Interview

Honey Harper

Interview by Jack Dolan
Photography by Trent McMinn in London, UK

It took us a little while to pin down William Fussell for a skype date. We’d caught him in the middle of a very intensive rehearsal period. An entirely new band had just been formed to take William of Promise Keeper in an entirely new direction. Players from Atlanta, Amsterdam and Sweden converged in London to begin translating his country songs into live band format in just over a fortnight. The excitement on the other end of the line was palpable

So you recorded the project solo before you got the band together?

The project is mine and I just wanted to get a band together so I could play it live. We’ve added quite a few nice things but all the bones of the songs are me.

The point is, it’s not a character, whereas everything I’ve written before, I’ve been in character. Honey Harper is me.

Do you think there’s still a stigma around country music?

I think there’s a stigma around where country music comes from. I really wanted to show a modern take on it where it could be taken out of the setting. I’m not going to be playing in Nashville, I’m going to be playing in Europe and New York so it’s about bringing this music to people who have a very distinct idea of what country is. The more back roots country stuff I’m curious to see what people will think but in front of that we have all these crazy harmonies. For me personally, I’m such a sucker for a three-part harmony.  

 

Lyrically do you maintain the country ethos or is it there a big difference there?

Lyrically it’s a break-up album, not from a relationship but from the previous band. Talking about what’s happened in your life, I feel like that happens a lot in country music.

It’s nice that it’s still personal. You could have assumed a country singer persona.

The point is, it’s not a character, whereas everything I’ve written before, I’ve been in character. Honey Harper is me.

Where did the name come from?

Lyrically it’s a break-up album, not from a relationship but from the previous band.

Honey Harper is two of my great-grandmother’s names put together. It was the maiden name of my great-grandmother on my dad’s side; her name was Ovita Harper and then on my mom’s side it was grandma Honey.

So did you grow up listening to a lot of country or is it something you came to later on?

My dad was an Elvis impersonator. When I was young I’d listen to a lot of country music but I really hated it. It just doesn’t click with a lot of people. It makes people think about their parents or these old racist white guys. If you told my sixteen-year-old self that I was going to make a country band, I’d be like; there’s no way that I would ever do that.

Honey Harper plays De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam on 10 November. The show is free for members. Universal Country is due for release via Arbutus Records on November 10.