The Longcut

www.thelongcut.com

The tuneful Manchester based trio The Longcut (featuring Lee: guitar
Jon: bass, Stuart: drums) have been getting heads nodding ever since they caught the attention at an In The City event there, a few years hence. Having drawn comparisons with the likes of The Rapture, The Faint, Radiohead and Massive Attack, this close-knit trio took a brief pit stop on their road to indie glory to talk about their music. Also, they answered the question that has been plaguing scientists (or psychologists for years); what are The Kills really like? 

In my mind the Manchester scene is broad, deep and diverse. Would you agree with this and do you feel that you fit in with this scene? Are you proud to be called a Manchester band, as many critics call you?

Lee: Yes, yes, and we always point out how many bands supposedly from London formed there but aren't from there originally.

You have supported The Kills before, so dish the dirt is this lurid intensity they have on stage an act by VV and Hotel or are they genuine and passionate musos. Did you learn much from them?

Jon: It sounds obvious but we learned a few things by watching them perform really good gigs every night. They've got a very intense stage presence that they work hard on, if it gets disrupted like an amp breaking they would get really unhappy about it.

Your second EP 'A quiet life' is out now. What is the overall mood on this and how is it different from your debut EP; 'Transition'?

Jon: To us it there isn't really a difference because it's coming from a collection of songs that were written about things that happened to us a while ago. When we wrote A Quiet Life we were running a club night with some friends and wanted to make a track that you could play really late and people would dance to. That happened when Transition was released but it wasn't something we intended when we were writing it.

When is the full-length debut album planned for release and what can we expect from it?

Stu: We're planning on recording it in the summer in between festivals and other odd live shows, so we don't spend too long stuck in the studio and can keep the live energy that's important to make a good album. We want to make as diverse an album as we can while still sounding coherent. The dance and instrumental parts of are coming together pretty well so we can't wait to get working on it.

What are the current musical influences?

Lee: A few things. We've been listening to The Fall, Les Savy Fav, Portishead and The Shins a lot recently. We keep forgetting to take Buffalo Springfield's first album out of the car as well.

Finally, if you could change one thing about the music industry what would it be and why?

Everyone: The Killers, for obvious reasons.

David Adair

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Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower

www.blowuptheeiffeltower.com

Some bands just cause a reaction, they can’t help it. With their hardcore music for ADD sufferers, the Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower are making kids flair up, then get down. Do Something Pretty trades cyber-blows with the South California four-piece.

“We have no heroes,” Charles Rowell, the band’s bassist states over the Internet. “We are godless and deranged. Some of us have been prostitutes in the past; some of us were in homeless shelters.”

The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower evidently have no problem with controversy, their third release ‘Love In The Fascist Brothel’ has song titles like ‘Reichstag Rock’ and ‘Love In The Sex Prison’ whilst the artwork is Nazi meets homo-erotic cartoon images, and their music is just as audacious.

“The record is supposed to fuck everybody up,” Charles adds. “Liberal, Conservative and punk, whatever. Punk has no danger anymore; it’s fashion conscious followers of inept politico whistle blowers are so buried they’re practically dead.” 

Whilst this is quite a statement to make, the band has the power to back it up. ‘Love In The Fascist Brothel’ is one of the most anger-charged, schizophrenic records the century’s produced so far. With bass riffs that churn like a butter mill in overdrive, spazo screaming that would make the Locust shit their pants and guitar riffs that chop and change at the drop of an insult, their music is 
like nothing else - and this release is completely different to their last two, as lead singer and sax player Brandon Welchez explains.

“We all have adult ADD. The idea of doing the same record over and over again bores us. The only band that ever pulled off making the same album more than once was the Ramones.”

Their noise explosions have garnered a strong allegiance of fans and, unsurprisingly, enemies. With their musical style jerking and changing with greater pace and ease than a James Chance or Mr Bungle album, people often find it hard to categorise them, though that’s exactly what they want.

“Most people are shocked and a lot of people misunderstand where we’re coming from,” Brandon states.

“But hopefully they get a slight tingling in their nether-regions,” drummer Brian Hall adds. “Perhaps like the feeling one gets the first time they see tranny-porn? I know it fucked with me… in a good way.”

“We don’t have a thirteen point programme on how we run this band though,” Charles concludes. “We know what we like and we especially know what we hate. We take dead aim and try to play as blistering as possible.” 

With such determination and a want to challenge people, their live shows cause sensation wherever they go, and are often dangerous, even when things go well. (Brandon) “The shows can be very bizarre. When crowds like us, I’ll often have my genitals fondled by members of the audience and they’ll try and kiss us or go even further. When the crowds hate us it can turn into a near riot, we caused a riot in Salt Lake City, we were run out of Tallahassee and we’re never allowed back in the city of Baltimore.”

With live shows planned over here in the very near future, and album that will both delight and confuse, expect to hear a lot more of 
this band real soon.

Jonathan Falcone

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Idlewild

www.idlewild.co.uk

A look into The Remote Part of Idlewild (Gavin Fox interview)

The amiable and laid back Irishman Grant Fox, joined Scotland’s Idlewild from Irish rock band Turn, approximately two and a half years ago to replace bassist Bob Fairfoull and has cemented his status as an earnest and genuine member of the band ever since. He kindly took time out from sound checking for their show at the Manchester Academy to give us a peek into the world of one of the UK's most honest and sincere musical outfits. Their fourth and latest album ‘Warnings/Promises’ was the first written collectively as a five piece, opposed to the usual format of front man, Roddy Woomble instigating matters. So do they feel more of a unit and has their song writing process drastically changed?

“We have certainly made a transition, it is two and a half years since Allan (Stewart) and I joined the band. Roddy still approaches the lyrics in the same manner, but it is bound to produce something new with myself and Alan having more of a say in the song writing process.”

This led the discussion neatly onto the topic of the material featured on the new album, as is customary with Idlewild, bucking the musical trends of the time, are they conscious of this? Gavin shrugged his shoulders, but did not hide his sense of pride and maybe even relief at this realisation?

“Yeah, we seem to miss every trend. We don’t look at what popular bands are doing and follow them; it is not our style. The band always puts out a record that the band wants to play and feels comfortable playing.”

What about standout offering; ‘Disconnected’? It appears to me to be a reflection of growing out of your roots, possibly a reaction to long periods of time on tour?

“Roddy wrote it about where he is from up in Scotland, but yeah, returning home from being on tour can be a complete head fuck. You get home and your head is mashed.”

Maybe it was the exalted feeling of leaning on the piano on the stage where Idlewild were to perform later on, as I had a burning desire to delve into the topic of their live sound. They have toured with Pearl Jam and did a friendly and low-key acoustic tour, what did they take as a band from those experiences?

“Touring with Pearl was the greatest three weeks in my careers as a musician. They are humble guys who write songs how they write songs, simply. We loved doing the acoustic tour and showcasing our new material in venues we had never played before.”

I couldn’t resist enquiring as to whether or not it was much different opening for Pearl Jam than touring with Coldplay, a pleasure that has also been theirs in the past? A wry smile preceded the amiable Irishman’s reply.

“Well, I mean Coldplay haven’t been going as long so they don’t have hardcore fans in the sense that Pearl Jam do. We really admire Eddie Vedder and his band they are so self contained, when you are that big you can afford to do it all by yourselves and ignore outside influences.”

I decided to wrap things up by indulging myself with a question about my favourite old song and a very apt one for Manchester; ‘Bronze Medal’ on their ‘100 Broken Windows’ album. This offering demonstrates aptly that Idewild’s glass is not half empty or half full; it is opaque, as the lyrics highlight;

““Nothing but your eyes looking down on the third place. You've got nothing but determination to come in third.”

He agreed with my viewpoint that third prize can be both good and bad; I won a record voucher for finishing third in a race and bought a Sick Of It All album with it and it was my prize position for a few weeks thereafter. Gavin looked proud and a little mischievous before taking on his reply,

“Yeah, there is always that contradiction there. I think that songs sums up Idlewild; Bronze medal.”

Being a proud Manchester City fan I had to ask whether they would dedicate ‘Bronze Medal’ to the Manchester United fans present at the show later. In true diplomatic fashion he simply retorted,

“Well I’ll ask, but won’t we get beaten up?”

David Adair

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Nine Black Alps

www.nineblackalps.net

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN.

If Manchester still has so much to answer for than I guess nobody bothered to ask the right questions. As the city prepares for the latest Oasis comeback, no doubt superseded by a million and one Gallagher impostors, Nine Black Alps have emerged amidst the black smoke and boggy canal like a Glade sponsored breath of fresh air.

The current line-up (Sam Forrest – vocals & guitar, David Jones – guitar, Martin Cohen – bass, James Galley – drums) have been together for around eighteen months now, and in that time the star of Nine Black Alps has shot through the sky like a tornado, culminating in the band signing to Island records after only a handful of shows.

Since then, they’ve released two critically acclaimed and commercially successful singles (‘Cosmopolitan’ and ‘Shot Down’) with the forthcoming three-minute George Harrison meets Kurt Cobain for a mud ride in heaven apocalypse that is ‘Not Everyone’ set to break the band in the upper echelons of the proper charts, with their debut album ‘Everything Is’ set to follow during the first week in June.

Their videos have been on constant rotation on MTV2, who along with Channel 4, also heavily featured their set at the Texas South By South West music conference during their television broadcasts. And on top of all that, none of the music press has had a bad word to say about them yet…

Sam Forrest: “To be honest we don’t really bother too much about that, so then if…or rather when they do slag us off it won’t make a difference 
because we never took that much notice in the first place…”

David Jones:”…and I’m sure they will in about a year or so’s time. I think 
it’s the best thing not to get involved.”

Do you think that one of the reasons why everyone is so positive about the band is because you’re quite difficult to pigeonhole into any current musical scene?  

Sam Forrest: “We never set out to be just A.N.other band following whatever’s trendy at the time. We’ve always made music that sounds right to us and if other people like it too, then, great. I think it’s a really positive 
thing that we’re difficult to pigeonhole because when all the scenesters are gone, we’ll still be here, doing what we’ve always done.”

Being based in Manchester, its fair to say that Nine Black Alps are probably 
as far removed from what the stereotypical Mancunian rock band is expected to be like as it’s possible to be. Along with kindred spirits The Longcut, Nine Black Alps appear to be making a statement that its not all long black 
overcoats and Stone Island jumpers along the M61, which in some ways makes them true outsiders and therefore the living embodiment of an ALTERNATIVE 
to the mainstream.

David Jones: “To be honest, I’ve never owned a Manchester band’s CD anyway…”

Sam Forrest: “I think the first Oasis album is actually quite thrashy, certainly when you compare it to what came afterwards at any rate…”

David Jones: “While we respect what bands like Oasis and the 
Stone Roses have done for the city, they don’t really have any bearing on 
what we’re doing now or what we’re likely to d in the future. Manchester 
just happens to be where we live, nothing else…”

Sam Forrest: “We’ve always liked the idea of being freaks!”

David Jones: “We’re not trying to emulate anybody else. That would just 
be pointless.”

And what about other bands’ reactions towards Nine Black Alps? There have been suggestions that certain other “names” have been a bit resentful about the speed of which Nine Black Alps got themselves a record deal and nationwide media attention whilst never embarking on the “toilet circuit” like most of their contemporaries.

David Jones: “It feels like we’re doing that now!”

Sam Forrest: “I don’t know about that. I mean, we’ve all been in bands before, we’ve all had to get our hands dirty at one time or another and 
we’re all pretty aware of how fickle the music industry can be.”

Martin Cohen: “I think as well that if what you’re doing feels right and 
other people think it sounds right then it shouldn’t make any difference whether you’ve played 1 or 100 gigs.”

Sam Forrest: “I think the hardest part of the process for us is that we’re having to grow up in public now.”

Whilst the band have drawn obvious comparisons with the likes of Nirvana 
and the Pixies to the quiet-loud-quiet-loud structure of their songs and angsty nature of their lyrics, but to these ears, Nine Black Alps are almost like the acceptable face of (and thoroughly British antidote to) skater rock.

Sam Forrest: “None of us have ever owned a skateboard, but I can see 
where you’re coming from…”

David Jones: “The thing is, me and Sam have known each other for a long time and we both got asked to join another band at the same time, which the idea of playing in what we thought was a punk band seemed brilliant at the time, but at the same time we had these songs and we thought why not 
tart a band ourselves…”

Sam Forrest: “Funnily enough, a lot of the songs actually started out as acoustic numbers, but with time they’ve grown and grown into what you’re hearing now.”

David Jones: “It’s weird in a way looking at how the music has developed when you think of each individual’s influences to be honest. I mean, I’m a huge Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Explosions In The Sky fan, and I remember when my friends first came to see us play expecting something along those lines…”

Sam Forrest: “…but instead getting these three minute noise infiltrated pop songs! Some of them haven’t been back since.”

And then of course there’s the band’s name. Sylvia Plath references 
aside, my first impression on hearing that a new band had emerged from Manchester called Nine Black Alps was met with some trepidation as the thought of more Doves-alike slow burners didn’t exactly fill me with much excitement. But then I heard ‘Shot Down’…

Sam Forrest: “Everyone always asks us about the name, but to be 
honest, we weren’t trying to be all clever like “Oh, we read Sylvia Plath every day” or anything. It was more about trying to give ourselves a name that didn’t immediately sound like that of a band. I mean, I like bands such as the Doves…”

David Jones: “…although I’d be worried if people dismissed the name as being that of another Verve rip-off!”

There’s a lot of anger in the songs though, a lot of frustration. For example 
the first line of ‘Over The Ocean’ claims “I don’t wanna be anywhere, I only want to be somewhere”, while the likes of ‘Unsatisfied’ and ‘Not Everyone’ 
also suggest a band not entirely happy with the world around them at the moment.

Sam Forrest: “I guess most of the songs are about alienation. It’s all about the way I’m feeling while I’m writing I suppose, and most of the words tend to subconsciously fit the mood of the song. I mean it’d be nice to say that we’re really complex and there’s a hidden agenda with every song but…again that’s what makes us. I write most of the lyrics and then we just thrash hem out into the course of a song. I guess I’m at my happiest song writing when I’m feeling down!”

Their first single ‘Cosmopolitan’ just missed the Top 40 by a couple of places, while its follow up (‘Shot Down’) almost gatecrashed the Top 20 earlier this year. With the third single about to be released and an album on the way soon after, do Nine Black Alps feel under any pressure from the record company (Island) that they have to go one better in terms of chart positions and ultimately sales returns?

Sam Forrest: “To be honest I never look at chart positions. I have the same opinion about this as I do with the reaction of the music press. So far the record company have been great. They’ve given us total freedom in what we release as singles, total freedom for what goes on the album and what doesn’t, and even our artwork is all done by our friends.”

David Jones: “The only disagreements about what gets released and what doesn’t are between ourselves. Funnily enough ‘Cosmopolitan’ wasn’t originally intended to be a single. It was actually going to be on the b-side to ‘Shot Down’, which was going to be the debut single…”

Sam Forrest: “I hated the original version of that song (‘Cosmopolitan’), so we decided to re-record both that and ‘Shot Down’ and the second version sounded better to be fair but…”

David Jones: “…but Sam got outvoted by the (other) three of us and ‘Cosmopolitan’ came out as the a-side!”

Sam Forrest: “I just think that the other singles were really obvious choices, even the next one (‘Unsatisfied’) seems a logical follow-up to ‘Not Everyone’, but at the time ‘Cosmopolitan’ would have been my last choice for the lead track on the first record.”

But if things were to turn a little sour somewhere down the line and the head honcho from Island Records was to summon you to his office and say, “Now lads, let’s talk about a change of direction…”

David Jones: “There’s no chance of that ever happening. They knew what they’d got when they signed us. If they wanted something more mainstream, blander, there’s plenty of them out there. I’m sure they would have got them first.”

Sam Forrest: “The good thing from our point of view as well is that our manager at the record label used to be in a band so he knows all about the whole issue of being true to yourselves and keeping your own identity. If anything I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how supportive the people at the label have been. We were warned to beware of a lot industry suits 
as an awful lot of backstabbing tends to go off in this business but so far we haven’t seen any of it.”

Before we say our goodbyes, Sam will declare that he wants to film their next promotional video in Chernobyl and hopes none of the band are ever asked to do ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’, as he hates the concept of “Pop stars as celebrities”. Meanwhile, David will admit that although file sharing is 
illegal and could potentially cost the band a substantial amount of revenue in future sales, he does his fair share of downloading so to castigate anyone else for doing the same thing would “just be hypocritical”. Manchester, you have been answered.

Dom Gourlay

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Miss T and the Japanese Tourists

www.misstandjts.com

The colourful leading Lady Miss T and her three fellow babydoll punks;
Gabriel – (lead guitar), Dan (bass guitar) Andy – (drums) have been mesmerizing adventurous music lovers of late, mainly in their London base. Since 2001, Miss T and the Japanese Tourists have been pouring passion; 
lurid provocation and musical know how into their project and much like 
Sven’s England they have dug out a victory against stoic opposition (indie purists) and are on the verge of being signed.

The mercurial Miss T and co took the opportunity to divulge details of their appearance on a compilation CD that is to be released soon by the good 
people of Chromium Records.  Also, they give an insight into the battles that a talented underground band faces in this cut and thrust musical world of ours and most importantly, they entertain us with their wit and wisdom.

Since the inception of your outfit in 2001, you have flitted mainly around 
your home base of London dazzling audiences. The four of you have based your performances on the laudable premise of entertainment & escapism. 
Do you make music to escape and for your audience to escape also is there 
a cathartic element to what you do?

We definitely apply the idea of ‘escapism’ to both the making of our music as well as to the effects it has on our audience. As a band we function in two very different worlds – our day-to-day humdrum of tubes, trains & 
aeroplanes & then our evenings cocooned away in our studio where we can escape to the world of ‘Miss T & the Japanese Tourists’. Just as we are able to lock the world out – so we want to recreate that feeling in our shows for our audiences. A place that they can come to and for ‘X’ amount of time, be transported off into the realms of their shadows to revel & enjoy for a while what your day-to-day routine doesn’t allow for & then we deliver you safely back to your reality… hopefully a little bit changed. 

You have self classified your sound as “Babydoll Punk”, how would you 
define this sound for the initiated? Do you still feel that this term 
summarizes your music or have you changed?

As Gabriel (our lead guitarist) puts it: ‘I think our ‘Babydoll Punk’ has entered its puberty and started to secretly experiment & dabble in a few ‘not so conventional’ things.’ Our music has definitely ‘matured’, we as a band have matured & grown more comfortable & confident with the idea of pushing
things to the edge, even over the edge at times. Trying new techniques, being more unconventional & not giving up when it doesn’t sound right the first time or the 100^th time for that matter. We definitely believe in the old ‘work hard, play hard’ ethic – although having said that it would appear we haven’t quite made it to the ‘play hard’ part of the statement! So yes, I do believe our ‘babydoll’ is growing up – but she will definitely always be there… Somewhere.

There does not seem to a band like you around in London, so is it difficult 
to find bands to play with and how is your sound going down on the London scene?

No, our sound certainly doesn’t fit in with the music & look that’s being 
touted around various music magazines etc…. In one way it works against 
us as there are a lot of bands out there all trying to sound like some or other band & well that doesn’t leave us many options to choose from when playing gigs & more than often we end up playing with bands that are on the other side of the spectrum to us.

At first this was a bit disappointing as it meant we weren’t always reaching our ‘target audience’ but then we started to notice that we were starting to see more & more of the ‘indie’ crowd showing up at our gigs. This was also helped by the fact that John Kennedy (Xfm Radio) played our music quite a 
bit on his shows & then we did some recording with Gordon Raphael – the 
man who discovered, signed & produced The Strokes 1^st & 2^nd albums – which also brought us to the attention of the ‘now’ crowd. The good news is that we believe everyone has a dark side, even ‘indie kids’ & well those of them willing to give us a listen to might be very surprised! We want to use
our sound as a medium between people’s conscious and subconscious 
worlds, as a gate to their imagination. We want our songs to be painting
from Hieronymus Bosch, disturbing & unexplainable at first, but luring one to come closer. We don’t discriminate.     

In my humble opinion your best number thus far is the bold and provocative Blondie crossed with Bjork and splatter of Madonna number ‘Little Girl’. It appears to have a serious message about exploitation do you intend to educate as well entertain with this number?

Educate, entertain, warn and tempt to be precise.

You seem such a close-knit quartet. How do you resolve creative 
differences?

By using them. Coming from four totally different music backgrounds allows 
us the creative freedom of not ape-ing the style of ‘our common Idol’ 
(with the exception of Billy), these differences becoming thus the advantage. We have a tremendous amount of respect both musically & personally for 
each other. Each idea, opinion, comment is tried & tested before we all 
decide which direction the whole unit will progress to.

Describe the song writing process for Miss T and the Japanese Tourists do you all collective input or is each song the brainchild of one member of the group?

In 99% of the songs Miss T is the one who throws the spark of melody or lyrics and the rest of the band just catches the fire. Sometimes the song is
 the product of ‘innocent’ jamming in the studio & sometimes one of us will come with a riff or a beat & we will just work around it until something develops that we all fall in love with. We fall in love quite a bit!

You seem close to getting signed and have contributed a song to a compilation album released by Chromium Records. This is a celebration 
of material from a variety of up and coming bands. What songs have you chosen to put on this album and can we expect a debut single anytime soon?            

The song being featured on the compilation ‘Showcase International’ is called ‘Killing me’ which has been produced by Gordon Raphael. With regards to a debut single being released we hope that the snowball effect will cause an avalanche with a debut single landing on your lap in the near future!

What are your current musical influences?

As different as the past ones, anything from Buddy Holly to Marilyn Manson. Having said that the whole band went to watch Interpol at Brixton Academy this weekend – who we are big fans of & apart from the sound being rather dire we thought they were great.

Many indie & alternative bands are hypocritical in their criticism of manufactured boy and girl bands, as they are manufactured themselves 
with   the use of drum machines, pre-recorded vocals and guitars. 
However, this cannot be said of you, so go nuts?

So you’re saying that Depeche Mode are manufactured? There is only good (honest) music and bad (pre-calculated) music, the means are irrelevant.

How keen are you to exit the congested capital for a while and take your   energetic live shows around the country on a full UK tour? How do want to leave people feeling after witnessing one of your live shows?

Very keen indeed. We would love to get out there & ‘spread the word’! After witnessing one of our shows we want the audience to feel as if they have just been privy to an accidental peep through the keyhole of a forbidden chamber. Exhilarated, breathless, turned on & above all at peace with their darkness.

David Adair

Th' Legendary Shack Shakers

www.cockadoodledont.com

Shake the shack

(Th' Legendary Shack Shakers interview)

“MTV killed Rock ‘N Roll”

This bold and provocative statement was proudly espoused half way through my meeting of minds with the quirky and brazen alternative/punk folkers of Nashville’s Col. JD Wilkes fronted; Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers at the Roadhouse in Manchester.  It epitomises the exuberant way they have of expressing candidness and their heartfelt passion for music. In the opening statement bassist Mark Robinson was responding to a question about what they would change about the modern music industry, as he and the Colonel felt that music videos are pointless and are spoiling the profession. I took issue with this; surely they are ok if done honestly and with respect for the viewer? To which the lead man nodded nonchalantly and replied:

“Yeah, I mean, I like the ‘At The Drive In’ one where they have a collage of shots of them live. That is what our video would be like if we did one.”

He thought for a moment before coming up with a slogan that would make him hot property in this time of electioneering:

“I wish we could go back to producing art for art’s sake. It is all about the money these days.”

The first response from relatively recent recruit; the colourful tattoo laden guitarist John Lee was elicited when he responded to my enquiry about how well their sound is going down with the music lovers of the world. Their music has a southern American folk come C & W base, before exploding into diversions of punk, rock n roll, blues and finished off with a tinge of metal and is most pronounced in their zany and invigorating live shows;

“It has gone down really well. I mean, I would say that it is world folk that we produce, so we have a common ground. Sometimes we go down better in places like Detroit and New York than in the South (of the U.S.A.), as we are unique to the people in cities like that.”

With Blondie’s ‘One Way or Another’ bellowing out in the background it was time to tear into the meaty topic of their records. Latest album ‘Believe’; the guys' debut on Yep Roc is a mixture of serious issues shrouded in a fun bag of whacky accompaniments and playful, yet powerful vocals that highlights their genre busting approach making music. I was intrigued to discover how, in their minds, it differed from previous album Cockadoodledon’t (released through Bloodshot Records) and how they were finding life on Yep Roc? JD took the lead:

“Well, the two albums are both the same in the respect that they were completed before we approached record labels; offering them up as a no compromise package and they were both accepted. We'd had personnel shake ups, so couldn’t really do too much pre-production collaboration on either record.”

‘Our next album will be different’ asserted Mark.

I was curious at this point, as to how they intended to strike the balance between getting down to working on a new offering and preaching the wisdom contained in 'Believe' to the world? J.D. came over quite sullen and expressed bemusement at the mechanics of the music industry:

“It is hard because that is classed as a 2004 release so it isn’t getting much of a hearing now’.

I decided to try and redress the balance by requesting that they verbally dissect a couple of intriguing numbers from their current offering. First up, and for me the number that epitomizes their eccentricity is ‘Cussing In Tongues’, especially the delectable rooster sounds concealed within. After a collective chortle J.D. dispersed the cloud of doubt in my mind:

“You know what that is? It is a Speak N’ Say"

On seeing the look puzzlement on my face similar to that of a The Weakest Link participant responding to a question in which the answer is The Polyphonic Spree, he kindly elaborated:

“It’s a game for kids where a crank turntable lands on an animal and makes an associated noise. A voice announces; aaaannndd the rooster says…’

In order to repress thoughts about my deprived childhood I moved onto a different sort of song completely, the folk blues ballad of ‘The Pony To Bet’ that sees the guys slow down and take on a slightly more mainstream feel, filling hearts with melancholy by proffering a tale about the dreary topic of getting old. Or have I missed the point? J.D.’s face lit up proudly like the Olympic torch before he took on his reply:

“Well, it could be about that. More specifically, it is about a guy who lives near me who gets completely drunk and sits on his horse all day, everyday.

Of course, there is someone like that in every neighbourhood is there not?

It was time for the guys to dust off the cobwebs gathered by sitting around, as they went onto produce a rasping punk spiked set; feeding off the fiery and fun spirit of Col. JD Wilkes. He bounced around the stage of the hallowed hall of the Roadhouse with the energetic exuberance of a deranged Southern U.S.A. type person. In fact, his antics were akin to those you would anticipate Cletus from ‘The Simpsons’ to produce on hearing news that his wife; Brandeen has won Mother of the Year award for showering love upon their extended family.  

David Adair

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www.therakes.co.uk

“The way we write is appealing to a lot of people…even chavs!”
An interview with The Rakes.

If there is a more exciting band taking to the stage than The Rakes at this moment in time then I’ve yet to see them. The Brighton foursome (Alan Donohue, vocals; Matt Swinnerton, guitar & vocals; Jamie Hornsmith, bass; and Lasse Petersen, drums) have been cooking up a storm around the home counties for a while now, but after last year’s ‘Strasbourg’ single gained them a wider audience thanks to it being play listed on by Zane Lowe on both his radio and MTV shows things have taken off at an upwardly vertical pace.

This month (March) sees them embarking on their biggest headline tour to date, and with the imminent chart bothering expected of forthcoming single ‘Retreat’, now seems as good a time as any to find out how the Rakes are coping with all of the attention that’s being thrust on them at the moment…

“It’s been a busy last few days to be honest,” admits the genial guitarist Matt Swinnerton. “We’ve been doing a dozen or so interviews a day in the weeks leading up to this tour so we’re getting good at those now, while the sound checks seem to last longer, more thorough, perhaps?”

Having not been away from their homes for such an extensive period of time, both Matt and lead vocalist Alan Donohue also admit that it can put a strain on their home life, particularly as they’re both in steady, long-term relationships.

“I guess you have to be quite pragmatic about the whole ‘groupie’ thing really if it comes up in conversation,” deadpans Matt all matter-of-factly.

For the Rakes the last 12 months have been like a whirlwind, as the band’s success has seen them give up their day jobs and take on the roles of “serious musicians” for the foreseeable future. So was the ’22 Grand Job’ story a combination of each band member’s experiences?

“Well I was in a job that paid something like that…” admits Matt.
“…But that’s just a coincidence” adds Alan. “I went for a job interview and didn’t get it and I was sitting outside afterwards thinking about the money and…those words just kept swimming around in my head.”

Its fair to say that a large percentage of The Rakes’ output to date is based on personal experiences (‘The Guilt’ and ‘Just Got Paid…’ to name but two), although two of their most raucous and undoubtedly best known songs, ‘Strasbourg’ and ‘Auslandmission’, form an unholy alliance that many years ago in the worlds of Gabriel and Anderson would have sown the seeds for, whisper it, a concept album.

“’Auslandmission’ was written as the sequel to ‘Strasbourg’. The two main characters in it are sort of fictional, although ‘Sally’ is actually the name of my brother’s girlfriend!” declares Matt sheepishly.  
“My brother told me about a few experiences they had on holiday so there is 
a bit of that mixed in with the narrative story as well.”

“So ‘Auslandmission’ is the follow up to ‘Strasbourg’?” asks a startled Lasse Petersen.

“The characters in ‘Auslandmission’ are the son – or the daughter for that matter – of the couple that escaped from the Eastern Bloc in ‘Strasbourg’, 
now grown up and living in the west and having a nostalgic look back really,” adds the guitarist.

So can what can we expect for part three of the story?

“Nothing,” says Phil, “it’s finished now.”
“I guess the concept there just died a death really,” adds Alan.

‘Auslandmission’ stands out as one of the most focal and compelling four minutes of your live set. Have you any plans to release it as a single?

“No, because I tend to sing lead vocals on it, and we don’t feel that’s really representative of us because it’s a bit unusual to have someone else doing the vocals when Alan’s the lead singer so we’d rather concentrate on songs where we’re all bringing to the band what we do best individually,” states a forthright Matt Swinnerton, disappointing yours truly in the process!

So have you any thoughts on what the next single might be?

“It’s hard to say at this moment in time.” admits Matt, “We’ve a lot of songs that form part of the live set that we think would work as singles but it all depends on the way they’re mixed at the end…”

“…And then of course the record label may have other ideas on what they 
want us to release,” adds a tentative Jamie Hornsmith.

“There is a chance that ’22 Grand Job’ may come out again simply because it’s a good song and the original pressing was only limited to 500 copies,” states Alan.

“We’ve re-recorded a slightly different version to the first one as well,” concludes Matt.

The band have also just finished recording the final songs that are set to make it onto their forthcoming album, ‘Electric Fire’, which is set to be released in August. Compared to some of their contemporaries – certainly Bloc Party and the Kaiser Chiefs spring to mind – it seems like a long wait between the band’s initial groundbreaking singles and the release of their debut long player.

“We only just finished it during the middle of last week,” declares a proud Alan Donohue. “I think the next couple of months will be where we’ll get together with Paul (Epworth, producer extraordinaire) and decide what mixes of certain tracks we like and then build up a release schedule from there really.” 
“Probably because we always seem to be playing live and people are getting to know the songs and stuff…that can make it seem like a long time but…I think some bands will start off with an album, promote it and then hopefully get some exposure whereas we got ourselves noticed through our live show…” adds Matt.
“…And also what a lot of people forget is that when we were first getting attention we were unsigned for quite a while after,” finishes Lasse.One thing which helped break the band on a national basis was undoubtedly the ‘Strasbourg’ single, both by way of its frantic burst of sonic post-punk mayhem and also its eye-catching video where the band are seen wearing military uniforms against a backdrop that replicates the collapse of the Berlin Wall. 

“We were pleased with the video”, recalls Alan, “we wanted to make it look as cheap as possible, which I suppose was always going to be a success as the budget only stretched to about £200! Jamie wanted to put the lyrics underneath a bouncing ball at the bottom of the screen but we couldn’t afford to do that so we just filmed it as we were.”

The current single ‘Retreat’ looks like giving The Rakes their first stab at the “proper” charts in a couple of Sunday’s time. How will it feel if you’re invited to play ‘Top Of The Pops’ alongside people like G4?

“Pretty surreal!” laughs Alan, “I wouldn’t mind doing ‘Top Of The Pops’ to be honest…”
“…But it’s not got that much going for it now though has it? Bloc Party didn’t want to do it,” declares Matt, “it’s all about ‘Popworld’ now!”
“I’d definitely do ‘Top Of The Pops’” decides Alan, “and I’d ask for four high stools like G4 use with an acoustic guitar for Matt and I’d be the mad, wacky one wearing white dungarees that were half undone!”

The Rakes have also escaped the wrath of the music press to date, with all three of their singles to date achieving varying degrees of critical acclaim, while their live shows are quickly gaining recognition as “must see” events. How would the band feel if the press turned the tables on them?

“We had a bad review in the Telegraph once” admits Lasse.
“We’ve had a fair few actually”, declares Alan.
“One review that stands out for me though was saying how good we were,” adds Matt. “It was saying that The Rakes have got energy, intelligent lyrics and an amazing stage presence but…they’re just so old! I wouldn’t mind but we’re only in our mid-twenties!”
“I remember another one as well that was saying we were really good but that doesn’t really matter because six months ago they were probably playing Badly Drawn Boy covers!” recalls Alan.
“I think the bottom line is that you’ve got to be ambivalent to people who say you’re bad just as you have to those who say you’re brilliant,” says Matt with a dismissive shrug.

Musically, The Rakes’ sound echoes the post-punk stylings of people like the Fall and Joy Division without ever becoming too close to the bone to ever be considered a pastiche. However, what sets the band apart from most of their current contemporaries is the beguiling mix all four members bring to the party, as Alan Donohue testifies.

“We never actually sat down and said this sounds like U2 or that sounds like The Fall, even though they are two of our favourite artists. A lot of the songs come together as jams and usually if I like it I’ll ask Matt and Jamie to play the same notes again but faster. Its like trial and error most of the time, but never that structured in a way that we’re trying to sound specifically like a certain artist or era. Its quite interesting when people say we sound like The Fall and Joy Division because I hadn’t really heard that much of their stuff before we started the band. I only really knew ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ and then I heard their albums after people started comparing us and…I still don’t know if I really like it that much to be honest. 
For me the biggest similarity we have with Joy Division is that we are both very drum and bass-y, in that we use big bass strums rather than guitar riffs…”

Matt Swinnerton offers his take on the band’s sound: -

“I think the way we write is appealing to a lot of people because it’s delivered in a clinical and intense way but at the same time it also carries a lot of humour. Musically, I think our tracks are instant to the listener because there’s a natural pop sensibility about most of the songs. I don’t think The Rakes have ever tried to be too edgy or too pop. We just make music that you can dance to.”

Drummer Lasse Petersen has the last word: -

“I really like where are music is going in that all different kinds of people are coming to our shows. We get white kids, black kids, Asian kids, older people who’ve been seeing bands for 20 years or so, even chavs…(cue laughter from the other band members)…”

Words: Dom Gourlay
Photograph: Mark Moore

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Randi Russo

www.randirusso.com www.olivejuicemusic.com

Randi’s eloquence and honesty is matchless 

The dexterously talented New York singer and artist; Randi Russo captures mundane life in whatever she does; dusts it off and serves it up as a patently palatable feast. Her last album; ‘Solar Bi Polar’ that was released in 2001, still has people talking and the rustic cathartic nature of it and it has helped people let off more steam than they would have done spending a week in a sauna. Built around slightly curt, yet strangely welcoming and soothing numbers like ‘Matchless’ and the pungently piecing ‘Lucy’s Plan’, saw Randi picking up the gauntlet from Patti Smith and putting a coat of varnish upon it. 

Randi kindly loans some of her time to talk about her new musical direction, as she uses the experience gained from Solar Bi Polar and produced some calmer and more crafted offerings with another album looming on the horizon. As ever the welcoming New Yorker is open and honest, providing a refreshing insight into the grass roots musical world.  

You have finished recording a demo featuring some crisp, enchanting and commanding more pop friendly numbers, than your raw and cathartic anti folk debut album ‘Solar Bipolar’ (S B P). How has your approach to producing music changed since 2001 the year of S B P’s release? 

Well, I’m looking to expand our sound as a band. I want to go deeper, lyrically and musically. My most recent recordings have more instrumentation on it. The songs seem to be darker and deeper (with the exception of Where You Wanna Go, which is somewhat more pop than rock). I’m not afraid to have songs that are over 5 or 6 minutes long, which my rep told me that would be a drawback, since labels want to hear songs that are anywhere from 2-4 minutes long. But I like the ‘epic’ songs… songs that go through a variety of emotions, songs that lyrically dissect opposing emotions and combine these seemingly two different emotions (happy & sad, vulnerable & confident, angry & calm, etc.) within one song. 
 
On the topic of S B P. congratulations on getting a distribution deal for this via Big Daddy Music. Do you think it is important for people to listen to S B P before having a foray into your alluring new material, or does it not matter? 
 
Well, some have told me that SBP is so good and hasn’t gotten the exposure that it deserves, that I should release an EP with new recordings plus a few songs from SBP. I’m actually considering this idea. Perhaps, I’ll put four or five new recordings, along with two SBP songs. I know I would like to put on We Forget (from SBP), because, since it was the last song on the album, I don’t think people always got to it. SBP is a long album (over 52 minutes) and some people just listen to the first few songs over and over again, and never get to the end of the album (I’m guilty of doing this as well with the music I buy). It’s great that SBP got a distribution deal, but without touring, the CDs will just sit on the racks, which doesn’t help much. I want to tour more to get people more aware of my music (both the old and the new stuff), but, financially, that’s not always possible. 
 
Overall, though, I do not think it’s necessary for one to hear SBP before hearing the newer material. It’s nice to have people hear my music grow and change over time, but it’s not necessary. 
 
Two of your new songs have been getting some Radio play over in there in the U.S.A; "Shout Like a Lady" & "Release Me." Are these representatives of the sound you wish to achieve and, how would you describe their sound for the uninitiated? 

I chose these two songs (with the help of my bandmates’ and friends’ opinions) to be released for radio because they show both sides of what I do. Shout Like a Lady is a stark, dark, haunting song that is also quite tender, vulnerable and cerebral. I love the instrumentation on it. Randy Jamrok (drums) does a great marching drumbeat on it; Lenny Molotov (lap steel, bass, keyboards and glockenspiel) makes the song absolutely stunning; and Lafrae Sci adds this great percussion. The song goes from a quiet beginning to a very large, sublime ending. It’s quite gorgeous (mainly due to Lenny’s contributions). 
 
Now, on the other hand, Release Me is a cathartic, bluesy rocker. This is my other side… the less cerebral side and the more urgent, physical side. It’s also quite a spiritual song, in the same way that early blues were spiritual in nature, yet had those ‘sexy’ guitar riffs to accompany the spiritual side. I figured that the radio stations or DJs can choose which song better fits their format. 

How does it feel to be a New Yorker at the moment? Have your views changed over recent years? 

I love being a New Yorker. If you’ve lived here for over a year or two, you find that you become addicted to it (I’ve been here for over 8 years now). There are definitely moments when you hate it (noise, pollution, the busy-ness, the expensiveness of everything, and other stressors), but when you leave New York, you can’t wait to get back. It’s hard to imagine living anywhere else. 
 
My views about NYC have certainly changed since 9-11. The city has become ridiculously uptight about security. A certain amount of security is needed, but to have guys in army fatigues with AK-47s standing around Penn Station is completely laughable; as if their green/khaki camouflaged suits would blend in with the concrete and white walls! It’s all for show. I’m angry that we have a stupid president and governor. Many politicians have exploited 9-11 to take away a lot of our freedoms and to use taxpayer money on defense and security. Also, my awareness of the great divide between the different economic classes in NYC has made me quite upset. It seems to get worse everyday. There is so much greed here, at the expense of hard-working people. I see both worlds everyday. Sometimes I do odd jobs for multi-millionaires (even billionaires who have real Picasso’s and Chagall’s in their homes), and yet, I also know people who live in squats that are scraping to get by. All this exposure to different types of people makes me a better artist/musician/lyricist, so I try to respond to it all objectively, and not judge it. But, sometimes, when you see too much material excess, you can’t help but be disgusted with society. 

One of the mainstays of your band; Randy Jamrok has recently fled the nest to Chicago. Has it been difficult to adapt to life without him in your set up and has your sound changed as a result or is it too early to tell? 

We’ll definitely miss Randy because his style was unique and he was one of the most dedicated and disciplined musicians I had ever met. It will be hard to replace him. However, we did find a new drummer – Pete Hayes of the Figgs. He’s a great drummer and we look forward to playing some shows with him. I’ve toured with him in the UK, while he was playing drums for Steve Shiffman, and I noticed that he’s simply an amazing, naturally talented drummer. I’ve seen him sit-in with bands that he’s never played with before and he just totally rocks and you could not even tell that he was playing with them for the first time. It’s too early to tell how our sound will change once he joins us. 

 What are your current musical influences?? 

I’ve been listening to a lot of Nina Simone lately. I also like to listen to Love (Forever Changes). My neighbor made me this CD of some avant-garde classical music and I’ve been listening to that quite a bit. I’m looking to expand my musical ‘vocabulary’. Of the antifolk scene, Cockroach is still my favorite.  
 
Your last European tour was hailed a success by both yourself and people who went along to the shows, any more plans to visit Europe on tour? 

Yes… I was supposed to go to the UK again in March, but a number of circumstances got in the way (serious health problems, which have now recently healed, and deep financial problems). Now, I’m planning on going in June of this year. Let’s just hope some money falls my way so I can go!!! 
 
If you could change one thing about the music industry what would it be? 

Hmmm… just one thing? Well, I suppose I’d get rid of the big corporate monopolies (or the quintopoly, to be fair… maybe it’s a quadropoly by now?). They have destroyed music. Business people, who think they’re creative and “know” what’s going to be a hit, have no clue as to what constitutes great music. And those songs do become ‘hits’ because that’s all the masses are exposed to. Unless the people have (the expensive) satellite radio, they have but no choice to listen to crap. And the sad part of it is, is that they do not even know what great music exists out there. If you want to hear good music, you really have to search for it, and a lot of people simply don’t have the time to go searching. The major labels are the Wal-Mart’s, Targets, and K-marts of music offering low quality merchandise for the masses.

David Adair

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Nic Armstrong

Armstrong oozes natural flair (Nic Armstrong interview)

“Is any one here from Ireland? Cos, I’m not Irish if that’s what you think”

The unmistakable Geordie wit of Nic Armstrong was charming eager fans awaiting the arrival of Paul Weller at the atmospheric Manchester Apollo Theatre. Nic Armstrong and the Thieves were providing some commanding and clattering entertainment that was given a longing feel by the sporadic use of a howling harmonica. This was aptly demonstrated in second track; ‘I Can’t Stand It’ one of the many highlights from re-released debut album ‘The Greatest White Liar’ (out now on One Little Indian Records).

In the latter end of the set, newer track ‘I Don’t Have The Face’ saw the rest of the band steal in and produce a sprightly pop friendly number that raised smiles with Weller fans. The rasping finale of ‘Broken Mouth Blues’ buzzed around the venue stinging listeners with catchy 70s rock instrumentals and Dylan-esque vocals and lyrics, leaving the lingering sound of Geordie blues rock in the air.

My journey through eager Wellerettes to the backstage area was made interesting with my eager ears picking up their gossip that Peter Kay is in the venue to introduce Weller. I was in a position to confirm that, as Mr. Kay sauntered past, while I was sat waiting for the main man Armstrong to finish his post gig duties of lugging his equipment back to the storage area.

The after show unwind started taking place as Nic sparked up and comfortably lounged Al Bundy like onto a comfy sofa. My first point of enquiry was to find out why he has tagged the term “And The Thieves’ to his title. How did he feel being part of a band did it take the pressure off? Also, I wondered if he missed the creative freedom of being a one-man band, as his E.P.; ‘Broken Mouth Blues’ was a compelling solo effort? The response was preceded by a warm smile that will endear Nic to many people as he climbs the musical ladder,

“I have still got it; creative freedom. It was a natural progression for Johnny (Aitken; percussionist) and I to add to the line up and form a band. We are proud of Broken Mouth Blues, but sometimes it is hard to reproduce that rawer sound.” 

So, you still have freedom and unpredictability? I enquired:

“Yeah, I might produce a tripping techno album under a pseudonym in the future.”

Now that would be intriguing! Feeling that Nic was relaxing and unwinding to the sounds of Paul Weller in the background, I felt it was time to quiz him about one of his earlier songs; ‘Warm As You Are’. This nifty number appears on his four-track ‘Broken Mouth Blues’ EP. I raised the topic of pessimism that this track skirts with. A shrug of the shoulders then a swift and cryptic reply ensued,

“You just gotta live with it; pessimism it is part of life, but I see pessimism as optimism sometimes.”

A pensive and thoughtful look followed by a long smoke before the song ‘Warm As You Are” was succinctly summarized;

 “This song was a reaction to my best mate going crazy and becoming moody all the time. It was a sarcastic wake up call”

Did it work? A sullen shrug and wry smile emphatically answered the question.

It was time to progress onto the meaty topic of debut album, ‘The Greatest White Liar’ that has been re-released now Nic officially has a band behind him. I stated that in my humble opinion the album overall, is crisper and smoother than previous releases especially his raw and alluring debut single; ‘Natural Flair’, as highlight tracks like ‘You Made It True’ and ‘In Your Arms On My Mind’ aptly illuminate. Does he concur?

“Yeah, I mean I was rusty when I first got contacted by a recording company. You have had to get rid of the rust like anything. I think it was a natural progression to become smoother.”

“You won a talent contest in Dazed & Confused didn’t you?” I added.

“Yeah, that’s right my girlfriend sent in one of the demos I produced in my house. It had ‘Too Long For Her’ and ‘I’ll come to you’ on it.

These two tracks made it on to the album and I could see the pride lighting up Nic’s expression. Therefore, I decided to explore his musical roots more and see if hailing from Newcastle had affected his music or did moving to Nottingham have more of an impact on his style?

“I left Newcastle along time ago. Though it did have an impact upon my life and music, it is a two tone place built around work and having fun.”

“Geordies are great people” I hastened to add. What about Nottingham?

“There is an undercurrent of darkness there because of the gun culture and large number of junkies who inhabit the place.”

I nod in agreement as a sullen mood was ensuing,

“I wrote ‘Hero In Life’ (on the ‘Broken Mouth Blues’ EP) there. It is about heroin”

He kindly spelt out the delicious pun; Heroin life, “aagghhhh” I said, hence the line;

“If you want to be a hero in life; you gotta take a shot in the arm”.

Having had a slight insight into the depth of Mr. Nic Armstrong I decided there is only one question suitable for wrapping this meeting up.

“In your honest and humble opinion; what is the meaning of life?”

The amiable Geordie chortled and simply retorted,

Words: David Adair

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Panda Bear

www.paw-tracks.com

The Alternative Language Of Love – Panda Bear’s Young Prayer

The loss of a loved one is the hardest thing to comprehend. The eternal absence of someone whose company and existence had been as engrained into your life as the routine of breathing, is as overwhelming as attempting to comprehend the reality of all that surrounds us. When those routine greetings - at once so casual as to mean nothing but so loaded with affection and trust - are gone, the absence screams, a physical manifestation of agony.

As an artist - a person who has an affinity with, and a love of, unhindered expression - maybe you’re in a position to express yourself on a different plateau. Not a greater one, not at all, but one that, whilst superfluous to personal communication, can express the spirit within that makes up so much of your own being and only takes form through your artistic output – that alternative language of love.

“Young Prayer” is a crushing album, a gradual unfolding of stumbling guitar lines and sky-bound melodies that ramble through darkness to collide fleetingly, releasing small bursts of harmony only to depart and continue their passage.

This music is documented by Noah Lennox, also known as Panda Bear, also known as one of the four members of the Animal Collective. He sits at a table in London’s Spitz bar, buried under a duffle coat and scarf, hand crooked in front of his mouth, shy and quiet.

“I wanted to cheer my Dad up a little bit,” Noah starts. “It was really heavy for him. It’s influenced by him; I wanted to tell him how he’d taught me stuff and how he’d influenced my life in a good way.”

“Young Prayer” was recorded as homage to his late father, who died in their family home after a period of illness. Its frail structures and yearning are pierced by an added sadness with this in mind; loss seems everywhere, yet hope is always out there, resting on the parameter.

“I recorded it in the room my Dad died in. I kind of didn’t want to put it out, it’s intensely personal in a way, and really heavy, so I wasn’t sure people would wanted to listen to that. But some of the Animal Collective guys got involved in the production and after that it sort of made more sense. I was encouraged by other people to put it out.”

When something is so personal it’s often hard to submit it to tape, to say ‘there that’s it, that’s how I feel’ because chances are, that’s not it, that can’t entirely sum up everything. Maybe by doing this though, a certain release is created.

“I wrote all the words first, the words were supposed to be the focus of it and I kind of ducked out on that because I didn’t include the lyrics. I was going to put it in the linear notes, this long poem that was really intense but I decided that was just for him and me. So I didn’t include that. It’s weird because I’ve read reviews saying that I’m not even singing words and stuff like that, but I guess that’s justified because if I listened to it and if I didn’t know those were words I might think I was just singing whatever.”

As Noah explains more, the intricacies and evolutions of the album become evident, an honour is bestowed, as though he’s telling us as much as he can, allowing us to join him in his gamut of emotions as they spiral and regroup.

“The words took a long time, I spent a whole summer starting from when he first got sick. I spent three months writing the words. The music was really quick and recorded in a few days. I always write music quickly, I get bored of stuff so I write a song and record it. If I record half of something it’s really rare that I’ll come back to it and finish it. I guess I’m just the kind of guy that needs to do it in the moment or I’ll never have the interest to complete it.

I guess that’s a big difference between myself and being in the Animal Collective. It’s nice because they’re super quick, Dave especially is with it at arranging things, he can see the big picture whereas with me it’s just, I can’t figure it out. My stuff seems, I don’t want to say amateur, but it’s a lot rougher around the edges. I like that knowing that I also do stuff that’s not that way. I wouldn’t like it if everything I did was unpolished, kind of raw indie stuff.”

Panda Bear had a release out some years ago, a limited album of as he calls it ‘schlocky indie’. Young Prayer is a universe away from this, it’s unique and unrestrained, heart wrenching and blissful and has its glare focused firmly on the upward and onward.

“I’d like it to be a positive experience. I’d like people to have whatever experience they have with it, but overall I’d like it to be a positive, uplifting thing. I wanted that for my father and for me too as it was a rough time and I didn’t want to think of the negative. Every song has really weird structural ideas and every song starts from a lower register and ends up in a higher register so it’s constantly moving up, there’s tonnes of stuff like that, I also took each line of the poem and gave it its own melody. The album is a long series of fragments that I assembled piece by piece. I wanted it to sort of be like a flower opening, this really complex, slow moving thing that grows.

It had to feel natural, but everything was done in threes,” Noah explains. “Each song has three parts. The record overall is made up three parts, that’s a holy number, a spiritual number. I wanted it to be a spiritual record because the music I’ve recorded in the past is very secular, totally different.

I remember thinking at the time that I wanted to sing and play guitar in a way that I hadn’t heard before. I wanted to challenge myself. I feel that the Animal Collective is always in the back of our minds, it’s paramount for us but it wasn’t like I was listening to certain things and was like ‘yeah, I want to play like that’, I wanted to not think like that and come up with something totally new. In a way that’s impossible, but there definitely wasn’t any direct influence in the way it sounded.”

So after the experience of writing such a piece, the process begins again, playing this material live and solo.

“I played the Young Prayer stuff maybe six times live, that was really really intense. I hadn’t even really played by myself in front of an audience before, so it was intense at every show. But I thought that was good for the music I was playing, that style, I thought it served the purpose of the music.

That’s a different thing to playing with the Animal Collective where I’m mostly behind drums and there’s tonnes of effects on everything. So it’s almost like there’s something to hide behind in that music and it’s also going crazy with energy. I guess that’s similar to the new songs I’m playing too in that once I start I stop thinking about everyone else. I don’t think that there are other people in the room or what somebody else is hearing, I’m just totally focused on what’s going on, I can feel everything, which is kind of weird.”

Things constantly change, and Noah finds himself far removed from his Animal Collective peers. They remain in America, he has moved to Portugal with his wife. The pace of life is almost slow motion. It’s an oasis of relief.

“Living in New York is fucking craziness every day, I felt like I had to get out of there. I’m not down on America or anything like that, I’m not really a political person so I’m not ‘America’s so shitty’ and stuff like that. I like New York but it’s not the sort of place I’d want to be every day. Being down by the water is probably the best place for me. Those are the places I tend to gravitate towards, where I lived in Brooklyn was right on the water; it was kind of my refuge.

There’s something about the pace in of life, at least in Lisbon, that suits me much better. It’s really tranquil my life now, it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time, sure I miss being able to speak freely without having to think about it, but that will change. It’s kind of getting worse and worse having to leave home, but for now I still feel good playing with the band.”

It’s as though Noah been through one period of his life, the formation, and now must continue and change. The Animal Collective his still his staple source, a basis of his being, but the nuances are changing. Revelations occur and the past becomes unsustainable. Noah seems to exist in a state of splendid isolation, working with the band then withdrawing, escaping from all the madness and expressing his softer individual nature, as if balancing chi and complying with nature’s cycles, something we all do whether consciously or otherwise. So what will he do once he’s finished the current tour?

“Actually, everything’s planned out until December of next year. There’s this tour, then I’m home for two weeks. Then we’re recording a new Animal Collective record in March, then home again for another two weeks. Then we’re going on tour in April. Then I’m hoping to record the stuff that I’m currently touring with now in the summer, then we’ll probably do a more extensive tour in the Fall to support the new Animal Collective record. I hate having to plan my life out like that, but I guess that’s just the way it is.”

Jonathan Falcone

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Kaiser Chiefs

www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk

“WE’RE LIKE THE BEATLES IN ‘HARD DAY’S NIGHT’ - IT’S HILARIOUS 24-7!”

Ricky Wilson is just like one of us.

He lives, breathes, eats, sleeps and shits music. Today might be the 4th day of the biggest tou