A cornerstone event for the East Yorkshire music scene, Humber Street Sesh is the festival to be at if you want to discover new up-and-coming music artists. This year’s Sesh took place in early August, set against the breezy backdrop of Hull’s marina.
There are multiple stages at the festival, from the BBC Introducing stage tucked away in the bar Social (where we interviewed Fiona-Lee) to the Cuban Pete’s Stage to, of course, the Main Stage, where The Howl and the Hum rounded out the day.
Their headlining set was a brilliant showcase of perceptive storytelling, indie head-bangers, and calmer, folk-inspired moments. Oh, and there was a saxophone, too, a defining feature of Sam Griffith’s second album, Same Mistake Twice.
Sam Griffiths is The Howl and the Hum; he’s the founder and the common thread through the band’s changing lineups – in fact, Same Mistake Twice documents the emotions and aftermath of the original band’s break-up in 2023. But now, he’s back with a fresh sound, introspective lyrics, and a group of bandmates to realise his vision for the album.
Before the band took to the stage in the evening, we caught up with them to find out what it feels like to be headlining such an eclectic festival and the kind of gear they use to achieve their captivating, indie-folk-electronica sound.
“Hull has always been very kind to us” – Sam Griffiths on headlining Humber Street Sesh
One thing that stands out to pretty much any music artist who comes to Hull is how alive the music scene is here, and how welcoming the city is of new musicians. But for those who have nurtured their talent and honed their craft in and around Hull, like The Howl and the Hum have, it’s a truly special place.
“Hull has always been very kind to us… To be honoured with the headline slot is still kind of crazy,” says Sam Giffiths, as he knows how great the rich music scene of the city is, almost unbeknownst to anyone outside of Yorkshire, and the significance it has for many artists.
“We’re all delighted to be here in Hull today for Humber Street Sesh. We’ve been looking forward to it and rehearsing for a couple of months,” bassist Naomi Macleod tells us.
The Howl and the Hum rig
Guitar setup (Sam Griffiths)
All of the band’s songs are written on an acoustic guitar or piano, but their sound and textures are filled out with an array of gear, sometimes intricately, sometimes heavily, inspired by ambient music. “It’s about building it up from its truest emotional place,” Griffiths paints the picture of how his songs turn from a folk-style idea to a rich, textured song.
Pedals are a huge part of this; they make a wavelength sound “more human; like it’s breathing.” Griffiths uses the JHS Pedals Crayon drive (“the craziest distortion pedal”) and the Electro Harmonix POG 2.
But still, even with the electric guitars, the saxophone, and the fullness of the mix, each track’s core still shines through, with its storytelling leading the way. It’s indie, as Griffiths reminds us, so it’s all about keeping the true signal of the guitar. He loves the Fender Tele and he’s a huge fan of a small-bodied acoustic guitar, Martin in particular – it’s small but loud.
Bass setup (Naomi Macleod)
It’s not just The Howl and the Hum that bassist Naomi Macleod is part of; she’s also involved in other projects, so she needs a bass that can keep up. Charvel is the brand of choice. As she tells us, Charvel basses can meet the demands of Macleod’s various playing styles.
With her at Humber Street Sesh, she has a Pro Mod So Cal 4 in a cream finish, loaded with hot DiMarzio pickups (for The Howl and the Hum, she tends to just use the neck pickup) and a PJ configuration. It’s a versatile bass that suits the more aggressive style of Macleod’s playing in other bands and the softer, calmer playing of The Howl and the Hum, all aided by the push/pull active vs. passive pot.
Adding to that versatility is the Line 6 Helix Stomp. “There’s obviously been many successors to it that, rightly, everyone’s talking about,” Macleod explains, “Fender have the Tone Master, [there’s the] Kemper Profiler, Neural DSP are doing incredible work. And somehow the HX Stomp still mostly stands up against its competition.”
The unit gives her massively wide-ranging sounds to hand; the presets keep things quick to call on and mean she can dial in pretty much any tone she needs. It’s a simple setup, but it’s all-in-one unit and keeps things nice and easy on stage.
Guitar setup (Arun Thava)
Sam Griffiths might work on the guitar sounds, but Arun Thava really shapes the tone with a variety of pedals. First up is the POG 2 for “mostly octave stuff and the attack features, so you can take out the attack and make it sound a lot more synth-like.” He also uses the Line 6 DL4 MkII for delay, reverb, and the looper (used for writing), though it’s so complex and offers so much that “it’d take a lifetime to figure out.”
The Fairfield Shallow Water chorus vibrato pedal is another key element of Thava’s sound. Unlike other chorus vibratos, its timing fluctuates, meaning there’s no strict rigidity – you choose a range and the effect “wobbles in its own time universe,” as Thava puts it.
Taking raw, introspective songs written on an acoustic guitar and piano, turning them into headlining hits, and still retaining the heart they had at the very beginning is no mean feat, but the Crayon helps with this. The pedal gives an “almost chewy overdriven sound” that’s perfect for the band’s tone; it sounds natural – it breaks things up enough, but in a way that’s not super heavy.
Guitar-wise, Thava uses the Gibson ES-335, which pairs beautifully with Griffiths’ Tele, adding a darker tone with punchiness and bite that cuts through the mix.
What’s next?
We concluded the day at Humber Street Sesh with The Howl and the Hum’s set – watching all the gear they walked us through in action. What’s next for the band? Well, this was their last show of the year, but we’re intrigued to see what other music they have in store.
In the meantime, though, check out Same Mistake Twice, a brilliant album that showcases Sam Griffiths’ contemplative lyricism, a folk-indie feel, and wonderfully catchy melodies that had everyone moving and dancing at the festival.
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