Music Q&A: Fabled

What informs your music and songwriting?
On this particular album, storytelling. I’m hugely influenced by both books and film in the way that they tell stories and immerse us in a completely different world. The music on this album is my attempt at recreating the feeling I get when I get completely lost in a book. Of course, I’m hugely influenced by other musicians and composers, including Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, Tigran Hamasyan, Ravel and Lau.

How have you evolved as a band over the years?
Fabled started out as a band playing for my final recital at Royal Academy of Music and since then we’ve gone on to record an EP back in 2015. We’ve played across the UK at Manchester Jazz Festival and the Wigmore Hall, among others, and now we’re launching our debut album, Short Stories and embarking on an 11-date UK-wide tour.

What are you up to at the moment artistically?
At the moment, we’re all systems go on the album release and are now looking ahead to the tour, which will be keeping all of us in Fabled very busy over the coming months. We’re also starting to collaborate with some other artists, writers and filmmakers to form part of our next project.

What’s on your rider?
Beer and fruit – that’s all you need.

Tell us your most embarrassing or surreal experience.
I used to play with Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra and I remember one time we had a gig in Southport. There was a tune in the set that we always played on gigs and so when it got to that time in the gig, I stood up, a little nervous and started blowing. But no matter how hard I blew, no noise was coming out of the saxophone. I had no idea what was going on and it was starting to get pretty embarrassing on stage as something was obviously wrong. I eventually looked down the bell of my saxophone to check if something was in there and saw a bottle of water lodged in it. I still have no idea how it got in there.

What song do you wish you’d written?
Ravel’s String Quartet in F.

What’s your worst lyric?
I’ve never written any! But I did once name a tune Tears That Make The World Stand Still – not my finest moment.

Fabled headline the Lescar in Sheffield (10 Oct) and Band on the Wall in Manchester (16 Oct)