INTERVIEW: BEN HOMEWOOD

The story of As It Was is very of the moment. It’s interesting in the context of Harry’s other biggest song, which is Watermelon Sugar. That one took a while and As It Was was more speedy, right out of the gate. Harry was sitting on the Moog One and I liked what he was playing, so I sat down and played as he started to write the melodies and the lyrics. Tom [Hull aka Kid Harpoon] did a half-time beat around it, we were like, ‘No, it’s not right.’ So then Tom played the double time beat, which felt very good. 

I said to Harry, ‘We need a lead line’ and he just came up right away with the ‘Dah, dah, dah...’ part. He didn’t hesitate. Then he started writing the second verse and referring to himself in the third person. So much of this song just came from Harry’s heart. And then Tom, as he does, with this magical sense of hooks that he has, came up with the idea of doing, ‘You know it’s not the same…’ after the chorus, which I was very impressed with. That turned out to be a very smart move. 

A day or two later, Tom came up with that idea of the speaking part ‘Go home, get ahead, light-speed internet…’, which was so cool and then we all banded together and wrote those lyrics. We ended up doing all the drums – the hi-hat, kick and snare – separately. Really, the record was about where it’s at now after three or four days. It didn’t go through a lot of [changes], there was never anything drastic. I had a guitarist friend, Doug Showalter, add electric guitars and some transition sounds. Then we got the tubular bells – another Harry idea – and I’ve got a video of him playing those. We had [long-time collaborator] Mitch Rowland come in to do some live drums. We chopped those up for the ending to give it a more bombastic feeling. 

It felt very effortless, almost to a fault. We were concerned, like, ‘Is this too understated?’ It’s got such a mellowness to it and it doesn’t really go for any big moments. There’s something very fluid about the song as a representation of the three of us having made records together for almost six years. It shows us – and the whole album represents this – in a really good zone where we’re just doing our thing. There’s a lot of trust between us. 

For As It Was, we were thinking 2008-2012 indie rock, MGMT, Phoenix, Passion Pit. We want to be referential and for the music to sound familiar, but our process is that we don’t do as much drum programming as live drums. That’s what people in that era were doing to make things sound big, but not too programmed. Our engineer Jeremy Hatcher really helped shape that, those drum tones are unique in pop.

We wrote it at Rob Stringer’s house. He’s a very lovely A&R to work with, he just really trusts Harry and it’s great. We had already worked at Real World Studios, we wanted somewhere new and Rob just offered it to us. It was incredible, we would put on our boots and go walking. It was definitely the most British lifestyle I’ve ever lived! We had a lady there that helped us prepare food and she would make delicious treats and even Sunday brunch. It’s not in the middle of nowhere but it’s very country, getting away for a second and getting that space allowed us to get into a new side [of ourselves]. 

We set up in the living room. There weren’t assistants running around, it was just me, Harry, Jeremy and Tom. The living room was actually a very perfect size for a control room, nice and tight but kinda long. The back of it had a couch, an upright piano and windows that looked out over some fields, and in the front we had the desk. We rented a ton of gear, all the walls were lined with pre-amps and compressors. Even though we were going kind of bedroom-y, Tom and I just love lots of microphones and we do live drums, analogue synthesisers, multiple guitar amps… We love that whole element to recording. 

Harry really allows Tom and me to have a voice in the music and in that way, it’s reflective of being a band. He’s very, very intelligent and he fully gets album making. Our fearless leader was truly confident and that mattered for all of the people around him. It’s a very real thing when somebody who is the figurehead of a creative process feels confident in what they want and knows what they’re doing, it makes everyone involved feel free and do their little bit to make it right. Now, he’s just a fully blown force.

Harry had the vision for it to be the lead single. I’m very impressed at how he saw that it was what his audience wanted, and also people in general – it’s not just his fans who have taken to the song. When it came out on Spotify and I pressed play I got a good feeling in my stomach like, ‘I like that people are hearing this song.’ I got to see the video with the rest of the world, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know he could dance like that [Laughs]! It’s a continuation of him being one of a kind and providing an experience for his fans that is unique, fun and engaging.

The best thing about As It Was is just how effortless it is, how it just flows over you and gives you a good energy. It has a gentle conversation with the listener while being upbeat. It’s easy to consume, but it still has depth and Harry brings so much character to it. Really, pop is just about people living life with music to garnish it. 

A couple of days after it came out, I went to my dry cleaner and it was on the radio. It’s moments like that when you’re like, ‘Oh, nice, this does sound great!’ When it’s unintentional listening and it makes you feel good, that’s when you know it’s good pop music.