Interview with Archie

How did Archie come to be?

We first became friends through session work in London four years ago. One evening in 2019, just after new year, Hannah had us all round for delicious veggie burgers (even if she does say so herself). A couple of beers later, we decided to have an impromptu sing and arranged a verse and chorus of Alvvays’ “Marry Me Archie” on the spot. That’s when we decided to move things to Hannah’s bathroom and film it. The rest is history.

How would you describe the Archie sound to someone who hasn’t heard any of your music?

closeharmonyjazzfolkpopacoustic, anything but barbershop. You know who you are! Joking aside, the harmonies combined with the songwriting turn it into something diffferent to a cappella or pop. We’re not entirely sure how to describe ourselves to be honest!

What’s your songwriting process?

At the moment it‘s a bit all over the place. A couple of tracks on the EP were written together during a weekend away in Wales. Our group writing often starts with chords or hooks, followed by melodies and lyrics before finally taking it away to arrange. The rest of the time, tracks are written individually. We’re looking forward to doing way more group writing though, it’s so much more fun!

Are there any significant influences behind your sound?

There are too many to mention, but there’s a bit of Lianne La Havas, Carole King and James Blake in there we think. Laura Marling’s lyrics are so wonderful. So unpretentious and gorgeous! Love Paul Simon’s melodies, too.

Your vocal harmonies are crystal clear – how do you work out your arrangements? Who takes the high notes and the low notes?

Llinos is our lead arranger and turns them out like a boss. We score out the parts to rehearse with, it’s too complicated otherwise. Our vocal ranges do cross over with each other, but generally it’s Hannah/Caitlin on lower harmonies and Llinos/Faith on upper. Sometimes we mix it all up and people go way out of their ranges…!

What are you listening to at the moment? Have you got any good recommendations?

We’re loving Yebba’s new track “October Sky,” as well as a newer artist called November Ultra. Discovered her on TikTok. Her voice is completely timeless. Hiatus Kaiyote’s new album is also great!

What’s next for Archie? Can we expect anymore releases?

We’re hoping for a little seasonal surprise, so watch this space…!