A First Date With... Etta Bond

A couple of weeks ago, I went on a date with cotton candy pop star Phlo Finister. I’d been sleeping on sofas for a week, so I arrived with the musk of a someone who hadn’t changed their clothes in three days. Today, I’m going on another date but this time round, I’ve had a shower and tried to dress in my best attire (aka anything with buttons on the front).

Today’s date is with Etta Bond, a singer who has collaborated with Labrinth and Wretch 32. The weather’s nice out, and because nothing spells romance more than an inner city park, a multipack of crisps, and a Tesco sandwich, I’m heading down to Hoxton Square to have a picnic.

Noisey: When was the last time you had a picnic?

Etta: I can’t remember. Probably when I had no pubes.

Do you never jump on that summertime beers in the park vibe?

I went to one in London Fields with my friend Shane who is a chef. He just had this BBQ out. We just turn up and eat all his food.

What?! That sounds like a sweet deal.

You can bring your own thing and he cooks it for you.

What sort of thing are you looking for? (Etta has ripped her sandwich open and started filling it with Walkers Sensations)

I’m a vegetarian, so anything I can eat.

That’s the opposite of me, I’m always going for the meat.

If it’s a BBQ I’m going for a veggie kebab, or I’ll bring my veggie sausage or veggie burger.

You’re that one lone soldier who turns up with their own pack of veggie sausages.

That’s definitely me.

Soooooo, you’ve just put out Meds. How would your parents describe it?

My mum loves it. My mum’s favourite song is “1 More Time”. I even talk about weed in it and she’s just like, “oh I love it!” I’m like, thanks mum.

Does she know you smoke weed?

I didn’t tell her about it, but it’s in a lot of songs. She knows the deal, I’m an artist. Anything I’ve made, she understands it. She understands me as an artist and gets that I’m going to say ‘real’ things in my music.

I’d always thought if I hit the big time, I’d still be scared to talk about my real life in case my mum was listening in.

My mum knows who I am as a person more than anyone else, if you think about it. The things I say on my songs are never going to shock her.

But, getting back to the question. How would she describe Meds?

I don’t know… Ummm, great? The best thing in the world.

How would you describe the type of music that you’re making?

Free. That’s what we do. We don’t stick to certain genre or style, we just do what we feel like. There’s no planning. We don’t say, “well, we’ve done that style, let’s do this style now”. With Me and Raf, it’s all about our chemistry. If I go into the studio, whatever mood I’m in, we can just make a song. We’re so in tune…

It’s like he’s the Timbaland to your Timberlake?

Yeah. I always say music’s like relationships. He’s like my husband. It feels weird when you go and work with other people.

Like you’re cheating?

Yeah, once you have such a close working relationship with one other person it does feel a bit like that. I went years just having sessions with Labrinth. The first session I had with someone else, Lab was like “yeah it’s alright”. I was like “ooooh, you’re jealous!”.

On “Fanbabe”, you talk about being a fanbabe and subscribing to YouTube channels. Whose accounts are you stalking?

I don’t think I’ve subscribed to any. Odd Future stuff, mainly. I don’t rush to watch a lot of things or rush to listen to music. But with OF, there’s always a reason to be excited to see what they’ve done.

Right, and it’s not like they just put out music either.

Yeah man. Tyler was probably the first person that I fanbabed. When I was little I didn’t really like boybands.

But Tyler has that same sort of….. charm, right? Why’d you fanbabe him?

Why do I fanbabe him? Hmmm.

Have you met him?

No. But, I like Odd Future because they’re happy to do what they want. Do you know what I’m saying? I like anyone that’s comfortable being themselves and does what they want. I haven’t really felt like anyone has been so open about being themselves, especially like for me to find about them as they were coming up. That makes a difference as well. You feel like you’re on somebody’s journey with them.

Cool. And we’re on a journey together in this interview. With that in mind, last night I went on eHarmony and looked up the best questions to ask on a first date. Here’s the first one. Where’d you live?

I live in Tottenham.

Is it cool there? You look like you belong in Shoreditch.

Not particularly, it’s only one night-bus away, the 149.

You can dip in and out.

It’d be cool to live here but I’m not that fussed. I really like where I’m living.

But Hoxton’s the epicenter of culture in 2013.

I’m here all the time, it feels like it’s down the road. However, I feel like East London is my domain. I go to Dalston and like Visions or like Alibi.

They’re trying to shut loads of places down.

New places will come though.

Soooo, what’s the worst first date that you’ve been on? I took a girl to McDonald’s and then threw up on her sofa.

I don’t go on many dates, I don’t really do dates.

Okay. But, what if you had to take Tyler, The Creator on a date? If it was the only sure fire way that he’d be with you. It’s got to be a perfect scenario.

I’d probably take him into Lab’s studio and blackmail and coax him into being my friend because I’m friends with a really good producer. I’d be like “look Tyler, let’s meet Labrinth”.

That’s the music equivalent of a rich person spunking all their cash on a first date just to prove their worth.

That’s what I do. I just take everyone to meet Lab. I take them to the restaurant and be like “I know Labrinth, aren’t I cool?”

That’s quite a technique. What’s your favourite way to spend a Sunday?

Ohhh, I love Sundays!

Sundays are a gift. Are you getting up on a hangover? If so, what sort of time are we talking?

Maybe like eleven, not too late. I go to the café, come home, if I haven’t watched Eastenders all week, put on the omnibus, and then… (Etta makes a cheeky face) roll a doobie!

I spend Sundays in the bath, I put some music on, it’s really nice in there.

So, eHarmony said I should ask you. What did you study at school?

I went to a performing arts boarding school. It’d be half a day of performing and half a day of maths and shit. I did art, music and drama, I got A* in all of them. And then I got Bs and Cs in maths, science and French. I did RE as well.

We were forced to do RE at my school.

I didn’t really mind it.

What is one thing that I should I know about you, that I will never ask?

Hahaha, ummm not that one! I could say that though it’s a really good answer, I just don’t want people to think I’m butterz.

Just do it.

Ummmmm, well I wax my upper lip sometimes.

That’s cool. I think we’ll leave it on that question. It’ll be the headline of the piece, “Etta Bond Waxes Her Upper Lip!”

Cool, I’m just going to eat some of these sweets… (CHOMP CHOMP!)

Cya!

Etta's 'Meds' EP is available from her Facebook right HERE

Follow Ryan on Twitter @RyanBassil Love the idea of awkward dates with musicians? Here's Ryan's first first date. A First Date With… Phlo Finister