What’s it like being the only girl on tour with a load of boys traipsing across North America? On the surface, it sounds like a living hell – stuck on a bus with a load of unshaven, smelly blokes, staring at road markings in the middle of a dusty highway. It’s enough to make any self-respecting musician get off at the next stop. But Ritzy Bryan, the guitar-toting indie chanteuse from North Wales trio The Joy Formidable, is made of sterner stuff. When we catch up with her, the band is in the middle of a hectic tour schedule, showcasing tracks from their superb debut album, The Big Roar – an apt title indeed.

RedHanded: Hello Ritzy. How are the American fans treating you on tour? Has the tour bus broken down yet?
Ritzy: Hello RedHanded. We’re well thank you and North America has given us a fine welcome. The van is up and running again, it had a slight malaise outside of Albany, New York, but has since made a full recovery.

Do the American fans know where Wales is?
Touring shatters all stereotypes, our fans do - we even had cries of “Cymru am byth” last night in Seattle.

How do you find being cooped up with boys on the tour bus then? Any problems with body odours and smelly socks?
It’s insignificant and I hardly notice it. They’re good boys and if anything they have more trouble putting up with me!

It feels like your debut album, The Big Roar, has been a long time coming.
It came when it was supposed to, and it was like waiting for a bus and getting picked up by a swan shaped hovercraft instead.

Tell me a little bit about your childhood in Mold. Is it true your parents own over 5,000 records?
That’s true. I had a happy childhood living out in the sticks, I was an only child and I spent most of it either roaming wild or in headphones trying to digest that record collection.

Yourself and Rhydian used to watch a lot of bands at the Tivoli in Flintshire – was that where you realised you wanted to be musicians?
Those nights at the Tiv definitely fuelled the fire, but I was writing songs from a much earlier age. I saw an Elvis Costello concert before I reached double figures and that was a turning point. I was mesmerised by his snarliness. I was too young to fully appreciate the message, but it was powerful, exciting and I was hooked.

You were also in a band with Rhydian called Tricky Nixon before The Joy Formidable – why didn’t it work out?
We weren’t creatively stimulated, I was a late addition to that band, the songs were written and the direction and the dynamic felt stagnant and wrong in so many ways. Rhyds and I moved back to North Wales and started writing together for the first time and suddenly everything made sense again.

You made your mini-album, A Balloon Called Moaning, without your current drummer Matt Thomas. How have you restructured the sound now Matt is in the band?
Matt’s drumming has been a great addition to the recordings - it’s brought a lot of natural power and dynamic. We still enjoy the play off between live drums and a more synthetic aesthetic, but it’s certainly been an important addition to the new album… I think Matt has gone looking for his wallet after those comments!

You’re in a relationship with Rhydian. Does that add a special chemistry to the band?
The music came first and then the relationship afterwards, so we had a creative bond to begin with. We have a great writing partnership, it’s intuitive, we challenge each other and there’s a familiarity that does away with any ego or self-consciousness.

So are you and Rhydian the Sid and Nancy of indie-rock or… more akin to Richard and Judy?
More Punch and Judy perhaps!

I’ve read you’re obsessed with animals – especially goats. Explain.
I grew up surrounded by nature, I have a great respect for the animal kingdom and yes, goats are a favourite. They’re wonderfully stubborn, full of personality and they have beautiful rectangular pupils too, just like an octopus.

One weekend last summer, you supported Paul McCartney at the Millennium Stadium and then played Glastonbury. Has that been the highlight of your career so far?
It’s certainly been one of them. That was a very surreal weekend and we made sure that we enjoyed every moment.

What was Macca like?
He was friendly, welcoming, charming and his set was breathtaking. It sounded great; it was very moving.

How important is it for you to shape what you do as a band and retain artistic control?
It’s the key to it all. We know what we are, we have aspirations for the future and we’re passionate about what we do. We’re glad to have surrounded ourselves with people who embrace that intent and are creative themselves.

How ambitious are you as a band?
We’re committed and we’re in earnest about what we’re doing. Where that leads us is completely secondary. Have you started writing tracks for the next album? We certainly have. We never stop writing and we’re always thinking about the next song, the next project and the next remix. It’s like an illness.

The Joy Formidable are playing the Reading/Leeds festivals on Aug 27 and 28. The Big Roar is out now.

The hottest band in Wales right now? We certainly think so. Michael Took catches up with The Joy Formidable during their US tour

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