Talking to: Try Me
We recently (virtually) met up with Hector Boogieman and Bendy Wendy from Try Me, a Bristol-based duo who, in their own words, are ‘on a mission to make people boogie and forget their woes’. They released their first EP Bombastic in late February, their previous release My New Look was featured as track of the week on BBC Radio Bristol’s Upload show in January, and they have been performing live at a wide variety of Bristol venues since forming.
They really should be out there right now bringing their particular brand of party-punk-pop to the masses in the way they know and love best; live, but sadly they are not; they are stuck talking to me on a Tuesday night on Skype from the comfort of their respective homes, just a minute away from eachother. Not that they look too worried about it; they are smiling, laid back, confident and excited about the future, and they have every right to be.
How are you both coping in this age of coronavirus and lockdown? Both personally and professionally?
BW: Yeah, well, we don’t live together, and this whole Corona thing has been pretty bad for business.
HB: We have cancelled 2 live shows and are missing open mic nights as well.
BW: neither of us make a living from music, so it’s not the same situation for us as with a lot of other musicians, trying to keep themselves afloat. At the moment we have been working on our new release and university work (both are in their third year of Electronic Music Production at BIMM Bristol).
Is that where you met?
BW: Yeah, we met ‘cos we were in the same class, and everyone else in the class was pretty timid, and Hector was just blasting the teacher with loads of questions, and I thought ‘Yeah, I wanna be friends with him’. And after we left the class, he was like, ‘Right, who wants to go for a drink?’ I went and we ended up getting on really well, then ended up at 3am back in my flat, and it’s been an interesting journey since then.
You are both producers. Who does the most production in Try Me out of the two of you, or is it more of a 50/50 affair?
HB: Yeah, I think it’s 50/50 on writing and production. There are songs where one person will take the lead but there is never a song where one person will do everything.
Both of them are lovers of disco and electronic music, drawing inspiration from the likes of Scissor Sisters, Confidence Man and Gorillaz. Their tight production, punchy instrumentals with an old school flavour and expressive, crystal clear harmonies reveal a high-brow pop aesthetic. But, edgy lyricism and a messy, fun, punky feel, especially evident when seeing them perform, points towards a more varied set of influences.
Were you into similar stuff before you started creating together, or do you bring different things to the group in the way of cultural references and influences?
BW: I feel like I bring the more gritty, rough around the edges aesthetic.
HB: I am more into funk, and was into indie music before, whilst I think Wendy is more into electronic music, so that comes together.
BW: Yeah, I am more into rave music and nasty sounds, which is so bizarre that those two things combined created what we create… Crystal Castles, Drum n Bass, Radiohead, stuff with dark edges, that is what intrigues me….
HB: I think we want to make pop music, but not pop music that is like ‘eurgh that's so horribly pop that you know what is coming next’, but is more ‘I want to listen to this but I don’t know what is coming next’.
Bendy Wendy you are into nasty sounds; are there any punk elements coming into your listening at the moment?
BW: I love Idles, they are a classic one. I also love Slag Heap and Ratbag.
HB: There is a lot of good punk in Bristol - I think it's the attitude, not caring.
Try Me’s lyrics explore topics such as gender, the environment and mental health. Your look and attitude challenge gender constraints; gender - as a constraint - as a concept - why is it important to you both?
BW: I feel like I am androgynous; having both male and female attributes and I like that about myself and I embrace it, but I don’t want to force it onto people. Which I suppose is why the line (in Bombastic) “all the he’s and all the she’s and all the people in between...” it’s like not getting too touchy about it.
HB - I would say the same… I don’t feel any strong pull towards what society wants me to do as a man, although it is getting better, all that shit. All that ‘what girls are meant to do as girls and what boys are meant to do as boys’, I just think it’s too much. So if you don’t think about it and you just do what you want and just act how you want, I think it just makes life easier. I wouldn’t say I am trying to force it onto other people, it’s not on my agenda. But I do respect other people who are trying to make it more known… for some people it is different...although for me it is just like “be who you want; it is not a big deal”.
Politically what else feeds into your music?
BW: We are all about creating a space for people to essentially let loose, be weird, get to know other people who feel the same way, Some of the gigs we have done have been amazing because of the energy we receive back from the crowd, the idea and the presence of people who are a bit weird, but still making accessible music that makes you hyped.
Try Me live at The Fleece, Bristol. December 2019.
What is coming up next?
HB: I think the next thing is to release a stream of singles. We are slower than other people with it, but I think it is important to be really happy with what you are putting out.
BW: Expect a few little lockdown skits on Facebook etc coming up… we are not really that social-media-y; we would much rather go out and perform and chat to people rather than having to post at a specific time and all of that bollocks that goes on with the internet, but definitely expect some hopefully funny skits to keep you entertained.
Any last thoughts for us?
BW: We are supplying a good time, we want to push this as much as possible and if you want to be part of the journey we will take as many people along as possible and build this massive community. A community of interesting people who have got as much to offer each other as they have us. I think it is such a cool idea to be able to know you have brought people together who wouldn’t have known each other otherwise. And through that people become really fond of you because you have created a situation which for them has changed their life, which is an inspiring thing to do.
That’s the thing about the stuff we do, the audience is always really mixed. We can bring different age groups together and I don’t think many contemporary genres being produced by our age group do that, and I think that is a really great thing. I am happy with that.
And one last thing, what are you both listening to at the moment?
BW: Jónsi & Alex - Boy 1904, and Gesaffelstein - Hatred.
HB: I have been listening to 3.15.20 - the new Childish Gambino album.