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The courtyard of a decorated gothic church in Oxford, surrounded by green grass and trees on an early September evening, is a rather unique setting for an interview.  I challenge anyone to find a location more befitting Flyte – the folk duo consisting of Will Taylor and Nick Hill, who for the past 10 years have been working in tandem to tell stories and craft music.

While some musicians might find the intimacy of tonight’s show nerve-wracking, several of Flyte’s best performances come from when it’s just the two of them up on a stage with their guitars, inviting their audiences to join them in their most authentic form.

“The way we write the songs, the way we play together, is just around a table with our guitars, where the song is king,” Taylor explains, “and we get to display that in shows like this, and it’s so much more relaxing, and I think for some people, a better show”.

Flyte have taken their metaphorical kitchen table all over the world – with their current run leading them to places such as a library in Lancaster, and Frome in Cornwall – and is their way of “covering as much of England as we can, and going to the little corners of the country that we’ve neglected”.

Their raw, stripped-down approach to songwriting is part of what makes the pair’s work so unique, approaching the process in a different way to many artists, sometimes sitting on songs for as long as seven years before they fully come to fruition. Songwriting is a talent that Hill and Taylor have honed over the past two decades, and their motivation to do so perseveres.

“We’ve gotten good at something in the way that someone might be good at making a table, and so I think we should keep making nice tables…” Hill nods in agreement as Taylor continues earnestly, “but also on a totally different level, it’s just a very healthy mental exercise for us and the way of siphoning off bad emotional feelings that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to express because we’re repressed Englishmen”.

The bond between Taylor and Hill is something quite magical, with their partnership being built upon their shared love for music and storytelling. Their ability to maintain their balanced dynamic across such a long time is inspirational and demonstrates just how in tune they both are, like having a musical soulmate – “though we would never say it out loud”, they both admit laughing.

Over the years, Flyte have worked with some other incredible creatives, one of the most notable being actress and long-term fan, Florence Pugh, who played Amy in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and Dani in the 2019 horror-hit, Midsommar.

“There was a very nice, easy, lovely shared enthusiasm for the music and for each other, which felt very unbalanced because of how fantastic she is.” Taylor confesses “It was something very relaxed which was just her popping over and singing a song”, reminiscing over the time the three of them came together around his kitchen table to sing a stripped down version of ‘Tough Love’, a track from their third album which featured Grammy nominated songwriter Laura Marling on the studio recording.

Unsurprisingly, in addition to being a skilled songwriter and eloquent speaker, Taylor has also written some brilliant articles, such as one for The Independent about the longevity of modern musical theatre versus the classics. Shortly after writing this, Taylor and Hill expressed their interest in writing a musical during an interview, and a year and a half later this idea appears to have made some progress.

“It’s very early days” Taylor warns, “but we’re very passionate about the idea of being able to tell a story through music on a grander scale, and certainly the prospect of it being on any kind of stage is very exciting to us”.

Their passion, patience and attention to detail, as well as their expansive knowledge of literature and musical theatre, suggest this is a promising endeavour, and I for one am thrilled to see where it takes them.

Sharp-minded and benevolent, Will Taylor and Nick Hill of Flyte are not just musicians, but storytellers, performers, artists and above all – true to themselves and their craft. To stay up to date on their latest projects you can find them on instagram @__flyte__.

To the people reading this, what book do you think they should go and read?

H: In association with us, probably Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, just because that’s where we lifted off thematically.

T: That’s a good book if you’re interested in very colourful, gloopy language, written by a very cynical man, which is an interesting combination… and a very thwarted sense of yearning for the past.

H: We both shared a deep love for Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee.

T: Recently I’ve been reading Anne of Green Gables a lot.

And what song do you think they should go and listen to?

T: ‘Electric Lizard’ by Angela Autumn is a song I’ve been playing over and over again… and ‘When I Fall Asleep’ off of the new Beatenberg record – which is Matt’s band who’s opening for us.

Which muppet do you resonate with the most?

T: Kermit. Easy. Nick is kind of a Rizzo, or sometimes an essence of Beaker.

H: I’ll take your word for it.

What insect do you think you would be?

T: Shield bug.

H: Shield bug is really nice for you… I think I’d be good as part of a team, and something fiery… maybe like a red ant.

If you could be a blade of grass anywhere in the world, where would you want to be?

T: A cornish sand dune.

H: An American prairie, just big sky everywhere.

If you had to have a bath in any condiment, which condiment would you choose? 

T: Honey is the obvious one.

H: Honey would be very nice.

T: I’m thinking and my favourite condiments are the ones I would not want to bathe in. Like marmite.

H: Ketchup or mayo would be gross… treacle might be quite nice… just not hot sauce. Whatever you do, not hot sauce.

Interview conducted by Lucy Fudge.