motel void

MOTEL VOID: You’re based in North London. How would you describe the current music scene there? Do you feel that you’re part of it?

OLLIE: It’s vibrant! There are so many cool artists at the moment popping up. Not just north London though, south, east, and west too! London is big but the music scene feels small. Lots of people all working together to share their music. So yeah, I think its great

BENJY: I think the music scene in London is pretty busy and everyone is doing a bit of everything so it can be hard to find your place and feel like you fit in. That being said there is definitely space for new ideas and everyone is always welcome. It’s a very welcoming scene.

MOTEL VOID: Your favorite local venues and artists?

OLLIE: I love MAP cafe in Kentish Town. It’s super small and also doubles up as a cafe and recording studios. Loads of cool people have been through those doors / played there.

BENJY: There are so many to choose from but I love Mascara bar in Stoke Newington and also MAP cafe. Ollie and I have performed at Mascara bar a few times but we’ve yet to perform at MAP.

MOTEL VOID: You’ve only released two singles so far, luv.mp3 and gun fingers, both in 2024. Is this your first music project ever?

OLLIE: We were actually in a hip hop / rap collective when we were 19/20 with a few other people. It was a lot of fun haha. I won’t name any names tho. So yeah we collaborated a lot back then but this is our first collaboration in a while and I would say the most serious.

BENJY: This is the first serious project that we’ve released together. We’ve have been making music for a while though. Our style has transformed over the years and because we’ve been friends for so long its grown and shifted with us.

MOTEL VOID: Could you tell us more about the recording and writing process of your songs?

OLLIE: We usually start by writing on the guitar, either I’ll do that at home by myself or with benjy in his garage. It normally happens quite quickly though, when an idea comes together we like to strike while the iron is hot I guess. In terms of recording as I mentioned it’s all done in a fairly DIY way at benjy’s home studio using a mixture of digital and analogue gear.

BENJY: Its a mixture of analogue and digital production, all being written on guitar and then we like to get a bit experimental with software.

MOTEL VOID: Your biggest inspirations right now?

OLLIE: For me it’s got to be Mac Demarco. I love that guy. I find the way he works so inspiring. Also Alex G too, his philosophy is cool and he’s just a legend

BENJY: At the moment I’m really into joy again, gglum and Kamal.

MOTEL VOID: Your other plans for 2024?

OLLIE: It’s exciting! We’ve got more gigs coming up, a festival, and an EP on the way so yeah it’s just the beginning for us really! watch this space because we’ve got a lot of cool stuff to share that we think you’ll all really like

BENJY: We’ve got a festival coming up this summer, some more recording of course haha, releases writing camps and videos. all the good stuff. Watch out for us!