Hatcham Social

Hatcham Social are an indie pop band who first met and formed in New Cross, London, and who have released a string of singles on indie labels since 2006. They are currently making headway in the mainstream media, with The Guardian describing them as 'irrestistible'^[1] and Tim Burgess (The Charlatans) calling them 'a wonderful pop group with the world's coolest drummer'. The band are named partially after the Hatcham Liberal club on Queens Road, Peckham,^[2] and the Old English word 'Hatcham',^[3] meaning 'a clearing in the woods'. Interestingly, the Hatcham Liberal club was well know as 'Hatcham Social' around the time the band formed. The area in which it lies was, in previous times, known as Hatcham.^[4][5][6]. Their debut record 'You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil' was released in March 2009 in the UK.

History

Dance As If... & How Soon Was Then?

Hatcham Social formed in New Cross in 2006 when David Fineberg met brothers Tobias and Finnigan Kidd. Drummer Finnigan Kidd was still a member of Klaxons, but left in order to devote his time to Hatcham Social; they soon released their self-recorded debut 7" single 'Dance as If...' on the indie label WaKs Records (Daniel Devine). After showing considerable interest and forming a friendship with the band, Faris Badwan of The Horrors (a former art student at Central Saint Martins) agreed to create the artwork for the band's second single, 'How Soon Was Then?', released on PopGrooves; the artwork to the single was hand-printed on 200 limited edition 7" sleeves. The single gave the band their first national radio play on the BBC 6Music show Mint, hosted by Marc Riley, in January 2007.^[7]

Til The Dawn / Penelope (Under My Hat)

Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, produced the band's next single, the double A-Side of 'Til The Dawn' and 'Penelope (Under My Hat)'. Both sides of the single were recorded with Burgess, for whom this was his production debut. Again, artwork was provided by Faris Badwan. Artrocker described the single as a 'polka-dot-skirt-swirling number with credibility'^[8] whilst Dazed & Confused saw it as 'carefree and irresistably catchy'.^[9] The success of the single prompted BBC 6 Music dj Gideon Coe to invite the band in for their first live radio session on Tuesday 14 August 2007,^[10] whilst the Queens of Noize chose 'Penelope (Under My Hat)' as their 'Trophy Track'^[11] on their BBC 6 Music show on 4 August 2007. Artrocker magazine also asked the band to perform a live radio session for them, and used one of the live tracks 'Snap My Hands' on their cover mounted free CD in December 2007.^[12]

So So Happy Making

The band's growing friendship with Badwan saw him switching from design to production for Hatcham's next single, 'So So Happy Making'. The single was released as a joint venture between Loog Records and Waks Records. Artrocker described the single as a 'wonderful, life-affirming record'^[13] whilst the NME proclaimed 'twee-tastic basement recorded pop shouldn't be starting a south London revolution, but it is'.^[14] Vice Magazine described it as 'one of the best things we've heard all year',^[15] and Time Out magazine chose the self-recorded b-side 'Berlin' as one of their 'Picks of the Week', likening the band to 'The Pop Group, Josef K and Virgin Prunes'.^[16] The relative success of the single was proven when it reached number 14 in the Official Independent Label Singles Chart on 9 March 2008.^[17]

Growing recognition has seen Hatcham Social headline a show at London's 100 Club in February 2008, and they have played the Camden Crawl, Great Escape and Dot to Dot music festivals in London, Brighton, Bristol and Nottingham, as well as Faraday in Barcelona, London Calling in Amsterdam and Lovebox in London.

You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil

A post from the band on their forum A Clearing In The Woods^[18] indicated all tracks were recorded with Tim Burgess and Jim Spencer throughout the month of August 2008. A blog posted on their myspace on 7 November 2008 explains their debut album, entitled 'You Dig The Tunnel I'll Hide The Soil', will be released in early 2009 through Fierce Panda in the UK and TBD Records in America. The album, 'You Dig The Tunnel I'll Hide The Soil' is produced by Tim Burgess, and is due for release in the UK on 16 March.

Influences and sound

Hatcham Social derive heavy influence from indie pop of the 1980s including bands such as The Pastels, Orange Juice, and Josef K, as well as post-punk and shoegaze bands such as The Jesus & Mary Chain and The Fall. Their music (particularly their early singles) also features a 1960s beat music influence, including the pop sensibility of The Kinks.

They have also taken great influence from story books and childrens literature,^[19] most notably through their rendition of the Lewis Carroll poem Jabberwocky,^[20] which they performed live at their 100 Club^[21] gig with a performing arts group SKIPtheatre (they also make a brief appearance in their music video to So So Happy Making^[22]). The band's love of story books and children's literature (and as a nod to the 1980s) influenced them in choosing to release two cassette tapes of their self-recorded material, 'Found In The Woods' (versions 1 & 2).^[23][24][25] The first edition brought together the 5 tracks on their first two vinyl only singles, and was released on 25 May 2007. The second edition brought together 6 other previously unreleased self recorded tracks, and was released on 31 December 2007.^[26]

Associated artists

Hatcham have frequently played with bands including The Violets, Neils Children, and Electricity In Our Homes, and are associated with The Horrors and The Charlatans (whom they have supported in a number of live concerts) through their work with Faris Badwan and Tim Burgess. Finnigan Kidd, as well as having drummed for Klaxons before concentrating on Hatcham Social, is also a part-time member of the indie rock supergroup collective The Chavs.

Discography

Singles

EPs

Albums

References

External links

• Hatcham Social's MySpace Page
• Music Weekly Podcast interview with band on Guardian website
• Dummy Magazine Live Photo Review
• Live Review