Limelight
British trio combine multilayered instrumentals and vocals with spellbinding results.
BEING LABELLED ‘PROG’ is still something of a novelty for Bristol-based Hands Of The Heron. But following a scenestealing appearance at last October’s Summer’s End Festival, they’re gradually starting to adjust.
“I really enjoyed how shocked some of the audience members were that they enjoyed it,” says multiinstrumentalist and vocalist Beth Roberts with a smile. “But we don’t set out to make music in any particular genre; we just make what sounds good to us.”
The human voice seems to be the most important instrument at the band’s disposal. Vocalist and clarinetist Claire Vine agrees: “There used to be a lot more instrumentation, but we do almost half of the set a capella now. We’re self-taught on our instruments, but we’ve all sung a lot, so there’s more ease in how we write for voice.”
Guitarist and vocalist Bec Garthwaite adds, “I think vocals are at the heart of all our instrumentation.”
“It’s a place where we feel at home and confident,” suggests Roberts.“Early on, we’d just sit around fires singing, so we create music with the expectation that it will be quiet, and the most direct way you can do that is by using the voice.”
This approach leads to a more intimate performance, which influences where the trio choose to play.
“We want to play in listening spaces,” Roberts says of their preferred venues.
Vine remembers some difficult experiences in the past: “We’ve played in noisy pubs, and it’s not much fun if you’re singing a song that means a lot to you and you aren’t sure if anyone is listening.”
“Particularly as we want to immerse the listener in our music,” Roberts chips in.“We’ve actually played Ex
