Interview and photos by Keira Anee

Calva Louise are a multicultural three-piece force of Jess (vocals, songwriting, guitar – and answering these questions!), Alizon (bass, vocals, a lot of driving) and Ben (drums, vocals). 

Jess was born in Venezuela, spent teenage years in France where she and Alizon met, then moved to London where they met Ben (who, actually, is from New Zealand). They released their debut album Rhinoseros in February and are set to play Siren Calling Festival in London on August 17th.

Who would you most like to cover one of your songs? 

It would be an honour if anybody took the time to cover one of our songs, but I think we’d love to see any of our friends do a cover.

If you could add one member to your band – any person, living or dead, musical or otherwise – who would it be, and what would they play?

Henry our cat, playing keys!

What was the last song you wrote, where were you when you came up with the idea, what inspired it, and how did it turn out? 

Last song was ‘Sleeper’. The idea came from a book I’ve read called ‘The Art of dreaming’. Think the song is pretty cool!

Which was your favourite gig you’ve a) played and b) watched?  

Our favourite so far, to play and watch was our last show of the tour with Strange Bones in Leeds!

Also, supporting Albert Hammond Jr, and seeing him live, was absolutely immense.

Recommend a record that you think our readers might not have heard of.

‘Vida’ by Venezuelan rapper Canserbero. His lyrics have the power to relate to every aspect of life and also to give a strong insight to what it is to grow up in Venezuela.

There’s also Nellie Mckay’s album. She’s an awesome rapper and pianist from the US, the record is packed with amazingly catchy tunes, super talented, she’s worth checking out for sure.

What’s your best piece of advice for young musicians? 

There’s no formula, everyone takes a different path and sometimes it’s difficult but necessary to not let yourself be controlled by your emotions, whether your feel bad or good about yourself. 

Your top 3 most beloved albums ever – go. 

Queens Of The Stone Age – Songs For The Deaf, The Strokes – Is This It, Calle 13 – Multiviral

What are your musical goals? 

Keep doing what we love – making music and touring whenever and wherever we can! 

What’s the most important thing we need to know about your band right now? 

Expect new things soon..

Give your top 5 contemporary bands/musicians

Queens of the Stone Age – Homme’s unique composition and guitar playing

Pixies – Originality and innovation 

Strange Bones – Mind blowing energy, amazing powerful tracks

Nova Twins – Super hot tunes, kickass live act as well

Tyler the Creator – he’s an artistic mastermind when it comes to production and his records are super odd but cool