Larrakin Around

So what is the influence behind the quirky style that Larrikin Love has to offer? Luke Sellers feels it’s time to find out...

By Luke Sellers

Their live shows unite the beer-swilling rock chav and the art school scenester. They site Rimbaud and Orwell as influences and their music is an eclectic concoction of sounds veering between rock, reggae, bluegrass and Pogues-esque celtic foot-stompers.

No wonder Larrikin Love are tipped as one of the most exciting new bands of 2006. In the midst of their first headlining tour, front man Edward Larrikin talks about his passion for writing, press problems and what it is to be a Larrikin.

One aspect that sets Larrikin Love apart from their contemporaries is their powerful, poetic lyrics which owe much to Edward’s love of literature. “A lot of our influences are writers because that’s what I set out to be in the first place,” he explains. “I’ve been writing since I was 10, then when I was 17 I needed to find a good medium to put the words through.

“When I started learning the guitar it was more about putting what I’d written to music than writing songs. Along the way I met these fantastic musicians (Micko – guitar, Alfie – bass and Coz – drums). Now the music’s a huge part of it as well.”

Edward’s desire to communicate his words to a wide audience extends beyond the realms of indie rock. As well as recording Larrikin Love’s debut album (out in August) Edward has collaborated with artists from London’s grime scene. “There’s this producer called Static who’s brought people together from the grime and indie scenes.

“I’ve done a song with Roll Deep Crew and I’m doing a song with Static and Doherty”. The reluctance to mention Pete Doherty stems from early reviews where Larrikin Love were likened to the Libertines and Edward to a young Pete Doherty. “The biggest stick I’ve had from the press is because I talk about books and literature. Therefore they compare me with the last person who mentioned it (Doherty).” Despite Ed’s uneasiness at being compared to the Babyshambles front man, it seems Pete has recognised a kindred spirit in Edward: “He called me and said he wants to write a song with me,” Ed reveals.

As someone used to being free with words Edward often feels misrepresented when the bands words are consigned to print. “We did an interview with NME and they asked how we would label our sound. Alfie said ‘Thamesbeat’ as a joke. The next week it was like, Thamesbeat! Mystery Jets the Grandfathers of Thamesbeat! Jamie T, the beat poet of Thamesbeat! Larrikin Love the youngest members of Thamesbeat! We really regret saying that now.”

Larrikin Love’s debut album certainly looks set to distance them from the stereotypes created by sections of the music press. “It’s a concept album in three parts,” explains Edward. “The first part’s called ‘hate’; it’s about escaping London and England. The second part is called ‘fairytale’, about innocence and childhood and, the last part’s called ‘freedom’.

With the interview drawing to a close there remains one further question to ask: just what is a Larrikin? “If you’re a larrikin you’re a rascal, but in a charming way,” says Ed. Few bands embody their name quite so wholeheartedly as Larrikin Love.