Dune Boy is the solo project of Seb Westwood. Currently based in Liverpool, he has released two exceptional albums and plans to release his third in November 2020. He kindly agreed to join us in a conversation about Streaming, David Berman and jazz music.
You’ve just played a socially distanced concert at The Dark Horse in Moseley. How did it go?
“It was pretty weird to be honest. Everyone is spread out into little clusters. I mean, it was a really good night but when I got there it really freaked me out…It’s really strange to see everyone split up into groups. I’m still glad I did it and it’s still nice to do some kind of live music. It’s better than no live music but it took a while to get my head around.”
Do you miss playing gigs?
“Yeah, definitely. I guess with everything that’s going on, it’s not the most important thing but I do miss them.”
You released an exceptional self-titled album in April. Is there a concept behind the record?
“Not really. There is a concept for the next album, which will be out in November. It’s gonna be a proper quarantine album. I decided to do it all acoustic, no overdubs, everything had to be done on the spot. I love Jazz albums… people like Daniel Johnston, where it’s all live. I was kinda sick of doing what I normally do where I play one instrument at a time and it takes hours to mix. I love doing music that way but it takes a really long time to build up a song, so I decided to challenge myself with no overdubs. Just guitar and voice.”
Which song on the self-titled record took the longest to create and perfect?
“The last one, Memories, took quite a while. It has a really strange guitar tuning as well… something around D? I wrote about 50 songs for that album, at least one a day. By the end, you just get sick of playing the same chords. It got to the point where I just needed to write a song around a completely made up tuning, which is quite a fun way to write a song although it took a while to get my head around. But the song took a while because it’s quite a long one and there’s so many guitar parts, it took about 30 or 40 takes.”
How long did the record take to complete?
“I don’t know really. I write a song a day anyway. Sometimes it’s just a voice memo on my phone. What I do is collect ideas for ages and then just whittle them down. I have some mates who will just work on ten songs for ages. But I don’t ever really run out of ideas for songs. The actual recording took about a month or so. I had to record most of it in the flat I was living in at the time… some of it was done in recording spaces. That was quite tough. I did as much as I could in my flat but I couldn’t really sing very loud in a uni flat. Practice spaces in Liverpool are quite cheap but not dirt cheap so it was sort of a race against time to get it done.”
Is there a meaning behind the album cover?
“That was just a photo my girlfriend took a few months ago. I knew I wanted it to be quite simple. Nothing too complex.”
What was the inspiration behind Maybe?
“I guess I wanted to do something a bit catchier. At my gig the other day, people were singing along to that one which has never happened before. It was really cool but I thought it was feedback from the monitors at first. I knew I needed something catchier as some of my music can be quite dark and instrumental. I guess it’s about moving to Liverpool… getting the train and the platforms I used to go on. Mersey rail has changed now so that song is completely ruined.”
When did you move to Liverpool?
“I am from Shrewsbury but always say Birmingham because it only a 45 minute drive. I moved to Liverpool a year ago for Uni. It’s a great city really, there’s a lot going on.”
Your debut album Open Up! interests me a lot? Where did that title come from?
“It’s the title song. In the 60’s you’d get a lot of albums named after the hit so that’s where it comes from. I knew I didn’t want it to be self-titled because I knew I’d wait for that. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to sound like in the future and I knew I wanted my self-titled to be my defining sound.”
One of my favourites of yours is Fate. What’s the meaning behind the song?
“That one’s very keyboard heavy. I wanted to do my own take on singer-songwriter things. I know it’s not very cool but stuff like Randy Newman. Not many people do that kinda thing. I wasn’t trying to be as cheesy as that stuff but I just wanted to put my own spin on it.”
Why is Open Up! Not available on Spotify?
“I don’t know really. It was just an experiment for me really. Making tunes has been my hobby since I was about 13 so I had about 100 songs just lying around. It was the first time I’d ever really put anything on the internet and I’m not a massive fan of Spotify really.”
Do you produce all of your albums yourself?
“Yeah I do it all from my room. I’ve always really liked people who do home recordings… R. Stevie Moore and Ariel Pink. It can sound a bit rough around the edges but I have always liked that kind of style. I don’t see the point in saving up for ages just to have a few hours in a studio. I have unlimited time in my bedroom.”
How would you describe your music?
“Sort of weird Folk music I guess. I would say the word Experimental but it’s not really. The next albums quite Ambient. I always like people like Wooden Wand who do the whole homemade Folk music thing. I used to like really heavy music so the acoustic thing was actually just an experiment that worked.”
What is the best lyric you have ever written?
“I guess on Maybe there’s quite a few that I like. It goes ‘I’ll be there on Platform 7 Every night… We’ll meet again in the park in the rain.’ It’s just personal to me because I know it’s about the train station down the road and Everton Park. It’s quite open and it can mean different things for different places. It’s hard to balance between personal and broad.”
What is the best thing to happen to your music career so far?
“I think just getting booked for my first show. I supported Archie Folks at The Sunflower Lounge sometime last year. I was dreading playing live for ages so I just decided to book it in. I gave myself a month to get over it and just do it. Another great thing was doing my first headline show a couple of days ago.”
Where does the Stage name come from?
“I’ve been using it for ages really. It all happened when I first started recording on this cassette machine my mom gave me. She teaches languages and they used to play language tapes on it. I used to just record weird sounds and I’d label it Dune Boy. I got it from this weird Sci-Fi book called Dune. It’s quite unique but also quite memorable.”
If the opportunity arose, would you sign to a major record label?
“Maybe. I think with the pandemic people realise now that it is really hard to make money off music. I don’t blame anyone for putting their songs in adverts. I’ve only made 20 quid from Spotify! It would depend on the contract because the thing I love about my music is that I’m the one in control.”
Are there any other genres you would like to incorporate into your music?
“The next album is going to be quite Ambient really… influence by people like Tim Hecker and Grouper. But I love Jazz music. I’m starting to think about expanding my sound. The next album is just my voice and a guitar so after that I’m going to go in the opposite direction and make my tracks fuller.”
Who is your biggest influence?
“Probably David Berman. Especially his lyrics because they are very human and relatable. I thought his were amazing. I’m pretty sure even he admitted that he wasn’t the best musician and he couldn’t play guitar very well but he was a great writer.”
If you were to make a music video, who would you like to direct it?
“I’d probably get David Lynch to do something really weird. I think my music can sound quite serious but I don’t take it that seriously. It would be good to get him in and do something quite surreal to make it less intense.”
What are your opinions on the Birmingham music scene?
“There’s a pretty good community at the heart of it. It’s not as big as other places but it’s very supportive. You can turn up with anything and people will support it. It also seems like everyone knows everyone. A band called PELICAAN from Wolverhampton are class and it was great to have them as support the other night.”
What do think about streaming platforms?
“I don’t like them at all really. I don’t know if you saw but the guy from Spotify said artists aren’t getting aid now because they aren’t working hard enough. I guess it’s the way it’s going; everything is instant now. I prefer having a physical album because you are actually supporting the artist.”
Would you be interested in performing with a band one day?
“Absolutely! That’s another benefit to the name Dune Boy; It could be used for a duo or a band as well so it’s very flexible. I don’t think people expect a guy with a guitar.”
Favourite album of 2020?
“There is an album by a guy called Ryan Sambol and that one’s amazing. He used to be in a band called The Strange Boys. Also B-sides and Rarities: Volume 1 by Ethan P. Flynn. The end of the year looks really good for new releases.”
When can we expect to hear new music from you?
“I’ve got a new single out on the 2nd October and the album is coming out sometime in November. I’ve also been doing some soundtrack work for a film that should be out in October. I don’t know how much I can say because it’s still being edited. It happened through my mate Vice-like Clutch. I’ve sent the director the music so I guess we will just see what comes of it.”
Interview by Aidan McGuire
Dune Boy will be headlining The Sunflower Lounge on the 22nd November 2020
Dune Boys Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/dune_boyy/
Dune Boys Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ATPflA220423pEut4gqG6?si=pVo6ApwCSCGpKjEXpg63ig
Dune Boy Tickets - https://www.seetickets.com/event/dune-boy/the-sunflower-lounge/1532138?lang=en-GB
Aidan McGuire's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/aidan._mcg/
Aidan McGuire's Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/1atUaV3lMEAUaKxCyHCsql?si=W9sQqLucQ5SWc1-3DHbNdQ
Loud Mouth Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/loudmouthmag/
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