Interview: More Ice and Honey
Q: How did More Ice and Honey form?
A: In 2013, pianist Gwijde Maegherman, cellist Otto Nuoranne, saxophonist Sara Foitova, and I (vocalist Natalie Grefenstette), lived together in a house in North London. We knew each other from university (UCL) and decided to form a band with Ivan Isakov (guitarist) that I knew from UCLU Jazz society. After a few weeks we realized we were missing the rhythm element and enlisted Hugo Fagandini (a drummer I knew from UCLU Jazz society) and More Ice and Honey was born. We would rehearse in our living room and Ivan and I would meet up to write bits of songs and then bring it to the band so everyone could have their input.
Q: How long did it take the group to develop its eclectic sound?
A: It didn’t take long to develop this eclectic sound seeing as we all put a bit of ourselves in it. This mix of opinions and styles led to this eclectic sound arising naturally. Most of us having met through UCLU Jazz society; we wanted to carry some of that attitude into it but mixing in other styles of music we liked.
Q: What is the origin of the band’s name?
A: Ivan and I used to do some duets, playing some jazz standards with our own twist. We decided we wanted a name that we could use for the duet and add ‘More’ in front when it was the whole band. That never stuck, but the ‘More’ did and as for the rest, those were bits of lyrics I add jotted down somewhere, and we liked the ring of it. Truth be told it was almost More Ice and Whiskey but one of our other flatmates was firmly against it (“Never put ice in whiskey!”), so I had to change it. I love honey, so the rest is history.
Q: Stylistically, how would you describe the group’s sound?
A: There is no one word to describe our style so I’d have to say a blend of folk, gypsy, jazz, Latin, and world influences
Q: How are audiences responding to the band?
A: New people hearing our music for the first time always come up to us saying how nice it is to hear something fresh and different. We always have great responses from the people booking us, from sound engineers to the audience.
Q: Does the group fit into any scene in London?
A: Unfortunately, that has been the hardest part. Being on the edge of a lot of genres does make it harder to ‘fit in’ to anything. We don’t ever intend to ‘fit in’ per se, but as a growing band it has come with its difficulties.
Q: What are the band’s current goals?
A: Currently we aim to grow our audience and write new material while keeping it fresh, different but authentic to what we like and want in music. We always try to vary things and try to write about things that are important to me — no love songs.