Porcelain Doll

We sat down with Porcelain Doll to find out what makes them tick…

In this feature, we’ll speak to some of HOT VOX’s favourite new artists on the gigging scene and find out what shaped them into the artist they are today

Today we’re featuring Porcelain Doll.

A female fronted bubblegrunge band from Brighton – Porcelain Doll deliver fuzzy guitars, primal drums and hooky choruses. Singer Freja’s lyrics are catchy and relatable, covering the challenges of navigating romantic relationships and a sense of being out of place. Her vocals are dreamy yet powerful and fuse with the band to create dynamic and emotive songs. Porcelain Doll perform regularly around Brighton and have just released their debut EP “All In My Head (Side A).” Two of its tracks – Disconnect and Space Boy – have been picked up for radio play by BBC Introducing.

16 Nov

Disconnect

Porcelain Doll

Who are Porcelain Doll? Where you’re from, how you met, how long have you been playing together?

Freja: We’re based in Brighton – me and John are housemates and during lockdown we started jamming together on some songs I’d written. I knew I really wanted to get our pal Sean involved on drums once rehearsal studios opened up again as I’d seen him perform with his other band Easy Hours and absolutely loved them! Sean then introduced us to Easy Hours bandmate Tom who joined us on bass.

Who came up with the band name and does it have a story or any meaning behind it?

Freja: So we were really struggling to agree on a band name for ages, originally I was really pushing for Night Signs

Tom: What? Night Signs? I don’t remember this!

Freja: Yeah this was a whole thing! And Sean wanted to be Seven Dials

Sean: I still think Seven Dials is a good name

Freja: It is a good name but just weird because none of us live in the Seven Dials area of Brighton! So yeah we were struggling to come up with a name for ages and then one day I was looking back through old songs I’d written as a solo artist and there was one that I released back in 2016 called Porcelain Doll and I thought that would make a great band name so I suggested it to the band and thankfully everyone agreed on it!

If you had to describe the band using just five words, what would they be?

Freja: Hooky fuzzy bubblegrunge, umm anyone got another two words to add?

Sean: No the five words should be “It is a benign dictatorship”

Freja: Hahaha okay yeah I definitely like to have full control over what we do, I don’t think those five words really sell us as a band though!

John: Nah he said the dictatorship is benign, that won’t put people off!

Freja: Okay sure

Who are your biggest influences musically?

Freja: I listen to loads of female fronted indie rock, my aim is to basically make music that could go on my Alt Girls playlist alongside bands like Wolf Alice, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Black Honey and Soccer Mommy.

Sean: Mine’s PJ Harvey

Tom: wait I’m quickly googling “female fronted bands”

Freja: Haha you can pick a male fronted band if you want

Tom: Okay I’m going to go with Pavement then

John: The Black Keys

What’s the band’s biggest claim to fame so far?

Freja: We released our debut EP in September and two of the four tracks were picked for radio play on BBC Introducing which we were pretty hyped about!

What’s your songwriting process?

Freja: I write all the lyrics and melodies and then me and John will work on them together at home putting guitar on them, then we’ll send recordings of what we’ve got to Tom and Sean so they can have a think about ideas and then we’ll work out the bass and drum parts in the rehearsal studio.

If you could go on tour with any current band or artist, who would it be and why?

John: Taylor Swift

Freja: I was actually going to say Taylor Swift do you know why?

John: Because she sells out stadiums and makes loads of money?

Freja: I mean yes, but also I’ve seen that some of the supports on her upcoming tour are more indie/alternative, she’s got Paramore and Beabadoobee, so I think sound wise we could feasibly support her. Also I love her. How do you feel about that though Tom and Sean? You two don’t really listen to Taylor Swift

Sean: Nah I’ll go with it, John makes a valid point

Tom: Yeah same, I like her song that had a goat in it

Freja: You mean that edit someone made of Trouble with the goat noises from like ten years ago?

Tom: Yeah I guess so? That’s all you need to know right?

If you could put your dream team band together consisting of any musicians from the past or present who would the band members be?

Freja: Shall we pick one member each? Mine would be Lorde as singer and songwriter

John: Eddie Van Halen on guitar

Tom: Brian Gibson from Lightning Bolt on bass

Sean: Animal from The Muppets on drums

How would you describe your live show to someone who has never seen you perform before?

Sean: I don’t know I’ve never seen Porcelain Doll perform before either

Tom: Our gigs are pretty dark

Freja: What? Do you mean the content or lighting?

Tom: The lighting

Sean: I’d say our gigs are fun, we have allocated banter sections

Freja: Yeah we just like to have fun with our gigs, a lot of our songs are loud and catchy, a good vibe to rock out to, but we also like to have a chat to the audience and make fun of ourselves a bit!

Do any of you have any pre-gig or post gig rituals? If so, what and why?

Tom: Freja’s pre gig croissants!

Freja: Yeah I don’t like to eat a meal before I play a show so I’ll just bring a big bag of croissants with me and snack on those throughout the night.

Sean: I lose a clamp and blame it on someone else

Freja: Is that something that happens regularly?

Sean: Well it’s happened at least twice

John: I have my post gig kebab

Freja: Oh yeah post gig chips for me!

What would your ultimate rider be if you could have anything without being accused of being a diva?

John: I just want someone to set up all my pedals and tune my guitar for me

Sean: That’s a roadie not a rider!

Tom: I’d want the masseuse I had at Center Parcs, If she could come do my back for like an hour that’d be lovely.

Freja: I’d want my own caterer

Tom: to make you croissants?

Freja: I was thinking more like a post gig meal but sure they can do my croissants as well that’d be great!

Sean: I don’t want a lot just some olives

This question is for all band members. If we were to browse your music library what is the most embarrassing song we might find? Or who is your guilty pleasure artist?

Sean: I listen to the Gran Tourismo 2 menu music a lot

Freja: What? Why?

Sean: It’s just quite relaxing

Freja: Mine is Oasis, it’s so uncool to unironically enjoy Wonderwall in this day and age but I genuinely love that song

Tom: Mine would be Steely Dan

John: There’s a lot of Lynrd Skynrd on my spotify

Tom: That’s nothing to be embarrassed about

John: They’re quite confederate though

Tom: Are they?

John: Yeahh

Tell us one thing your fans would be really shocked or surprised to hear or learn about the band

Freja: One of us is actually a published author who writes under a pseudonym

If people want to check you out online where is the best place to go?

Freja: You can follow us on instagram and facebook @porcelaindollband and twitter @ppporcelaindoll Our debut EP “All In My Head (Side A)” is available on all online streaming platforms.

Finally, What does the future hold for the band?

Freja: Our last two gigs of the year are coming up this month at The George Tavern in London on 18th November and at The Hope and Ruin in Brighton on 27th November. We’re taking a little December break after those and then we’ll be back in the new year with a new EP!