The three members of Liverpool-based three-piece Stealing Sheep are certainly an eclectic bunch of bolshy girls.
With each one of the northern trio bringing far-reaching influences that come together in a melting pot of ovine monikered goodness, what’s not to like? We dipped in to their wondrous world of kaleidoscopic kleptomania to rustle up some much needed answers.
“We formed in summer last year,” says Becky Hawley. “I was working in a shop below the café where Lucy (drums) and Emily (guitar) worked, and was always listening to something on my headphones when ordering my lunch. We started chatting about music and decided to start playing together.”
“We’re all into very different music; I listen to a lot of electronic-based sounds, Emily likes Krautrock and ’70s psychedelia, and Lucy likes freak folk. We’ve merged all of these different influences into Stealing Sheep and have exposed each other to a lot of different music in the process.”
With an EP (‘Noah And The Paper Moon’) due out in January 2012, the psych-folk darlings have developed a vessel for their constantly evolving output. The aforementioned EP was recorded by Joe Wills in an abandoned school and is part of a sound that has led to support slots for Emmy The Great and February dates with Field Music.
“Our sound is shifting continuously,” explains Hawley. “We’re currently writing our debut album and we want to take ourselves on a journey. While our writing focuses on the elements – often used in a metaphorical context – our music is changing all the time.”
“I’d describe it as psychedelic, dreamy pop but in terms of any direction it’s a very experimental process. It’s a definite collaboration between the three of us and that’s the only constant.”
Words by Sam Ballard
Photo by Samuel John Butt
Where: Liverpool
What: Psychedelic, dreamy pop
Get 3 songs: ‘Bats’, ‘The Mountain Dogs’, ‘Noah’s Days’
Unique Fact: The name is a reference to a Norwegian heavy metal band.
Watch Stealing Sheep perform ‘Tangled Up In Stars’ a capella in the Clash office.
