LISA KNIGHT INTERVIEWS NEVERLANDED

Neverlanded have released their debut EP, Fluffy Unicorns United. Lisa Knight, their manager, (occasional) photographer and all-around-superhero interviews them. Read below to get that special, insider scoop.

On Soundcloud, you've released a track called Scream 4 Ice Sream with hashtags that mention medication and mental health. Can you explain how these relate to the lyrics of the song?

Same way you take care of your physical health, you should take care of your mental health too. Unfortunately, the way the system works, it doesn’t provide adequate enough help to the majority of people suffering from mental health issues. Except if you have money, of course, but that’s not the case for most of us. People should invest more into nature, meditation, friendships and animals. They should discover and experience themselves rather than take medication that steals the light from your eyes or allow anti-social media to detach them from reality. WALL-E movie was so true! Not to be misunderstood here, but not all kinds of mental health illness can be treated without medication. Sometimes, though, instead of wasting time getting an appointment with NHS, where you just pop a pill that will zombify you, you should go to the woods, take your shoes and socks off and connect with nature. More eco and less ego. More meditation and less medication. And dogs! Dogs and animals in general are the best anti-depressant ever. The genre you're typically associated with, grunge, many have written off as a nineties fad that only has relevancy today through mainstream acts like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Do you think it's possible for an artist, within your field, to achieve their level of fame given how your target market is perceived?

Anything is possible. As Audrey Hepburn stated: “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says “I’m possible”. Out of the approximately 1000 sperm that enter the Fallopian tube, only about 200 reach the egg, and only one (well, not always) enters the egg to fertilise it. No matter how times change or technology advances an individual should only question one thing... themselves! What is fame for you? What is success according to you? What makes you happy? Once you have the answers, work on your craft. Put the hours in. Keep your eyes open and don’t be afraid of failing. Lao Tzu said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so don’t be scared to do this first step. Whether it’s for an ambition or for a target, take this first step. Fail, try again, fail again, get back on your feet and try again.

On your official website, you state that your music is free to anyone who donates to Mermaids UK. What motivated the band to make this decision?

Children are the only investment to the future of humanity there is. Supporting organisations that support children and young people, and there’s quite a lot out there, is an investment to humanity’s future. 'Cause with the right support, once these children are grown, they’ll do miracles from finding a cure for cancer, and other diseases, to interstellar travel. Apart from our beliefs, of course, we have our experiences, too. The band have watched a lot of TEDx videos of people and their journeys through birth, wrong gender assignment, transition, family, society and so on. No matter who the speaker was (age, nationality or religion) they all, or most of them, shared a commonality, They couldn’t see/acknowledge themselves in the mirror. This is something that members of Neverlanded have gone, or are still going through, from various perspectives so supporting Mermaids was inevitable.

For anyone unfamiliar with your sound, how would you describe yourselves?

We’ve heard from a lot of people that if Placebo and Nirvana had a baby, it would be Neverlanded. Which is very sweet to say, considering how heavily influenced we are by both bands.

In the future, what would you like people to say about who you are and what you represent as a band?

What people say or think is not our business. There’s a sea of perceptions out there, and life’s too short.

Interview by Lisa Knight

Photos by Shotison Media