voice on the verge #56: the unkindness of ravens

The Unkindness Of Ravens are Nina Wagner and Ben Raine, a London duo who make unashamedly sexy electro. Despite their fledgling status – they’ve been around for just under a year – they’ve had some promising nods from the music press and airplay from XFM’s John Kennedy. They’ve put out two singles this year, ‘Dead Air’ and ‘White Road’, and followed these with their just-released digital-only EP, I Used To Be So Pretty. Keen to stay independent, the Ravens have set up their own record label, Sonic Fire Records, through which they plan to release their upcoming double A-side single ‘Accelerator’ / ‘Yours Forever But Not To Hold’, and a full-length LP at some point in 2011. Wears The Trousers chats with Nina and Ben about poetry, literature, life mottos and the sparkly power of good vintage clothing.

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Tell us about your favourite instrument.

Ben: My red and black Fender Jaguar bass, ‘Bloody Mary’. Nina christened her. I guarantee it’s the best looking bass you will ever set eyes on.

Which female musicians have most inspired you? You can throw a few guys in too if you like.

Nina: Grace Slick, Ella Fitzgerald, Courtney Love, Janis Joplin, Patti Smith, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, John Lennon

What’s your favourite poem and how much of it can you recite from memory?

Nina: My favorite poem is Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’. I can’t remember the words, but I remember the imagery the poem created. Two paths, one muddy and over-used, the other green with fresh grass leading somewhere unknown. The poem symbolises the paths we take in life; either we follow others and know the outcome or we create our own paths-least-taken where life will surprise us. I always choose the road not taken.

What did you want to be until you decided to become a musician…if you ever did ‘decide’ that is!

Nina: I wanted to be a novelist like S.E. Hinton.

What was the last good book you read and how did it affect you?

Nina: Nick Cave’s The Death Of Bunny Monro. The book reminded me how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends and that life should be lead with an equal balance of selflessness and selfishness.

What’s your middle name?

Nina: My middle name is Christiane, named after my German great grandmother.

What are your views on feminism?

Nina: I believe in equality for all sexes, races and religion. If feminism achieves absolute equality then I’m on board with it. However I don’t believe in labels and therefore set my own examples for people to aspire to.

Who were the first band you saw in concert?

Ben: Hole in Hammersmith. Courtney Love doused herself in water, stripped off her dress, and dived into the crowd. As a fifteen year old I couldn’t ask for much more than that.

Which artist would you most like to work with – your dream collaboration?

Nina: David Lynch – we’d like him to either use our music in a film or direct a music video for us.

What’s your tipple?

Nina: Can’t ever go wrong with a Bloody Mary…

What is your most loved item of clothing and why is it so treasured?

Nina: All of my sequin outfits are most treasured because they are handmade works of art and they’re from exclusive vintage stores in London.

If you had to pick one song from your repertoire to represent your entire body of work, which one would you choose and why?

Ben: ‘Circle’ off our new EP. Musically, my songs are all about the interplay between the guitar and the beats; lyrically they’re about longing – this song captures the things I’m trying to do perfectly.

What would you be if you weren’t a musician?

Nina: I’d be a writer and/or a cartoonist.

What’s the biggest problem facing the world today and do you have any ideas on how it could be addressed?

Nina: Biggest problem in this world is greed, corruption and racism. A starting point would be if people took more responsibility for their actions, improved their self-awareness and learned to be more understanding of others.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever worked and what was so bad about it?

Ben: I’ve spent a lot of time on building sites. I imagine it’s not much different to being in jail.

Do you have an instrument you’d still like to learn? What’s stopping you?

Nina: I really want to learn guitar. I can write songs using single strings, but obviously I want to get better. What’s stopping me? Patience.

Tick tock, tick tock. What you waiting, what you waiting for?

Ben: I read as a kid that artist Joan Miró had an old railway sign saying “THIS TRAIN MAKES NO STOPS” hanging on his studio door. There just isn’t any time to waste, pure and simple.

What would you tell your eighteen year old self if you could go back in time?

Ben: Skinny jeans, cool boots, killer leather jacket.

What were you like at school?

Ben: Watching, observing, lying in wait.

How would you describe your new EP in ten words or less?

Ben: “I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you”

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visit The Unkindness Of Ravens on Myspace.

Written by: Charlotte Richardson Andrews

Tags: i used to be so pretty EP, the unkindness of ravens

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