Salt House Lavish
Salt House Lavish is a musician, composer, engineer and producer from the north east of England. He has played music with some amazing people over the years and been a part of some great bands like The Lazybirds, Boulevard Lounge and more. He is free to create music on his own terms, as he says
Salt House Lavish is...?
...a multi instrumentalist, guitar, bass, piano, drums, percussion, keyboards. A producer, songwriter and performer. Ive worked as a chef for the last 20 years along side making music.
Something I feel is important is that art, food and music are all the same creative process just a different end result.
How did you get into music, who was your inspiration, respectively?
I got into music when I was about 12, my uncle gave me a guitar and something inside of my turned on. A few years later I discovered musicians Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and George Benson and that opened up everything for me.
Not only did it give me inspiration to play but I was learning from the masters. Since then I’ve been trying to master the craft myself.
Your latest release "Staring off into space" creates an amazing atmosphere, sounds like a great mixture of Pop meets Avantgarde Electronic, what's the story behind the song?
I’m deeply influenced by jazz and ambient music and people like Brian Eno, Igor Stravinsky, Miles Davis and more modern bands like DJ Food and Radiohead, and the greatest part of learning from these people is that they are all telling a story, not always with words.
So part of what I try to do is create and atmosphere where a tale can be told. So I start with an ambient/atmospheric soundscape and then build on top of that.
I had a few vocalists lined up but due to the pandemic they all had to cancelled and during this time I discovered some vocal samples online, so I take these and cut them up and try and tell a story from the fragments I find.
What can we expect from your upcoming Album?
The album in its entirety is my deep dive into the music I find in my head. I’ve taken some vocal samples and tried to tell positive or hopeful stories. The music on this album, is very cinematic, there are clever synth atmospheres and big swooshing string with big beats and beautiful vocals.
Its all powered by the desire to do something different. I feel we live in a society full of negative emotions and transient pop. I’m hopeful that the tides change at some point and we all find each other again and learn to be part of something positive and fruitful.
Also there is a secret second album coming out the same day called ‘Personal Moon’ it a bit more of an experimental album. Through the last year I’ve written so much material that I’m sitting on and is all being collated for release over the next couple of years.
You are from Stockton on Tees, how would you describe the music scene there?
Years ago, I used to be part of a more fundamental scene here, there was a lot of bands and a great atmosphere of connected musicians. The music scene in Stockton is a bit open at the moment. There are pockets of a scene happening, but I don’t feel as much a part of it at them moment. I’m involved with a few projects which are all starting to come together after all the lockdowns.
Do you remember your first ever self written song?
The first songs I wrote were all terrible, but I guess most peoples first songs are. Unless your Beethoven or Stevie Wonder. There are some that I’ve gone back to over the years for little ideas here and there but most of them aren’t good enough to make it today.
What’s next for you?
Next up on my schedules are getting some traction for this album. The other projects that I’m part of are taking shape, one album recorded with Thought Trumpet is coming together.
I’ve taken on a radio show slot with a local Radio Stockton that will be coming up soon too. Unfortunately for those that would like to see me live, there are no gigs planned for the time being, but I would never rule that out entirely. I have so many little projects on the go at the moment that I don’t have the time, but like I said, it might happen at some point.
