HONESTY interview – “Mind states were certainly warped!”

U R Here – with HONESTY

HONESTY was born in 2020, with four core members – George Mitchell, Matt Peel, Josh Lewis and Imi Marston – and a rotating cast of collaborators,

Starting as “an exercise in doing things differently”, it was initially designed as a remedy to Matt and Josh’s frustrations with the creative restrictions of their previous bands. Out went defined parts and play-by-numbers riffs, in came fluid roles and studio experimentation.

An acclaimed mixtape – Box – and the ‘Where R U’ EP followed and now, come 2025, we have the collective’s debut album, U R Here. Recorded at Matt’s Leeds studio The Nave, it’s a divine sounding collection of beats, songs, instrumentation both organic and electronic, gorgeous sonic textures.

It’s as addictive as it is hard to classify – even the band themselves have problems putting their finger on what their sound is. We needed to know more, so we put a few questions to them… are answered here by the band’s own George Mitchell.

Hi and thanks for your time…. First of all, can you tell us where you are right now, and what kind of day you’re having… Been anywhere already or going anywhere interesting later?

Right now, I’m at home in Leeds. It’s been a bit of a mad day as I’ve been staring at video editing software with square eyes for hours making our 3D/AV projections. The square eyed madness is worth it in the end though, can’t complain. Later, I’ll probably chain smoke and down red wine in anticipation for the album release tonight! 

Tell us about how HONESTY came about – who met whom and how, etc.

Matt Peel and Josh Lewis had been working together at The Nave, (leeds recording studio) on sync music and soundtrack stuff. Their previous band had ended and they wanted to continue making music together. I’d pretty much checked out of making music after Eagulls, but, thank god, they pulled me back in. At first, I was just jamming electronics with them, then we started bringing in different ideas and approaches. HONESTY started as a reaction to the idea of being a ‘traditional band’. This led me into searching for different voices and collaborators, and it grew from there. Imi was originally a guest on a track, but we all just clicked with her and now she’s a core part of it.

You’re described as more of a collective than a band “in the traditional sense” – what does that mean in a day-to-day, operational way?

It means there’s no one frontperson or fixed role. On any given day, different artists can be involved—one day it’s just us working on instrumentals, another day we’re in a room with a guest vocalist shaping songs from scratch. It’s fluid. Even live, the setup is fluid. We build in 3D/AV projection elements, remix other bands / artists, and generally improvise. The goal is to keep it evolving rather than just repeating the same thing. 

You’ve brought in some very well-known people like Florence Shaw and Liam Bailey for specific projects – and lots of very interesting other ones, too. What does that bring to HONESTY’s dynamic and who would you bring in, alive and/or dead, if budget and mortality were no object?

Each collaborator shifts the sound and brings a new perspective, which keeps things fresh. Florence has such a distinct presence—her voice feels like a conversation pulled from another room. We wanted to place her voice on something (‘Genitile’) really different from her band Dry Cleaning. Liam has this raw, soulful energy that made NO RIGHT 2 LOVE hit even harder. His lyrics brought a strong political vibe too. If we could bring in anyone? I’d love to work with Tricky—his vocal delivery has been something I’ve been looking for in this project from day one.  And if we’re bringing back the dead… perhaps Arthur Russell! Would be amazing chopping up the weird and beautiful things that he’d come up with.

The visual aspect to your work seems very important too, especially videos…

Yeah, for sure! Visuals are a huge part of HONESTY. We’ve been very lucky to have worked closely with UNCANNY , a London design duo, that have worked with Asap Rocky, Brockhampton etc. Everything from album artwork to videos has been creatively directed through us by them. The idea is that the imagery isn’t just an afterthought—it’s part of the whole experience. The U R HERE live show is a multi-sensory live experience. A 3D audiovisual performance designed to bridge the gap between club culture and traditional live gigs. It’s all about building a world around the music we’ve created and visuals play a key part in that for certain. 

How was the experience of creating something as traditional and rigidly formatted as an album for an amorphous collective-type outfit like yourself? Do the rules hem you in or breed creativity, or both?

It was definitely a challenge. A lot of what we do is instinctive and collaborative, so forcing it into a structured album format meant deciding what to leave out as much as what to include. But sometimes constraints can push you to make bolder choices and I feel like we did in the end. We didn’t want U R HERE to just be like a collection of singles—it needed to feel like a journey. The mixtape (BOX) was easier to piece together as it was just leftovers. We kind of just stuck that in the microwave and heated the leftovers up. 

What came first and what last? Where was it made and what was your state of mind at the time? Did either have an audible effect on the results?

It’s a bit of a haze as to what songs came first and last. I think ‘WWWWW?’ was the first track with vocals on to get mixed down? Who knows? Everything was made at The Nave studios in Leeds. The mood definitely affected the music—some tracks feel chaotic, restless, like the world outside was creeping in. Others have this sense of release, like getting your head above water. The majority of the record was written during Covid, so mind states were certainly warped!  

“The album explores the psychological effects of modern life while embracing the freedom that comes with self-discovery and new beginnings” – tell us more about that idea…

Modern life IS overwhelming—information overload, fractured attention, everything moves too fast. There’s paranoia in that, but I also see the beauty in it. U R HERE taps into that tension: some tracks reflect the claustrophobia of todays world, too overstimulated, while others feel like breaking free from it. It’s also personal—everyone in HONESTY has had moments of stepping away from something and rethinking their direction, whether it’s music, relationships, or identity. The album captures that feeling of recalibrating, and working out that U R HERE, I guess. 

What’s next for you in the short/medium/long term? What are you hearing that’s inspiring you? Any more live or release action we should know about?

Short-term, the Leeds album launch is the big one—we’re doing our live 3D/AV show and a DJ set after at Belgrave. Then we’re heading out with bdrmm in March, hitting the UK, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam. Longer-term, we’re already working on new material, but it’s too early to say what final form it’ll take. Inspiration-wise, I’ve been listening to Charlie Osbourne, Metrist, Deela, and the kitchen tap dripping. Live-wise, we’re pushing the 3D/AV side even further, making it more immersive. Release-wise, stay tuned for BABii’s remix and some of our own remixes. Thanks Juno.

To buy your copy of HONESTY’s U R Here album, out on Partisan today, by clicking here

Photos courtesy of Barney Maguire