Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Bela Spit
When Leeds-based Bela Spit first formed as an impromptu Christmas-themed band in 2024, they were named Tincel, a festive take on the involuntarily celibate male community, which would probably let out a collective shriek of horror if they saw the band in action.
The punk four-piece – Iris Casling on vocals, Scarlett Baxter on guitar, Beth Veasey on bass, and Nika Ticciati on drums – have long been friends, but they’d never played as a band until Tincel. Soon, they changed their name and got to work on an album, independently releasing spit/swallow in 2025.
It didn’t take long for Bela Spit to cement themselves as one of Leeds’ most interesting live bands, weeping and wailing across stages all over the country with the kind of feral energy and gaiety that it’s rare to stumble upon these days. Baxter beams as she leans into the twang of her three-string guitar, while Ticciati violently thrashes against her drum kit as if she’s having a bitter scrap with it.
There’s a theatrical sensibility to the band, which sees Casling deliver lyrics that sit somewhere between the realm of vulgarity and silliness. Whether she’s singing about catching an STD, throwing up from excitement, shitting in the back of her car, masturbating, or honouring the late Pope Francis, you wouldn’t exactly call Bela Spit shy. Extremely tongue-in-cheek, Casling moves between wails, screams, a slightly seductive whisper or a knowing confidence; she is unpredictable in every sense of the word.
With none of the members playing the instruments they’ve grown up playing, Bela Spit is an exercise in pure musical impulse and experimentation, led by guitars that sound like they’ve been lifted from the Black Books theme tune and lyrics that would make Janey from Blood and Guts In High School proud.
The band are set to release their second album, sings/sobs on February 10th, which has been teased by two singles, the short and sharp ‘Sports Nappy’ and the vomit-themed ‘I’m So Hyper’. You can never be quite sure what you’re going to discover in the next Bela Spit song you hear – disease, bodily fluids, religious worship, dogs, you name it – and that’s what makes them so exciting.
Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Bela Spit:
Describe Bela Spit in three words:
Nika: “Formerly called Tincel.”
Beth: “Unsolicited, often regrettable.”
Scarlett: “Stop censoring me.”
Iris: “Unlistenable, pretentious, demeaning.”
Who are your dream dinner party guests?
Nika: “John Zorn (for my sins), Mikhail Buglakov, and Pauline Oliveros.”
Scarlett: “Dr Lori from Channel 4’s Open House: The Great Sex Experiment and Dr Orna from Couples Therapy.”
Beth: “Beth Anderson and Billie Piper. I can’t stop thinking about her today.”
Iris: “A few gay men.”
Scarlett: “Seconded.”
What’s the best venue in the world?
Nika: “Our living room or The Lubberfiend in Newcastle.”
Scarlett: “Room 219 in Leeds Conservatoire.”
If you could give your album to any celebrity, who would it be?
Beth: “I’m not down with pop culture, so I’m not sure. Maybe Billie Piper.”
Scarlett: “Tamsin Grieg.”
Nika: “Dylan Moran.”
Are The Beatles overrated?
Beth: “Never. I listened to two of their albums today, and even though the pacing is insane, I like their songs.”
Scarlett: “No, I love ‘Fuh You’ by Paul McCartney.”
Nika: “No, they’re not. Honestly, they’re great.”
What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen?
Beth: “Troll 2. There aren’t even any trolls in it.”
Nika: “I’m above that question. I think films are miracles. The fact that they get made is crazy.”
What song should be made the new national anthem?
Beth: “‘Day & Night’ by Billie Piper. Or ‘Salute’ by Little Mix.”
Nika: “‘I’m Worried I’m Too Crude’ by Bela Spit from our forthcoming album sings/sobs. Or ‘Off to the ESSO’ by aya.”
What’s the worst band you’ve ever seen?
Scarlett: “A local Leeds band called [redacted].”
Beth: “I once went to a jazz bar with my ex, and there was this shitty duo doing a cover of a pop song, and they dedicated it to all the couples in the room. I think that was my worst.”
Nika: “The entire team behind Opera North’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore.”
Give us your dirtiest joke:
Scarlett: “What’s bright red and smells of ginger? Fred Astaire’s knob. My grandad told me that at Christmas.”
What’s in your dream rider?
Scarlett: “Dental floss.”
Nika: “A gammon joint.”
Iris: “The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis by Jacques Lacan.”
Beth: “Absolutely no beer. I hate when people just give you beer for riders.”
Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met?
Nika: “The famous pianist Lang Lang. He said my Bach was very logical.”
Scarlett: “Dara O’Brien at Latitude Festival. He was buying some food in front of me, and he was really nice.”
Iris: “Keith Lemon.”
What’s your most controversial music opinion?
Nika: “Bands should break up when they reach their natural conclusion. Oh, and people need to have less bass in everything. It should sound thinner.”
Scarlett: “Drums should only ever be played loud.”
Beth: “I don’t like the Foo Fighters.”
What music video changed your life?
Beth: “‘Day and Night’ by Billie Piper.”
Nika: “‘Pencil Full of Lead’ by Paolo Nutini. I didn’t know stop motion could be that scary.”
Scarlett: “‘Lego House’ with Ron Weasley as Ed Sheeran. That was crazy.”
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve woken up?
Beth: “Cologne Cathedral. I passed out during the climax of some dramatic organ music. Then I passed out again.”
Who is your favourite author and why?
Nika: “Gabriel Garcia Marquez because he wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude, which is my favourite book. Olga Tokarczuk is really good. And I suspect Flann O’Brien might be in the running off the back of The Third Policeman.”
Scarlett: “Whoever wrote Heated Rivalry.”
Iris: “The only author to ever have a back tattoo, Kathy Acker.”
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