The music stops. The two musicians who have been performing for the past 20 minutes put their chicken masks on and make their way towards us. They slowly begin pecking, clucking, and strutting their way through the unsuspecting audience. This is only a fraction of the quirk and confidence found on the stage in the basement of a pub. So, who are these two chickens?
I sat down with Bendy Wendy, 22 and Hector Boogie Man, 23 after their set to discuss exactly that question. They had just performed back-to-back shows, the first a peculiar charity ball in the grand, Clifton area of Bristol, the second, one of the best venues in Bristol to find talented and brilliant small artists, The Exchange. You would expect the pair to be falling asleep having spent the whole set dancing and cracking jokes, but no.
As I sat waiting for our interview to begin, both were repeatedly stopped to receive love and praise from anyone that had seen their incredible set. Every time somebody would stop to compliment them, they would always ask their name. Of course, to any average person you would expect this but having met a lot of my musical idols, I understand the value of being asked your name, it showed that they really cared.
So, you might be wondering what is Try Me? In their own words “Try me is a big soup, a big soup of only two ingredients”. The pair met at British & Irish Modern Music (BIMM) Institute 3 years ago and have been using this project to express themselves through energetic and catchy dance music ever since. The product of this duo is quite inspiring, two friends making funny and really well-made music with the aim of “making the world smile” coming through in practically every song.
One of the duo’s songs is all about eating a massive vegetarian lunch. Hector spoke about how their creative process always has an intention, even their comedic songs such as ‘Heavy Lunch’ have a “conscious decision” behind them. The freedom behind the pairs music allows them to make their listeners feel a range of things, if they want to focus on a serious topic, they can, but their ability to use humour and their charisma to make positive songs is what makes them stand out. They don’t take themselves too seriously and this is why they are such a joy to watch.
When questioned on this unique attitude towards their music they said that “the dance music scene at the moment is so serious”. By using humour and having this energetic approach to their art that they feel that their creative expression is its most pure.
As we began to discuss the set that the pair had just performed, the energy and enthusiasm towards their art shone like a bright star. An impressive part of their performance was the improvised section. This went down a storm and left the crowd in awe of their musical ability. The pair explained that they started doing the improv as a result of attempting to make a sat down gig more engaging. They said that “you’ve got to adapt to what you’re given; you can sit and complain but that’s not going to change anything about the situation”.
Hector said that when everybody is sat down, after a few songs, the engagement starts to go but the moment the artist says, “who out there has something they want us to say?” they get back on track. This is because “it puts the artist in a vulnerable position”. This confident approach to the band’s music is what continues to make them stand apart and aids their growing success.
The risk that the band put themselves in when they do this is what they believe latches the crowd back onto them and their music and makes the experience even more entertaining. Not only does it have a positive impact on the audience but the pair said that “it’s so fun it gives you so much adrenaline”.
The ability to perform is something that seems to come naturally to both of the artists. The production of the music is something that Wendy has developed and learnt to do. She would find that she would often get distracted and lose interest until her mum offered her a solution which has opened the flood gates to her creation of songs. Her mum advised that she asked her housemates for a word and go from there. That is how she wrote her first song about pumpkins.
These two best friends use Try Me as a platform to express themselves. This music that you can dance and laugh along to is so well interpreted on stage. Energy is the best way to describe how the band came to form and how it continues to grow and spread messages of love, comedy and optimism.
Their latest single, ‘World of Instancy’ is out now:
The Perspective 