Babeheaven’s bond transcends musical collaboration. Vocalist Nancy Andersen and multi-instrumentalist Jamie Travis have a friendship dating back to childhood, which brings an intimate warmth and vulnerability to their music. We caught up over Italian wine and nibbles at the listening party for their new EP, ‘Slower Than Sound,’ which will land on streaming platforms on October 24.
You’re back with your first new music in almost four years. What has changed in that time?
Nancy: This record is back to how we started writing. It’s more stripped-back; we wrote it at home, recorded it at home, there was no studio business.
Jamie: It was fully produced on our own, and everything is a bit more simple.
You’ve described the EP as your ‘most intimate work yet.’ What has enabled you to confront more intimate topics in your music?
N: After the second record, I felt really shy and got really vulnerable. I think being nervous makes you more vulnerable, so going back to write again after having had time and space to grow from that was what helped. This is the first time I’ve been like. “Listen to the lyrics,” because I think a lot of people don’t.
It’s your first release with Scenic Route, an underground label which started as a club night. How did you find working with them?
N: I’m so excited to be working with Scenic Route. I think they’re such a great label. It’s everything we’ve been looking for in terms of being comfortable with someone. They’re really easy to talk to; great to communicate with, and they just put out really great music.
J: We wrote the record before we were signed. We sent it to them, and they didn’t want to make any changes at all.
N: Which is ideal.
The lead single ‘Picture This’ is based around the metaphor of a photo album. What provoked this image as your starting point for the song?
N: I’m old! All my friends are having babies and getting married, and I think it’s nice to try and write a song that reflects on now, and what you think the future will be.
What’s your favourite track from the EP and why?
J: ‘Beloved.’ Nancy showed me a very simple version of it, and it really hit me in the moment and stuck with me.
‘Beloved’ has more of a shoegaze vibe than we’ve heard previously, which works really well alongside your trip hop stylings. How was the experience of branching out into a new genre?
J: I had this drum loop that we’d recorded for the last album but didn’t use. That was the base for it. But we’re never thinking too consciously about any particular genre.
N: We’re writing free-flow.
You collaborated with Samba Jean-Baptiste on the track ‘Loud Thoughts.’ How did that partnership come about?
N: I think he has such an amazing voice. My partner Alex played him to me the first time, but then I went to a Scenic Route night where he was playing. I saw him that night and was like, ‘I wanna talk to you about music,’ and we ended up WhatsApping. When he sent the verse [for ‘Loud Thoughts’] I was like, ‘Goddamn!’ It’s quite hard to get people to commit to verses sometimes, but we’ve been really lucky; most of our collaborations have been perfect first take. We’re easy to please.
Do you have any dream future collaborations?
N: We’re always looking. I feel like Jamie’s aiming high; he’s like: ‘Johnny Greenwood!’ We do want to collab with the legends, but also the thing with Scenic Route, which is so nice, is that they give space to smaller artists who’ve been overlooked. It’s so special to give that space to young, up-and-coming musicians. They also reissue music that maybe didn’t get to where it should have the first time around. It’s such a cool way to keep things going. They’re always looking for amazing new music.
You’ve known each other for most of your lives. How does your close friendship impact your creative collaboration, either positively or negatively?
N: We hate each other [laughs]. It’s both postive and negative. We’re kind of like brother and sister. I really don’t feel like I need to explain much to Jamie, or vice versa. We understand each other really well.
J: Having a friendship is a nice foundation. I’m quite shy and Nancy was too at the beginning. When you already have that trust, you don’t really care. You can just have fun.
N: In a studio setting, if you’re a bit nervous and you’re with someone you don’t trust, it can be really horrific, but with Jamie I can literally sing anything and he’s not going to judge me, so that makes it easier.
You started the band as a hobby to entertain friends at house parties. How did that come about initially, and how did it transpire into the success you’ve achieved now?
J: I was already in a band before, but it ended before we started properly making music. Things were hard then; I’d compare myself to the greats and think ‘We’re nothing like this.’ But Nancy and I were working on the same street, and I knew she sang, so I asked her to hang out. We went to my house and just made music; it was very natural. Before I had too much self-doubt, but now I just relax and enjoy it.
N: When we put the first single out, it was kind of a joke. We put out a parody love song on Valentine’s Day for our friends, and it just seemed to connect. I don’t think we entered into it with any plan or ego. We just always wanted to make ourselves proud, and with this record, we’ve been given the time and space to do that, whereas with the second record [‘Sink Into Me’] we were a bit rushed; it didn’t get to germinate properly. Having time has really changed things.
How did you reach and connect with the broader fan base you have now?
N: We played so much live in the first five years. Doing that means people become fully connected with you. We were really lucky to have all those years playing at pubs across the UK. We still play gigs, and there are people we met ten years ago who are still coming to our shows. That’s so special. There aren’t a lot of people who get that from just releasing stuff into the Spotify ether.
Nancy, when you last spoke to us, you talked about your struggles with on-stage anxiety. Five years on, does this still affect you?
N: I’ve kind of conquered that now. We did two really good shows and I felt really good. I had to stop caring a bit. I really, really cared before, and obviously I still do, but I had to let go of a lot. I think getting older makes you a bit less uptight.
‘Slower Than Sound’ is out October 24 2025 via Scenic Route
