'We spent the whole day just sitting. I never do that.'
Let's Eat Grandma's Rosa Walton clears her mind in nature
Let's Eat Grandma isn't just one of the UK's most critically acclaimed musical duos, they're also one of the busiest. Since the release of their second record Two Ribbons, they've just shared the stage supporting Elton John and are staring down the barrel of 3 months straight touring. They also happen to come from Norfolk, home to our very first UK locations, so we thought it was only fair we sent Rosa from the band out there to decompress. We caught up with her after her first nature session to talk about how sitting and doing nothing could well be the most radical thing she's done in ages.
Unyoked: I feel like your year has really ramped up right since your record company came out. You've just been on tour for forever. Rosa Walton: Yeah, it's intense. We're doing we're writing a soundtrack at the moment. And that's just coming to an end. And we've been doing press for the record. And then we're touring for three months in the autumn, which is coming up really soon. So it's very nonstop have not had a break an ages. I'm always curious when people are in like the middle of like, a really hectic part of the touring, you know, that promotional cycle. How do you stop yourself from completely losing your mind when you've got a bunch of shit going on? That's a great question. And I would love to know the answer to that. I think the mind is is truly been lost.
Haha! Are there strategies for when you're dealing with what can be weeks without sleep and lots of talking to people like me, just that relentlessness? I guess it's just going with it to be honest. Definitely the unpredictable lifestyle, I think creates that sort of instability. And I guess it's just about going with it and trying to get sleep where you can because I'm a person that doesn't do very well when I've not had to sleep. I can nap in many different places.
Can you nap sitting up? No, but I guess I could find somewhere to sort of rest anywhere. Whether that's, like, lie down on the floor of an airport or something.
“That was one of the things that I really loved, was that we could just sit and look out at nature and listen to music…the sort of peacefulness of it that you don't get in the city.
You're obviously from Norfolk, where we have our first location in the UK. What are the chances of that happening? And I don't know heaps about the area but from what I do understand is a very beautiful part of the UK. Are you more comfortable in cities? Or do you prefer to be out in the country? That's really a good question. And something that I've been thinking about a lot recently, actually, in terms of where I am and where I'm living at the moment. It's kind of like, in between the countryside and the city. And I think I'm the sort of person that really needs both, that that was one of the things that I loved about being at the cabin. I was with with my boyfriend, and we just like, spent the day just kind of just like sitting in the cabin. And we don't usually just sit, I mean, absolutely rubbish at that. I have to be doing things all of the time, just fill my mind. That was one of the things that really loved about getting there is that we could just sit and look out at the nature and listen to music ... the sort of peacefulness of it that you don't get in the city.
Is that how you grew up? Or you were you, again, halfway between city and country? Um, well, I grew up in Norwich. So it's like a small city. So it's kind of halfway between city and country and the way that you can just get in the car drive for 10 minutes and you're in the countryside. You get a bit of both. I think it was, yeah, really good place to be a kid and grow up there spent a lot of time in nature. My dad is a wildlife group leader for a job. He specialises in birds and moths. I spent a lot of time with him looking at them when I was growing up and going on walks and going to the coast. You must be very good. Maybe we should use you to figure out the birds around all of our new locations. Well, you know, I think because of the fact that I had it drilled into me from a young age, I feel like I'm not very good at it. Because it's like his thing. I'm sure some of it's seeped in, but I was always quite defiant that that wasn't going to be my thing. I probably know less than most people. So as somebody who doesn't get that many days off, and as you've said, is not normally able to just sit and do nothing, when you knew that you were going to go out to the cabin were you a bit like 'Shit, what am I going to do?' Were you worried? Yeah, good question. I do generally get worried about what I'm gonna do if I have time off, but I think because it was a different place it sort of makes it a bit easier. I think maybe we expected that we would do more, that we that we had options; we'd taken our books, for a start. We weren't expecting literally just to do nothing at all. How did you feel when you came back from two days of doing nothing? Oh, really good. Yeah, just well rested. Like my mind is clear. And like I was in just like a different space. I think that's the nice thing about being in different places that kind of takes you out of your habits and your routines and thinking patterns. And I did feel clear, I think, from that.
We have a lot of people who come back and say, 'Right, I've discovered the answer to every big problem I've ever had.' Yeah. Got to go back again for that! We can make that happen. I was also curious, when it comes to writing and recording, are you guys typically doing that in bedrooms and studios in a combination, what does it look like for you? All of the above really, we usually do the writing bit in our bedrooms. And then we make quite fully formed demos. And then we take it to the studio. And yeah, then rerecord bits. But the writing is kind of done all over the place, yeah, mainly in our bedrooms. But if it's something like lyrics, it could just be like, on the train, on a walk, whatever. I mean, obviously, I was going to suggest that you go back and you can start writing lyrics in a bedroom that has views of the valley instead of whatever your current bedroom looks like. Yeah, I'm always up for trying new ways writing as well, lyrics is the bit that I definitely find the hardest. I don't really know why, actually, I guess there's just so many potential things to say and it's sometimes hard to nail them down. But yeah, that's definitely the bit that I sort of agonise over and the music just flows a bit better. I think particularly when we talk about using nature is something that can kind of clear your mind - and you mentioned it before, around going for walks and stuff like that - but what do you do when you're stuck? Especially when you're writing stuff by yourself, without someone to bounce off. Do you get to a point where you just go 'fuck this' and leave the house? Ah, yeah, sometimes I think I try too much. I try too hard. And that isn't usually a good thing. But I realised that is a song is going to flow, then it will naturally. It shouldn't require pushing. And I know some artists kind of like, make a point of writing every day, but that's not me. Now, it's been a while since I listened to the record in full, but I feel like there were definitely parts where you had either samples or it felt like field recordings of birds on like, 'Sunday' or something like that. Can you talk to me how that kind of came about Yeah, so that's on 'In The Cemetery'. Basically, I'd put in a really shitty sample off, 'Zapsplat Sounds' or something, because I thought it needed a birdsong in the background. Jenny was like, 'Yeah, that's, that's a great idea, but I'm gonna go and record some.' So she went to the actual cemetery with a microphone and recorded the birds. And that was nice, because it's really nearby where both of us grew up, and we both go for walks. It's really beautiful place. I still go there a lot. And so it's kind of like the sounds that we're used to hearing on our walks, which is quite nice. That's lovely. I feel like people really underestimate the serenity of cemeteries. Absolutely, yeah. People think that they're just like really morbid dark places, but I think they're the opposite. I think that there's a lot of depth to them, obviously, that there are many things but they're beautiful places and inspiring places and peaceful places. And they're often quite green as well, which people forget. Definitely yes. Yeah. Especially in in cities. Like in London, the cemeteries are one of the the only green nice green spaces. Maybe that's what we should be doing rather than trying to find landowners in in Norfolk. We should just be taking over cemeteries. Yeah (laughs) I guess people can have different spiritual experiences. Is this something that you think, either personally artistically, you'd want to do again? Would you want to get, you know, the rest of your band unyoked? Absolutely. I'd love to get there again. Yeah, had a really good time and thought wasn't enough time! Because, it was so good. I could definitely imagine using it to write as well, to be honest. I really like writing in different places, because I think inevitably some of the surroundings do seep into the song. And that would be a good place to have the surroundings seep into the song! Failing that, we can just get some ZapSplat birds in there. Yeah! (laughs).
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