Interview with singer-songwriter Harri Endersby

                Homes/Lives is an electronic folk album of incredible beauty, the sound of the spheres aligning in our modern moment. Here Harri talks about the influence of a sense of place on her work, the North East of England, where, as she puts it "some scenes and memories are just so beautiful that they need to be sung about." Homes/Lives is a musical photo album of those landscapes, and through the artist's eyes we see the world a little wider and more achingly beautiful than before.


AHC: What has this journey in music, so far, been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way?

Harri: Music has always been a pure joy for me. I struggled in my early years with the discipline of learning instruments from scratch as it took a lot of persistence to achieve the sound I desperately wanted to make. But when I became confident enough to use those instruments creatively to compose, it brought immense satisfaction and opened up new worlds for me.
  
Performing and gigging have always been my favorite hobbies and it is only within the last six months that I decided to take a step back from everything else and throw myself into being a serious musician. It’s been a hard learning curve, as I’ve had to act as my own promoter and manager – things that don’t come naturally to me – but it’s the act of creating and performing music that keeps me going.


AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them?

Harri: My family is the most creative bunch of people I know and all in different, wonderful ways. They are poets, story-tellers, teachers, and brilliant musicians. It therefore felt completely natural for me to slip into playing and composing music and lyrics, as my parents provided this magical, imaginative childhood environment that I’m so grateful for.
 
As a very young child I remember seeing someone playing the violin for the first time on an old VHS copy of Michael Flatley’s ‘Lord of the Dance’. There was a soloist playing these incredible folk tunes on a black, electric violin and I was absolutely hooked. I watched that video on repeat. It was a key moment for me, in a way, being introduced to folk music and falling in love with this completely new sound.


AHC: Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote or played? Or that first moment when you picked up a pen and realized that you could create whole worlds just by putting it to paper? 

Harri: I wrote some truly terrible songs in my early teenage years, but naturally I was totally enthused about them at the time. I had a really supportive music teacher who recorded my first song on a Dictaphone over one lunch time and he really kindly burned it onto a CD for me. I can remember the sense of ownership and achievement and that was quite a significant thing for me.
 
I can pinpoint what feels like my first ‘proper’ song, which I still enjoy playing at gigs today. I wrote it after a folk session in a cozy pub on the Isle of Arran in Scotland, and I remember just feeling in awe of the compositions, traditions and creativity that people brought to the table. I went straight back to our cottage and wrote ‘1963’, inspired by all the characters I’d met there that day. 


AHC: Which musicians have you learned the most from? Or writers, artists, filmmakers etc?

Harri: My husband, Rich, is an amazing guitar player and has inspired me to really hone my craft. I’ve never really been much of a perfectionist; I love trying out lots of different things and flitting around between instruments and tasks. Rich has incredible patience and won’t stop practicing until he is satisfied that he’s achieved exactly what he wants. That’s been incredibly helpful to watch and learn, and I think I’m a better musician for it.
 
In a broader sense, I’ve been really inspired in recent years by an artist called Ásgeir from Iceland who produces hauntingly beautiful music. I used to get really hung up about genre and which music ‘world’ I fitted into. Even though I grew up listening and loving traditional folk music, I am by no means a folk musician, and it’s not the kind of music that I am able produce naturally. Listening to artists like Ásgeir, who I could only describe very loosely as a type of electro-folk, helped to release me from the pressure of creating within the confines of a certain genre. I now purely experiment until I have something that satisfies me.


AHC; What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing and composing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak? 

Harri: I never write anything down, or notate any music. I compose lyrics verbally through tumbling ideas, sounds and notes around until something sticks and settles. When a phrase or a melody keeps returning to me I know it’s something that I need to run with. My music is often very nostalgic and is rooted in nature and being outdoors. Some scenes and memories are just so beautiful that they need to be sung about.


AHC: Do you consider music to be a type of healing art, the perfect vehicle through which to translate a feeling, a state of rupture/rapture, hope lost and regained? Does the writing and creating of the song save you in the kinds of ways that it saves us, the listener?

Harri: As a person, I am much more comfortable listening than I am talking. I’m not someone who wears their heart on their sleeve, or who can quickly open up, as I often find it hard to find the words to talk about myself and to articulate my thoughts properly. But with song writing, there’s something so profoundly beautiful and cathartic about pairing thought-out words with pitch, rhythm and melody, and I find it much more natural to convey myself that way. I am totally at ease when I’m singing and I find I lose all of my self-consciousness.


AHC: What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town? On-tour, on-the-road?

Harri: A significant musical moment was singing with my current band members for the very first time. I’d met the guys through church and we all realized that we could sing, so we got together one afternoon and played around with some stuff and our voices just clicked. A key focus of my music is weaving together rich vocal harmonization, and Rich, Justin and Curtis have been hugely influential in my composition and the sound that we’ve been able to achieve live.


AHC: When you set out to write a song, how much does 'where the world is' in its current moment, culturally, politically, otherwise, influence the kinds of stories you set out to tell?

Harri: My songs have a strong sense of place; they are often fragments of scenes, of memory and most often are strongly connected to the natural world around me. I feel really lucky to have grown up in the North East of England, which some people unfairly describe as ‘grim’, but I think is the most beautiful part of the country. There is a really strong sense of regional identity, which is tangible within its dynamic folk scene; people still gather at folk sessions and gigs to sing songs about the history and stories of the region, and it’s so special to witness.
  
The wild and rugged beauty of the North East coast is also a big influence. ‘Let Me Run’, a song from my new album, depicts a rather frequent occurrence in my life; I never feel more alive than when I’m running full pelt across a beach with the salty air and strong, sea winds.


AHC: Do you have any words of advice for other musicians and singer-songwriters out there who are just starting out and trying to find their voice and their way in this world? What are the kinds of things that you tell yourself when you begin to have doubts or are struggling with the creative process?

Harri: Meet and collaborate with as many musicians as you can! I have grown so much as an artist by working with others who have their own experience, style and musical interests. Find people who can challenge and critique you. Be open to bending and blending genres, but know your own mind and create whatever it is you want to create.


AHC: Could you talk about your new album, Homes/Lives?

Harri: Yes! My new 11-track album was released on the 25th February and it’s been about 2 years in the making. It’s a collection of songs which mark the many transitions I’ve made in the last few years. The different homes I’ve made and the lives of the wonderful people I’ve encountered.
  
I’ve felt a real freedom with the album to experiment with new instruments and sounds, and I feel really proud of what we’ve made. I hope people will feel as much pleasure listening to it as I had creating it.

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To purchase Harri's new album, Homes/Lives visit harriendersbymusic.bandcamp.com/album/homes-lives

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