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'The song was inspired by the story of Robert Johnson' – Honey Ryder talk Born In A Bottle
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Honey Ryder are about to release their third studio album. With the striking vocalist (and very easy on the eye) Lindsay O'Mahoney offering to tell us what to expect, we simply could not resist…
Born In A Bottle is your second album in your current line-up. Has the band fully settled into its new identity?
Absolutely – Matt is definitely part of the furniture now…! And we're still great friends with Martyn Shone whom I originally formed the band with – in fact we had him on stage with us just the other week playing a couple of tracks from our first album.
It has been three years since Marley's Chains. How has the band's sound changed in that time?
I don't think it's changed dramatically – it's still pop music with strong country/folk and rock flavours. The bulk of Born in a Bottle was written and recorded in Nashville though so I guess that has had a big influence on the overall feel of the album. I think what we've created has an Americana sound but at the same time, you can tell we're British not American….if that makes sense?!
The critical response to Marley's Chains was phenomenal. Did you feel greater pressure when approaching Born in A Bottle?
I think we naturally put pressure on ourselves to come up with tunes we love and enjoy playing – regardless of what's happened in the past, good or bad. We just want to keep developing our songwriting skills and hope we're on an upwards trajectory….progressing with each album.
Tell us where the album's title came from…
Born in a bottle is the story of a girl running away from a broken home, where her father is a lowly drunk and mother a street prostitute. She pays a visit to the crossroads late one night to sell her soul to the devil in exchange for a life of riches and sets about trying to seduce him. She flags a ride with a guy in a v8 Ford and goes on a road trip ending in a botched bank heist and one way ticket to Greene County penitentiary. The song ends with a mocking voice in the night saying "Don't go waging with the devil cause he always wins" The song was inspired by the story of Robert Johnson, the blues musician who died at the age of 27.
Born in a Bottle is a kind of metaphor really for the feeling of confinement and the feeling that there's no way out… other than possibly the wrong way!
What did you want to achieve at the outset of the recording process for Born In A Bottle?
An organic sounding album, with each song capable of sounding good, stripped back and played acoustically. We hoped it would have a classic sound that would appeal to different generations. We also hoped listeners would find it to be feel good and upbeat.
What song on the album are you most excited for people to hear?
From a live point of view I love playing 'Born in a Bottle'. I guess if I wanted someone to hear one of the tracks for the first time I might pick 'Dammit I'm in love again'
What has been the biggest lesson from Born In A Bottle to date?
Learning the benefit of re-visiting songs, even when you think you know them back to front, and finding ways to play them differently.
What do you hope to achieve by the end of 2015?
We'd love to have increased our fan base from performing at festivals and being on the radio – we hope to have written loads of new songs for the potential fourth album – and we hope to have our own headline tour around the UK booked in! (To keep abreast of our comings and goings please go to www.honeyryder.com)
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