PROSPERINA | INTERVIEW
Gethin Woolcock, lead singer and guitarist of Swansea heavy rockers Prosperina, talks to Billie Ingram Sofokleous about their new album Flag – a project six years in the making but, through grit, determination and fan support, has made it to release.
What was the catalyst for writing this latest album?
Just generally seeing the state of the world and the direction things are going in at the moment. We felt we needed to make a statement. I’m a big believer that there are lots of ways and approaches to making art. I really like to reflect things happening around me, so tend to stay away from retro themes – I’m always trying to make music that is situated in the present moment, lyrically and sonically.
How did you create the artwork for the album?
On [previous Prosperina album, 2014’s] Harness Minus, the Matryoshka (Russian) dolls were depicting the class system. The smallest one was the skeleton, which was representative of dead people in society, people who have no say. The next one was the working-class guy, then it was a politician in the middle, then the businessman and then the big money guy, the secretive state out of the body that controls everything and stays out of the media. We actually smashed them up and bizarrely the only two that survived were the two smallest ones. They were the only set we had, and we’ve still got the bits!
With Flag, we worked with the same artist, Dominic Sohor, on the concept. If you look at the woman’s face she’s pointing to the left, and in her hair is a torn flag, a sort of capitalist union of the West. And the way it’s blowing in the wind, it looks like a serpent with a tooth and an eye.
What new ground do you feel you’re exploring on this album?
There are some things we hinted at on the last album, the direction that the world was taking; that was the foundation for us to make a statement that is Flag. I think some of the best lyrics I’ve written have been on this album: political, but in a slightly veiled way.
Musically, we’ve taken a new direction – we were a three-piece and now have a second guitarist. He’s been part of the band for six or seven years, but I used to write all the guitar parts. What is nice is having a sounding board – I can throw it out there and see what he comes back with. It’s always surprising and interesting.
I think albums are stories – you have to listen to a full album to hear the whole story.
I wouldn’t say we’re an out-and-out concept album band, but our albums do have themes running through them. The theme for Flag, I would say, is the direction of capitalism: the way the world is starting to fall apart, breaking at the seams. There is a lot of reflection on the news and global happenings, but I don’t want to be too specific about it – I want a level of interpretation, as I like when people get a personal meaning for the songs and I like when they mean something individual.
What made you name the band Prosperina?
I had this little pocket factfinder book, with a chapter about gods and goddesses. I started flicking through and we discussed the way that we could name the band after someone like Hercules. All tongue in cheek, but like an 80s prog rock band. Go for something epic, but maybe if we went for a goddess it would sound less cheesy. For the first six months, we were called Prosperina: Goddess Of The Underworld. Much like the story of Proserpina, the band are very similar: we go all out working in bursts and then chill for a bit!
Who would you love to collaborate with?
I think it would be great to work with the remaining members of Soundgarden, or Roger Waters and David Gilmour from Pink Floyd. Childhood dream fulfilled!
What song always makes you happy when you listen to it?
It’s funny you should ask me that! If you’re having a shit day, you cannot falter and you’ve gotta put AC/DC’s Back In Black. I’m no AC/DC fanboy or anything but that track can just turn your day around. They’re super economical and super clever with their riffs. It makes you excited and it makes you pumped. The way they construct their songs, their riffs. Just brilliant.
You’ve sung in Welsh before – Sgwd Henryd on Harness-Minus – is that important to you?
It’s named after the Henryd Valley. I would like to do more Welsh language stuff but it’s difficult to put in context for what we do. I speak fluent Welsh but we’re not a Welsh language band. We might try a reading in Welsh, to show where we are. It’s such an important part of our culture and identity as a nation, it’s sad that it has been subjugated; the language has been subject to a cultural genocide for so long and it’s starting to grow back.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t worry so much. Always keep chasing the things you want to do, the things that you love, because ultimately those are the things that give your life value. Working 9-5 might be the means of keeping a roof over your head but it won’t give your life value. Through lockdown I’ve been reconnecting with the teenage me – I’ve changed my whole bedroom around! Guitars and amps in the corner. It’s helping me reconnect to something really vital, that’s inside all of us.
The sign of the ultimate rock star. Performing self-care.
I’ve had a jacuzzi bath installed. Living the dream. It’s so important to look after yourself: the world has gone mad, adulthood is probably quite unsustainable. Your inner child knows the score. I mean, I’m lucky because I work in education and lecture music tech degrees, so I just hang about in studios and teach music all day, writing music for film and TV. That can be quite fun.
What have you missing most about performing live?
The social aspect. For us, the band is a really social thing. We always play shows and we’ve got friends in loads of different cities when we do play – friends we see exclusively at shows. Obviously, that’s been completely absent from our lives for the last year. The last show we played was in October 2019 – we had Christmas off and a couple months of quiet, and then COVID hit and it went silent.
And the actual act of playing together – there’s something that happens when you get in the room with your boys and flash out some riffs. It’s like a primal connection. I can’t really explain it, but you get into a ‘flow state’ and you can have time fly past you. Hours can go by in the rehearsal room and it’s like your mind goes somewhere else.
Prosperina’s Flag is out on Fri 21 May. Info: here
words BILLIE INGRAM SOFOKLEOUS