MAN/WOMAN/CHAINSAW: “WHEN WE LOCK IN, WE BECOME ONE ORGANISM”

INTERVIEW | MAN/WOMAN/CHAINSAW – Billy Ward & Clio Harwood

For half a decade, London sextet Man/Woman/Chainsaw has been grinding through the live touring circuit. Testing half-formed ideas on live audiences and refining their sound behind the scenes, the band finally released their critically acclaimed debut Cannonball just last month. A record that turned the term “genre-defying” on its head, Man/Woman/Chainsaw continues to prove themselves an unstoppable force of nature. With the dust now beginning to settle and their debut record no longer belonging to just them, the band is preparing to bring that chaotic energy to a (sold-out) stage near you soon.

I had the pleasure of catching up with vocalist Billy Ward and Violinist Clio Harwood last week to reflect on the record, sonic evolution and bringing that dynamic six-headed bond to the stage.

“We haven’t done tons of shows yet, but it’s felt amazing so far. We did some in-store dates, and it was so cool getting to chat to people, hold the physical record, and see everyone react as we played the album in order. Really getting out on our headline tour later this year will be where we notice the big shift. For five years, we’ve been playing unreleased material to crowds, and now we’re finally touring songs people actually know.” – Billy Ward

Capturing the balance of a six-piece ensemble on tape is no small feat. Early on, the band’s instinct was simply to throw everything at the wall and, as Billy jokes, “Let the best melody win”.

“When we first started, our tendency was just to stack melodies on top of each other,” Clio laughs. “My mindset was almost like, ‘Well, the listener can just pick whichever melody they want!’ But eventually, someone pointed out to me that an untrained ear isn’t dissecting every isolated stem. They just hear a single, overwhelming wall of sound. Stacking everything at once can just leave listeners confused.”

Working with their production team, the group learned to restrain the structure. Rather than fighting for the limelight, Man/Woman/Chainsaw adopted a more democratic approach to songwriting: a skill which has levelled them up as a band. Speaking of the track ‘Nosedive’, Clio shares:

“’Nosedive’ is a great example of our newer approach. There’s a clear narrative thread moving through different instruments. Vera isn’t on the lead mic as much there; she’s playing percussion, but when she does sing, she blends right into the violin lines. The violin and cello sit so close to the human vocal register, and because she has such a rich, deep voice, the instruments blend seamlessly.”

Billy adds: “We’ve had years of figuring it out. Early on, it might have felt like competing for space, but having done the work in the writing and arranging stage pays off live. The arrangements give each of us space, so we aren’t fighting each other. When we lock in, the six of us become one organism, and the audience joins in on that.”

I was curious as to how the recorded versions translated in a live space, and Billy explained that to get these tracks road ready that it would take pulling songs apart and rebuilding them from the ground up.

“Different things work in headphones or on home speakers than they do in a live room,” Billy explains, noting tracks like ‘Canyons’ and ‘Still Angry’ underwent an overhaul for the stage. “There’s just more you can do dynamically live. In the studio, you might layer parts, but live you can capture a totally different energy, like heavily distorting things, or pushing tempos faster or slower.”

“We all love high-energy sets” Clio adds, looking back at sets from bands like Turnstile, Deftones and Amyl and the Sniffers at Rock en Seine this year. “That really inspired us to lean into being a heavier rock band. But then you’ll see someone like Big Thief, who can be heavy, but are often much more delicate and sensitive. Because this is our debut, it’s nice being able to try on different musical personalities live and see what fits.

“We take it song by song. If it’s a good song, it sticks; if it’s not, we try something else. It’s never about forcing a preconceived concept.”

Cramming that huge multi-instrument rig into tiny dive bars is just asking for chaos. Broken strings, dead cables, glitchy gear have become the norm by now.

“I recently started using in-ear monitors, which has been an adjustment” Clio tells me. “I’ll take one out for a second and instantly lose track of where I am.”

Recalling a festival slot in mainland Europe following a grueling 5am start, Clio continues: “Three songs into the set, I snapped a violin string. I had only one backup, and I changed it so aggressively in a rush that the replacement snapped too! I had to spend the rest of the gig awkwardly miming and working around it.”

Yet years of navigating tight stages have turned chaos into control. “Every time something breaks, we adapt,” Billy says. “Now, if something goes down mid-song, someone will take the mic, entertain the crowd, and keep things moving while it gets sorted.”

The road ahead is moving fast. Their current UK run featuring Glasgow’s legendary King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut is practically sold out.

“King Tut’s was one of the first out-of-town shows we ever did where we took the bus up. We got absolutely hammered the first time” shares Billy. This time around, he doesn’t expect quite the same. “I stopped drinking about three years ago, so it’s been a while since those days! But I’m sure everyone else will be up for it” Looking at Clio, she goes on to say, “You have to pick your nights. It can’t be every single night, that’s just not sustainable.”

Cleo continues: “We’ve played King Tut’s before back in early 2025, which was amazing. Funnily enough, there’s an account on Instagram of a musician who does bagpipe covers of indie rock tracks and he did a cover of ‘Nosedive’, which sounded incredible. If anyone knows a piper in Glasgow, we might need to get them up on stage!”

Looking past the immediate horizon, the scale is shifting rapidly. Having already announced a headline show at the iconic O2 Forum Kentish Town for next year, the gravity of their trajectory is finally sinking in for the North London band mates.

“That one feels surreal” Clio admits. “Billy and I both grew up in North London and still live here. Kentish Town is a venue we can literally walk to, but it’s always felt completely out of our league. It’s hard to wrap your head around.”

If their explosive debut and packed rooms are any indication, stepping onto those larger stages won’t be a stretch for Man/Woman/Chainsaw. For a band who are only just entering the early phase of their 20’s, this band has everything to look forward to. This upcoming tour will simply give their expansive wall of sound the room it always needed.

Man/Woman/Chainsaw tour kicks off on 19th September in Belfast and will conclude at Camden’s Electric Ballroom on October 7th. Final tickets can be found HERE.

Cannonball by Man/Woman/Chainsaw is out via Fiction Records now. You can buy/stream the record HERE.