"I was going through my little Johnny Thunders phase. I was really into '77 New York punk and Poly Styrene from X-Ray Specs was at this bar in Hastings and said, like, I like your look. I think you look like Bobby Gillespie. I said "fuck off! If anything I look like Patti Smith and Johnny Thunders combined". She said, 'I like your attitude, are you in a band?' I lied and said 'of course I'm in a band, it's called The Riddles.' I got a band together quickly just to go to her studio. That didn't last long though and I eventually formed The Traitors, then a feral punk band called This Water Kills before starting Riddles last year," says Jimi, the 25 year-old frontman who we've come to meet this sweltering July afternoon in London.
This is eight years on from The Riddles and while he may look similar, wearing leathers and a bandana over his long black hair, evoking that very look Poly Styrene adored, the band situation is very different. The current Riddles line up is the real deal, not a teenage pipe dream.
The four piece combine the sound of prog rockers Captain Beyond, Black Sabbath and the 77 New York punk of Johnny Thunders, and Dead Boys with their own distinct flourishes helped along by a clever use of pitch shifter, octave, fuzz and analog delay, to sublime effect. Their first single 'Wizards Of War', however, doesn't reflect this musical diversity. Although it's a cut we've been rinsing at Clash since its release, it's a homage to Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' and it's great at doing that. However, their unreleased material - which we're allowed exclusive access to - welcomes the full spectrum of the bands ability to record.
Despite obscuring their full potential by only releasing this one single so far, the cut has lent the band some good momentum, garnering them attention from NME. Not that it's bothered Jimi: "It's bullshit. I'd rather watch Nick Kent get all his fingers chopped off and try and write a piece about ABBA on a typewriter than read half the dribble that's in there," he says, in his nonchalant manner.
It's these bolshy comments, however, that make Jimi such an exciting frontman to watch. Live, Riddles are shirtless, fast - and usually high. "The last gig I played in support of Dark Horses I dropped some acid... that was fucking righteous, that was the best trip of my life," reveals the uninhibited musician.
Currently, the four piece do have plans to complete their debut album at The Fortress with Fort Records' Gavin Bowers and Nick Miles by the end of this year. "It's going to be done live to tape in order to capture the essence of live performance," he explains. It may be another immaculately '70s trait, but one that'll surely yield great results.
WHAT: Proto-metal
WHERE: London
GET 3 SONGS:'Bag Of Bones', 'Devil In My Eyes', 'The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress'
FACT: Riddles played their first ever gig at The Union bar in Hastings, a dive bar which Jimi says "has dived so much it's basically hell... but it's my favourite place to play!"
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Words: Cai Trefor