Womb on their new album ‘One Is Always Heading Somewhere’
While still harbouring their signature emotive and ethereal sound, sibling trio Womb’s third album sees the three moving toward a more refined style with warm, layered arrangements, driving drums, percussive samples, swirling cinematic synths and textured strings stretching across the tracks.
Originally from Te Whanganui-a-Tara, they have shared stages with various artists including Marlon Williams, The Phoenix Foundation, The Bats, Alok Vaid- Menon and Georgia Gets By (Broods) and are currently in the middle of their Aotearoa/Australia tour.
HM: Hey Womb! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat to us about your new music! First of all we'd love to know who your main musical and creative influences growing up?
Cello: Kia ora Mindies! Thanks for chatting with us about our new album! Growing up, there was always Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan floating around the house. The Cure were a massive early influence – and Elliott Smith and Bright Eyes. We also remember Enya always playing in the sick bay at primary school – I think that definitely would have filtered into our subconsciousnesses somewhere along the way too!
HM: Congrats on your incredible new album "One Is Always Heading Somewhere"! Can you tell us about the concept of this album and how you landed on the name of it?
Cello: Thank you so much <3 We started writing the album around the time that Haz (synth) moved to Whanganui in mid 2023. Georgette (drums) and I went on a few trips to develop the songs together and then we recorded the bulk of it remotely, across various bedrooms and lounges throughout Whanganui, Pōneke, and Whakatū. Conceptually, this album is about coming into the present tense; what this kind of attention to the present moment looks and feels like. The line 'one is always heading somewhere' came from a stream-of-consciousness session I had when writing the song of the same title. The words seemed to naturally flow from those directly preceding them: “and somehow you could see into me / like a flame that is still burning”. The title of the album speaks to the feeling of potential – of letting things unfold.
HM: We love that so much. One song that we really connected to on this album was 'Angels'! Can you tell us about the inspiration behind this song and how it came about?
Cello: We're so happy you like this song! This was one of the first we wrote for this album – and we let it act like a bridge from the last album (Dreaming of the Future Again) to this one, specifically with the lines: “you were dreaming about the future, I forgot about the present”. I first wrote the lyrics to 'Angels' when I had Covid – and this sense of delirium feels carried in the blurry, dreamlike world captured in the song. This was also the first song Haz really developed production-wise – and his work on the sonic scape of the song created the palette and sonic world for the rest of the album.
HM: Amazing. And we also love your song 'Only You'! What was the writing and production process like for making this track?
Cello: Thank you :) This song was really fun to make! It started with a loop Haz had made using online guitar samples, which I then sang over and found the chorus within – “only you could / only you do / only when I'm alone with you.” Lyrically, this song draws inspiration from two of our favourite love songs – 'Not Given Lightly' by Chris Knox and 'Lovesong' by The Cure. This is another track that Haz really elevated production-wise – one of my favourite hidden layers buried in the track is Haz adding to the percussion by drumming on a glass bottle. Georgie's driving, machine-like drum beat really anchored and completed the song.
HM: Awesome! And what were some of your highlights working across this album as a whole?
Cello: It's such a special thing to get to make music – and to let it be contained within the form of album, which then becomes a record of a certain time in your life. This is the third album we've made and it is so exciting to see how music can keep expanding and changing. Given that for the entirety of this album, we have lived in different cities, one of the highlights for me is that it's been a beautiful way to stay close with Haz and Georgette – to be continually building something together even while being apart. The other highlight is how making music lets you collaborate with so many other artists. We worked with so many special people on this album – De Stevens who mixed the album; Bevan Smith who we recorded drums with; various directors who made music videos with us – Freya Finch, Angel Fitzgerald, Caleb Corlett; the photographers we worked with – Nicola Sandford and Ted Black. It is such an incredible experience to get to exist in a community of people all dedicated to their various artistic practices.
HM: Absolutely. Who are some of your favourite NZ artists right now and are there any songs in particular that you especially love?
Cello: There are honestly so so many! The breadth and depth of talent here in Aotearoa is astounding. There are really too many to name, so for now we'll stick to our current obsessions on rotation the past few weeks:
1. ‘gorse the golden’ - School Fair
2. ‘Rain’ - Tim Paris and Coco Solid
3. ‘Crushed’ - aridni orca
4. ‘Force Field’ – Kōtiro
HM: That’s a great list! And what are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt in your career so far, and what advice do you have for other artists out there?
Cello: We would say – if it makes you happy, keep making music! The world is a better place for all the art that people have filled it with.
HM: Lastly, if you could say one thing to every person in the world, what would it be?
Cello: Peace in the world <3 Free Palestine and Toitū Te Tiriti.
Thanks Womb! Make sure to catch them on tour or keep up with them on Instagram, Facebook, Spotify or Apple Music.
