Your name:
Daniel Cochran.
Where are you from?
Originally from the North East of
England although I spent last year in Saudi Arabia and now live in Bahrain in
the Middle East.
Name of band:
The Belly of Paris (I'm
also the singer in UK art-rock band By Toutatis, who are on hiatus while I'm
here).
Who else is in your band?
The Belly of
Paris has managed to get musicians from all over the world. There are currently
six of us: myself, guitarist Robert Prest (UK), organist and vocalist Yasmin
Sharabi (US/Bahrain), drummer Sumit Sharma from India, Argentine bassist Carlos
Villarroel and Szabolcs Nigo, a trumpeter and bassoon player from Hungary. Bahrain's
a very small island so the musicians huddle together. It was easy to meet
people.
How would you describe yourselves and your music?
Originally it wasn't a million miles away from the baroque art-rock stuff I was
doing in the UK, but working with people from around the world changes the way
things sound. We're recording our debut album at the moment and it's still got
a smoky barfly element but is a bit more rhythmic and unusual.
Who are your main influences musically?
I come at it from
a folky background, I started over here doing that kind of thing.
Saltburn-by-the-Sea is where the old band were based so there's a
maritime/folklore edge to it, but also PJ Harvey, Shilpa Ray (we play similar
instruments so it has a bit of that in there), Tindersticks...etc. Plus the
rest of the guys bring their own influences. Sumit was in a post-punk band,
Szabi is more classical. It's an interesting mix.
What do you hope to achieve in music?
We love to play,
opportunities in the Middle East are limited so we aim to branch out to the UK
and India from time to time. At the moment it's Bahrain, Dubai. The debut album
is written and recording is under way; I'd like to see where it takes us.
What has been the highlight of your career so far, and
why?
We're just beginning but we had one of our songs featured on a BBC radio
documentary recently. Before this band I had music featured in the Sound it Out
documentary and at mima (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art). I've been
lucky enough to play shows with a lot of my favourite artists: RM Hubbert,
Eliza Carthy, Richard Dawson, The Lake Poets, but the topper was playing on the
same stage as Public Enemy at a festival last summer.
And what’s the moment you want to forget?
Leaving the UK
just as the By Toutatis debut album came out was a sterling piece of timing. We
couldn't promote it properly and I felt really bad for the rest of the band. We
managed to turn a profit for the label - a really cool independent called Tiny
Lights, but it could've done a lot more I suppose. I wasn't really thinking
clearly at the time.
If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent
your music, what would it be and why?
We've only released a couple as we're
currently recording The Belly of Paris debut album. That's due in summer. That
said There Was No Snake is a good early summation of what we do.
Where can we listen to it?
It's at soundcloud.com/bellyofparis
Where can we find out more about your music?
Our Facebook is facebook.com/bellyofparis /
twitter is @thebellyofparis and Instagram is @bellyofparis
