WHEN RIVERS MEET – AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNE ESTELLA

 

British husband and wife Blues-Rock duo When Rivers Meet soared onto the scene with the release of their debut E.P., The Uprising, a mere year ago and have since gained an enviable fanbase, which is now awaiting the launch of the couple’s first full length studio album, We Fly Free on November 20th. Lockdown has been a devastating time for touring musicians everywhere, but Grace and Aaron Bond have spent the year productively, live streaming their contemporary, classic-infused sounds to hundreds of thousands of people, who have instantly fallen in love with their gutsy musicianship, smouldering vocals and powerful harmonies. We caught up with the band as they prepare to unleash their Blues-soaked offering onto a world that is hungry to lap up every last, soulful drop….

ANNE: Tell us about your music careers to date. Were you both in other bands when you met?

[AARON]: I was in a couple of local rock bands when Grace and I met-nothing serious-it was just good fun.

[GRACE]: I was in a few bands when Aaron and I met, from country to blues to a Meatloaf tribute band. I’ve constantly been in bands from the age of 12, so it’s something I’ve always done.

ANNE: How did your love of the blues develop?

[AARON]: I fell in love with the blues when I first head John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom”. It was actually the very first CD I ever got. Hearing that riff and those tones, I was hooked. That got me into other greats such as Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson.

[GRACE]: I instantly fell in love with Bonnie Raitt when I first listened to “Love Me Like A Man”. She has been a real inspiration to me. She got me into the blues.

ANNE: Which other bands and artists have influenced you the most?

[AARON]: Along with so many of the great blues players from the past, I also love bands like Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Nirvana, Thunder, Led Zeppelin, Free….the list goes on. I just love rock and blues music.

[GRACE]: Growing up, Dusty Springfield was my hero but Aaron introduced me to rock and blues music, and I just fell in love with it all. Paul Rodgers from Free and Bad Company is now my favorite singer of all time.

ANNE: What approach do you take to songwriting?

[AARON]: We have developed a way of songwriting together that has taken a few years. One of us might come up with an idea, we thrash something out and then we separate. I will go and lose myself in a haze of isolation and write a load of lyrics while Grace writes the music to the idea. We then get back together and thrash out all the ideas we’ve come up with. If we love it, we carry on. If not, we scrap it and move onto the next song.

ANNE: How have you spent lockdown?

[GRACE]: It’s been such a strange time for all of us. Of course we lost all our gigs straight away due to the lockdown and were unsure what to do. We decided in the second week to do a live stream. It was so weird doing it but then we did another the week after and just carried on from there!

ANNE: What have ben the biggest challenges you’ve faced in terms of releasing your debut during this period?

[AARON]: It was always our intention to record the album this year, but unfortunately due to lockdown we had to push the recording time back until we were able to get in there to do it. Luckily, we were only delayed three or four months once the restrictions were lifted but we really wanted to release it this year and it has been a real rush to get things organized to enable us to do that.

[GRACE]: Luckily in the studio we record social distancing isn’t a problem, which is cool. There were only ever three or four of us at any one time.

ANNE: What are your plans once the Covid restrictions have been lifted concerning gigs, touring festivals, etc.?

[GRACE]: We just want to gig everywhere when it’s safe to do so. We’re trying not to think about it too much because everything is so up in the air at the moment. Having said that we do have some irons in the fire, so fingers crossed!

ANNE: Have you started writing for your next record yet?

[AARON]: We have been concentrating on this album’s release, so we’ve not had a chance to start writing again. However, we do have ideas and we’re already starting to make plans to get back to the studio again in the spring.

ANNE: You’ve gained a huge following in such a short space of time. What do you attribute that to?

[GRACE]: We’re so overwhelmed with the support that we’ve received since we released our first E.P., The Uprising, last September. It’s just grown from there really. Then during the lockdown we started to do a live stream every week on Facebook each Saturday night at 8pm. It’s so weird playing and singing to an IPhone each week, and now we are on week 35-it’s just crazy! We’re just blown away by the support we’ve received throughout the lockdown and the amount of people that have joined us on our live streams each week is just amazing.

ANNE: If you could share a stage with anyone, who would it be and why?

[AARON]: It would be amazing to share a stage with Guns N’ Roses or Thunder because they are my all time favorite bands. I would also love to be on the same bill as Joe Bonamassa. He’s the reigning “King of the Blues” right now. We are so lucky to have a couple of our songs on his Spotify playlist!

[GRACE]: Bad Company would be my dream. I just love their music and Paul Rodgers is the best blues vocalist ever.

ANNE: What does success mean to you?

[AARON]: Success to us is simply being able to play our music for a living. We love touring and we love recording so that’s basically it for me.

[GRACE]: Agreed!

ANNE; You spend all your time together as a couple and as bandmates. Do either of you have any annoying habits that drive the other crazy?

[GRACE]: There is nothing really. Usual couple stuff I suppose like the toilet seat but other than that, no, nothing.

[AARON}: Not filling the water filter at home is the only thing I can think of. It’s probably a good thing that there is nothing to think of really considering we are together 24/7!

Anne Estella Bio

As an acclaimed music journalist, Anne has gained international recognition as one of the most prolific supporters of the emerging rock scene and is an Ambassador for the Forge Ahead Initiative which helps fledging band find their feet in the industry.

Promoting up-and -coming, grassroots and unsigned bands through her writing, Anne has contributed music reviews, live gig reviews, articles and band interviews to five popular print and web based magazines and supports some of the UK’s most well known music festivals.

Anne presents her own YouTube channel featuring face-to-face interviews with established and rising bands and artists in a style that enables the audience to really connect with the musicians they want to know about.

With her finger firmly on the raging pulse of Britain’s bustling alternative music scene, Anne is considered to be the go-to journalist and interviewer by musicians, band managers, promoters, festival organizers and music fans alike.

AMP is looking forward to feature Anne Estella’s reviews and interviews in future posts.

Follow When Rivers Meet:  Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Stream their music:  Spotify / Soundcloud / Reverbnation / YouTube
Purchase:  iTunes / Amazon

 

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