Bouche Will Not Let You in Again (2025)

Bouche Will Not Let You in Again (1)

Love is a theme that comes up often throughout the conversations Mustard has with the independent artists they speak to. As a condiment who cannot express love nor feel it themselves they remain fascinated by its power. Love, they have learned, comes in no specific shape or template. Each human has their own definition of love and its components. How a human displays this love varies and how the human receiving accepts the love is up to the individual themselves.

For Bouche, an independent pop artist from London, this is all they wanted on their newest single The King. On it they share how much brought into a relationship materially and how not to get close to anyone who does not know where they stand.

Inspired by the likes of Joanna Newsom, Virgina Woolfe, and

Patti Smith

Bouche brings an undeniable and captivating energy in their music. Watch any of their live shows and it feels more than just a gig; they have crafted an experience that will remain with you.

In our conversation below we discuss their relationship with music growing up, their radio show, Love Machine, and so much more!

1. Mustard is grateful and appreciative to have you join them at Music Shelf. How are you doing today?

Bouche is alright! Loving this little spate of bright days.But it's a rollercoaster rn, you know?

2. Mustard wonders what your relationship with music was growing up?

Music was my best friend, and an escape. I had a really tough time socially as a kid, and the way it felt to put myheadphones on and dive deep into my favourite albums, it was so soothing, and exciting, and made sense in a way that so much else didn't. I used to sing all the time, especially on the stairs for some reason. I got a paper round when I was 12 and saved up my ten pounds a week til I had enough to buy a guitar. Music was how I made an alternate, fantasy identity for myself, and I guess it kinda still is.

3. Mustard has observed that you are an artist orbiting around music mostly. When did you first begin orbiting around music? Has the atmosphere changed over time?

It took a while. It wasn't an orbit I thought was possible growing up. When I moved to London I was running live music nights for a while. I didn't feel good enough, or cool enough (haha) to put myself out there as a musician though. But one day a travelling musician I'd booked for something left a washtub bass in my house, and happenstance took me out busking with it with some friends. We ended up playing a gig that night and it just went from there. I never looked back.

4. They have also observed that bouche is an allowance of drink or food for a group of advisors in a royal household. Did a specific royal meal inspire your band name?

Bouche did not know that! If there is such a thing as pure inspiration then the name happened in such a moment. It popped into my head one day out of nowhere, and it felt perfectly right.

5. Bouche (the band) has an opportunity to curate a menu for their listeners and royal members of London. What would be on this menu? How does this menu represent your music?

Oh my! I would absolutely do this. At one of our Love Machine shows over the summer I made spinach & sumac pastries with a tahini & herb sauce, and coconut & orange blossom polenta slices with cardamon cream for our guests.It would be like that, but with like nine or ten plates, loads of pickles, and breads. I love to bake, and ferment. There would be loads of intricate detail, without being fancy. It would include elements inspired by multiple traditions, and it would all be local, seasonal - done with doing the least harm in mind, which to me is a way of loving.

6. Mustard is curious: what key elements are required to create a Bouche song? Could you share more about your creative process?

Bass and melody. It almost always starts with an idea on one or the other. Then I work at the other one til I'm happy with it as it's own thing. While I'm doing that I think about what it is I want to say and I try to find lyrics that express the idea or the feeling, and that feel good to sing.That said I'll occasionally pick up a guitar or sit at a piano or something and a song will form. But it always has to go through the bass and melody pipelines at some point if it's going to become a Bouche tune.

7. Who (or what) influences Bouche?

If I built some kind of shrine it would be a triptych with Bowie on one side, Björk on the other, and Old Time music in the middle. Bowie and Björk are like guiding principles for me as an artist. But Old Time is the music I have played for the longest (shout out to my other band The Pegwells!) and kind of love the most. It's the music of Appalachia and the early American south, all scratchy fiddles and hypnotic tunes. It's the folk music of the British Isles gone over with the colonisers and transformed by a West African sense of harmony and rhythm, and by the banjo which came from West Africa originally. It's right at the base of the family tree that births country, blues, jazz and ultimately rock n roll and pop. It definitely influences how I write and how I play. Even how I think, maybe? I'm also imagining books and flowers and images from art and film and fashion placedall around that triptych. So much has an impact on me. I'm drawn in all directions and take influences from everywhere.

8. According to IMDB (dot com) you played Debtor 3 in an episode of Marshal's Law. Can you confirm if this is accurate? If accurate, could you share more about your acting experience?

OMG this always happens. I volunteered to clone myself in 2003 when I was in a bind and needed some quick cash. Other me is always doing random stuff. I'm proud of them fortheirapparentcuriosity and like, lust for life, but boy does it lead to some misunderstandings!

9. In addition to being a singer, songwriter, and bass player you also hosted your own radio show via Margate Radio. How did you decide what to play on your show? Are readers still able to listen to your show?

Yes they can absolutely listen, I would love them to. It's all on bouchemusic.co.uk. I made it over lockdown, and I had a little studio at the time. It was a cabin out in the yard of a warehouse, a perfect little world in which to go on youtube deep dives, and follow the bandcamp rabbit. The shows were themed and I always started with a bunch of music from my internal jukebox that I wanted to share. But yeah, the rest was all exploration. I recommend it to everyone. Get a radio show and see what you discover.

10. Earlier this year you hosted "Love Machine"; a special event that showcases a variety of creative artists. When did you first get the idea to create Love Machine? Can readers expect another installment of Love Machine in the future?

Love Machine has been brewing for a couple of years. I'm something of a control freak, with a history of booking and producing nights, so it makes sense to me to curate and promote my own shows. Part of the idea is that I play with different musicians each time, so it gives me a chance to try out sounds and different instrumentation. The other part of it is trying to make the kind of night that I want to go to. I book acts and DJs who I genuinely love, and everyone together makes a warm and kind space. I want people to feel good, it seems important to me. And yes! Watch this space for more, we'll be back next year for another one.

11. Speaking of live shows on Bandcamp listeners can enjoy your performance from "Live at Nells" from 2015. What does Nells mean to you? How did it feel to record this show?

Oof this one hits in the heart. Nell's is a club that my beautiful friend Vince Power opened a few years back, named after one of his daughters. Vince passed away last year, and it's still crazy to me that he's gone. He has been a champion of me and my music since we met back in like, 2012 maybe? And that's a gig he gave us supporting Van Morrison, so you know, the sound quality was goooood. Never have I ever again had such great monitor engineers. Or any monitor engineers.

12. This album features "Je Me'accuse Blues" which can also be found on your debut album So Long Solemn. For those who may not know what are the Je Me'accuse Blues? What are some signs that a human (or animal) may have them?

Oh man. The Je m'accuse Blues are when you are deeply miserable, about something, and that something is and was entirely your fault and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Classic signs would be sulking, sighing, staring at the floor for extremely long periods of time, kicking stuff, spinning slowly round in circles as if looking for a doorway into another dimension.And then possibly eventually vowing to give up something-or-other forever, maybe joining a gym or volunteering to help injured hedgehogs, something like that.

13. Mustard wonders: are the dogs still howling? Were you able to find your way back?

Nah. I've got a lot of compassion for the things I messed up back then, in my more chaotic era. I'm home and I'm dry, and have certainly found my way somewhere.

14. Earlier this year you released your debut album "So Long Solmen." When did you first begin working on this project? How did it feel to say goodbye to those solemn feelings?

That album's actually much older, it's songs from around 2014/15 and it was released in 2016.The hard thing about that project was that I truly hoped the release of that album would be goodbye to those feelings. But, spoiler alert, it wasn't. I actually crashed harder than ever after that release. I was truly burnt out from trying to make my career happen alongside surviving. All the pain and confusion that those songs are about was deeply rooted and it took some mammoth work to dig it all out. That's why it's been such a long minute between that album and what I'm doing now. I had to get well. It's still ongoing, and the world isn't getting any easier. But I'm in a much better place nowadays than I was back then.

15. Mustard has observed this album is structured very similar to your set from The Old Boys Club. Did you structure the album after your live set?

It's actually the other way round. The Boys Club set is us performing the album live as a launch event for its release. The best way to enjoy that show is to watch the whole thing on youtube. The Boys Club is a stunning venue, but there's also loads of other visual surprises in that show that I don't wanna give away here. But trust me, watch it!

16. Mustard loves the stories you tell throughout. Who are some storytellers that have influenced you creatively?

Alasdair Gray, Audre Lorde, Joanna Newsom, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolfe, Jeanette Winterson, Maria Alyokhina, Billie Holiday, Dave Eggers, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, Patti Smith. Those are some that instantly spring to mind.

Bouche Will Not Let You in Again (2)

17. Mustard would like to congratulate you on your newest single The King. Did a specific king in history or fiction inspire this single?

Lol. I mean yeah. I don't wanna say too much because he was soft and warm like I said. But I was frustrated with the situation because he owned his house, his business, was in a marriage, and had various other social and economic advantages that I didn't have. But I felt like in the dynamic I was bringing so much, materially. A home for us to hang in, food for us to share, all the energy of hosting, and well loving, you know? That's why I'm saying - all I want is love and you want something more - it's like, I don't think he was doing it on purpose, he just didn't think about the situation at all materially. It was all air. I think the culture encourages us to forget aboutthe material when it comes to love. But you can't pay rent with air, however warm it is.

Bouche Will Not Let You in Again (3)

18. At the end of The King you make a point that you will not let them in again. Was this song inspired or influenced by actual events?

Ooh ok you went for "in". Undecided on my part whether it's "in" or "win". But yeah,it marks a real point of clarity in my life. A decision not to get too closeagain with anybody who doesn't come straight in with a deep, known understanding of where we each stand materially, socially, politically. Or at the very least a will and capacity to think in those terms.

19. Mustard loves the music video for this release. What was it like behind the scenes putting this music video together?

Aw mustard, thanks : ) It was a dream! The initial plan was just to do the live shoot at the Welsh Chapel. But me and Deniz - the director/editor - decided we wanted to give it some extra. Whenever me and Deniz work together it's lots of evenings talking and planning, we spiral around all kinds of ideas, and push each other to aim higher and higher. We came up with the plan for the other shots, and I spent a couple of months making and sourcing the outfits, and making my facial hair. I've done drag moustaches before, but a whole face thing is a lot of work. Then on the day I had to get to the park for 4am in full drag. We did that shoot at sunrise and the terrace at sunset, it was bananas! But I think we knew we were onto something. And we're determined af once we get going.

20. A human invites their friend to see Bouche perform. What three words best describe your live shows? Does Bouche have a pre or post show routine?

Mystery. Will. Love. I try to be really good to my voice before shows. Consistent warm ups in the days before. Lots of water. Gentle practice. That's always the goal anyway, work in progress.Post show I buzz about feeling hopefully good and not knowing what the hell to do with myself. Staring at people not being able to think of a single joined up sentence when they say totally baffling things like, so how do you feel?

21. What is on the horizon for Bouche?

I am popping to record and release an EP next year. The songs and the team and the vision is go, just need to find some money from somewhere somehow...meanwhile Bouche will be playing shows around London next year, and doing another Love Machine hopefully in the Spring. Keeping on trucking, y'know?

22. Where can readers listen to your music?

Instagram! No seriously, come to instagram. It's the one place I truly put everything, so you'll find whatever you're looking for via that.@bouchemusic yeah yeah!xx

Music Shelf with Mustard is a publication that interviews independent musicians from all across the globe. It is read in 44 states and 40 countries. Check out previous interviews here.

Music Shelf with Mustard originally began in early 2021. Inspired by independent musicians on social media application TikTok Mustard knew they had to do something to help share their music. Shortly after Music Shelf with Mustard was born. Its goal is to highlight independent artists from all across the globe. Mustard appreciates you taking the time out to read this interview.

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Bouche Will Not Let You in Again (2025)

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