Wild Cat Strike

In their own words, Brighton four-piece Wild Cat Strike channel their gleeful sense of cacophony and flair for sonic abrasion into engrossing off-kilter indie pop songs that hook hard on the heartstrings as they crisscross in and out of chaos.

We got in touch with bassist Chris Whitehorn to see what the Cats have been up to recently.

What’s new with you guys?

We've just finished off a couple of little jaunts around the UK after releasing a new single (called Toothcutter) as well as a couple of remixes. We've just recorded some new material, which we'll finish off soon and that should see the light of day early 2020, followed by some more tour dates.

What are you listening to right now?

Literally right now, i'm listening to NEU! In general, a lot of ambient stuff by Brian Eno and footwork from the Teklife label.

What’s the most memorable show you’ve played?

We played at ArcTanGent this year which is my favourite festival in the world. After torrential storms and our tent flooding on the Friday, the sun came out Saturday and we opened the second stage to a huge crowd of happy faces.

What’s the strangest show you’ve played?

We played at a squat in Berlin which, when we first arrived, felt like some sort of weird underground sex dungeon. It was actually a really fun night in the end, greatly helped by their delicious beers and the big pot of delicious vegan chilli that they made for us.

Where’s good for pre/post-gig grub?

Gotta be a burger from Grubbs. I'll have a double veggie patty Malaysian style (peanut butter and chilli sauce) with fries and a chocolate milkshake please 😋

What do you think of the local Sussex music scene?

Amazing! I think the sunny south coast cultivates an incredible sense of creativity. We have some of the best music in the country based here: Physics House Band, Slugabed, Delta Sleep, CLT DRP, We Never Learned To Live, Squid, Penelope Isles, Yumi & The Weather, Family Fiction, Orchards, Ditz, Gender Roles, I Feel Fine, Tigercub, Broker. I could go on!

What’s your favourite/most cherished bit of gear?

All of our string players use some form of Electro Harmonix pedal with a freeze function (for me, the Superego+ 😍). We use them to grab a sample and loop it infinitely to add ambience. Super handy for filling gaps between songs live and for intros (like on our song Rhubarb Nostalgia).

What’s your favourite album?

My favourite of all time is The Holy Bible by the Manic Street Preachers. Spotify tells me the thing I've listened to most this year is Pacific Ocean Blues by Dennis Wilson which I think is an absolute masterpiece.

If you could invite three musicians, alive or dead, to a dinner party who would you choose, and what would you talk about?

I would talk to Björk about televisions, Brian Eno about cats and David Bowie about the internet. Then, while Bowie and Eno reminisce about their Berlin days, Björk and I would discuss the philosophical connotations of the Icelandic national motto (“þetta reddast” - everything's gonna be fine). The evening concludes with an hour-long improvised jam, after which I die of happiness, joining Bowie in heaven.