We have arranged a meeting with Hidden Mothers in Manchester and bassist and lead singer Liam Knowles, have had a cunning idea. Liam is staying at a very swish hotel round the corner from the venue they are due to play and after a small chat with the manager we are now sat in a rather plush room more suited to high class business operations.
First of all, we thought we should recap. Because after our last interview, they had the most amazing gig at Arctangent. That was, from a punter’s point of view it seemed that a corner was turned and something special happened at that festival. Was that the feeling on stage?
Liam answers, “Yeah, it definitely feels like a pivotal kind of moment for the band.
Like, we were on at 11am and you know that’s early, and people might not come down and there’s eight people in the tent while we were doing soundcheck. But after we went down the stairs and came back up for our set and the place was packed out, I couldn’t believe it!”
Absolutely, the set did feel monumental for the band, we noticed that their merch was certainly everywhere on site.
“Including you.”
Yes, including us! We wonder, was it true that you sold out of merch?
Liam clarifies, “No, so…. We thought we did. So, they were telling people that we’d sold out of merch, and I got wind of that. I was telling Alex good luck, we sold out of merch. But what they actually meant was, I was telling people that I was going to sell out of merchandise. What they actually meant was they’ve packed our merch away already and we can’t get it back out!”
We change gears to the present. What can we expect from their set these days? Have you got some new material? I know Liam has taken over on vocal duties…
Liam Continues “We’re really down to the point now where we’re mostly playing material from the forthcoming album. Which will be out at some point in 2024, it’s going down really well. People seem to really like the new stuff so it’s awesome, it’s absolutely awesome fun times in camp!”
We know that they had just come off tour with Pleiades and who we had the joy of interviewing recently and it looked like a fun tour!
Liam affirms this “They’re just really nice lads like you know we’ve played with them a couple of times before, but you know when you do shows, and you play with other bands you don’t always really get to know everyone kind of properly. You see people in passing and you have a chat, but you don’t really get to spend loads of time with other bands. So, it’s really nice to get to know those guys and then yeah, they’re firm friends of ours now.”
We ask them about any upcoming engagements for 2024.
Liam replies, “We will be doing a tour with Copse who are friends of ours. We’re doing Brighton, London, Cardiff and Birmingham in February, so it’s gonna be super fun. We’ve got a couple of festivals lined up for this year which is amazing. We actually got two festival offers within a couple of hours of each other. So, we got the first one, and we’re like, oh wicked, we’re playing X. Can’t say it yet. And then I was like, today’s a good day. And then a couple of hours later, I got another email! We have been asked to come back to Arctangent next year. We’re gonna be opening the Wednesday. We’re also doing another festival that we can’t talk about yet, but that’ll be announced after the February tour.”
“So, we can’t talk about headlining Glastonbury?” enquires guitarist Luke.
We can’t talk about Headlining Glastonbury, no.
Or Elton John coming on with you? We joke.
“Yeah, no, we’ve got a thing organised with Taylor Swift that we can’t quite announce yet.” answers Liam joining in. “Oh my God, I’d love that.”
Well, Hidden Mothers and Taylor Swift, who didn’t see that coming?
We’re looking forward to seeing the band with Copse. A band that we regrettably missed at ArcTangent, but we’ve been checking them out since and yes, Copse if you’re reading, we’re coming for you!
We can’t let Hidden Mothers go without doing some stupid things. So, the theme today is the fact that supermarket bought hot crisps are rubbish. We all know this, they taste like ketchup, and they’re rubbish.
So, the boffins at Chili Shop Leeds, had a look around the world at what the alternatives are. We’ve got here from Mexico. Takis Fuego.
“Which is fire, isn’t it?” says Luke with trepidation.
“I’m pretty sure that means fire.” agrees Liam.
Well spotted fellas! We point out that these are very popular on TikTok, possibly with, “Swifties” and generally it’ll make us popular with the youth of today.
“Oh, really?” says Liam.
Yes, the kids, we’re told rather like these,
“Oh, they are very red.” says Liam.
“Well, those are banging, aren’t they? They’ve got a kick, though.”
“They’re vinegary, quite sour!” Remarks Luke
So, there’s your review of Takis Fuego, what will the band rate these for taste and heat?
“I’d say like, eight. Eight to taste,” says Liam.
And for heat?
“I’d give it six, seven?” Offers Luke
“They’re verging on a seven, maybe, if you ate a whole packet, I should imagine that heat would build.” Confirms Liam
On that bombshell, all that remains is to thank Hidden Mothers for their time and their important consumer report and we vacate our salubrious surroundings to go back to a sweaty DIY punk club. Back where we belong!
Interview & Table Images By George Miller – https://linktr.ee/601music
As part of Foodinati UK – Series 4
https://www.youtube.com/@foodinatiuk
Band Promo Photo Credit: Liam Knowles
You can watch the full interview by clicking on the image below.
