With lyrics like, ‘Landlord just raised your rent. Better get yourself a gun’ (GYAG) and ‘If you never seen a knife in your brother's hand / Been told go back to your motherland / Keep it schtum’ (Reign), Bob Vylan ensure there’s nowhere to hide from the social disparities of our times. The London duo known as Bobby and Bobbie are blazing their own fiercely independent path with their post punk-dub-grime mash up and radical songs that rage against the current social and economic crisis. And however successful they become – picking up MOBO and Kerrang! awards, gaining Iggy Pop as a fan, topping charts, and even coming out with a hot sauce (Bobby’s Burn Britannia) – the band stay true to their mission of calling for a conscious revolution.

Their latest album ‘Humble As The Sun’ follows ‘Bob Vylan: Presents The Price of Life’ on their Ghost Theatre imprint and continues to reap the reward of their hard-grafting, DIY approach. The blistering release confronts issues spanning repatriation, the housing crisis and police brutality. Yet equally, it urges listeners to believe in shining in your own light. Gunning for self-empowerment and survival in equal measure, we are all invited to rise up. Currently rounding out the summer festival circuit before heading into a US, UK and Europe tour this autumn, we caught up with Bob Vylan at Glastonbury where they stage dived across two stages and crashed in on Soft Play’s set too.

You’ve been hitting the festival circuit hard. How’s it going on the road?

Bobby: We played in Spain on Friday, where the energy was top. Then the Netherlands yesterday and we got into Glastonbury today. Each crowd is different so we don’t plan our shows too much. Even the set list will be written moments before we go on stage, to the dismay of our tour manager. And everything else is up to the gods.

Are you Glastonbury veterans?

Bobby: Not at all. Growing up, festivals weren’t something we were exposed to. So, coming here now to play for the second time is interesting. Festivals are not for the weak, especially this one. But it’s great to see the support that Palestine is receiving here. As time goes on, it’s easy to forget that it’s happening so it’s important that artists are continuing to bring an awareness to it.

Please sum up the mission of ‘Humble is the Sun’.

Bobby: The album is meant to be very empowering and the title is about shining as brightly as you possibly can. Its focus is on our ability to overcome the hardships that we’re all going through on a day-to-day basis, especially at the moment. That’s something that we’re adamant about keeping at the front and centre of our lives. We can’t control what challenges we’re presented with, but we can control how we react to them.

Bobbie: We’ll never reach some enlightened guru state but we can try to remain positive and to radiate some of that outward.

So, you hope to inspire your audiences to collective action?

Bobby: Yes but also individual action. This band is a product of both. If only one of us believed in the power of the band and what we’re able to create, it wouldn’t work. It’s the same as anybody out there, you have to believe in yourself and in the collective.

My favourite song from the album is ‘He’s A Man’. Talk to me through your experiences of toxic masculinity.

Bobbie: Oh mate, which one. All I know is what we grew up around and still see every day. It’s important that we call it out as men and show that we are in solidarity, that we understand the plight that women face.

Bobby: It’s also an ongoing journey to acknowledge toxic masculinity within ourselves as we play a part in dismantling it. It’s reflecting on where we may fall short as individuals. For any injustice in the world, we have to look internally and externally to see how you play a part in the problem.

You’ve chosen the tough road as fully independent and ethical artists and yet you’ve found tremendous success. How do you reflect on the band’s trajectory and learnings so far?

Bobbie: Two UK top 20 albums isn’t too bad! We haven’t ever let the negative comments get to us, or people who are too scared to go out and do it for themselves to project that energy on to is. Even to this day, we’re told that the way we do things won’t work. But we go and do it and it does work. We’re not the exception to the rule, it’s just that people aren’t trying.

Bobby: As artists, we need to remember why we’re making the art. We’re not making it for commerce, we’re making it because we have to make it. But if someone is going to sell it, we need to know how much they’re going to make and how much we’re going to make. That’s where the business and the artistic side meets as independent artists. If you’re too scared or ignorant to learn about it, then you’ll get the short end of the stick. It’s okay if you want to make the art and put it out for free and you don’t care to commodify it. But for us, it’s extremely important to receive fair compensation.

You must’ve often turned down opportunities to stay true to your principles.

Bobby: All the time. We might be excited by it but have to pass it up, then we see another band take it. We are sometimes fools in this as it would be something that furthers our career. But we are slaves to our ideals and at the end of the day we have to live with ourselves. We’re affected by the fact that we’re aware of certain things that are going on so we can’t participate in the glitz and glamour of the industry. But that’s not why we’re here.

Bobbie: One thing we say all the time, people need to learn when to say ‘no’ to things. Don’t ever be afraid to say it. If it doesn’t feel right, just don’t do.

As the band continues to progress, where do you look for influences?

Bobby: Sonically the band is quite different to a lot of things out there. When I play the guitar, the riffs sound like that because I’m self-taught and that’s the capability I have. There’s nothing too crazy, I’m not shredding up and down. Then the lyrics are things that come from what we live and see.

Bobbie: We’re more influenced by thinkers and writers who shape our moral choices than any sonic influences. The likes of James Baldwin, Walter Rodney, Angela Davis and Cornel West have helped us to learn how to stand up for ourselves in the world as we navigate the issues we come across.

And how do you feel about being an influence to others?

Bobbie: We do see other bands coming up who are inspired by us so it’s really cool to think that they might not have to fight as hard for things as we did. People can look at us and say, ‘They did it, so it is achievable,” which is so important.

Bobby: Maybe the thing we’re most proud of is that we inspire others to do things the way they want to do them.

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