When you think of Honey it evokes imagery of “that sticky, running, golden, yummy, sweet, sensualness” which is everything this band is (plus a little added innuendo).
Born of the death of another band (a natural death we are assured) and a whole lot of two hour cover sets at the Night Cat (thanks Justin, we love you!) – is Honey. We spoke with Amber Ferraro, the band’s lead vocalist and Quentin Roth on keys / synth. Between the laughter and quotable content we managed to talk about all things Honey; how the EP came about and what we can expect on Friday night.
In the early days, Honey found their influence in DJ Logan (who we can expect to see on Friday night). Ferraro said the band really connected with the way “he used to play the most incredible disco sets on vinyl”. Really obscure stuff according to Roth. “We were just so influenced by him and his style. We were like ‘we need to recreate this”.
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Some of the songs that made Honey’s debut EP the band have been playing since 2017. According to Roth, they have come so far. “The mission with this EP was trying to replicate or somehow capture the twists and turns of our live show into the recorded format, which was really challenging. When we previously recorded our first singles in 2019 we just went in and recorded them as a band without paying heed to the arrangement or the energetic side of it.”
This time the band teamed up with DJ Amin Payne. They credit Payne’s ruthlessness (but in a loving, only wants the best for you kind of way) for helping them consider how the archetypal dancefloor crowd would react to each section in the EP and helping them really serve Honey.
Ferraro describes the EP as the essence of Honey. “The songs, in certain ways they’re not necessarily like a normal pop song format, the sound and the way they accelerate is trying to artistically capture what we do when we are up on stage.”
Managing five big personalities isn’t an issue according to Ferraro. Each member of Honey is the main star in their own right. “Everyone just brings their diva selves and everyone is just like this character up on stage. It doesn’t matter who you look at, someone is doing something.”
Roth credits their combined stubbornness and diverse musical background for the band’s universal appeal. “We do end up bringing this fairly universal appeal, which is how we recently settled on how to describe what the fuck it is we do. It’s just a universal disco experience. Bring whoever, I mean you’ve got the quote already bring your nemesis and your mum, it’s a fun time for all guaranteed.”
Honey brings aboard some favourites (old and new) for this full venue takeover:
Lineup:
- Honey
- Emma Volard
- Niine
- Logan Gibson (DJ)
Courtyard
- Milo Eastwood (PBS)
- DJ Friday (PBS)
- Amin Payne
Everyone in Friday night’s lineup had influenced, helped or impacted Honey in their journey so far.
According to Roth “it’s a big family affair! I mean Ninne does like an avant-garde avalanche pop thing, which kind of melds futuristic pop with this secret-punk thing.
“Emma Volard’s got like the boss ass neo-soul queen energy and this killer stand. So hopefully the audience will be hyped by the time we get to the stage. So for those that have come to our show before, particularly those that might remember the Night Cat shows, it will be like old times. And for the new crew coming to check us out for the first time, hopefully it will be like nothing they have ever seen.”
Summed up in just a few words, Ferraro tells us: “We’re just a bunch of dorky kids doing what we love”.
Savour every last drop of Honey on Instagram. Find their events on Facebook. Dance to their singles on Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music. Catch ‘em all shining crazy, weird & wonderful at the EP launch gig at Howler, Brunswick, Friday 17th February 2023. Grab tickets here.
