New Blood: Haight-Ashbury

With debut album Here in the Golden Rays released this month, Glaswegian trio Haight-Ashbury are finally finding prominence on the Scottish circuit. Yet despite being in the early stages of their career, they already carry the weight of a rich musical heritage on their shoulders.

Having taken their name from the San Franciscan neighbourhood famous as being the epicentre of the city’s music scene during the Summer of Love in 1967, they follow in the footsteps of some timeless greats, but was the name choice based on a fascination with that era, or was it just a catchy name for a band? “A fascination is about the right word for it,” asserts guitarist Scott. “I love the bands from that period like Grateful Dead, and in particular early Jefferson Airplane. I visited the Haight-Ashbury district just before we got together so it was in my head at the time. We like the name because it tells you what we’re about in a word or two.”

And it is very much what they’re about. Taking their lead from the psychedelic-folk origins of those forebears, they produce sprawling songs that hark of that era’s indulgence and experimentation. Although Scott insists that much of their signature style was a happy accident. “The psychedelic aspect wasn't what we set out for but we stumbled into it. We tried to avoid the classic song structures to begin with and it just evolved from there."

Enamoured as they are with the sound of the sixties, the defining sound of Here in the Golden Rays is rather less specific. With vocalists Kirsty and Jen dropping their regional accents for a lilt that owes more to a collage of nineties U.S. indie bands, there’s little evidence of the Glaswegians’ origins – so was the Americanisation of the band an intentional one? “Yes and no,” says Scott. “Kirsty and I grew up listening to Déjà Vu, Blue and America religiously. My favourite artists are Chris Whitley and Stephen Stills so there is an intense American influence.”

Despite the heavy influence, Scott still feels that Haight-Ashbury are a more complex beast. “Scottish groups like Stealers Wheel and the Jesus and Mary Chain have had just as much of a say in the sound of the album. Tracks like Sympathetic Strings ended up with quite a Celtic sound, as well as a heavy eastern influence with the sitar. Nothing was intentional, we're happy with however it’s interpreted.”

Regardless of the band’s intentions, or the listeners’ interpretation, the end product is garnering some fine attention, not least of all from Radio 6’s Lauren Laverne. It’s a platform which has proven pivotal in their rise. “The support from all of the BBC6 DJs for our single Freeman Town in the summer was brilliant,” Scott enthuses. “We gained a lot from it. We didn’t know how radio friendly our songs were, but it’s great that people will still take chances with relatively unheard of new bands.”

Perhaps the most exciting outcome of their airtime was a gigging slot with one of Scotland’s indie royalty. “The Vaselines offered us the support for their whole tour just from hearing the song on the radio,” says Scott. “We'd love it if there was more of that to come.”

For the time being, however, Haight-Ashbury are taking to the stage as headliners on their November tour of the U.K., with the promise of delivering something special. “We pride ourselves on the way we set up live,” Scott offers. “Without using any backline we still create a lot of sound. What you hear on the record should pretty much be what you hear at the gigs… we hope.” Should that be the case, then November promises to be an exciting chapter in Haight-Ashbury’s promising future.