Start Listening To: WOOM
The South East London quartet on self-producing their new EP, turning improvisation into harmony, and the power of voice at the heart of it all.
For nearly a decade, WOOM have been crafting music that thrives on intimacy, community and the unshakable strength of four voices in harmony. Emerging from South East London, the group began by reimagining existing songs together, slowly shaping a sound that is both experimental and deeply human. Their latest EP To Slow You marks a turning point: written, recorded, and produced entirely by the band, it’s a project infused with care, collaboration and independence. With new instrumentation, striking visuals and their first headline tour on the horizon, WOOM reflect on the making of the record, the influence of improvisation, and what they hope listeners take away from their work.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Hi, we are WOOM, a band from South East London who have been writing, recording and performing together for 8 years. We make music that centers the voices and harmony, drawing from a wide range of genres and influences.
What was the most rewarding part of creating your latest EP, and how did it differ from your previous projects?
Our new EP ‘To Slow You’ is our first totally self made record. We wrote, recorded and produced it ourselves - as well as the artwork, concepts and production of videos. We have a foot in all aspects of the project which in itself feels very rewarding, a lot of love, thought, time and care has gone into making it.
Can you describe the creative process behind the song ‘Welts’?
We wrote Welts on a writing trip in the countryside in 2021. It wasn’t long after a hard winter of lockdown so the heat and wild nature surrounding us felt quite heightened and visceral after being stuck in the city for so long, and all of those feelings really infused themselves into this track. One of the days Gray came home with welts on their legs after walking through fields of stinging nettles and grass and that inspired the lyrics. They added it to some beautiful guitar parts that they had written and the song was built from there. Another evening on the trip, we watched ‘A portrait of a Lady on Fire’ by Celine Sciamma. The very palpable and well depicted feeling of a crush and desire (that can’t survive) inspired the chorus - “I keep turning around, but you’re facing the ground”. It’s a song that really embodied our experiences of the time.
How do you feel your sound has evolved from your debut EP to ‘To Slow You’, and what influenced this progression
Since our first EP ‘Into The Rest’ in 2021 our sound has really evolved. Our band came together through writing and experimenting with arrangements of existing songs - and we really established our sound and practice this way. Our debut EP was mostly a snapshot of this time, consisting of live one-take performances.
Our desire to create our own material and develop our sound has driven the last 4 years of our practice. We have delved deeper into our songwriting, our skill set and had a lot of fun with production. On this record we also introduced new instrumentation (bass, saxophone and strings) played by our very talented friends Evie, Emma, Ant and Arthur. Through making this record we feel we have expanded sonically and further into the world of who we are as a group and we can’t wait to continue and see where that leads.
The visuals for ‘Welts’ are quite striking. How did you collaborate on the video, and what were your visual inspirations
This video had a few iterations. We always knew we wanted to incorporate the visceral fever dream of sunsets and feelings that came with writing the song. And in the end Lara in the band, a very talented videographer, directed and edited the video. We were lucky to collaborate with our friend Lorea as movement director, and some amazing dancers.
What role does improvisation play in your music-making process, and how does it influence your songwriting and final arrangements?
Almost all of our songs have come out of improvisation - someone will write some chords or have a small idea which we usually loop and then we sing ideas to it. It’s quite a vulnerable yet freeing process. We then take parts we like best and develop those.
As you prepare for your upcoming UK headline tour, what are you most excited about sharing with your audience during these live performances?
We cannot wait to play live again. To focus on making this record and all the pieces that came with it, we had to put performing to the side. And we have really missed the unique experience that comes with singing live and connecting with an audience. We’re excited to play the new record in its entirety, and some new ideas too. It will be our first headline tour and we are really looking forward to being on the road.
Can you share any memorable moments from your previous live shows that have impacted your approach to performing?
We have many memorable live moments, a lot of our development of the project came through playing shows and connecting with audiences. One memorable moment was our first ever show (at Brainchild Festival) - we were all singers in different projects so had sung many times but this was our first gig as a quartet. We had no idea what to expect but the response was overwhelming, a standing ovation and so much kind feedback - which definitely influenced our continuation of the project. Some other special moments were our last headline shows - selling out 2 nights at Southbank Centre in 2022. We worked extremely hard on curating the show and incorporated a full band - the response was really special and the feeling of playing to an attentive, full room was unmatched.
How do your personal experiences and surroundings influence the lyrics and emotions conveyed in your music?
Our writing, especially through improvisation, often brings out our subconscious feelings, the underlying bubbling emotions. We are influenced by everything around us, from personal experiences, conversations, films, music, life, and that all feeds into the music. The fact we share writing often means the lyrics can be a collective feeling too - or our different experiences or interpretations of the same feeling.
What do you love right now?
Community, connection, writing new music, delicious meals, appreciating each other, liberation
What do you hate right now?
Fascism, the genocide in Gaza, individualism, capitalism, corrupt streaming services and injustices of the music industry, disregard for our precious planet
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
Grace by Jeff Buckley - an album that feels timeless and somehow never fails to hit me deeply emotionally, and allows me to contemplate my own life, even after hearing it probably hundreds of times - Alice
When someone hears your music for the first time, what do you hope sticks with them?
We hope they connect with the simple power of the voice - it is the root of all we do.
