By Liam Menzies (@blinkclyro)

Originally conducted in March 2017

Following up the massive success of their sophomore record Babes Never Die, Scottish rock duo Honeyblood are set to continue their ‘the bigger the better’ mantra with their largest UK tour to date. Performing at least five times in Scotland alone, not including their 6Music appearance, the band will kick-start it all off in Australia of all places, traveling via Asia before they start the UK leg in Ireland. We chatted to Stina Tweedale as she talked us through what it’s like to be in one of the best up and coming bands in the UK.

BLINKCLYRO: So you’re going to be performing in the 6music festival later this year: is it still a lot to take in being included amongst home-grown juggernauts like Belle and Sebastian?



Stina: Of course! It’s an absolute honour to fill in that slot since there are so many acts that they could have chosen from. 6Music have always been great for championing new music so it’s so nice to be asked and especially since it’s taking place in Glasgow.

BLINKCLYRO: Honeyblood has been around since 2012 which is quite a milestone: are there any plans to celebrate the fifth birthday?

Stina: Wow! I hadn’t even thought of that to be honest, five years my goodness. It’s almost been since our very first gig was in April though we probably won’t since we tend to just celebrate the anniversary for Cat’s first gig which is in September. We celebrated it about two years ago and got her some presents, embarrassed her a little bit!

BLINKCLYRO: Babes Never Die came out last year to a very warm reception, how are you feeling about it post release?



Stina: Good, it’s nice to have it out since we had been working on it for a year and then once it was all done we were kind of just sitting on it. It’s always nerve-wracking to release an album, especially when following up the first one I’d say so it’s a relief to see people are into it as much as they were our debut.

BLINKCLYRO: Is there a song in particular, either from the new album or your debut that you’re particularly proud of?

Stina: Off the last album definitely Babes as it’s very personal to myself and I’m glad that it’s been so well received. Cat (Drummer) and I both felt that Love Is A Disease is one off the album that really shows a real a shift in songwriting and demonstrates the band developing. For me, those are the ones that are notable achievements in our eyes.

BLINKCLYRO: Obviously both yourself and Cat are women in a female only duo, do you feel like festivals are doing enough to represent women in their line-ups or is it still an issue?

Stina: Yeah I think there’s been an improvement, especially since the band started back in 2012. We don’t really tend to present ourselves a female duo but it definitely is something that I’m aware of. I can only see the world through the eyes of a woman so all the issues and inequalities that are present in the music industry really do vex me.

BLINKCLYRO: Linking onto that, you’ve both performed at T in The Park prior to the festival announcing its cancellation for 2017, how are you feeling about that as well as TRNSMT replacing?

Stina: Yeah, we’re not playing TRNSMT as far as we know sadly and probably won’t be but TRNSMT is definitely something that needs to happen. It’s a natural evolution to T In The Park so it can only be a good thing!

BLINKCLYRO: You utilise social media very well: do you feel like this is a necessity nowadays with the age of the internet?

Stina: Yeah definitely! No matter who you are, even if you’re a band who don’t use social media at all, you’re still benefiting from the tools. People will hear about those acts for not using social media and they’ll find it unusual but it still gets them interested. It’s especially great for bands like ourselves, an indie label act to generate our business so we can talk to fans, venue organisers and what not.

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