Interview with Rosalie Cunningham, singer and guitarist of the psych/prog band Purson.

Purson belongs to la creme de la creme in the circle of neo psych/prog rock. You take all the good things : infernal guitars and keys that are tormenting you without a rest, aerial moments where the beautiful voice of Rosalie is accompanied by a majestic mellotron. Everything is thought perfectly and hard worked by young and talented musicians. Yeah, that's another great thing, their age ! I simply don't know any other band of our generation that managed to catch "the spirit" so well, they rock it like never before, we have an opened soul of what is a music tainted of psychedelia and progressive atmospheres, with some ghosts of german krautrockers knocking at their door. Everything is well structured and also visually mind blowing. Take a look at their music videos. Blow your mind, this is an explosion of senses, it's being under the spell with the eyes wide opened. They are bringing you down to their parallel dimension made of many colors and acid dreams. A real trip for the mind in its different paths, from the colorful moments to some dark and tortuous roads. Here's an interview with Rosalie Cunningham, singer and guitarist of the band.

Louis Hauguel : It's been a long way since Ipso Facto back in 2008, after the band split up, I remember about a couple attempts to start a new project ( that went from Ketu to Purson ), what kind of difficulties did you meet on the way that finally lead later on to Purson ? And how did you guys all met ?

Rosalie Cunningham : The biggest difficulty was finding like-minded people who not only understood the vision and direction, but were musically able enough to make it happen. I worked with some very talented people before Purson became fully formed but I always encountered the same problems. Musicians of my age who are good enough to play the songs, usually have strong ideas about how to play them and more often than not, they clash with my own. Meeting Ed was the first important step. He was the only person who I felt that kind of musical connection with. Sam was my best friend and we’d always had a shared love of music and art and glamour but the problem was, he wasn’t a musician. We realised that he had no choice, he HAD to be in the band, so he learned to play the keyboards pretty damn fast. George and I had been friends since we were very young and grown up together on a diet of The Doors, The Beatles, Floyd, Bowie and all the best stuff. We’d always played guitar together and when I was putting the band together, it just made perfect sense to have him in. Justin, our bass player, is quite a recent addition. He got in touch with us on facebook when we were advertising for a bassist, came for an audition and got the job right away. I think the car and the kaftan sold us before he’d played a note. James is even more recent. He is a friend of Jus’s.

2/ As it's pretty rare for our generation to be into that kind of music, how did you personally come up into the world of psychedelic and progressive music ?

It is a sound that I have been in love with for as long as I can remember. I grew up with all the classic rock staples but was always drawn to the more psychedelic songs. My Dad was a musician and I worked in a record shop when I was 14-16 so that aided my exploration. Then when I discovered prog in a big way, that was all I would listen to, always looking for more and more far out bands. There wasn’t really anything current that I could relate to so looking back became a bit of an obsession.

3/ Do you believe in the fact that "everything happens for a reason" ? Karma, unexplained phenomenons, that type of things that are happening sometimes and have an impact in our lives. Did anything like that happened with Purson as well, like some great, pleasant circumstances that seemed to come from nowhere ?!

Yes and I believe that whatever comes your way does so to teach you something. I wouldn’t have the strength to weather the storm and carry the emotional burden that is being the leader of a struggling band in this day and age if it wasn’t for all the mistakes and the disappointments. Things haven’t been easy for us but it just goes to show me more that I was born to do this. Of course, there have been some positive gifts from the universe too! For instance, a date on our recent tour was cancelled which we were really gutted about but it meant that we had 3 days off in Amsterdam which turned out to be the best time we’ve ever spent together as a band. It was important that that happened.

4/ Let's talk about Purson. You released your debut album earlier this year. You're just about to start a tour with Spiritual Beggars. Also I noticed a successful Pledge. Things seems to do pretty well for the band ! Tell me, are you more a studio or a stage person ?

Haha! I’m glad that it all looks smooth from the other side! It has been so much hard work! We are eternally grateful to the fans for helping us reach the pledge goal. Performing is great fun, it is a drug, the best high in the world, but I am more of a studio person. I spend most of my time writing in my home studio and it is a perpetual process that consumes my every waking thought sometimes. I suppose creating something I am proud of out of nothing gives me more long-term satisfaction than playing live. 

5/ Purson, one of the kings from Hell, it's a very specific thing ! How long did it take you to come up with this name, was it a difficult process ? Do you like old, dusty and mysterious books ?

We knew we wanted a powerful one word name but I was thinking it should be the name of a god. We stumbled across Purson when reading about demonology and liked the idea and the imagery that went with him. It wasn’t a difficult process, it just felt right. Mysticism and the occult have always interested me but it wasn’t until after we named the band that I started to get into it. Now, reading about the archetypes of angels and demons and how they can help explain the secrets of the universe is something I find fascinating.

6/ Visually speaking, whatever it's on stage or on the album's cover itself, Purson has this very 70's-ish "Hammer movies" feeling, it's also very glamourous. Did the whole outfit thing come up naturally among the band or was it something that you wanted very badly as part of the band's identity ?

The way we dress is our way of living what we love. Why stop at expressing yourself through just music and lyrics? I love dressing up and I have always collected vintage clothes, it’s a passion. I resent the fact that it is often criticised these days. Some people ignorantly see it as ‘hipster’ and style over substance but I don’t see anyone calling Elton John a hipster!

7/ These days, there is an important revival of 60's/70's psych influenced bands.

Is that scene still very isolated or growing a bit in London ? Are people quite opened or closed-minded ?

There has definitely been a resurgence of that kind of thing which is great for us. People are much more open minded about it, even hard-core metal fans are embracing it. I think there are a lot of rock musicians of my generation who feel quite alienated from current mainstream music and so are taking inspiration from the golden days of rock.

8/ Alright, now, what is your personal Top 5 records that you would take on a desert island ? ( assuming that there will be a turntable somewhere )

Oh god, that is a hard question! It would have to be old favourites but if you asked me this another time, you’re likely to get a different answer.

King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King.

The Small Faces – Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake

The Beatles – Abbey Road

David Bowie – Man Who Sold The World

I can’t settle on a 5^th one… It’s between Slade, The Move and The Idle Race.

9/ What are the upcoming plans for you and Purson, any new releases, maybe a dvd one day ?

I’ve pretty much finished writing the next album so I can’t wait to record that. We hope to being touring a lot more and playing some festivals next year and we’d definitely like to make some more music videos. We’ve got a load of ideas for videos.


10/ Those lines are yours : any comments, anything you would like to add about anything you may have done/listened to/read/seen recently ?

Errm…..This could take me a while so I’ll leave it blank.


11/ As a bonus question. You're a Taurus lady. What are your thoughts on Astrology ?

I think we are all affected by what is happening on a grander scale in the universe and the forces it creates. I’d like to know more about it. I can’t say I have much of an affinity with the typical Taurean personality traits though. In fact, apart from the stubborn and determined work ethic, I am the polar opposite! 

Thanks for the interesting questions!


Louis Hauguel for Fuzzine. (2013)