs are about as I love hearing their take [on it]. Like ‘Just a Boy’, people take so many different things from that. Whether it’s a boy or a girl or whoever listening to that and their experiences of being told no and they will relate that to a time they have been told they can’t achieve something.

Anne: So are you going to be hanging about the festival then?

Ben: Yeah, hopefully. I should be back tomorrow (Saturday), then my flights on Sunday. I’m looking forward to seeing Plasticine and Soapbox, who I accidently leaked before they [Soapbox] did (laughs). The funny thing is, I didn’t even know, it was total coincidence as I had zero clue they were playing. I just said that Brògeal, Plasticine are great bands and then said Soapbox, then I said they are playing the festival as part of the reason that I love them. But then I thought, Soapbox aren’t playing. Then I was messaging them and they said yeah but it’s not being announced until tomorrow morning. I was like ‘no way, I’ve just accidently leaked it’. So I am sorry Soapbox!

Anne: Noo! But it’s so nice to see all you guys coming up together and getting to this stage together.

Ben: Yeah and we’re all such different genres and fan bases that it’s just awesome that we get to experience that together and to talk about it. Like there’s no politics involved…

Anne: Will you be down there starting the pits tomorrow?

Ben: I don’t think I’ll be starting the pits (laughs), actually like more than three people is alien to me. I’m not socially anxious but I don’t love crowds .

Anne: What about the big stages then? Who are you hoping to see there?

Ben: Picture This, I’m choking to see them!

Anne: We’re chatting to them in a bit actually!

Ben: Really? Ah, give them my best! I literally worship the ground they stand on. Like not like an obsessive fan thing, just what they do and what they are about is absolutely beautiful.

Anne: So we’ll start to wrap up with a final question: you’ve released a lot of music and a lot of singles lately but is building towards something bigger? Like an EP or an album?

Ben: Yes, we do, we do, we do…There’s a massive body of work sitting there that I’m incredibly proud of. But as everybody keeps mentioning to me that with such a rapid rise, I want to make sure I get a chance to write and sometimes just chucking it out…I guess the best way to put it into words is…you look back and you cringe at what you did a couple of years ago, right? But if you’re not doing that then you’re not progressing. For me, there’s been such a learning curve that I want to make sure it’s all great. So next year is going to filled with lots of releases. I think after ‘Ronseal’ that this last ones been good, and one people have been waiting for so it’s like, just keep drip feeding either way.