Darren Hayman

When I first got the email from Darren asking if I’d like to put out an EP with him on Fika Recordings, I was somewhat taken aback. How do you go about working with someone whose music you’ve admired for over a decade? His former band were on of my favourite discoveries from listening to John Peel’s radio show growing up in the Norfolk countryside. His songs were a staple of the indie disco during my university years, while I was working long, sweaty hours in the indie club in town. His shows, whether solo, with his Secondary Modern backing band, or with one of his other, numerous, projects have consistently been great. It was too good a chance to turn down.

Darren Hayman’s solo career has so far produced 5 full length albums, a wonderful January Songs project (a new song and video written and recorded every day in January 2011 and put online day by day), collaborations in a bluegrass outfit (Hayman, Watkins, Trout & Lee), an exhibition and album about people and animals in space (Vostok 5) and appearances playing bass with Rotifer.

“London’s laureate of sexual dysfunction, discomfort, and dog-eared under-achievement… the match of Ray Davies, or any of the quintessentially English masters.” (The Guardian)