We chatted to The Baskervilles about their latest release ONLY HUMAN

Can you tell us a bit about the band? Where are you from and how did you all meet?

Aaron: The Baskervilles came to life after two previous bands died due to various members leaving to focus on day jobs and other interests. Me and James coming from one band and Callum and Blair coming from the other. James had already started playing under the name of The Baskervilles as a solo project, when the rest of us joined up we sort of decided to restart the The Baskervilles as a collaborative project but decided to keep the name because we all really liked it.

Where does the name come from?

James: The name comes from the Sherlock Homes Novels. Sherlock was always obsessed with the puzzle rather than an external notion of justice or right and wrong. it needed solving because it hadn’t yet been solved. That’s how I’ve always felt about songwriting. I don’t sit there trying to write songs, I kind of trip over the cusp of one, like a little artefact poking out of the sand. Once I know they’re there I can’t stop until I’ve uncovered the whole thing, and once you’ve really got the dust off them it’s the best feeling in the world.

If you had to sum each member of the band up in one word, what would you say?

Aaron – Spine Blair – Heart James – Lungs Tam – Appendix B

You recently released your latest single Only Human. What does this song mean to you, as a band?

James: Lyrically it’s very much about this idea of lust under quarantine. The desire to see someone when you can’t, and almost enjoying the fantasy that things would go better than they really would if only you could see each other.
Aaron: I also feel this song was born from really different process of us, we had to write it during lock-down, while being completely separated from each other. It meant we couldn’t test anything out in a live environment and had to rely on messages and phone calls to relay notes and ideas. It was different for us, but ultimately it worked out really well and we’re really happy with the final song.

Planning the video was also really tricky because most venues and locations were shut. So we ended up filming the whole thing in a small garage on the hottest day of the year.

Where did the inspiration come from?

James: I’m not sure where the lyric “only human” came from but it’s what I started with and then Aaron kind of started suggesting video ideas based on this super natural vibe and I tried to mix that with the whole lust under quarantine vibe.
Aaron: Visually I wanted to take the title ‘Only Human’ and flip it on its head. The idea that we’re all only human on the outside but inside we all have thoughts and feelings that make us question our humanity. The idea was to bring that to life by having Roxy play this almost supernatural monster that was tugging away at James’s humanity.

Is this a hint at more new music on the way?

Aaron: Absolutely! We’re always working on new material and we’ll certainly be releasing new music in 2021… the real question is when will we be able to play it live?!

Did you have any help with the writing and recording process?

Aaron: We do all our own writing and as I mentioned before lock-down has forced us to adapt our writing process. But the great thing is we’re each now set up to write and record demos at home, so it’s now super easy to throw ideas at each other on a regular basis. For recording we work with a producer called Tom Donovan, the guys is a crazy sort of genius who really helps us capture the ideas we put in our demos in their best light, he’s really helped us push our ambitions for what we put into our music production wise.

How have you guys been keeping yourself busy during lockdown?

Aaron: I think we’ve all been working really hard on producing new music. Trying new directions and finding out what direction the band can take sonically.

Which artists are you currently listening to?

Aaron: Personally I’ve been listening to a lot of Bring Me The Horizon, While She Sleeps, Machine Gun Kelly and Nothing but Thieves.

What is next for The Baskervilles?

Aaron: Definitely more music! Everything else is kind of COVID dependant, we’d love to be playing live again as soon as possible… but who know’s when that will happen at this point.