Coffee & Creatives #5: Argonaut

Argonaut are the latest subjects of our Coffee & Creatives Interview sessions and Nathan from the band gives us the beans on relationship with coffee...

What influence has coffee had on your work?

I’m very susceptible to caffeine – gives me an instant kick! I tend to go very hyper and then plummet! Espresso particularly after a shot I rant on for exactly 15 minutes and then I’m done! I’m keeping off caffeine – and alcohol before shows – I have so much adrenalin running through me that anything else is overload – afterwards it’s a different story though!

What's your best experience with coffee?

Sunday morning, a cafetiere plunging fresh coffee, bacon, eggs, orange juice, toast and marmalade and Sunday morning by The Velvet Underground on repeat! Bliss… or an espresso after a hearty meal – see above!

What's the best coffee you've ever had?

My coffee comes direct from Columbia! I have good friends who have family there and they bring me back coffee and rum whenever they visit. The coffee is super strong and lasts till their next trip – especially as I have an uncanny habit of breaking cafetieres! I also love Ethiopian coffee – there is a guy who sells it on the market stall next to my flat and I must drive him mad having a taster each time I pass. In Camden there is an awesome little shop where a man sells, roasts and grinds coffee beans. The smell is amazing and spreads all the way down the street. The owner must never sleep – the fumes alone must keep him buzzing… 

What, if any, link is there for you between coffee and culture?

Just give me coffee and TV! Have you seen the Jim Jarmusch film Coffee and Cigarettes? Fantastic. Short sketches with the aforementioned vices linking them – the Bill Murray sketch is great – as is the Iggy Pop one – as is the Jack White one – best just watch it I guess! I was listening to a song just the other day about coffee and cigarettes- can’t put my finger on who it was but that shows how embedded it is – maybe Lamb Chop? Answers on a postcard to….!

Interview by Sebastian Gahan.