SpootHawk to take flight

Spoothawk on stage at Mareel. Photo: Scott Goudie

From a bedroom music project to a polished and professional debut album, SpootHawk’s rock n’ roll offering is sure to blow the ears of its listeners in glorious tongue-in-cheek panache.

The formidable five piece formed in June 2013, delivering guitarist and composer Ewan Nowak’s demos into gripping live performances.

Fellow guitarist Arthur Nicholson persuaded Nowak the songs should be performed live, and with Lewis Murray on drums, Rodrigo Ferrari Nunes on bass and Joe Watt on lead vocals, SpootHawk’s tunes took flight.

Nowak writes everything, from the guitar parts to the drums and vocal melodies, while enigmatic frontman Watt writes the lyrics, with some guidance from the Mareel sound engineer.

Last year rock lovers got a taste of things to come with Hot Love (Straight After Midnight) being played on the airwaves.

And listening to the final mixes this week, SpootHawk fans are in for a treat.

“It’s the sound I had in my head but I didn’t think we would ever get to it,” said Nowak after showcasing a track in the studio at Mareel.

The band recorded the CD last summer over the space of nine days. Since then Nowak has been taking his time over the record to get the best sound possible – looking as far as Toronto to get the right mixing and mastering.

It has been a long process and to keep the budget down Nowak did all the editing and pre-mixing himself.

“I ended up looking white and pasty and everyone else was broon,” joked Nowak after hours indoors.

After posting a recording one of the tracks online, he received about 30 mixes back from budding sound engineers.

It was mastered by Andy Krehm, who had mastered a Justin Bieber album, laughed Nowak, though to listen to the tracks there is not a hint of teeny-bopping pop music.

“This was the sound I had in my head; a kind of clean, heavy, bassy type of sound….It’s still tongue-in-cheek in places and a bit silly.”

For more see this month’s Music Matters in Friday’s Shetland Times.