WHILE WALKING MUSIC
While Walking
Two neighbours, a double-neck guitar, and a drum kit picked up at thirty. Emotional, instrumental rock built on the idea that it is never too late to begin.
I have a soft spot for bands that almost did not happen. While Walking is two neighbours on a Barcelona street called Carrer Asturies who, over a late glass of wine, looked at an electric drum kit and decided to start a band. Ingrid had never touched drums until she was thirty. Callum plays a double-neck guitar and bass you have probably never seen, looping it into something that sounds like a whole room of players. There is also, for reasons that delight me, a Nadine Labaki thread running through this one. We spoke in 2020, with the stages closed.
Two Neighbours, One Band
They came together in 2018 and spent two years shaping a sound before releasing their self-titled debut, recorded at Articwave Studio by Ignasi Miranda, who caught the raw feeling of how they play live. Ingrid, thirty-six and from Barcelona, is a university professor in education and gender studies. Callum, thirty-four and originally from Scotland, has lived in the city since 2012 and runs his own organic clothing brand. He came up through Glasgow's live scene as a teenager. She arrived at the drums late and fearless. The spark, they say, was simply seeing her kit set up one night, and a connection that they hope you can hear.
Refining the Chaos
The sound is post-rock, built in the lineage of Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, And So I Watch You From Afar, Yvette Young, and El Ten Eleven, with the alternative pull of Interpol, Radiohead, and Bright Eyes. They are especially moved by female drummers, naming Cat Myers, Ursula Strong-ek of Niña Coyote eta Chico Tornado, and Arianne of Doble Capa as people breaking ground in a male-dominated scene. Their method is gloriously simple. They meet in a rehearsal room on the industrial edge of the city, jam for hours, and then, in their own words, refine the chaos into songs.
It is never too late to reinvent yourself and try what you never thought you would do.While Walking
Lockdown, and Labaki
They released the album in April 2020, straight into the pandemic, with the live shows they had planned suddenly on hold. What they missed was the thing post-rock is built for: a room of strangers feeling the same thing at once. For the video, lockdown forced invention. They stitched a story out of clips never meant to be seen, with a little humour. And they are devoted to the Lebanese director Nadine Labaki, undone by Capernaum and by the elegance with which she portrays women and exposes injustice. A thread of Beirut, it turns out, runs quietly through a Barcelona duo.
The magic when a crowd of humans shares a feeling creates belonging and community.While Walking
In Conversation
Tell us a bit about yourselves.
We would love to be full-time rockstars, but we have other professions we are also passionate about. Ingrid, thirty-six, is from Barcelona and works as a university professor specialising in education and gender studies. Callum, thirty-four, is originally from Scotland and has lived in Barcelona since 2012, where he runs his own organic clothing brand. We have different musical backgrounds. Callum, at thirteen and full of angsty teenage spirit, took up the bass and guitar and spent his teens and early twenties playing in bands around Glasgow's vibrant scene. Ingrid, always a music lover and concertgoer, did not start playing drums until she was thirty. We were neighbours on a street called Carrer Asturies, which became a song title. During a late-night wine in Ingrid's apartment, seeing her electric drum kit set up sparked the idea of playing together. We have always had a magic connection, and hopefully that translates in our music.
Your greatest inspirations or influences?
Our musical influences are post-rock bands such as Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, And So I Watch You From Afar, Yvette Young, and El Ten Eleven, and alternative indie bands such as Interpol, Radiohead, and Bright Eyes. Female musicians, and especially female drummers, are inspiring role models for us. Drummers like Cat Myers, Ursula Strong-ek from Niña Coyote eta Chico Tornado, or Arianne from Doble Capa are breaking the ground of a male-dominated rock scene.
How do you describe your musical style and creative process?
Our style is probably best defined as post-rock. Our creative process is something we love to do together, one of our favourite times of the week. We go to our rehearsal room in the industrial outskirts of Barcelona where we spend hours at a time jamming. We then refine the chaos into songs.
Tell us about the challenges of your industry.
Nowadays we are lucky to be able to self-publish our music thanks to online streaming platforms like Bandcamp and Spotify. The challenge is that we are just a little fish in an ocean of musicians, and it is difficult to reach the shore of potential fans.
What about the impact of COVID?
It has impacted our neighbours and roommate, as we are now playing at home. We released our debut album in April of this year, during the pandemic. We had been planning live performances to celebrate it, but obviously those are on hold. We hope there is a renewed appreciation for live performances once we no longer need to keep our distance. The magic when a crowd of humans shares a feeling, at a concert, watching a film, dancing on a dance floor, creates belonging and community.
Tell us about the adventure of your video clip, and your love of the Lebanese director Nadine Labaki. We adore her too.
Lockdown limited our possibilities for recording a music video, so we came up with the idea of using clips that were never intended to be shown and building a storyline with a little humour. We absolutely love Nadine Labaki, as an actor and a director. She stole our hearts with Capernaum. She has an empowering way of portraying women and a unique elegance in revealing social injustice. We later found out she has directed music videos for Lebanese singers, like Nancy Ajram's Akhasmak Ah, which felt like a perfect fit for the spirit of ours.
Favourite websites or social handles?
TomTom Magazine, a magazine dedicated to female drummers, which during lockdown ran an Instagram live lesson every day with renowned drummers. The comics of Flavita Banana, @flavitabanana. David Shrigley's art and humour, @davidshrigley. And we listen to a lot of podcasts, like @radiolab, @kexp, @bowdown, and @bbcworldservice.
Anything else you would like to share?
We would like to thank you, Leila and Ninu Nina, for having us. We are so glad to be part of this community of creative people, to share our music and the message that it is never too late to reinvent yourself and try what you never thought you would do. There is nothing more pleasant than breaking the rules of the expected.
Check these two out. I am so happy and proud to have them on the platform. Hoping to catch them live in Madrid one day.
About Antakly Projects
Antakly Projects has been in conversation with artists and creatives from around the world since 2003.
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