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  • 5 months ago
Speaking to NME after being shortlisted for the 2025 Mercury Prize for ‘Hamstrings & Hurricanes’ jazz star Joe Webb told us how it was inspired by Damian Lewis, David Beckham and Lionel Messi, as well as his band’s tribute to Oasis and seeking to the approval of Noel and Liam Gallagher

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00:00Good morning Joe Webb on the Joe Webb Trio. How are we feeling? We're feeling pretty, pretty surreal, man. I've got to say
00:05Where are we? What's going on? Well, you know what? I don't even know anymore. No idea. I was going to ask you that
00:12In the depths of one of London's poshest hotels because you've been nominated for a Mercury Prize for hamstring
00:19You've been nominated for a Mercury Prize for hamstrings and hurricanes. That's fun to say, isn't it?
00:23It is, yes. It's fun to say, but it's even harder to think about. I can't believe it.
00:28Like literally, I've been pinching it. We've been I was gonna say we've been pinching each other for four days now
00:32That would be kind of weird thing to say, isn't it?
00:36Does the band have an HR department?
00:38Well, to be honest, it's gonna need one soon
00:43But hamstrings and hurricanes amazing tile. Where does that come from?
00:45So it comes from a great actor great great musician a friend of mine guy a great great guy called Damien Lewis
00:51We were rehearsing up. I was playing in his band
00:55We rehearsed him one one day and we broke broke for lunch and the evening before Lionel Messi had just signed for into Miami
01:03And I noticed that Damien was was was was playing in some of these charity football matches alongside Beckham
01:09And I know that Beckham owns into Miami
01:11So I was like, oh, maybe there's possibility of going and then Damien was like miss a long really long way to go
01:15And you know, he's an aging football player
01:17His hamstrings might go and also you got to take into account the hurricane season as well
01:21So there we go. Hamstrings and hurricanes was born. No chance of a Beckham cameo on the album
01:25Mate, you know what if he's if he's up for it if Becks if you listen man, you're welcome anytime
01:30Well, it's a as just should be it's a real clash of cultures on this record. How would you describe the world you've created?
01:34Um, it's just super eclectic
01:37Try trying to get everything from all of our influences into one place, but trying to sound original with it as well
01:43So we're not literally just ripping off like, you know, the exact influence, you know, so yeah
01:49So yeah, we've got influences from from Beethoven to Liszt to Duke Ellington to Oscar Peterson to Oasis to
01:56To male voice choir Welsh male voice choirs and yeah
02:00How do you translate Oasis into jazz?
02:02Um, I think it's more the spirit than anything else. I think like cuz yeah
02:07Essentially, I think especially those early albums the Oasis albums is they're rock and roll albums
02:11And I think rock and roll is basically boogie woogie, which is basically stride piano
02:15So it's completely I really see them as you know in the definitely in in the same line, you know, so I think yeah
02:22It was the the if the final track on the album is is a tune called here I
02:26Which it which is the Welsh translation for for homesick and um yeah, the idea of but with with that was to kind of put some
02:34Classical ask you sort of tabusi sound in
02:37Arpeggiated piano stuff over a kind of a soft version of the shaker maker groove
02:42So yeah, so we tripped again like trying to put all these influences in one one place
02:47Have you got the nod from Liam or no yet to imagine their jazz fans?
02:50No, no, but I'd love to
02:52I don't know I think I
02:54I feel like I feel like no I think I think no I think knows I you know what?
02:58I don't know hopefully I mean if they if they want to reach out and tell us well
03:01We're we're we're we're here for it. Did you go to any of the gigs as a trio?
03:04Did so I went by myself actually I'm to us. I'm kind of like the main no
03:08I guess I'm kind of like the main oasis nerd here
03:11Um, but yeah, I went to one of the Wembley shows at the beginning of august and it was one of the best nights of my life
03:16Oh my god, and um
03:18Really strong shortlist. What'd you make of your competition?
03:21To be honest, I didn't see it's competition. I just
03:24It's just so lost to be involved literally like, you know got like
03:27I've it was it was such a great surprise seeing emma jean thackeray on on the on the list
03:32Um, she was a year above me in university
03:34So I haven't seen her for ages now
03:36You know what walked into the bbc building earlier on I was like, oh my god
03:39I haven't seen you for ages, you know
03:40And also weirdly on on the way here today. I was listening to sam fenders and I saw his name and yeah
03:45I mean, yeah, I just yeah
03:48I'm literally just well
03:49We're just really happy to be involved not competing necessarily. It's just just lust to be here, you know
03:54And we're going to newcastle
03:55We are going to newcastle. I love newcastle
03:57Flippin' heck
03:58I've great nights out in newcastle
04:00Secrets for surviving a night out in newcastle
04:02Well, I mean, I've tried and I've and I've survived so far, but you know, there's never say never
04:06Oh, yeah, of course
04:07It's actually my god. Yeah, so it's actually a track on the album called new newcastle fulfill where me and will were
04:14We're playing up in new in in
04:16Newcastle and we um yeah, we we we we had a daytime gig
04:20But we really wanted to go up there the uh
04:22The day before just gonna you know, have a few beers and stuff like that. So we heard that it was like a legendary place to have a night out
04:27So we we tried to do that exactly
04:29Yeah, but we we ended up having a burger that was so big. We just went to sleep
04:33Yeah, so so it was like so we failed and then we turned up
04:35We had a gig and we actually ended up going to newcastle daily, which we still had a great time
04:39But like the legendary night out was definitely sort of overshadowed by a by a burger
04:44Yeah, we we were just so full. It was like the eyes just fallen, you know
04:48Anyway, yeah, we come October you'll finish that burger. Yes, exactly
04:52Well, you know, it's on it's on the hot plate waiting for us, so it's cool
04:55Amazing Joe, thank you so much pleasure, man. Thank you
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