My second Tom interview in a matter of weeks. Tom Baxter sounded very educated and interesting, and I really did feel bad for not having done much research on him and his work, having recently returned from a trip involving approx. 500 Pigeon Detectives gigs...
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in November 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
TOM BAXTER
It’s not often we start our interviews with an apology, but I feel like I owe Tom Baxter one. I’ve been off work for a couple of days and so the amount of background research for this interview is considerably less than usual. I’m concerned about asking something obviously stupid. “That’s fine. I’m used to it,” Tom says, shrugging off my concerns with a laugh. So, your debut single ‘Better’… “It’s fine, don’t worry at all!”
Tom Baxter is a singer-songwriter, originally from Suffolk, now based in London. His parents were both folk musicians, so tunes are in his blood. He’s previously said that while trying his hardest to get into music, he avoided getting ‘a proper job’ because of concerns he might fall into it and never fulfil his potential. Having supported Nerina Pallot on tour, lost one record deal and gained another, and played at Latitude, it’s been a busy year.
I read somewhere that Tom went to music college. If you’ve studied writing or music, a lot of people seem to look down on it. “Going to music college was a little bit like going to art college when I went there. It kind of put me off it a bit because analysing something, that’s hard, but at the same time it was also really helpful. Yet you can’t teach someone how to be an artist or a songwriter or whatever, do you know what I mean, but at the same time I don’t think anyone should look down on it. I think some of the greatest musicians have studied, whether you study at college or you study in life.”
When Tom rings us, he’s somewhere in the middle of a London council estate – cue police sirens in the background – accompanied by a cameraman and a giant frame, the sort you would see a painting in. This is because he’s filming a Channel 4 documentary. From what we can gather, this involves him travelling around the country bearing the enormous golden frame, through which interviews and video will be shown. “We went up to the coast yesterday and did it, and the beach and the forest. I’m sort of walking around with the screen, it’s actually really cool!”
Art is something of a big part of Tom’s life. He studied at art college, and if you take a look at the images used in his forthcoming record ‘Skybound’, well they were all produced by his own fair hand. “I love trying to keep it as creative as possible,” he explains. “It’s more fun that way. It’s trying to explore different ways of communicating with people and for me it’s good because it just means I get to play around a lot more [laughs] I’m just a big kid really, messing about! I did the artwork for the first album as well [as ‘Skybound’] but this one I did differently, I did big canvases. We had an art exhibition where we launched it and we sold the artwork to help fund the record and the marketing of it and stuff like that. So it’s been brilliant, it’s been a brilliant year.”
’Skybound’, out in early January 2008 (how far away does that sound? – November Ed) is the follow up to 2004’s ‘Feather and Stone’, which spawned singles ‘This Boy’ and ‘My Declaration’. “It was recorded a while back but it was put back because I didn’t really want to release it at Christmas, I mean I was happy to release the single at Christmas but I didn’t want to release the album then because it just gets swallowed up, there’s all that pop star stuff that’s on TV which gets in the way and everyone’s just panicking. I wanted to get it out there and I didn’t want it to be competing with all this sort of Cliff Richard Christmas time.”
Has your sound has changed much since ‘Feather and Stone’? “I think it has,” says Tom. “I’m really happy with this album, it’s much more organically put together. It’s quite upbeat for the first half and then it gets a bit darker in the second half of the record, but yeah I’m really pleased with it, I’m really proud of what we did.”
You may be familiar with the single ‘Better’ if you’ve been following Simon Pegg’s filmic adventures or have tuned in to Radio 2 at some point recently. “Well ‘Better’ that’s in the film ‘Run Fat Boy Run’. That’s been played on Radio 2 a lot, and there’s a video so that’s the one you’re more likely to hear at this moment because the actual album hasn’t been out in the shops yet. There’s lots of different sorts of tracks on there, I don’t know if you’ve heard the record?” he asks. I haven’t heard it yet, no. “Well, check it out! And then you’ll know.”
Any other tracks apart from Better that we should listen out for? “There’s a track called ‘Tragic’ which is one of my favourite tracks, it’s just about how dreams get kicked out of you,” says Tom.
”There’s lots of stories on the album. There’s another one called ‘The Last Shot’ which is about a soldier in the First World War, it’s basically an analogy of love. It’s kind of based on watching Gallipoli, have you seen that film? What they used to do is that it was one of those really stupid wars, when a load of kids get sent to the front line and put in the trenches and the Germans were just gunning them down as they went over. The English knew that but they just kept sending them out. If they got wounded they’d get sent to the sort of Red Cross bit and then if they got better they’d just got sent to the frontline so the likelihood of them dying was pretty high.
”So in this song a soldier’s talking about how he’s been wounded and now he’s feeling better. He’s running over the trenches and he thinks he’s fine and then he gets shot in the heart and basically the whole thing is an analogy of being wounded in love, making yourself better and going out there, having another relationship and then really getting heartbroken. So that’s what the song’s about.”
Sounds quite deep. “Well I mean it’s just a song. But if you read it, you’ll know what I mean. On the website, all of the paintings are up there, and the lyrics are there as well.”
Are you touring the album or single at all? “I’ve just come back from tour, I’m just about to go on to another tour which is like touring all the radio stations and stuff, so that’s taking a lot of my time in the next couple of weeks. Then I come back and lots more things going on, lots of promotional stuff, and then we’re playing the Shepherd’s Bush Empire so I’m really looking forward to that. I’m going to Argentina for Christmas, have a bit of a break, so that’ll be nice.”
I was going to do some Christmas questions at the end and you’re anticipating them already. “One step ahead!”
Back onto Tom Baxter: The Early(ish) Years. He found studying guitar at music college very helpful. When he first took tentative steps into the music industry, he was a session player for various pop bands. Any good ones? “No,” Tom laughs. “I can’t even remember half their names. Some of them were famous, but it didn’t interest me really. It wasn’t my thing. I… just sort of stopped doing music for a while and just completely did something else, I just found that I wasn’t really enjoying that side of it. Making my own records and stuff, that’s what I enjoy, that’s why I’m doing the art and the music. I just made sure I was making the records I wanted to make you know, instead of trying to commercially continuously jump on any sort of bandwagon. Sort of try to keep it as personal as possible.”
So what bands and musicians are currently on Tom’s playlist? "Well I really love Sigur Rós, been listening to them a lot. I really like the Amy Winehouse album. A band called Beirut, I really like them, another band called Quartet, Arvo Pärt, who’s a classical composer. Loads of stuff!”
Someone is lurking in the background, waiting for Tom. We think it’s the film crew, waiting for him to carry a frame around. Time for him to go. It seems less like a career in the arts and more like a stint with Pickfords. We could make a lazy pun about him being Skybound, but instead we’ll stick with wishing him luck. It’s even lazier, but you’ll agree it’s marginally less cheesy.
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Interview - Tom Findlay (Groove Armada)
Although Tom Findlay was doing the rounds to promote his solo stuff (which I still haven't heard), he's part of Groove Armada and is therefore cool. He sounded like a good bloke.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in October 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
TOM FINDLAY (GROOVE ARMADA)
Tom Findlay is better known as being one half of Groove Armada – still ‘Song 4 Mutya’-ing all over the airwaves - and the driving force behind Sugardaddy. We phoned Tom up to talk about his new mix album, those ‘bloody adverts’ and why he’ll be arming himself come Hallowe’en.
Hello, my name’s Suzy, I’m your next boring interviewer.
Hello boring interviewer number two!
How are you this morning?
I’m all right. Been up since about half past five but apart from that I’m fine. I’ve got a one year old daughter who’s an absolute angel but she’s really into getting up. So by half ten I’ll have already been up for half a day.
That must be awkward because musicians tend to get up late and then work late.
It’s not taking its toll at the moment. My wife writes about fashion and so at the moment it’s the fashion week things on where she gets to go to Milan, Paris, London and all that. I’ve got the kids and I’m trying to keep a music career going but when you’re DJing at 3 ‘til 5 in the morning and that’s the time when they’re getting up, that’s not ideal. But anyway they’re totally lovely and in a few years time they’ll be really cross with me when I try and get them out of bed and it’ll all be ok.
What was the last film you watched?
Erm… bababababa… tschh… the last film that I can remember watching… erm… was derderder… oh god it was that thing…
You can’t remember it, can you?
I can! I went to see Atonement, the big Ian McEwan novel. It’s Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. It’s good, it’s about the Second World War and it’s nearly a great film but somehow it’s just not quite. I don’t understand why. James McAvoy is in Shameless and The Last King of Scotland. He’s fantastic.
Have you got any superstitions?
The only bizarre one is I always brush my teeth before I go onstage. I don’t know why. Just going out there with minty fresh breath seems to help.
I’m sure the crowd can feel it.
Ice cold demeanour. It all comes from Colgate.
Plug for Colgate. They’ll love it.
I should get free tubes of Colgate for a lifetime now.
Would you put your songs on a Colgate advert?
Probably. We pretty much put our songs on every bloody advert that’s ever been, so why stop at Colgate? If you put your songs in a BHS ad then you know, you just can’t get much lower.
Why stop at Colgate, there’s Aquafresh, there’s… all the other ones.
For some time I’ve been thinking of writing a whole Groove Armada album which is just a series of slogans to get onto ads but I’ve never quite got round to it. Just like Robbie Williams did. He’ll probably make a fucking fortune out of that one and I’m sure he knew what he was doing at the time.
Do you know much about the ‘Watch The Ride’ series of albums?
I know that Scratch Perverts started the series. I think the idea is it’s very much DJ-led, if you’re going in a club and you’re seeing these people, this is what they play. The Scratch Perverts thing was obviously much more of a hip hop cut-and-paste vibe. It was really good though, really well pulled off. Mine was a sort of housey theme but a housey theme with a little bit of a twist.
What made you do it, did they ask you to?
They nagged at me like constantly. They made my life a misery until I was just like ‘enough already’ and did it. No, I mean there definitely was an element of that. There was also an element of, I’ve got this Sugardaddy project so I just thought it was quite a good opportunity to plug that while I’m at it sort of thing.
What other tracks stand out on there for you?
There’s one called ‘Camino del Sol’ which is a wacky mix which is one of my favourite house records over the last year, so I’d say that one’s definitely a big one. And then I love 'I Love Space', the Lindstrom track which opens it. Neither of those are sort of massively underground but they’re two really lovely records.
Whose tracks would you like to remix?
Goodness gracious, I mean there’s so much stuff I’d like to remix. I tend to not be particularly interested in remixing house music, which is you just put a different set of beats and a different context, but I’m definitely interested in getting into production more than remixing now. A remix is cool but is basically you get people to do an enormous amount of work and find the right indie record and then the artist gets all the rights. It never really adds up for me.
I think production’s where I’m at right now and after doing poppy stuff like the Mutya stuff I quite fancy doing a bit more of that. There’s something quite liberating about pop music in a way.
And you’re collaborating with Kylie I heard?
Well we HAD collaborated with her, but unsuccessfully in that she didn’t use any of the songs. But then we’re in good company because I think she didn’t use any of Hot Chip’s or Mylo’s, and in fact Mylo - to his enormous credit - posted his unused songs up on an internet site for about 35 seconds before the Kylie world just shut it all down. ‘This page never existed’ sort of thing. It was very Secret Service. We haven’t done that but I might just to see how long the website stays up there for. I might be ruined if I do.
Are you still much involved with the download site TuneTribe?
I did that but I don’t do it any more. I basically set it up and it still exists, and I helped to recruit a lot of people who are still working there and they’re all nice people so that’s cool. It didn’t really suit me in the sense of I’ve always been my own boss in a way and I found the process of working in a big company just very frustrating. So I did them a little deal, I gave them my shares to Tunetribe and they gave me the rights back to the Sugardaddy album that I’d released on Tunetribe and now it’s better.
You’ve got a tour coming up in November, looking forward to it?
Very much so. I’m not just saying this because of the sales pitch, but it’s definitely the best live band we’ve ever had in terms of personnel and in terms of material. Stush (singer on ‘Get Down’) comes on the road with us now and she’s bringing along a new personality for the whole thing, so alongside her and the two singers we normally use, we can have a right old go at it.
I’m really digging what we’re doing now. When we first started out we were rubbish and we got better and better. For me, doing the gig we did at Lovebox last year was one of the crowning moments in my career and I look forward to getting the boys and girls back on the road again. It’s like there’s certain mistakes I’ve made as part of Groove Armada and things that I wish I hadn’t done, but there’s nothing about the band that makes me feel that way.
Is the tour for ‘Soundboy Rock’? Did you tour the album earlier this year?
We did a sort of tour very quickly after it was released. I think the only venue we’re playing again that we’ve played before is the Apollo in Manchester, apart from that we’re playing different cities. Oh no, we’re doing Glasgow again but we’re doing two this time. People are obviously enjoying it because they’re coming back. We put on a great live show, yeah! We’re the best live dance act in the world. [laughs]
Did you play Bestival? I heard rumours you did but I didn’t see your name anywhere.
No we didn’t. We were definitely talking about it at one stage but then it seemed to go away and then that was the weekend that my wife’s fashion week stuff all started. I couldn’t really be gallivanting around the Isle of Wight because I’d have two small children with me. I played it before and loved it, it’s a fantastic festival. It’s got a real vibe about it, I think it’s that fancy dress thing and people just turning up with the right sort of attitude. The first year I played here I played a house set and loved it, and last year Sugardaddy did a little gig and that was great as well, so it’s one of my favourite festivals, with the obvious exception of Lovebox.
What else have you got coming up this year?
Well we’re going to do a lot of touring in Australia again which we always tend to do around November/December because it’s a nicer place to be than England. We’d like to go back to the States, because even though it’s not a massive record market for us it’s always been good for us in terms of live.
We’re out of our label deal with Sony now so we might do our own record and do what Radiohead have done ('In Rainbows' - set your own price) but maybe possibly set a little bit of a ceiling. We’re not as rich as Radiohead so we can’t quite afford to let people pay whatever they like, but I do think what they’ve done is interesting and I think we’re now in the same position: we’re an artist that’s got a fanbase - which is nothing like the fanbase they've got - but we’ve got a fanbase and we can communicate direct to them. So that’ll be interesting, do an album and flog it for no less than a fiver probably, or let people set their own price, within a very narrow band.
Between £5 and £5.50. Postage £20.
Exactly. Plus an administration fee as well. That’s the answer.
Almost done Tom. What are you doing for Halloween this year?
Christ. Probably boarding up the windows! The kids round our place are just lunatics. I’m just going to get as many of those Celebrations packets to see if we can keep them at bay and if that’s not enough I’m going to shell out fivers to keep them all away. It’s just utter chaos. It’s fun for the first hour but then it becomes incredibly threatening. I’ll probably just stand there with an air gun shooting at people.
Native.tv says: Kids, you have been warned…
--------
'Watch The Ride', mixed by Tom Findlay, is released through Harmless Recordings on September 24th.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in October 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
TOM FINDLAY (GROOVE ARMADA)
Tom Findlay is better known as being one half of Groove Armada – still ‘Song 4 Mutya’-ing all over the airwaves - and the driving force behind Sugardaddy. We phoned Tom up to talk about his new mix album, those ‘bloody adverts’ and why he’ll be arming himself come Hallowe’en.
Hello, my name’s Suzy, I’m your next boring interviewer.
Hello boring interviewer number two!
How are you this morning?
I’m all right. Been up since about half past five but apart from that I’m fine. I’ve got a one year old daughter who’s an absolute angel but she’s really into getting up. So by half ten I’ll have already been up for half a day.
That must be awkward because musicians tend to get up late and then work late.
It’s not taking its toll at the moment. My wife writes about fashion and so at the moment it’s the fashion week things on where she gets to go to Milan, Paris, London and all that. I’ve got the kids and I’m trying to keep a music career going but when you’re DJing at 3 ‘til 5 in the morning and that’s the time when they’re getting up, that’s not ideal. But anyway they’re totally lovely and in a few years time they’ll be really cross with me when I try and get them out of bed and it’ll all be ok.
What was the last film you watched?
Erm… bababababa… tschh… the last film that I can remember watching… erm… was derderder… oh god it was that thing…
You can’t remember it, can you?
I can! I went to see Atonement, the big Ian McEwan novel. It’s Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. It’s good, it’s about the Second World War and it’s nearly a great film but somehow it’s just not quite. I don’t understand why. James McAvoy is in Shameless and The Last King of Scotland. He’s fantastic.
Have you got any superstitions?
The only bizarre one is I always brush my teeth before I go onstage. I don’t know why. Just going out there with minty fresh breath seems to help.
I’m sure the crowd can feel it.
Ice cold demeanour. It all comes from Colgate.
Plug for Colgate. They’ll love it.
I should get free tubes of Colgate for a lifetime now.
Would you put your songs on a Colgate advert?
Probably. We pretty much put our songs on every bloody advert that’s ever been, so why stop at Colgate? If you put your songs in a BHS ad then you know, you just can’t get much lower.
Why stop at Colgate, there’s Aquafresh, there’s… all the other ones.
For some time I’ve been thinking of writing a whole Groove Armada album which is just a series of slogans to get onto ads but I’ve never quite got round to it. Just like Robbie Williams did. He’ll probably make a fucking fortune out of that one and I’m sure he knew what he was doing at the time.
Do you know much about the ‘Watch The Ride’ series of albums?
I know that Scratch Perverts started the series. I think the idea is it’s very much DJ-led, if you’re going in a club and you’re seeing these people, this is what they play. The Scratch Perverts thing was obviously much more of a hip hop cut-and-paste vibe. It was really good though, really well pulled off. Mine was a sort of housey theme but a housey theme with a little bit of a twist.
What made you do it, did they ask you to?
They nagged at me like constantly. They made my life a misery until I was just like ‘enough already’ and did it. No, I mean there definitely was an element of that. There was also an element of, I’ve got this Sugardaddy project so I just thought it was quite a good opportunity to plug that while I’m at it sort of thing.
What other tracks stand out on there for you?
There’s one called ‘Camino del Sol’ which is a wacky mix which is one of my favourite house records over the last year, so I’d say that one’s definitely a big one. And then I love 'I Love Space', the Lindstrom track which opens it. Neither of those are sort of massively underground but they’re two really lovely records.
Whose tracks would you like to remix?
Goodness gracious, I mean there’s so much stuff I’d like to remix. I tend to not be particularly interested in remixing house music, which is you just put a different set of beats and a different context, but I’m definitely interested in getting into production more than remixing now. A remix is cool but is basically you get people to do an enormous amount of work and find the right indie record and then the artist gets all the rights. It never really adds up for me.
I think production’s where I’m at right now and after doing poppy stuff like the Mutya stuff I quite fancy doing a bit more of that. There’s something quite liberating about pop music in a way.
And you’re collaborating with Kylie I heard?
Well we HAD collaborated with her, but unsuccessfully in that she didn’t use any of the songs. But then we’re in good company because I think she didn’t use any of Hot Chip’s or Mylo’s, and in fact Mylo - to his enormous credit - posted his unused songs up on an internet site for about 35 seconds before the Kylie world just shut it all down. ‘This page never existed’ sort of thing. It was very Secret Service. We haven’t done that but I might just to see how long the website stays up there for. I might be ruined if I do.
Are you still much involved with the download site TuneTribe?
I did that but I don’t do it any more. I basically set it up and it still exists, and I helped to recruit a lot of people who are still working there and they’re all nice people so that’s cool. It didn’t really suit me in the sense of I’ve always been my own boss in a way and I found the process of working in a big company just very frustrating. So I did them a little deal, I gave them my shares to Tunetribe and they gave me the rights back to the Sugardaddy album that I’d released on Tunetribe and now it’s better.
You’ve got a tour coming up in November, looking forward to it?
Very much so. I’m not just saying this because of the sales pitch, but it’s definitely the best live band we’ve ever had in terms of personnel and in terms of material. Stush (singer on ‘Get Down’) comes on the road with us now and she’s bringing along a new personality for the whole thing, so alongside her and the two singers we normally use, we can have a right old go at it.
I’m really digging what we’re doing now. When we first started out we were rubbish and we got better and better. For me, doing the gig we did at Lovebox last year was one of the crowning moments in my career and I look forward to getting the boys and girls back on the road again. It’s like there’s certain mistakes I’ve made as part of Groove Armada and things that I wish I hadn’t done, but there’s nothing about the band that makes me feel that way.
Is the tour for ‘Soundboy Rock’? Did you tour the album earlier this year?
We did a sort of tour very quickly after it was released. I think the only venue we’re playing again that we’ve played before is the Apollo in Manchester, apart from that we’re playing different cities. Oh no, we’re doing Glasgow again but we’re doing two this time. People are obviously enjoying it because they’re coming back. We put on a great live show, yeah! We’re the best live dance act in the world. [laughs]
Did you play Bestival? I heard rumours you did but I didn’t see your name anywhere.
No we didn’t. We were definitely talking about it at one stage but then it seemed to go away and then that was the weekend that my wife’s fashion week stuff all started. I couldn’t really be gallivanting around the Isle of Wight because I’d have two small children with me. I played it before and loved it, it’s a fantastic festival. It’s got a real vibe about it, I think it’s that fancy dress thing and people just turning up with the right sort of attitude. The first year I played here I played a house set and loved it, and last year Sugardaddy did a little gig and that was great as well, so it’s one of my favourite festivals, with the obvious exception of Lovebox.
What else have you got coming up this year?
Well we’re going to do a lot of touring in Australia again which we always tend to do around November/December because it’s a nicer place to be than England. We’d like to go back to the States, because even though it’s not a massive record market for us it’s always been good for us in terms of live.
We’re out of our label deal with Sony now so we might do our own record and do what Radiohead have done ('In Rainbows' - set your own price) but maybe possibly set a little bit of a ceiling. We’re not as rich as Radiohead so we can’t quite afford to let people pay whatever they like, but I do think what they’ve done is interesting and I think we’re now in the same position: we’re an artist that’s got a fanbase - which is nothing like the fanbase they've got - but we’ve got a fanbase and we can communicate direct to them. So that’ll be interesting, do an album and flog it for no less than a fiver probably, or let people set their own price, within a very narrow band.
Between £5 and £5.50. Postage £20.
Exactly. Plus an administration fee as well. That’s the answer.
Almost done Tom. What are you doing for Halloween this year?
Christ. Probably boarding up the windows! The kids round our place are just lunatics. I’m just going to get as many of those Celebrations packets to see if we can keep them at bay and if that’s not enough I’m going to shell out fivers to keep them all away. It’s just utter chaos. It’s fun for the first hour but then it becomes incredibly threatening. I’ll probably just stand there with an air gun shooting at people.
Native.tv says: Kids, you have been warned…
--------
'Watch The Ride', mixed by Tom Findlay, is released through Harmless Recordings on September 24th.
Interview - The Pigeon Detectives (Portsmouth Pyramids)
Oh dear, back again. The Pigeon Detectives were by now sufficiently famous enough for the managing director of Native.tv to say 'Get another interview with them.' Not a bribe of rum in sight.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in November 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
THE PIGEON DETECTIVES @ PORTSMOUTH PYRAMIDS CENTRE
The Pigeon Detectives have gone swimming. Tour tedium is being broken up at Portsmouth’s Pyramids Centre, which handily has a large number of fun pools and exciting flumes right next door to where hundreds of music lovers will gather later on for the band's gig.
With no real desire to see a bunch of chlorine-smelling, Yorkshire boys in their trunks, I wander off to sit on a bench overlooking the dusk falling across the Solent and have a think before heading to the interview in the band’s brightly lit dressing room. The squishy sofa is dangerously close to becoming one of those man-eating ones; you daren’t sit too far back in case you’re lost forever. Bassist Dave Best is quietly sat next to me. I think he's tired. I don’t deliberately have my back to him, but the layout of the room is a bit awkward. Singer Matt Bowman has his own comfy chair, giving him a lovely view of the bottled water on their rider. Oliver Main and Ryan Wilson are sitting opposite me on the sofa clearly reserved for guitarists. Drummer Jimmi Naylor is nowhere in sight.
Last time we spoke to the Pigeon Detectives, they were about to play their biggest headlining show yet at Leeds Town Hall. Two nights, both sold out. The next day, their debut album was released. From being poised on the edge of successful indie, ‘that band with the funny name’ were propelled onto the Radio 1 A list, onto more festival appearances, television appearances, autograph signings and more riotous gigs. There aren’t many bands who have played three tours plus festivals and European dates this year. My boss decided they were big enough to warrant a second interview in the space of a few months, and didn’t even bribe me with a bottle of rum this time.
“Is it ready?” asks Ryan, eyeing the dictaphone. Yep. “I’m Ryan.”
“I’m Dave.”
“I’m Matt.”
“I’m… Jimmi,” says Oli. Thanks for that.
Frontman Matt is brave enough to take a question card first. Fame and recognition, something they’ve been seeing a bit more of recently. “Good job no-one else got this one,” he says with a deliberate grin. His bandmates jeer. Are you the only one that gets recognised a lot then?
“We all get recognised, but he’s the only one who’s famous,” says Oli.
“Oli’s answered the question for me then I suppose. We mostly get recognised when we’re walking out as a group. I think individually we just look like any other indie kids, but when we’re in a pack, especially in Leeds, we get recognised quite a lot," says Matt.
"But not many people have the balls to come up and be polite and say ‘Hey, how are you doing? Good luck with everything.’ Either they just grab you and then slur the word ‘PHOTOGRAPH’ at you or just kind of point and stare, which is quite rude, you know.” I saw them play before and a girl said to Oli ‘You’re hot and I want to have your children’, and he looked terrified. Dave sniggers.
”Was that that crazy girl by any chance? Who was going insane with everyone?” asks Ryan with interest.
“She were going proper mental.” Oli thinks for a moment. “Seemed like a really nice girl though, if she ever reads this.”
Ryan picks tour. At the time of this interview, there was roughly one week remaining. So far there have been about seven weeks of sold out gigs. How's it going? “It’s going really well. We’ve played various venues from 200 capacity ones to 2,000 ones all over the UK and I think every one’s been pretty good so far.”
The support acts are enjoying it, particularly the Wallbirds. Ryan trips over his tongue and calls them the Wallbergs.
”Icebergs,” says Oli.
“They’re just like three best mates on quite a big tour with us,” says Ryan. “They’re from Doncaster. They’re a bit like us when we got on tour with Dirty Pretty Things, we were just so happy to be on a good tour, and they’re just loving themselves.” The rest of the band have dirty minds, and they let out snorts of laughter.
The tour manager walks in and asks Dave to sign an acoustic guitar, which is covered in scrawls already. He does. “We’re trying to do an interview here,” jokes Ryan.
Who’s your best crowd so far? “I think Dundee, for sheer volume anyway,” says Oli.
“Dundee from the front to the back and all out to the sides was just mental,” adds Matt. “Nottingham was good but we were fucking tired. We’d had to go to London to do TV then come back again, go onstage 20 minutes later without a soundcheck so we were pretty tired, but the crowd kind of dragged us through the gig. Manchester was good, but I hurt myself halfway through.” He broke - or fractured, depending where you read it - his ankle after leaping off a speaker stack. “It’s still not right really, but it’s getting there.” Still jumping round? “Yeah. Just about.”
Dave’s plucking two strings on the guitar – high, low, high, low - in the sort of tune which evokes a funny walk. Tell me about Millennium Square. “It’s in Leeds,” says Matt. The Pigeon Detectives have sold out their first May date there and recently announced a second night there.
“Is it sold out?” asks Oli. Yesterday’s press release said Yes. “Well there you go. Someone on our forum was saying it would take months to sell out.” He pauses. “You were wrong.”
They’re looking forward to the show, which will be their biggest headlining one so far. The Square holds roughly 7,000, which they double to work out how many should attend the whole weekend. “14,000’s quite a lot,” says Matt. “It would be good to do 14,000 on one night rather than spreading it over two, that would be impressive.” Think how many of your mates you could fit in there. “Exactly.”
Dave quietly apologises. Soundcheck is going on, and one by one the band will have to leave and do some work. It’s his turn to go. The door creaks open and closes again.
“I mean we’ve watched bands there like Snow Patrol, Editors, Embrace, Kaiser Chiefs, so to finally play it in our own right…” says Matt. Have you played it before with another band?
“Yeah, we played it with Snow Patrol. That was good, but again everything with the Pigeon Detectives seems to be rushed, so we kind of walked off stage, jumped straight in a Transit van and went and played at Sheffield, so we didn’t really get to enjoy the whole Millennium Square experience.”
“You should have said limousine. We jumped into our limousine,” corrects Oli.
“I’d have been telling lies though,” says Matt. I wouldn’t have known. I’m not going to check. “All right. It was a limousine.”
The Pigeon Detectives have been playing a few different songs while on tour. A couple of b-sides, a couple of new ones. “We have, yeah,” says Ryan. The dressing room door shuts again with a noisy crash. “Played two new ones. Kind of the first half of the tour we played one called ‘Making Up Numbers’ and that seemed to go down all right. And then the second half of the tour we’ve been playing one called ‘This Is An Emergency’ and that’s been going down quite well. We’ve got a few new tracks for our new album next year, and we do kind of prefer these two more to the rest of them. I think these are the two we’ve got properly finished as well, so that’s why we decided to play them. Like I said, they’ve gone down all right.”
‘Is This An Emergency’ sounds a bit heavier. Is the new stuff a little bit darker?
“Yeah,” says Oli. “No it isn’t!” says Matt.
“Not ridiculously,” says Ryan. “'Emergency' is the darkest one definitely. The second album’s not going to be exactly the same as the first album.”
Have you started recording yet? “Not yet,” says Oli.
“Demoed a few of them, just in a studio. Spent a day doing about four songs,” says Matt. “We’re going to start recording in a studio in Wales in January.”
Why Wales and not Leeds? “We just fancied getting out of Leeds. Just somewhere to go and get away from it all and focus on the Pigeon Detectives for four weeks without interruptions and record labels and management and stuff like that. And it’s got white water rafting, quad biking…”
“Tractors,” says Oli. Tractors? “Apparently the local farmer said we could have a go on his tractor.” I hope he knows what he’s letting himself in for. The image of an indie rocker fiendishly racing farm machinery is a frightening one.
Because Dave’s busy, Matt picks his card. What bands are you listening to? “We’re listening to a lot of The Wallbirds and One Night Only, seeing as how we’re on tour with them. Love the Kings Of Leon third album. I went and watched Rufus Wainwright recently in Harrogate, I sold all my mates out and didn’t bother sorting them out guestlist. But I went, selfishly. It was really good. We’ve had the Beatles on the iPod in the dressing room a hell of a lot recently. Still love the View record.”
Any CDs that you bought recently that you can recommend? “I bought a DVD,” says Oli. That’s not a CD. “A music one. The Elvis 1968 comeback. Recommend that.”
“New Interpol album’s really good,” says Ryan. “Bought that about three weeks ago.”
The door flies open and in walks a member of their stage crew, who booms for the ginger one to come and soundcheck. “That hurt,” says Ryan in mock sadness, and he takes his leave.
“DOOR!” hisses Oli as the other guitarist exits. “And then there were two…”
The next card is ‘Wait For Me’. Last time I interviewed the band, their debut album (“12 beautiful tracks, all catchy,” Jimmi told us) was due to come out a couple of days later. Now it’s gone gold, having leapt into the album chart at number 3. They confirm this.
“It’s on its way to platinum,” says Matt. “It should be there by Christmas.” Have you got one of those big gold discs in a frame? “We have. Got them last week. They’re quite impressive but then you get them and you think, I’ve got nowhere to put this, so I might as well give it to my mum and she’ll put it on the wall.” The door creaks and slams again. It’s a bit what some people would refer to as Waterloo Station in here.
“I’m not really bothered with mine. I think my mum would really appreciate it,” says Oli. Has it surprised you how popular 'Wait For Me' is? “No,” says Oli decisively. They laugh.
“It surprised me that we got to where we got with certain things that conspired against us at one time or another. It’s not surprised me in terms of the hard work we’ve put in. There’s not many bands that have played as many gigs as we have in the last 12 months, so if it’s testament to that then we’re not surprised ‘cause we put the hard work in. I suppose it,” Matt pauses to think, “it is a little surprising. When you’re writing these songs in a rehearsal room in Leeds, you never expect them to be on a platinum-selling record.”
He's interrupted when the door swings open and in rustles an unfeasibly tall man with some carrier bags. “Fuck’s sake, next person that comes in’s dead.”
“Shut the fuck up, it’s my dressing room,” says drummer Jimmi, putting the bags down with a smile. “And I’ve got washing as well.” Oli and Matt both remind him to shut the fucking door.
“Cheers, Jim. How much do I owe you? Six quid?” asks Matt. “That’s a pound a sock.”
I was going to ask what each member of the band would put into Room 101, but sadly there’s only Matt and Oli left. They can still do it though, and it sounds like a few regular tour features are getting them down. Matt goes for ham and cheese sandwiches. “For some reason promoters are only capable of buying ham and cheese…” he complains, walking over to the table and picking up the offending foodstuffs.
Are you not capable of bringing your own sandwich fillings? “They’d go off after eight weeks,” points out Oli.
“When you wake up and you’ve got to go and do loads of press and radio and then you get to your dressing room and think ‘oh, I’ll have a sandwich,’ there’s only ever ham and cheese, and I’ve just about had enough.” In the background, through the open door comes the strains of the band on stage playing the riff to ‘Stop Or Go.’
”FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” yells Matt. One of their crew members has strolled in, barefoot, and balanced a pair of his socks in the middle of the rider as he prepares a ham and cheese sandwich. “Have they been on your feet?” asks Oli with a grin. Thankfully, they're clean and they haven’t.
Oli, meanwhile, is currently unimpressed with acoustic sessions. “Fucking hell,” he mutters. Have you just been made to do some? “Two a day or summat,” says Matt, and has a brief rant against ‘crappy’ local radio stations. Their tour manager points out there is a different local radio crew waiting outside the dressing room right now.
“Do we have to do an acoustic session?” asks Oli suspiciously. No, they don’t. They look relieved.
The Pigeon Detectives are running late. They were before I got in here, and they certainly are now. Doors open in about an hour and a half and there’s soundchecking to be done as well as a couple more interviews. The Pyramids that night is full of raucous lads and crowdsurfers. I actually get the breath knocked out of me a few times after being crushed on the barrier, which I don’t think has happened before at one of their gigs. Afterwards the band members are rounded up and sent to DJ in Southsea. Rumour has it they don’t actually get to sleep again until some time after their Bournemouth show the next night: no rest for the wicked.
2007 has shown the Pigeon Detectives' hard work is paying off. 2008 is even more likely to keep their diaries fully booked. Providing they don't overdo the ham and cheese, they'll surely be enjoying themselves a while longer yet.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in November 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
THE PIGEON DETECTIVES @ PORTSMOUTH PYRAMIDS CENTRE
The Pigeon Detectives have gone swimming. Tour tedium is being broken up at Portsmouth’s Pyramids Centre, which handily has a large number of fun pools and exciting flumes right next door to where hundreds of music lovers will gather later on for the band's gig.
With no real desire to see a bunch of chlorine-smelling, Yorkshire boys in their trunks, I wander off to sit on a bench overlooking the dusk falling across the Solent and have a think before heading to the interview in the band’s brightly lit dressing room. The squishy sofa is dangerously close to becoming one of those man-eating ones; you daren’t sit too far back in case you’re lost forever. Bassist Dave Best is quietly sat next to me. I think he's tired. I don’t deliberately have my back to him, but the layout of the room is a bit awkward. Singer Matt Bowman has his own comfy chair, giving him a lovely view of the bottled water on their rider. Oliver Main and Ryan Wilson are sitting opposite me on the sofa clearly reserved for guitarists. Drummer Jimmi Naylor is nowhere in sight.
Last time we spoke to the Pigeon Detectives, they were about to play their biggest headlining show yet at Leeds Town Hall. Two nights, both sold out. The next day, their debut album was released. From being poised on the edge of successful indie, ‘that band with the funny name’ were propelled onto the Radio 1 A list, onto more festival appearances, television appearances, autograph signings and more riotous gigs. There aren’t many bands who have played three tours plus festivals and European dates this year. My boss decided they were big enough to warrant a second interview in the space of a few months, and didn’t even bribe me with a bottle of rum this time.
“Is it ready?” asks Ryan, eyeing the dictaphone. Yep. “I’m Ryan.”
“I’m Dave.”
“I’m Matt.”
“I’m… Jimmi,” says Oli. Thanks for that.
Frontman Matt is brave enough to take a question card first. Fame and recognition, something they’ve been seeing a bit more of recently. “Good job no-one else got this one,” he says with a deliberate grin. His bandmates jeer. Are you the only one that gets recognised a lot then?
“We all get recognised, but he’s the only one who’s famous,” says Oli.
“Oli’s answered the question for me then I suppose. We mostly get recognised when we’re walking out as a group. I think individually we just look like any other indie kids, but when we’re in a pack, especially in Leeds, we get recognised quite a lot," says Matt.
"But not many people have the balls to come up and be polite and say ‘Hey, how are you doing? Good luck with everything.’ Either they just grab you and then slur the word ‘PHOTOGRAPH’ at you or just kind of point and stare, which is quite rude, you know.” I saw them play before and a girl said to Oli ‘You’re hot and I want to have your children’, and he looked terrified. Dave sniggers.
”Was that that crazy girl by any chance? Who was going insane with everyone?” asks Ryan with interest.
“She were going proper mental.” Oli thinks for a moment. “Seemed like a really nice girl though, if she ever reads this.”
Ryan picks tour. At the time of this interview, there was roughly one week remaining. So far there have been about seven weeks of sold out gigs. How's it going? “It’s going really well. We’ve played various venues from 200 capacity ones to 2,000 ones all over the UK and I think every one’s been pretty good so far.”
The support acts are enjoying it, particularly the Wallbirds. Ryan trips over his tongue and calls them the Wallbergs.
”Icebergs,” says Oli.
“They’re just like three best mates on quite a big tour with us,” says Ryan. “They’re from Doncaster. They’re a bit like us when we got on tour with Dirty Pretty Things, we were just so happy to be on a good tour, and they’re just loving themselves.” The rest of the band have dirty minds, and they let out snorts of laughter.
The tour manager walks in and asks Dave to sign an acoustic guitar, which is covered in scrawls already. He does. “We’re trying to do an interview here,” jokes Ryan.
Who’s your best crowd so far? “I think Dundee, for sheer volume anyway,” says Oli.
“Dundee from the front to the back and all out to the sides was just mental,” adds Matt. “Nottingham was good but we were fucking tired. We’d had to go to London to do TV then come back again, go onstage 20 minutes later without a soundcheck so we were pretty tired, but the crowd kind of dragged us through the gig. Manchester was good, but I hurt myself halfway through.” He broke - or fractured, depending where you read it - his ankle after leaping off a speaker stack. “It’s still not right really, but it’s getting there.” Still jumping round? “Yeah. Just about.”
Dave’s plucking two strings on the guitar – high, low, high, low - in the sort of tune which evokes a funny walk. Tell me about Millennium Square. “It’s in Leeds,” says Matt. The Pigeon Detectives have sold out their first May date there and recently announced a second night there.
“Is it sold out?” asks Oli. Yesterday’s press release said Yes. “Well there you go. Someone on our forum was saying it would take months to sell out.” He pauses. “You were wrong.”
They’re looking forward to the show, which will be their biggest headlining one so far. The Square holds roughly 7,000, which they double to work out how many should attend the whole weekend. “14,000’s quite a lot,” says Matt. “It would be good to do 14,000 on one night rather than spreading it over two, that would be impressive.” Think how many of your mates you could fit in there. “Exactly.”
Dave quietly apologises. Soundcheck is going on, and one by one the band will have to leave and do some work. It’s his turn to go. The door creaks open and closes again.
“I mean we’ve watched bands there like Snow Patrol, Editors, Embrace, Kaiser Chiefs, so to finally play it in our own right…” says Matt. Have you played it before with another band?
“Yeah, we played it with Snow Patrol. That was good, but again everything with the Pigeon Detectives seems to be rushed, so we kind of walked off stage, jumped straight in a Transit van and went and played at Sheffield, so we didn’t really get to enjoy the whole Millennium Square experience.”
“You should have said limousine. We jumped into our limousine,” corrects Oli.
“I’d have been telling lies though,” says Matt. I wouldn’t have known. I’m not going to check. “All right. It was a limousine.”
The Pigeon Detectives have been playing a few different songs while on tour. A couple of b-sides, a couple of new ones. “We have, yeah,” says Ryan. The dressing room door shuts again with a noisy crash. “Played two new ones. Kind of the first half of the tour we played one called ‘Making Up Numbers’ and that seemed to go down all right. And then the second half of the tour we’ve been playing one called ‘This Is An Emergency’ and that’s been going down quite well. We’ve got a few new tracks for our new album next year, and we do kind of prefer these two more to the rest of them. I think these are the two we’ve got properly finished as well, so that’s why we decided to play them. Like I said, they’ve gone down all right.”
‘Is This An Emergency’ sounds a bit heavier. Is the new stuff a little bit darker?
“Yeah,” says Oli. “No it isn’t!” says Matt.
“Not ridiculously,” says Ryan. “'Emergency' is the darkest one definitely. The second album’s not going to be exactly the same as the first album.”
Have you started recording yet? “Not yet,” says Oli.
“Demoed a few of them, just in a studio. Spent a day doing about four songs,” says Matt. “We’re going to start recording in a studio in Wales in January.”
Why Wales and not Leeds? “We just fancied getting out of Leeds. Just somewhere to go and get away from it all and focus on the Pigeon Detectives for four weeks without interruptions and record labels and management and stuff like that. And it’s got white water rafting, quad biking…”
“Tractors,” says Oli. Tractors? “Apparently the local farmer said we could have a go on his tractor.” I hope he knows what he’s letting himself in for. The image of an indie rocker fiendishly racing farm machinery is a frightening one.
Because Dave’s busy, Matt picks his card. What bands are you listening to? “We’re listening to a lot of The Wallbirds and One Night Only, seeing as how we’re on tour with them. Love the Kings Of Leon third album. I went and watched Rufus Wainwright recently in Harrogate, I sold all my mates out and didn’t bother sorting them out guestlist. But I went, selfishly. It was really good. We’ve had the Beatles on the iPod in the dressing room a hell of a lot recently. Still love the View record.”
Any CDs that you bought recently that you can recommend? “I bought a DVD,” says Oli. That’s not a CD. “A music one. The Elvis 1968 comeback. Recommend that.”
“New Interpol album’s really good,” says Ryan. “Bought that about three weeks ago.”
The door flies open and in walks a member of their stage crew, who booms for the ginger one to come and soundcheck. “That hurt,” says Ryan in mock sadness, and he takes his leave.
“DOOR!” hisses Oli as the other guitarist exits. “And then there were two…”
The next card is ‘Wait For Me’. Last time I interviewed the band, their debut album (“12 beautiful tracks, all catchy,” Jimmi told us) was due to come out a couple of days later. Now it’s gone gold, having leapt into the album chart at number 3. They confirm this.
“It’s on its way to platinum,” says Matt. “It should be there by Christmas.” Have you got one of those big gold discs in a frame? “We have. Got them last week. They’re quite impressive but then you get them and you think, I’ve got nowhere to put this, so I might as well give it to my mum and she’ll put it on the wall.” The door creaks and slams again. It’s a bit what some people would refer to as Waterloo Station in here.
“I’m not really bothered with mine. I think my mum would really appreciate it,” says Oli. Has it surprised you how popular 'Wait For Me' is? “No,” says Oli decisively. They laugh.
“It surprised me that we got to where we got with certain things that conspired against us at one time or another. It’s not surprised me in terms of the hard work we’ve put in. There’s not many bands that have played as many gigs as we have in the last 12 months, so if it’s testament to that then we’re not surprised ‘cause we put the hard work in. I suppose it,” Matt pauses to think, “it is a little surprising. When you’re writing these songs in a rehearsal room in Leeds, you never expect them to be on a platinum-selling record.”
He's interrupted when the door swings open and in rustles an unfeasibly tall man with some carrier bags. “Fuck’s sake, next person that comes in’s dead.”
“Shut the fuck up, it’s my dressing room,” says drummer Jimmi, putting the bags down with a smile. “And I’ve got washing as well.” Oli and Matt both remind him to shut the fucking door.
“Cheers, Jim. How much do I owe you? Six quid?” asks Matt. “That’s a pound a sock.”
I was going to ask what each member of the band would put into Room 101, but sadly there’s only Matt and Oli left. They can still do it though, and it sounds like a few regular tour features are getting them down. Matt goes for ham and cheese sandwiches. “For some reason promoters are only capable of buying ham and cheese…” he complains, walking over to the table and picking up the offending foodstuffs.
Are you not capable of bringing your own sandwich fillings? “They’d go off after eight weeks,” points out Oli.
“When you wake up and you’ve got to go and do loads of press and radio and then you get to your dressing room and think ‘oh, I’ll have a sandwich,’ there’s only ever ham and cheese, and I’ve just about had enough.” In the background, through the open door comes the strains of the band on stage playing the riff to ‘Stop Or Go.’
”FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” yells Matt. One of their crew members has strolled in, barefoot, and balanced a pair of his socks in the middle of the rider as he prepares a ham and cheese sandwich. “Have they been on your feet?” asks Oli with a grin. Thankfully, they're clean and they haven’t.
Oli, meanwhile, is currently unimpressed with acoustic sessions. “Fucking hell,” he mutters. Have you just been made to do some? “Two a day or summat,” says Matt, and has a brief rant against ‘crappy’ local radio stations. Their tour manager points out there is a different local radio crew waiting outside the dressing room right now.
“Do we have to do an acoustic session?” asks Oli suspiciously. No, they don’t. They look relieved.
The Pigeon Detectives are running late. They were before I got in here, and they certainly are now. Doors open in about an hour and a half and there’s soundchecking to be done as well as a couple more interviews. The Pyramids that night is full of raucous lads and crowdsurfers. I actually get the breath knocked out of me a few times after being crushed on the barrier, which I don’t think has happened before at one of their gigs. Afterwards the band members are rounded up and sent to DJ in Southsea. Rumour has it they don’t actually get to sleep again until some time after their Bournemouth show the next night: no rest for the wicked.
2007 has shown the Pigeon Detectives' hard work is paying off. 2008 is even more likely to keep their diaries fully booked. Providing they don't overdo the ham and cheese, they'll surely be enjoying themselves a while longer yet.
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Interview - The Young Knives
Ahh, I do like those Young Knives. Their PR got very excited that he was included in the opening few lines and sent me an emailing declaring he was famous, bless him. Drummer Oliver Askew was a very friendly chappy (plus his name is fantastic), and he did laugh most of the way through our chat. In case you're wondering which one he is, my colleagues looked at the accompanying press photo and announced he was the 'non-scary looking one'. So that's how you can tell.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in October 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
OLIVER ASKEW - THE YOUNG KNIVES
At first glance, The Young Knives appear to be one of those frighteningly arty, super-intelligent types. They live in Oxford, are famed for wearing sensible tweed and their videos are a masterclass in deadpan expressions. However, their PR assured us they are all ‘so funny’ and this was found to be truthful when we rang drummer Oliver Askew, who spent much of the interview giggling down the phone.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch’s finest, The Young Knives release the crashing, surreal oddpop single ‘Terra Firma’ next week and are preparing to get back on tour. The drummer is walking down the street as we speak to him, so his voice is occasionally muffled by an exciting buzz of background sounds and chatter.
Hello Oliver. How are you doing?
Pretty good. I’ve been on a bus for the last half hour. Just got off, so I’m walking down through the centre of Oxford.
What’s it like there today?
It’s pretty busy. A lot of tourists. You can probably hear someone playing a xylophone [he’s walking past and the noise is getting louder] There’s Oxford for you.
I’m just getting over a cold. What would you recommend?
Echinacea tea bags, and slow-release Vitamin C and zinc.
I thought I’d start with that one so if I start coughing down the phone, you know why.
[laughs]
Your new single ‘Terra Firma’ – what’s it about?
When we wrote it, it had no meaning and it was just some words that we liked – fake rabbit, real snake. We have since written a meaning into it.
Is that because people kept asking you what it meant?
[laughs] Well we decided that we really needed to work out the meaning of it. I’m just saying goodbye to Thomas. See you later Tom! Sorry, I was walking alongside the bassist. We decided the snake’s a metaphor for bad drug experiences and the rabbit’s the thing you want the drug to be. Not that we’re particularly druggy people, and it’s not about us anyway, even if you took it literally. But there you go, there’s the meaning. We decided last week. [laughs]
I was enjoying the video earlier. Whose fake rabbit was that?
I don’t know who brought that into the video shoot, I think it was probably the director.
It’s not a Young Knives mascot or anything?
[laughs] The snake’s the real thing. People keep saying “Is that snake fake?” No, it cost lots of money! We had a snake handler and everything.
I thought it was fake.
Oh no! I think that’s just ‘cause it didn’t really move around, even though we poked it quite a bit.
None of you were showing any fear.
[laughs] Even though he denies it, Henry was really, really scared of that snake.
You’re on tour at the moment aren’t you?
On Friday we start in Cambridge. We’ve been practicing this week, we had our last practice today, re-learning how to play the new songs. We can’t wait to get on tour really. It’s been a while.
I have to confess I missed you last time round. I bought a ticket, forgot what day it was and remembered the day after.
Oh no! No worries, it was probably a rubbish gig.
Your support bands, did you choose those yourself?
Yeah we do. We like going on tour, and we rarely get to see gigs when we’re at home, so we always try and choose the bands we really like so at least we get to see them loads of times. Pete and the Pirates, I like them. Ungdomskulen, we first met them the first time we went to Norway. And they’re amazing, so we look forward to getting blown off stage every night by them.
Have you got any hi-jinks planned for your onstage activities?
I’m not sure what the Dartnall brothers are doing. They might fight onstage, they did that about a month ago. One of them kicked the other one and a little bit of fisticuffs - not fisticuffs, but a little bit of a moment where they almost killed each other. The angle was real. I saw it in their eyes. I get the good deal, hiding behind the drums. I’m not sure, I just think a lot of drinking, and it’ll be good to see our crew again, ‘cause we haven’t seen them for a few months and we like them.
And you’re going to Butlins as well aren’t you?
We did Butlins last year as well, a similar time of year and it’s really strange. It’s sort of out-of-season and really cold, and they give you a chalet which is really nice and loads of beer. That should be a funny gig.
Do any of you order diva-like riders on tour?
We should have redesigned our rider for this tour. We’ve still got socks on it, we’ve upped it from three pairs to eight. There’s nothing quite like discarding your old socks at a smelly venue and putting new ones on. It’s like Christmas Day
But apart from that, we’ve got nothing very rock and roll and exciting. I think Tom put on the rider local interest postcards and some stamps, send it home as a sort of a diary of that particular place. We’re not very rock and roll, we’ve just got loads of booze, loads of salad and stuff on there, pre-packed sandwiches plus spirits. I think our crew drink much more than us.
The Mercury Music Awards (The Young Knives were nominated) – who did you put your money on?
Well I thought it was going to go to Bat For Lashes. But I wanted Maps to win because I think it’s highly interesting. I’m kind of glad [Klaxons] did, above The View, ‘cause if The View had won, then what’s that about?
But did you enjoy yourselves there?
We didn’t realise it was going to be as corporate as it was. When we turned up it was a bit of a shock. Me and Tom used to work at HMV and every year when the nominations would come out you were really excited and you thought it stood for something, you know. It’s different when you get there and you realise it’s a sort of corporate do and a bit of a jolly for all these executives, you realise it doesn’t really mean very much. Well obviously it would have been brilliant winning, ‘cause you get loads of exposure and record deals and stuff, but I think it would have been silly if we’d won. I think it should have gone probably to a small act like Maps, you know something which would have made a difference to them.
That was for ‘Voices of Animals and Men’ and you’ve got your new album coming out early next year?
Yeah, we haven’t got a title for it yet. It’s really annoying and we can’t think of anything. We really liked the title of the first album and I can’t think of anything that’s good so we might just opt for something rubbish. You’ll know when you see it.
You launched ‘Voices of Animals and Men’ with a village fete, have you got anything similar in mind for the next album?
We were talking about it yesterday actually. We recently toyed with the idea of getting like a tractor and a trailer and doing a gig through the streets of Oxford or something, but we realised that’s still a little bit village fete-y, so we don’t want to do that again. And then I was toying with the idea of the Post Office Tower in London, [which] occasionally opens its restaurant to do gigs and stuff and I thought that would be nice, to do a really high gig in London.
But no, we’ve not really decided what we’re doing. I think we’ll probably do it in Oxford somewhere. There’s a road called Cowley Road and it’s nice, kind of multi-cultural and quite friendly, and yeah, hope to do a gig down there somewhere.
Have you written the whole album now?
It’s all done yeah, it’s all finished. It’s sounding pretty good actually. In a weird sort of way, we’re more pleased with this than the last album, I don’t know, I guess that’s what a lot of bands say, “second album, really pleased with it.” I can’t really listen to the other album anymore, ‘cause I’m sick of it. This one’s a bit more interesting, I think it stands up to repeated listens as what it is.
Are there any particular songs we should listen out for?
I think that the next single after ‘Terra Firma’ will probably be ‘Up All Night.’ Even though there’s a Razorlight song called ‘Up All Night’.
They stole the idea off you?
Exactly. And there’s other things, quite dark songs like ‘Current Of The River’ and ‘Mummy Light The Fire’. Quite slow, mesmerising songs.
I nicked a question off your forum. What are you currently listening to?
The new Robert Wyatt album’s very good. Future Of The Left, made up of members of mclusky and Jarcrew, both bands we’ve played with before. They’re sort of a supergroup and they’re really good. Foals are a band on our label, I think they’re really going to be massive next year.
I saw on your MySpace you’ve got a competition where your fans can win dinner with you?
Oh yeah.
You almost sounded like you were looking forward to that.
I am actually really looking forward to it. Initially when it was thought up we thought we were going to have to go regardless of where that person was, and then it was decided we should go somewhere relatively central. It’s going to be a boozy do. It’ll be really nice, we’ll do some acoustic songs, just get really full. I think we’ve half decided on a restaurant, I don’t think it’s anything like Italian, I think it’s kind of a neutral foodstuff restaurant so everything should be on offer. I’m a veggie but the Dartnall brothers eat loads of meat.
It’s made me think of that old question, if you could have anyone at a dinner party, alive or dead, who would you choose?
Probably somebody like Bill Hicks. Although I’m not sure, he might be nasty. Musician-wise, someone like Frank Black. Although he would eat all the food, so perhaps not.
What are you getting up to for the rest of today?
Well I’m just walking back towards my flat in Oxford, have some food, relax, probably listen to music. We’ve been practicing all week so we’ve given ourselves the afternoon off and it’s Henry’s wedding anniversary tomorrow. I don’t really know what to do. This always happens to us, when we’re not rehearsing or touring, we’re sort of lost.
Is that why you’re currently wandering aimlessly round Oxford?
[laughs] I might go to my local shop.
You should set up a xylophone and play in the middle of town, I hear that goes down quite well.
[laughs] Yeah. I’ll think of something.
--------
The Young Knives release single 'Terra Firma' on October 29th through Transgressive. The band are touring the UK in November, starting at Leeds Cockpit on the 2nd and finishing at London Dingwalls on the 13th
The Young Knives
MySpace
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in October 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
OLIVER ASKEW - THE YOUNG KNIVES
At first glance, The Young Knives appear to be one of those frighteningly arty, super-intelligent types. They live in Oxford, are famed for wearing sensible tweed and their videos are a masterclass in deadpan expressions. However, their PR assured us they are all ‘so funny’ and this was found to be truthful when we rang drummer Oliver Askew, who spent much of the interview giggling down the phone.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch’s finest, The Young Knives release the crashing, surreal oddpop single ‘Terra Firma’ next week and are preparing to get back on tour. The drummer is walking down the street as we speak to him, so his voice is occasionally muffled by an exciting buzz of background sounds and chatter.
Hello Oliver. How are you doing?
Pretty good. I’ve been on a bus for the last half hour. Just got off, so I’m walking down through the centre of Oxford.
What’s it like there today?
It’s pretty busy. A lot of tourists. You can probably hear someone playing a xylophone [he’s walking past and the noise is getting louder] There’s Oxford for you.
I’m just getting over a cold. What would you recommend?
Echinacea tea bags, and slow-release Vitamin C and zinc.
I thought I’d start with that one so if I start coughing down the phone, you know why.
[laughs]
Your new single ‘Terra Firma’ – what’s it about?
When we wrote it, it had no meaning and it was just some words that we liked – fake rabbit, real snake. We have since written a meaning into it.
Is that because people kept asking you what it meant?
[laughs] Well we decided that we really needed to work out the meaning of it. I’m just saying goodbye to Thomas. See you later Tom! Sorry, I was walking alongside the bassist. We decided the snake’s a metaphor for bad drug experiences and the rabbit’s the thing you want the drug to be. Not that we’re particularly druggy people, and it’s not about us anyway, even if you took it literally. But there you go, there’s the meaning. We decided last week. [laughs]
I was enjoying the video earlier. Whose fake rabbit was that?
I don’t know who brought that into the video shoot, I think it was probably the director.
It’s not a Young Knives mascot or anything?
[laughs] The snake’s the real thing. People keep saying “Is that snake fake?” No, it cost lots of money! We had a snake handler and everything.
I thought it was fake.
Oh no! I think that’s just ‘cause it didn’t really move around, even though we poked it quite a bit.
None of you were showing any fear.
[laughs] Even though he denies it, Henry was really, really scared of that snake.
You’re on tour at the moment aren’t you?
On Friday we start in Cambridge. We’ve been practicing this week, we had our last practice today, re-learning how to play the new songs. We can’t wait to get on tour really. It’s been a while.
I have to confess I missed you last time round. I bought a ticket, forgot what day it was and remembered the day after.
Oh no! No worries, it was probably a rubbish gig.
Your support bands, did you choose those yourself?
Yeah we do. We like going on tour, and we rarely get to see gigs when we’re at home, so we always try and choose the bands we really like so at least we get to see them loads of times. Pete and the Pirates, I like them. Ungdomskulen, we first met them the first time we went to Norway. And they’re amazing, so we look forward to getting blown off stage every night by them.
Have you got any hi-jinks planned for your onstage activities?
I’m not sure what the Dartnall brothers are doing. They might fight onstage, they did that about a month ago. One of them kicked the other one and a little bit of fisticuffs - not fisticuffs, but a little bit of a moment where they almost killed each other. The angle was real. I saw it in their eyes. I get the good deal, hiding behind the drums. I’m not sure, I just think a lot of drinking, and it’ll be good to see our crew again, ‘cause we haven’t seen them for a few months and we like them.
And you’re going to Butlins as well aren’t you?
We did Butlins last year as well, a similar time of year and it’s really strange. It’s sort of out-of-season and really cold, and they give you a chalet which is really nice and loads of beer. That should be a funny gig.
Do any of you order diva-like riders on tour?
We should have redesigned our rider for this tour. We’ve still got socks on it, we’ve upped it from three pairs to eight. There’s nothing quite like discarding your old socks at a smelly venue and putting new ones on. It’s like Christmas Day
But apart from that, we’ve got nothing very rock and roll and exciting. I think Tom put on the rider local interest postcards and some stamps, send it home as a sort of a diary of that particular place. We’re not very rock and roll, we’ve just got loads of booze, loads of salad and stuff on there, pre-packed sandwiches plus spirits. I think our crew drink much more than us.
The Mercury Music Awards (The Young Knives were nominated) – who did you put your money on?
Well I thought it was going to go to Bat For Lashes. But I wanted Maps to win because I think it’s highly interesting. I’m kind of glad [Klaxons] did, above The View, ‘cause if The View had won, then what’s that about?
But did you enjoy yourselves there?
We didn’t realise it was going to be as corporate as it was. When we turned up it was a bit of a shock. Me and Tom used to work at HMV and every year when the nominations would come out you were really excited and you thought it stood for something, you know. It’s different when you get there and you realise it’s a sort of corporate do and a bit of a jolly for all these executives, you realise it doesn’t really mean very much. Well obviously it would have been brilliant winning, ‘cause you get loads of exposure and record deals and stuff, but I think it would have been silly if we’d won. I think it should have gone probably to a small act like Maps, you know something which would have made a difference to them.
That was for ‘Voices of Animals and Men’ and you’ve got your new album coming out early next year?
Yeah, we haven’t got a title for it yet. It’s really annoying and we can’t think of anything. We really liked the title of the first album and I can’t think of anything that’s good so we might just opt for something rubbish. You’ll know when you see it.
You launched ‘Voices of Animals and Men’ with a village fete, have you got anything similar in mind for the next album?
We were talking about it yesterday actually. We recently toyed with the idea of getting like a tractor and a trailer and doing a gig through the streets of Oxford or something, but we realised that’s still a little bit village fete-y, so we don’t want to do that again. And then I was toying with the idea of the Post Office Tower in London, [which] occasionally opens its restaurant to do gigs and stuff and I thought that would be nice, to do a really high gig in London.
But no, we’ve not really decided what we’re doing. I think we’ll probably do it in Oxford somewhere. There’s a road called Cowley Road and it’s nice, kind of multi-cultural and quite friendly, and yeah, hope to do a gig down there somewhere.
Have you written the whole album now?
It’s all done yeah, it’s all finished. It’s sounding pretty good actually. In a weird sort of way, we’re more pleased with this than the last album, I don’t know, I guess that’s what a lot of bands say, “second album, really pleased with it.” I can’t really listen to the other album anymore, ‘cause I’m sick of it. This one’s a bit more interesting, I think it stands up to repeated listens as what it is.
Are there any particular songs we should listen out for?
I think that the next single after ‘Terra Firma’ will probably be ‘Up All Night.’ Even though there’s a Razorlight song called ‘Up All Night’.
They stole the idea off you?
Exactly. And there’s other things, quite dark songs like ‘Current Of The River’ and ‘Mummy Light The Fire’. Quite slow, mesmerising songs.
I nicked a question off your forum. What are you currently listening to?
The new Robert Wyatt album’s very good. Future Of The Left, made up of members of mclusky and Jarcrew, both bands we’ve played with before. They’re sort of a supergroup and they’re really good. Foals are a band on our label, I think they’re really going to be massive next year.
I saw on your MySpace you’ve got a competition where your fans can win dinner with you?
Oh yeah.
You almost sounded like you were looking forward to that.
I am actually really looking forward to it. Initially when it was thought up we thought we were going to have to go regardless of where that person was, and then it was decided we should go somewhere relatively central. It’s going to be a boozy do. It’ll be really nice, we’ll do some acoustic songs, just get really full. I think we’ve half decided on a restaurant, I don’t think it’s anything like Italian, I think it’s kind of a neutral foodstuff restaurant so everything should be on offer. I’m a veggie but the Dartnall brothers eat loads of meat.
It’s made me think of that old question, if you could have anyone at a dinner party, alive or dead, who would you choose?
Probably somebody like Bill Hicks. Although I’m not sure, he might be nasty. Musician-wise, someone like Frank Black. Although he would eat all the food, so perhaps not.
What are you getting up to for the rest of today?
Well I’m just walking back towards my flat in Oxford, have some food, relax, probably listen to music. We’ve been practicing all week so we’ve given ourselves the afternoon off and it’s Henry’s wedding anniversary tomorrow. I don’t really know what to do. This always happens to us, when we’re not rehearsing or touring, we’re sort of lost.
Is that why you’re currently wandering aimlessly round Oxford?
[laughs] I might go to my local shop.
You should set up a xylophone and play in the middle of town, I hear that goes down quite well.
[laughs] Yeah. I’ll think of something.
--------
The Young Knives release single 'Terra Firma' on October 29th through Transgressive. The band are touring the UK in November, starting at Leeds Cockpit on the 2nd and finishing at London Dingwalls on the 13th
The Young Knives
MySpace
Interview - Akala
I was nervous about this one, because I'd been reading about how intelligent and politically aware Akala is. Therefore I decided 'If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?' questions were best left to one side, not wanting him to think I was a complete berk. Although I did still manage to bring in 'What did you have for breakfast?' - now there's a question that demands respect for the interviewer. Oh dear.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in September 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
AKALA
If you don’t know much about Akala, here are three facts for you:
1. The last gig he went to was Prince at the 02 Arena. Verdict? “It was absolutely fantastic.”
2. He has his mobile, wallet and house keys in his pockets. “Nothing interesting.”
3. For breakfast he ate beans on toast with plantain, avocado and yam. “I’m quite a bit of a health freak, you know. I tend to cook myself a big breakfast.”
There you go. Akala doesn’t mind interviews, although occasionally we do get closed answers. Far worse than talking is the photoshoots, he says. “I don’t mind people taking photos of me performing or when I’m doing something, but posing for pictures, I can’t stand it. I just think it’s so pretentious. I think that all press shots should be of artists doing what artists do, and that’s perform. Unfortunately, it’s part of the gig.”
Akala, aka Kingslee Daley, is a well-known name in the London hip hop scene. He’s the MOBO-award winning brother of Ms Dynamite, though is firmly making his own way in life without needing to climb on her bandwagon. He’s also something of a businessman, and is regularly praised for his intelligent and insightful lyrics.
Starting out playing in defence for Wimbledon and West Ham’s youth teams, his playing career was curtailed by injury but Akala always had music on the brain. “I’ve been performing since I was a kid. I used to do shows for my mum and then the first time I ever performed in public I was six. I did a dance called the tailfeather onstage at the Hackney Empire. My first professional gig, I was probably about 18,19.”
Since then, his influence has spread as far as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, where the British Council invited him to perform last year. “That was the best experience of my professional career, without a shadow of a doubt,” Akala says. You wouldn’t think there would be much of a hip hop scene there would you? “Yeah but it’s surprising, there really is. It’s got a massive following out there. The first show was 4,000 and the second was 3,000.”
A lot of casual listeners of urban first picked up on Akala when he won a MOBO in 2006 for Best Hip Hop. He was up against Busta Rhymes, Sway and Kanye West, and many thought the win completely out of the blue. Akala doesn’t quite agree with that.
“It was mad to be recognised because the thing is obviously I haven’t sold anywhere near as many records as anyone else that I was nominated against. I think awards shouldn’t be based on your public visibility and your marketing money. You shouldn’t get awards ‘cause you’ve got more money to spend to make yourself visible. My album was across the board really, really well received from your NME all the way through to your broadsheets, to internet reviews etc. And I think on that basis, if critical acclaim accounts for anything any more, then I think it was more than justified.” He’s only heard ‘bits and pieces’ of Kanye West’s winning album this year, but likes all he’s heard.
His new album ‘Freedom Lasso’ has quite a juxtaposition in the title. “It’s about the illusion of freedom that we have, in that a lot of the things we perceive to be freedoms are used to keep us from being free. I hate to get all deep and technical but yeah it’s just something for people to think about.
“I feel that in the world we believe that we live in a free society, especially being here in the Western world, but we don’t really. If our government want to take our tax money and then go and wreak havoc in some poor country somewhere in the world and we don’t agree with that, there’s not really anything we can do about it, if we stop paying taxes we go to jail. I don’t really see that as freedom.
"I think we do have an illusion of freedom as the world is largely controlled, I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it is controlled by the powers that be and I think that it is important for the people to have the power and to make the decisions for a particular country. It’s us who’s going to cop the flak when we travel around the world, and people have a conception of us already because we’re English, and think well you lot are the oppressors, when the vast majority of us disagree with a lot of the action.”
Protests and petitions, do you think they don’t help terribly much? “Well evidently they don’t, ‘cause the government still went to Iraq, and two million people turned up to oppose them. America is louder and more in public, and ‘cause their president is so dumb it makes them as a country more fallible and more easy to point the finger. But I don’t think people perceive Britain that different, I don’t think that the hatred that comes to Britain from other countries is any less than it is for America.”
Do you think your music has evolved much musically since ‘It’s Not A Rumour’? “Yeah definitely, that’s exactly what it was designed to do, to take the experimentation with guitar, to take the experimentation with electro, to take all of the ideas of philosophy that were on ‘It’s Not A Rumour’ and raise to the next level, both lyrically and musically, and I think we accomplished that.”
The album also features samples of The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Akala is a fan of “everybody who loves music and is passionate about their music and makes great music because they love it so much, and I definitely think that those bands fall into that category. And I think that rap and rock, especially punk rock, share an affinity in the anti-establishment attitude.”
How do you want people to feel when they hear your music? “I want people to feel the way I feel when I listen to music that I love and that inspires me. I want them to feel that feeling from your toe right to the tip of your head, that when you’re just immersing yourself in the music, you love the music and you’re at one with the music. And the energy of the music gives you energy.”
We mentioned Akala’s fledgling business empire earlier. At the time of writing they include his record label Illa State and a restaurant in Ayia Napa. So what next? Unfortunately he is ‘not at liberty to discuss those yet.’
“But don’t be surprised at anything you hear my name involved with because just like to don’t like to limit myself artistically, as a businessman, anything that I feel doesn’t harm anybody first and foremost, makes people’s lives better and can make money is something I’d like to be involved in," he warns us.
Although Akala might have been tagged as the latest ‘voice of yoof’, he’s at pains to point out that he’s not ‘a prophet or anything like that.’ For example, take the disclaimer at the end of ‘I Don’t Know’ which explains that the album has been the artist’s opinion only.
“It’s explaining that yeah I’m giving you my thoughts and my feelings and my opinions for the last however long but I can’t actually really know, and don’t take it that I think I’m the answer to the world or I’m a prophet or anything like that. I’d rather talk about the ills of the world or the ills that I perceive, than about a Rolls-Royce or about how many women I’ve slept with this week. I just don’t think those things are important artistically.”
So you’re coming out as quite a good role model there? “I wouldn’t say that’s the intention. I think I’m honestly just being myself, and if by virtue of that that makes me a role model, then great, but I’m not trying to be anybody I’m not. I’m genuinely interested in the things that I put across.”
Such interests include Shakespeare, proving you don’t have to have died 400 years ago to be a fan of the Bard. Take track ‘Comedy Tragedy History’ for example. “A lot of people don’t realise that I was set a challenge on radio and I had to fit 27 Shakespeare plays into a freestyle. And so the first two verses on ‘Comedy, Tragedy, History’, they’ve got 27 Shakespeare plays in them. And the last two verses contain all of Shakespeare’s most famous quotes.”
He gives an example: ‘Bat boy Akala’s a diamond fella / All you little boys are a comedy of errors / You bellow but you fellows get played like the cello / I’m doing my thing / You’re jealous like Othello.’
Was it quite tricky trying to fit all of those in? “Oddly enough, because I was under pressure and I was live on radio, it wasn’t. It just came to me. Because I knew if I failed, I’d look like an idiot.”
Finally, Akala has something to say about commercial hip hop which many say has been diluted considerably by America’s diamonds-and-Cristal loving exports. “It has become bollocks. Rubbish. It isn’t about any of the things that hip hop’s supposed to be about: it isn’t about artistic community, it isn’t about artistic integrity, it isn’t a true reflection of what life is about, man. It’s about champagne and naked girls and talking shit and not actually having to be a good MC,” he spits.
What other good and upcoming hip hop acts are there here? Akala names the better known Sway, Kano and Lethal Bizzle to begin, before telling us to keep our eyes out for Sincere and Wariko. “UK hip hop’s in health,” he finishes. It certainly is.
--------
Akala's album 'Freedom Lasso' is out October 1st through Illastate.
Akala
MySpace
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in September 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
AKALA
If you don’t know much about Akala, here are three facts for you:
1. The last gig he went to was Prince at the 02 Arena. Verdict? “It was absolutely fantastic.”
2. He has his mobile, wallet and house keys in his pockets. “Nothing interesting.”
3. For breakfast he ate beans on toast with plantain, avocado and yam. “I’m quite a bit of a health freak, you know. I tend to cook myself a big breakfast.”
There you go. Akala doesn’t mind interviews, although occasionally we do get closed answers. Far worse than talking is the photoshoots, he says. “I don’t mind people taking photos of me performing or when I’m doing something, but posing for pictures, I can’t stand it. I just think it’s so pretentious. I think that all press shots should be of artists doing what artists do, and that’s perform. Unfortunately, it’s part of the gig.”
Akala, aka Kingslee Daley, is a well-known name in the London hip hop scene. He’s the MOBO-award winning brother of Ms Dynamite, though is firmly making his own way in life without needing to climb on her bandwagon. He’s also something of a businessman, and is regularly praised for his intelligent and insightful lyrics.
Starting out playing in defence for Wimbledon and West Ham’s youth teams, his playing career was curtailed by injury but Akala always had music on the brain. “I’ve been performing since I was a kid. I used to do shows for my mum and then the first time I ever performed in public I was six. I did a dance called the tailfeather onstage at the Hackney Empire. My first professional gig, I was probably about 18,19.”
Since then, his influence has spread as far as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, where the British Council invited him to perform last year. “That was the best experience of my professional career, without a shadow of a doubt,” Akala says. You wouldn’t think there would be much of a hip hop scene there would you? “Yeah but it’s surprising, there really is. It’s got a massive following out there. The first show was 4,000 and the second was 3,000.”
A lot of casual listeners of urban first picked up on Akala when he won a MOBO in 2006 for Best Hip Hop. He was up against Busta Rhymes, Sway and Kanye West, and many thought the win completely out of the blue. Akala doesn’t quite agree with that.
“It was mad to be recognised because the thing is obviously I haven’t sold anywhere near as many records as anyone else that I was nominated against. I think awards shouldn’t be based on your public visibility and your marketing money. You shouldn’t get awards ‘cause you’ve got more money to spend to make yourself visible. My album was across the board really, really well received from your NME all the way through to your broadsheets, to internet reviews etc. And I think on that basis, if critical acclaim accounts for anything any more, then I think it was more than justified.” He’s only heard ‘bits and pieces’ of Kanye West’s winning album this year, but likes all he’s heard.
His new album ‘Freedom Lasso’ has quite a juxtaposition in the title. “It’s about the illusion of freedom that we have, in that a lot of the things we perceive to be freedoms are used to keep us from being free. I hate to get all deep and technical but yeah it’s just something for people to think about.
“I feel that in the world we believe that we live in a free society, especially being here in the Western world, but we don’t really. If our government want to take our tax money and then go and wreak havoc in some poor country somewhere in the world and we don’t agree with that, there’s not really anything we can do about it, if we stop paying taxes we go to jail. I don’t really see that as freedom.
"I think we do have an illusion of freedom as the world is largely controlled, I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it is controlled by the powers that be and I think that it is important for the people to have the power and to make the decisions for a particular country. It’s us who’s going to cop the flak when we travel around the world, and people have a conception of us already because we’re English, and think well you lot are the oppressors, when the vast majority of us disagree with a lot of the action.”
Protests and petitions, do you think they don’t help terribly much? “Well evidently they don’t, ‘cause the government still went to Iraq, and two million people turned up to oppose them. America is louder and more in public, and ‘cause their president is so dumb it makes them as a country more fallible and more easy to point the finger. But I don’t think people perceive Britain that different, I don’t think that the hatred that comes to Britain from other countries is any less than it is for America.”
Do you think your music has evolved much musically since ‘It’s Not A Rumour’? “Yeah definitely, that’s exactly what it was designed to do, to take the experimentation with guitar, to take the experimentation with electro, to take all of the ideas of philosophy that were on ‘It’s Not A Rumour’ and raise to the next level, both lyrically and musically, and I think we accomplished that.”
The album also features samples of The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Akala is a fan of “everybody who loves music and is passionate about their music and makes great music because they love it so much, and I definitely think that those bands fall into that category. And I think that rap and rock, especially punk rock, share an affinity in the anti-establishment attitude.”
How do you want people to feel when they hear your music? “I want people to feel the way I feel when I listen to music that I love and that inspires me. I want them to feel that feeling from your toe right to the tip of your head, that when you’re just immersing yourself in the music, you love the music and you’re at one with the music. And the energy of the music gives you energy.”
We mentioned Akala’s fledgling business empire earlier. At the time of writing they include his record label Illa State and a restaurant in Ayia Napa. So what next? Unfortunately he is ‘not at liberty to discuss those yet.’
“But don’t be surprised at anything you hear my name involved with because just like to don’t like to limit myself artistically, as a businessman, anything that I feel doesn’t harm anybody first and foremost, makes people’s lives better and can make money is something I’d like to be involved in," he warns us.
Although Akala might have been tagged as the latest ‘voice of yoof’, he’s at pains to point out that he’s not ‘a prophet or anything like that.’ For example, take the disclaimer at the end of ‘I Don’t Know’ which explains that the album has been the artist’s opinion only.
“It’s explaining that yeah I’m giving you my thoughts and my feelings and my opinions for the last however long but I can’t actually really know, and don’t take it that I think I’m the answer to the world or I’m a prophet or anything like that. I’d rather talk about the ills of the world or the ills that I perceive, than about a Rolls-Royce or about how many women I’ve slept with this week. I just don’t think those things are important artistically.”
So you’re coming out as quite a good role model there? “I wouldn’t say that’s the intention. I think I’m honestly just being myself, and if by virtue of that that makes me a role model, then great, but I’m not trying to be anybody I’m not. I’m genuinely interested in the things that I put across.”
Such interests include Shakespeare, proving you don’t have to have died 400 years ago to be a fan of the Bard. Take track ‘Comedy Tragedy History’ for example. “A lot of people don’t realise that I was set a challenge on radio and I had to fit 27 Shakespeare plays into a freestyle. And so the first two verses on ‘Comedy, Tragedy, History’, they’ve got 27 Shakespeare plays in them. And the last two verses contain all of Shakespeare’s most famous quotes.”
He gives an example: ‘Bat boy Akala’s a diamond fella / All you little boys are a comedy of errors / You bellow but you fellows get played like the cello / I’m doing my thing / You’re jealous like Othello.’
Was it quite tricky trying to fit all of those in? “Oddly enough, because I was under pressure and I was live on radio, it wasn’t. It just came to me. Because I knew if I failed, I’d look like an idiot.”
Finally, Akala has something to say about commercial hip hop which many say has been diluted considerably by America’s diamonds-and-Cristal loving exports. “It has become bollocks. Rubbish. It isn’t about any of the things that hip hop’s supposed to be about: it isn’t about artistic community, it isn’t about artistic integrity, it isn’t a true reflection of what life is about, man. It’s about champagne and naked girls and talking shit and not actually having to be a good MC,” he spits.
What other good and upcoming hip hop acts are there here? Akala names the better known Sway, Kano and Lethal Bizzle to begin, before telling us to keep our eyes out for Sincere and Wariko. “UK hip hop’s in health,” he finishes. It certainly is.
--------
Akala's album 'Freedom Lasso' is out October 1st through Illastate.
Akala
MySpace
Interview - Beastie Boys
What's this? A press conference? With the Beastie Boys? Not going to turn that down. This was in an incredibly swanky Soho hotel and was attended by a number of nervous online journalists who were similarly not wanting to ask questions. Presumably the press conference was so the band could get everyone out the way at once instead of prolonging the agony. I was terrified when I asked my questions, my voice felt thick and I'm sure it trembled, but they answered normally. I feel sorry for the people who did minimal research and then asked dopey questions which got them slapped in the face with sarcasm.
The band had amazing gravitas and a real no-nonsense attitude. On the way out the guy in front of my shook the hand of Adam Yauch, who was simmering behind his sunglasses. I just thanked him for his time, rather than lurching at him, and he graciously inclined his head in a nod. Cool.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in September 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
BEASTIE BOYS
The Beastie Boys recently held a press conference in Soho. Not only would a group of journalists be able to find out whatever they wanted about the hip hop legends, but it meant the band would be able to indulge in one of their favourite pastimes – teasing the press. Native.tv went along to ask a question…
The Beastie Boys are sat at the front below a projection of ‘The Mix Up’ cover – there’s Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch on the left, Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz in the middle, and Michael ‘Mike D’ Diamond on the right. All three are super-smart in suits, shirt and tie. Horovitz is also sporting a hat. They’re giving off a calm but powerful presence and you can’t help but feel a little nervous.
“Shall we introduce ourselves? We’re the Beastie Boys from New York City,” says Horovitz, checking to make sure we’re not in the wrong press conference. Let’s get the questions going:
How do you think the instrumental album will affect your fanbase?
”It’ll affect them in a good way, in an emotional kind of way. A thoughtful way, you know like they might sit by the window and look out the window,” says Horovitz, exclaiming “My God!” as Yauch’s phone bleeps. “If they like it, they like it; if they don’t, what. I mean I care, you know. I think they love it,” Horovitz continues.
“People who listen to us, they know we’re into some weird shit,” says Yauch.
You say you’re into some ‘weird shit’, what are you guys into at the moment?
“Like adult/baby stuff?” asks Horovitz suspiciously. “Big size cribs?”
“I wouldn’t really want to have one, but I’m into the sneakers that have the little rollerskate wheels on the heels,” says Diamond. “You’ll see a kid walking down the street and then all of a sudden they’ll just go into rollerskating mode.”
Now you’ve been around the UK and played Connect and Bestival, are there any bands you’ve been impressed by?
“Jamie Lidell we saw the other day. I liked what he did with a sampler and he also had MC boots on, which I was very impressed about,” says Diamond.
”He had MC boots and a garbage bag hoodie,” confirms Horovitz.
“We’ve been trying to see MIA but we keep getting to places too late,” says Diamond.
You were talking about the garbage bag hoodie...?
“It was more of a disco bag…” says Yauch.
“Well first I thought it was a disco blouse,” says Diamond. “It had kind of a silver sheen to it, so it was shiny.”
“Like a disco poncho,” says Yauch. “It was like made out of the material of a shirt that an old woman might wear on New Year’s Eve, but then in the shape of a hoodie.” He then tries to explain MC boots to a puzzled crowd. “They’re kind of like cheerleader boots.”
”How about Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five?” asks Diamond. “The Message album cover? I’m sure one of them was wearing, if not all are wearing MC boots.”
“No laces though they just slip on and cover your ankles,” says Yauch. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”
You helped to set up X-Large, the clothing label - are you still involved with that and what are your thoughts are on fashion and music at the moment?
“Well obviously we’re fans of the garbage bag,” says Mike. “X-Large was started by friends of mine and then I was involved little bit in the beginning but it’s really their thing, they just kind of built it up and we focused on being a band. So no, we’re not really involved. I think there was a certain time when there were a lot of clothing lines starting out and it was an exciting time, and then kind of the same thing happened with music; a lot of those clothing lines either had to become bigger businesses or stop doing it.”
With the instrumental music, is there something inherently enjoyable about playing it, or did you just decide to do a whole album as a break from the norm?
“It’s definitely fun,” says Horovitz.
“It must use a different part of your brain, playing instrumental music. It’s nice,” says Yauch.
But when you went to the studio, did you go in thinking you were going to make an instrumental record?
A resounding no. “The last record we did was all hip hop and we pretty much made it with our programming, like drum machines. When we started on this one [The Mix-Up] we just started with the instruments and just recorded a bunch of stuff. Originally we probably thought we were going to loop stuff and put vocals on it but then a lot of it sounded cool the way it was,” says Yauch.
There was talk at some point of there being another version of the album with guest vocalists?
“We’re still talking about that,” says Yauch.
“It might happen,” says Horovitz.
“It’s all talk than action. That’s the way it usually is with us anyway, a lot more talk than action,” says Diamond.
Their next UK show is instrumental only - is that more of a challenge to reach the people in the audience?
“Truth be told, when we say ‘instrumental show’ we sort of lie a bit,” confesses Diamond. “We are liars.” How much did you lie? “It’s all hip hop.” Everyone laughs. “It’s like we’re doing instrumental stuff but then we’re doing a bunch of songs that are instruments with vocals on.”
“It’s like a show that’s based around the instruments but it’s not all instrumental, maybe half instrumental,” says Yauch.
“And it’s interesting, it’s like Adam said earlier, it’s like you’re accessing a different part of your brain somehow. It’s definitely a slightly different mentality,” agrees Diamond.
Can you talk about the dress code required for your Camden gig?
“We started recording last year and we decided that while we’re recording we’re going to get into jazz cat mode. And so we started getting all these old Sixties suits and the Rat Pack look and so every day in the studio we had to wear old suits and stuff,” says Yauch, explaining their current appearance.
“Except for Fridays. Fridays was casual,” says Diamond.
“Has to be Fifties or Sixties casual. We figured we’re doing these instrumental shows, gala event… and you’re saying that people don’t say gala event here?” says Yauch
It doesn’t translate, gala event? Or what do you mean?” asks Horovitz. They’re told we Brits use it, but rarely. “Well that’s the whole point of a gala event, it’s not an everyday occasion!”
“And that’s why the dress code - this is a gala event, we figure people dress up for once,” says Yauch.
”For men, at least a jacket would be nice. Dress to impress. Shoes, not sneakers, no flip flops,” says Diamond. “Women in a nice dress or a suit.”
“Whatever you feel is impressive,” says Horovitz.
“Or whatever you think is making it more gala,” finishes Diamond.
What are your thoughts on the current state of hip hop?
“I knew that one was coming,” comes an annoyed whisper from the front. “I think it’s totally awesome,” says Horovitz. “You know, the way people rap. It’s cool. And they cut it up, on decks. You know, we’ve been asked that question before. But rap music is kind of like the only music that’s always changing every few months, it just is always going in crazy directions so… I think it’s in a great place right now.”
In recent concerts you’ve been doing a mix of three different genres so is that going to be reflected in your next album?
“We don’t exactly have a plan, we usually just go in the studio and wait and see what happens,” says Diamond.
Are you feeling anything specific at the moment?
“Like a rap opera,” says Horovitz. “Like Trapped In The Closet.”
“I was thinking more like Starlight Express,” says Diamond. “Something like that, where we rollerblade over the audience. That could work well for us.”
Mark Ronson has just been announced as doing a BBC Electric Prom in the near future – “Did you say electric prongs?!”
“Prom, that’s like graduation, right?” says Horovitz.
“It’s like a shrimp, right? An electric shrimp,” jokes Yauch.
“So it’ll be like an orchestra and then some fool with a synthesiser?” wonders Horovitz. “Cool.” They’re told that Mark Ronson will probably go to Abbey Road and work out with the orchestra.
”He’s going to work out with them? Doing sit ups and push ups and stuff? I can’t picture Mark doing that but that’s cool,” says Diamond.“If that’s part of the show, I’m going to come over to see it,” says Yauch.
Any possibility of working with Ronson in the future?
“Uh, yeah quite possibly. You never know,” says Adam. “He’s a good guy. He’s got very good hair.”
Native.tv asks: You played Live Earth this summer. How was it for you, and is climate change something you feel quite strongly about?
“Oh, am I supposed to use this?” asks Mike, finally noticing the mic on the table in front of him. “We were happy to take part in that event as soon as we got called because it was something we felt needs people’s focus, and more importantly, needs everybody’s actions.
"The good news is that it’s something that can actually really be impacted by everybody taking action. So we were happy to do it. It’s really hard with those things to know what kind of influence it has on people’s actions and daily lives.
"I was actually surprised, I really wasn’t prepared for the degree of cynicism that it was met with. That surprised me a bit.
“With our tour this summer in the States we hooked up with this non-profit [ARIA] to make it carbon neutral. Our buses were on a bio-diesel fuel, and then the venues all co-operated in terms of recycling programmes.” There’s some discussing. “That didn’t have to do with the Live Earth concert. That’s just something we were doing.”
Do you think music is lacking in the politically active sense?
“There is that Lil' Wayne video which is on YouTube now against George Bush,” pipes up Horovitz. “I didn’t expect that one. Lil' Wayne. Rapper from America,” he adds in a small voice. “That’s what I’m saying. Lil' Wayne.”
You started a record label quite recently, what are your plans with it?
”I started a record label just recently,” says Horovitz. “It’s dubstep, kind of house-garage, with the singer from Nickelback. It’s pretty hot. Grunge, grimecore, gutter punk, two-step. We had a record label. Maybe like 15 years ago or something like that.” There’s a comment about when things stop being recent. “I shitted in Australia in an alley and that was over six months ago, and I thought that’s not really that recent.”
“That’s still recent,” says Diamond. “That’s within a year.”
It’s all a bit quiet and the Beastie Boys ask if anyone has a ringer question. “It’s like a plant,” explains Diamond. “Let’s say you have like a child’s soccer team and you bring in a grown man. That would be the ringer.”
What kind of person do you think it takes to become a Beastie Boy?
“Well I would say that it sounds shallow but you know, rugged looks,” says Horovitz.
“Do we have applications?” asks Yauch. “I might be leaving soon, so…”
“We’re always open to trades,” says Diamond. “We are in discussions with R Kelly. He only wanted to give us – what’s the woman’s name, the character in the ...Closet video? – he wanted to offer Bridget. And we want Bridget coupled with the little person. He thought that was too much of his cast, he wasn’t willing to give that up. Our tour ends in October, a couple of weeks after that it’s off-season; we’re ready to start talking about trades.”
“He tried to trade me to Blink-182 and I’m still mad about it,” says Horovitz darkly.“It’s not just us. Every band is looking to get better. It’s a competitive sport, it’s a competitive league, that’s our job. Everybody needs to get better each time.”
You did an instrumental album, but is there any instrument you would never work with, like bagpipes?
“I actually like bagpipes,” says Yauch.
“I think bagpipes could be hip hop. You don’t know. It could work out. What would I not ever work with? Hard to say. I was going to say French horn but you never know, in the right way, that could be something nice,” says Diamond.
“I don’t like the splash cymbal,” says Yauch. “You always have the drummer playing and he’s like – pssh!”
“What about on the Steve Miller Band ‘Take The Money And Run’?” asks Diamond. “The splash cymbal plays the beginning part.” They argue over whether it’s a splash cymbal or not. Horovitz has his little finger in the air. “I don’t know if you do this here but this is the symbol for ‘I’ll bet you’.”
“You know what though. Sometimes you might hear a splash just like a little crash and it happens to be a splash and you wouldn’t even know.”
“I’m just saying, for my own personal preference...” argues Yauch.“See what I have to put up with?” complains Horovitz.
And on that mildly argumentative note, it’s time to sign off. The three sharp-suited Beastie Boys stand up, incline their heads and disappear.
--------
The Beastie Boys released 'The Mix-Up' in summer 2007.
Beastie Boys
MySpace
The band had amazing gravitas and a real no-nonsense attitude. On the way out the guy in front of my shook the hand of Adam Yauch, who was simmering behind his sunglasses. I just thanked him for his time, rather than lurching at him, and he graciously inclined his head in a nod. Cool.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in September 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
BEASTIE BOYS
The Beastie Boys recently held a press conference in Soho. Not only would a group of journalists be able to find out whatever they wanted about the hip hop legends, but it meant the band would be able to indulge in one of their favourite pastimes – teasing the press. Native.tv went along to ask a question…
The Beastie Boys are sat at the front below a projection of ‘The Mix Up’ cover – there’s Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch on the left, Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz in the middle, and Michael ‘Mike D’ Diamond on the right. All three are super-smart in suits, shirt and tie. Horovitz is also sporting a hat. They’re giving off a calm but powerful presence and you can’t help but feel a little nervous.
“Shall we introduce ourselves? We’re the Beastie Boys from New York City,” says Horovitz, checking to make sure we’re not in the wrong press conference. Let’s get the questions going:
How do you think the instrumental album will affect your fanbase?
”It’ll affect them in a good way, in an emotional kind of way. A thoughtful way, you know like they might sit by the window and look out the window,” says Horovitz, exclaiming “My God!” as Yauch’s phone bleeps. “If they like it, they like it; if they don’t, what. I mean I care, you know. I think they love it,” Horovitz continues.
“People who listen to us, they know we’re into some weird shit,” says Yauch.
You say you’re into some ‘weird shit’, what are you guys into at the moment?
“Like adult/baby stuff?” asks Horovitz suspiciously. “Big size cribs?”
“I wouldn’t really want to have one, but I’m into the sneakers that have the little rollerskate wheels on the heels,” says Diamond. “You’ll see a kid walking down the street and then all of a sudden they’ll just go into rollerskating mode.”
Now you’ve been around the UK and played Connect and Bestival, are there any bands you’ve been impressed by?
“Jamie Lidell we saw the other day. I liked what he did with a sampler and he also had MC boots on, which I was very impressed about,” says Diamond.
”He had MC boots and a garbage bag hoodie,” confirms Horovitz.
“We’ve been trying to see MIA but we keep getting to places too late,” says Diamond.
You were talking about the garbage bag hoodie...?
“It was more of a disco bag…” says Yauch.
“Well first I thought it was a disco blouse,” says Diamond. “It had kind of a silver sheen to it, so it was shiny.”
“Like a disco poncho,” says Yauch. “It was like made out of the material of a shirt that an old woman might wear on New Year’s Eve, but then in the shape of a hoodie.” He then tries to explain MC boots to a puzzled crowd. “They’re kind of like cheerleader boots.”
”How about Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five?” asks Diamond. “The Message album cover? I’m sure one of them was wearing, if not all are wearing MC boots.”
“No laces though they just slip on and cover your ankles,” says Yauch. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”
You helped to set up X-Large, the clothing label - are you still involved with that and what are your thoughts are on fashion and music at the moment?
“Well obviously we’re fans of the garbage bag,” says Mike. “X-Large was started by friends of mine and then I was involved little bit in the beginning but it’s really their thing, they just kind of built it up and we focused on being a band. So no, we’re not really involved. I think there was a certain time when there were a lot of clothing lines starting out and it was an exciting time, and then kind of the same thing happened with music; a lot of those clothing lines either had to become bigger businesses or stop doing it.”
With the instrumental music, is there something inherently enjoyable about playing it, or did you just decide to do a whole album as a break from the norm?
“It’s definitely fun,” says Horovitz.
“It must use a different part of your brain, playing instrumental music. It’s nice,” says Yauch.
But when you went to the studio, did you go in thinking you were going to make an instrumental record?
A resounding no. “The last record we did was all hip hop and we pretty much made it with our programming, like drum machines. When we started on this one [The Mix-Up] we just started with the instruments and just recorded a bunch of stuff. Originally we probably thought we were going to loop stuff and put vocals on it but then a lot of it sounded cool the way it was,” says Yauch.
There was talk at some point of there being another version of the album with guest vocalists?
“We’re still talking about that,” says Yauch.
“It might happen,” says Horovitz.
“It’s all talk than action. That’s the way it usually is with us anyway, a lot more talk than action,” says Diamond.
Their next UK show is instrumental only - is that more of a challenge to reach the people in the audience?
“Truth be told, when we say ‘instrumental show’ we sort of lie a bit,” confesses Diamond. “We are liars.” How much did you lie? “It’s all hip hop.” Everyone laughs. “It’s like we’re doing instrumental stuff but then we’re doing a bunch of songs that are instruments with vocals on.”
“It’s like a show that’s based around the instruments but it’s not all instrumental, maybe half instrumental,” says Yauch.
“And it’s interesting, it’s like Adam said earlier, it’s like you’re accessing a different part of your brain somehow. It’s definitely a slightly different mentality,” agrees Diamond.
Can you talk about the dress code required for your Camden gig?
“We started recording last year and we decided that while we’re recording we’re going to get into jazz cat mode. And so we started getting all these old Sixties suits and the Rat Pack look and so every day in the studio we had to wear old suits and stuff,” says Yauch, explaining their current appearance.
“Except for Fridays. Fridays was casual,” says Diamond.
“Has to be Fifties or Sixties casual. We figured we’re doing these instrumental shows, gala event… and you’re saying that people don’t say gala event here?” says Yauch
It doesn’t translate, gala event? Or what do you mean?” asks Horovitz. They’re told we Brits use it, but rarely. “Well that’s the whole point of a gala event, it’s not an everyday occasion!”
“And that’s why the dress code - this is a gala event, we figure people dress up for once,” says Yauch.
”For men, at least a jacket would be nice. Dress to impress. Shoes, not sneakers, no flip flops,” says Diamond. “Women in a nice dress or a suit.”
“Whatever you feel is impressive,” says Horovitz.
“Or whatever you think is making it more gala,” finishes Diamond.
What are your thoughts on the current state of hip hop?
“I knew that one was coming,” comes an annoyed whisper from the front. “I think it’s totally awesome,” says Horovitz. “You know, the way people rap. It’s cool. And they cut it up, on decks. You know, we’ve been asked that question before. But rap music is kind of like the only music that’s always changing every few months, it just is always going in crazy directions so… I think it’s in a great place right now.”
In recent concerts you’ve been doing a mix of three different genres so is that going to be reflected in your next album?
“We don’t exactly have a plan, we usually just go in the studio and wait and see what happens,” says Diamond.
Are you feeling anything specific at the moment?
“Like a rap opera,” says Horovitz. “Like Trapped In The Closet.”
“I was thinking more like Starlight Express,” says Diamond. “Something like that, where we rollerblade over the audience. That could work well for us.”
Mark Ronson has just been announced as doing a BBC Electric Prom in the near future – “Did you say electric prongs?!”
“Prom, that’s like graduation, right?” says Horovitz.
“It’s like a shrimp, right? An electric shrimp,” jokes Yauch.
“So it’ll be like an orchestra and then some fool with a synthesiser?” wonders Horovitz. “Cool.” They’re told that Mark Ronson will probably go to Abbey Road and work out with the orchestra.
”He’s going to work out with them? Doing sit ups and push ups and stuff? I can’t picture Mark doing that but that’s cool,” says Diamond.“If that’s part of the show, I’m going to come over to see it,” says Yauch.
Any possibility of working with Ronson in the future?
“Uh, yeah quite possibly. You never know,” says Adam. “He’s a good guy. He’s got very good hair.”
Native.tv asks: You played Live Earth this summer. How was it for you, and is climate change something you feel quite strongly about?
“Oh, am I supposed to use this?” asks Mike, finally noticing the mic on the table in front of him. “We were happy to take part in that event as soon as we got called because it was something we felt needs people’s focus, and more importantly, needs everybody’s actions.
"The good news is that it’s something that can actually really be impacted by everybody taking action. So we were happy to do it. It’s really hard with those things to know what kind of influence it has on people’s actions and daily lives.
"I was actually surprised, I really wasn’t prepared for the degree of cynicism that it was met with. That surprised me a bit.
“With our tour this summer in the States we hooked up with this non-profit [ARIA] to make it carbon neutral. Our buses were on a bio-diesel fuel, and then the venues all co-operated in terms of recycling programmes.” There’s some discussing. “That didn’t have to do with the Live Earth concert. That’s just something we were doing.”
Do you think music is lacking in the politically active sense?
“There is that Lil' Wayne video which is on YouTube now against George Bush,” pipes up Horovitz. “I didn’t expect that one. Lil' Wayne. Rapper from America,” he adds in a small voice. “That’s what I’m saying. Lil' Wayne.”
You started a record label quite recently, what are your plans with it?
”I started a record label just recently,” says Horovitz. “It’s dubstep, kind of house-garage, with the singer from Nickelback. It’s pretty hot. Grunge, grimecore, gutter punk, two-step. We had a record label. Maybe like 15 years ago or something like that.” There’s a comment about when things stop being recent. “I shitted in Australia in an alley and that was over six months ago, and I thought that’s not really that recent.”
“That’s still recent,” says Diamond. “That’s within a year.”
It’s all a bit quiet and the Beastie Boys ask if anyone has a ringer question. “It’s like a plant,” explains Diamond. “Let’s say you have like a child’s soccer team and you bring in a grown man. That would be the ringer.”
What kind of person do you think it takes to become a Beastie Boy?
“Well I would say that it sounds shallow but you know, rugged looks,” says Horovitz.
“Do we have applications?” asks Yauch. “I might be leaving soon, so…”
“We’re always open to trades,” says Diamond. “We are in discussions with R Kelly. He only wanted to give us – what’s the woman’s name, the character in the ...Closet video? – he wanted to offer Bridget. And we want Bridget coupled with the little person. He thought that was too much of his cast, he wasn’t willing to give that up. Our tour ends in October, a couple of weeks after that it’s off-season; we’re ready to start talking about trades.”
“He tried to trade me to Blink-182 and I’m still mad about it,” says Horovitz darkly.“It’s not just us. Every band is looking to get better. It’s a competitive sport, it’s a competitive league, that’s our job. Everybody needs to get better each time.”
You did an instrumental album, but is there any instrument you would never work with, like bagpipes?
“I actually like bagpipes,” says Yauch.
“I think bagpipes could be hip hop. You don’t know. It could work out. What would I not ever work with? Hard to say. I was going to say French horn but you never know, in the right way, that could be something nice,” says Diamond.
“I don’t like the splash cymbal,” says Yauch. “You always have the drummer playing and he’s like – pssh!”
“What about on the Steve Miller Band ‘Take The Money And Run’?” asks Diamond. “The splash cymbal plays the beginning part.” They argue over whether it’s a splash cymbal or not. Horovitz has his little finger in the air. “I don’t know if you do this here but this is the symbol for ‘I’ll bet you’.”
“You know what though. Sometimes you might hear a splash just like a little crash and it happens to be a splash and you wouldn’t even know.”
“I’m just saying, for my own personal preference...” argues Yauch.“See what I have to put up with?” complains Horovitz.
And on that mildly argumentative note, it’s time to sign off. The three sharp-suited Beastie Boys stand up, incline their heads and disappear.
--------
The Beastie Boys released 'The Mix-Up' in summer 2007.
Beastie Boys
MySpace
Interview - Amy Macdonald
This was the day after I spoke to Craig Reid from The Proclaimers - it was obviously Scottish Week somewhere (Scotland, perhaps). Amy Macdonald was quite softly spoken. She's done really well this year and built up a solid fanbase. I saw her in April 2007 in a small London club where a bottle of beer and a coke came to about £9, a shock I've never forgotten. I've just realised the office made a fifteen minute phone call to a network in Belgium. I'd hate to think what the phone bill was for that...
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in September 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
AMY MACDONALD
“When you’re on tour you find things to amuse you and there’s a fascination with Parma ham. You need to be there to appreciate it but it’s funny,” explains 20-year-old Amy Macdonald. The Glaswegian singer/songwriter is in Belgium when we ring her for an interview. Occasionally the mobile signal disappears, and on one memorable occasion the phone cuts me off entirely, resulting in a hurried call back. She’s currently trying to explain why there’s a photograph on her website showing her signing a piece of prosciutto.
“This Parma ham started to turn up on the rider so it just got to be a bit of a running joke. Our soundman is adamant that he’s going to have a vodka Parma ham, which is just Parma ham inside a glass and vodka poured over, so I can’t wait until he tries it!”
It’s a busy time for Amy. Since her first full single release in July – ‘Mr Rock and Roll’, which reached a more than respectable 12 in the charts – her life has been a whirlwind of press, gigs supporting the likes of Travis and triumphant festival performances. At the time of the interview, Amy’s on her way to Ghent – via Paris and Brussels - where she’s opening for Paul Weller. “It’s really cool, it’s a privilege to be asked.”
Amy Macdonald is usually described by lazy writers, such as myself, as being similar to KT Tunstall. This is generally because both are Scottish and play the guitar. On stage, Amy has a striking and commanding voice; it’s large and grand and wise and towers majestically over the chords she is energetically strumming.
On the telephone, she sounds a little nervous, which is understandable; few musicians get into the business because they really, really want to be repeatedly interviewed by strangers about the same topic. Her Scottish accent is strong and there are plenty of rolled r’s in words which I didn’t even realise had r’s in them.
Her new single is ‘L.A.’. I read that it’s about the actor Jake Gyllenhaal? “It’s been taken out of context I think,” explains Amy. “I feel everyone has somebody they really idolise, be it an actor or a musician or a sports player, and the song is just about how you can have that person and you can really respect what they do and look up to them, but you should always believe in yourself and believe you can achieve just as many things.”
Incidentally, the video wasn’t filmed in LA, but the marginally less-glamorous spot of ‘near Malaga.’ “I don’t think the budgets really cover us going all the way to LA for one day to shoot a video yet!” Amy giggles. Give it a few weeks...
And ‘L.A.’ is from her debut album ‘This Is The Life’, which popped into the charts at number two. Amy was very excited by this. “It’s a real honour that people actually went out and bought it and for it to get to number two was just amazing.”
It’s especially refreshing to see that Amy is so obviously into her music and not the whole fame and celebrity tag around, as made quite clear when we get onto her album track ‘Footballer’s Wife’.
“I just found that in Britain people seem to be completely and utterly obsessed by celebrity and things like that. Out of like ten young girls asked, at least half of them said that their ambition in life is to be a WAG. It’s absolutely horrendous that it’s impacting young girls. I’m not interested in picking up a newspaper and finding out that Colleen whatever-her-face has bought a new dress, it’s absolutely ridiculous. It sounds a horrible kind of culture that Britain’s got a bit obsessed about, that people have got famous for spending their other half’s money and I think it just deserved a rant.
“There’s football in so many countries but it only seems to be Britain that kind of has this footballer’s wife obsession. Every time I go to Europe I have to explain what the song’s about ‘cause they don’t really get it. We don’t have it in Scotland at all, it’s actually only England!”And the whole Big Brother thing kind of started it as well; people on this ridiculous show so that they can be famous for five minutes and then be cast into obscurity when nobody wants to talk about them any more.”
And let's not be forgetting ‘Poison Prince’, which was given a limited release in May, and it’s about the tabloid favourite Mr Doherty. “Pete Doherty was such a talented songwriter and just an amazing musician. Now everyone knows who he is because of his drug-taking and supermodel girlfriend and nobody’s ever really heard any of his music. For me that is such a shame, it’s a huge waste because he was a really talented musician and ‘Poison Prince’ was just my song to him to basically say please come back and leave all the rubbish behind.”
Have you heard the new Babyshambles single ‘Delivery’? “I think it’s wonderful. It’s just a great song. It sounds somewhat like The Kinks in places, I think that’s just Pete’s inspiration coming through, but I was really happy when I heard it and I thought ‘Oh, Pete’s back’. But then the next day I think he got arrested, which kind of made me think ‘oh, here we go again!’”
As well as being a major Libertines fan, Amy likes bands such as The Killers, Kings of Leon and The Coral, and is currently digging the Pigeon Detectives’ album. She saw a clip of them at T in the Park: “They just seemed to be absolutely loving it and commanding the stage. It was really cool to have an up-and-coming band that are doing so well and they’ve got so many great songs that people just want to jump along to."
Ah, T in the Park. Clearly the best-known and best-loved music festival in Scotland, and this year Amy was proud to be there, on the T-Break Stage in between The Haze and Down The Tiny Steps. “Oh that was brilliant,” Amy says excitedly. “I mean obviously I’m Scottish and really proud of that and I’ve been to T in the Park for the past five years. To be asked to perform is such an honour for me, the tent was absolutely crammed, everyone seemed to have a great time and I really enjoyed it as well so it was just awesome.”
The Scottish seem really patriotic, not like the English, so you must have had some really good support there. “Well I think the Scots tend to do that, we’re really proud of good things that come from our country. Everyone gets behind you, all the Scottish press and the radio stations, and everyone just feels it’s their duty to do as much as they can for you which is just amazing because it’s great to have the country that you’re from being really supportive like that.”
Amy also played a few gigs at Scottish landmarks earlier this year – Mount Stuart, Culzean Castle and Edinburgh Castle. It must make a real change from the sweaty beery venues. ”It was really cool to play in weird venues like castles and country houses. It was really civilised.”
Of course, some sweaty beery venues are better than other. Yes, we’re talking about the Glasgow Barrowlands. The subject of Amy’s song ‘Barrowland Ballroom’ (“And when the stars shine so bright on the cold December night / I wish that I was on the stage… Well there is magic in the air I swear”), she’s incredibly excited to be playing a Christmassy gig there. “Yeah that’s just been announced. That’s amazing, I didn’t think I’d be playing there so soon. I’m so excited about it and I really can’t wait to play and I think my friends are even more excited than me. I’ve had a text today saying ‘Can I come onstage to stagedive?’”
One final thing Amy – I was looking on your forum, and there seems to be a group of people trying to guess what your favourite flavour ice cream is. Can you put us out of our misery? “I think it’s probably chocolate,” she says with a smile in her voice. Intelligent journalism at its finest. Thanks for that.
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Amy Macdonald releases single ‘L.A’ on October 15th through Vertigo Records. Album ‘This Is The Life’ is out now
Amy Macdonald
MySpace
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in September 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
AMY MACDONALD
“When you’re on tour you find things to amuse you and there’s a fascination with Parma ham. You need to be there to appreciate it but it’s funny,” explains 20-year-old Amy Macdonald. The Glaswegian singer/songwriter is in Belgium when we ring her for an interview. Occasionally the mobile signal disappears, and on one memorable occasion the phone cuts me off entirely, resulting in a hurried call back. She’s currently trying to explain why there’s a photograph on her website showing her signing a piece of prosciutto.
“This Parma ham started to turn up on the rider so it just got to be a bit of a running joke. Our soundman is adamant that he’s going to have a vodka Parma ham, which is just Parma ham inside a glass and vodka poured over, so I can’t wait until he tries it!”
It’s a busy time for Amy. Since her first full single release in July – ‘Mr Rock and Roll’, which reached a more than respectable 12 in the charts – her life has been a whirlwind of press, gigs supporting the likes of Travis and triumphant festival performances. At the time of the interview, Amy’s on her way to Ghent – via Paris and Brussels - where she’s opening for Paul Weller. “It’s really cool, it’s a privilege to be asked.”
Amy Macdonald is usually described by lazy writers, such as myself, as being similar to KT Tunstall. This is generally because both are Scottish and play the guitar. On stage, Amy has a striking and commanding voice; it’s large and grand and wise and towers majestically over the chords she is energetically strumming.
On the telephone, she sounds a little nervous, which is understandable; few musicians get into the business because they really, really want to be repeatedly interviewed by strangers about the same topic. Her Scottish accent is strong and there are plenty of rolled r’s in words which I didn’t even realise had r’s in them.
Her new single is ‘L.A.’. I read that it’s about the actor Jake Gyllenhaal? “It’s been taken out of context I think,” explains Amy. “I feel everyone has somebody they really idolise, be it an actor or a musician or a sports player, and the song is just about how you can have that person and you can really respect what they do and look up to them, but you should always believe in yourself and believe you can achieve just as many things.”
Incidentally, the video wasn’t filmed in LA, but the marginally less-glamorous spot of ‘near Malaga.’ “I don’t think the budgets really cover us going all the way to LA for one day to shoot a video yet!” Amy giggles. Give it a few weeks...
And ‘L.A.’ is from her debut album ‘This Is The Life’, which popped into the charts at number two. Amy was very excited by this. “It’s a real honour that people actually went out and bought it and for it to get to number two was just amazing.”
It’s especially refreshing to see that Amy is so obviously into her music and not the whole fame and celebrity tag around, as made quite clear when we get onto her album track ‘Footballer’s Wife’.
“I just found that in Britain people seem to be completely and utterly obsessed by celebrity and things like that. Out of like ten young girls asked, at least half of them said that their ambition in life is to be a WAG. It’s absolutely horrendous that it’s impacting young girls. I’m not interested in picking up a newspaper and finding out that Colleen whatever-her-face has bought a new dress, it’s absolutely ridiculous. It sounds a horrible kind of culture that Britain’s got a bit obsessed about, that people have got famous for spending their other half’s money and I think it just deserved a rant.
“There’s football in so many countries but it only seems to be Britain that kind of has this footballer’s wife obsession. Every time I go to Europe I have to explain what the song’s about ‘cause they don’t really get it. We don’t have it in Scotland at all, it’s actually only England!”And the whole Big Brother thing kind of started it as well; people on this ridiculous show so that they can be famous for five minutes and then be cast into obscurity when nobody wants to talk about them any more.”
And let's not be forgetting ‘Poison Prince’, which was given a limited release in May, and it’s about the tabloid favourite Mr Doherty. “Pete Doherty was such a talented songwriter and just an amazing musician. Now everyone knows who he is because of his drug-taking and supermodel girlfriend and nobody’s ever really heard any of his music. For me that is such a shame, it’s a huge waste because he was a really talented musician and ‘Poison Prince’ was just my song to him to basically say please come back and leave all the rubbish behind.”
Have you heard the new Babyshambles single ‘Delivery’? “I think it’s wonderful. It’s just a great song. It sounds somewhat like The Kinks in places, I think that’s just Pete’s inspiration coming through, but I was really happy when I heard it and I thought ‘Oh, Pete’s back’. But then the next day I think he got arrested, which kind of made me think ‘oh, here we go again!’”
As well as being a major Libertines fan, Amy likes bands such as The Killers, Kings of Leon and The Coral, and is currently digging the Pigeon Detectives’ album. She saw a clip of them at T in the Park: “They just seemed to be absolutely loving it and commanding the stage. It was really cool to have an up-and-coming band that are doing so well and they’ve got so many great songs that people just want to jump along to."
Ah, T in the Park. Clearly the best-known and best-loved music festival in Scotland, and this year Amy was proud to be there, on the T-Break Stage in between The Haze and Down The Tiny Steps. “Oh that was brilliant,” Amy says excitedly. “I mean obviously I’m Scottish and really proud of that and I’ve been to T in the Park for the past five years. To be asked to perform is such an honour for me, the tent was absolutely crammed, everyone seemed to have a great time and I really enjoyed it as well so it was just awesome.”
The Scottish seem really patriotic, not like the English, so you must have had some really good support there. “Well I think the Scots tend to do that, we’re really proud of good things that come from our country. Everyone gets behind you, all the Scottish press and the radio stations, and everyone just feels it’s their duty to do as much as they can for you which is just amazing because it’s great to have the country that you’re from being really supportive like that.”
Amy also played a few gigs at Scottish landmarks earlier this year – Mount Stuart, Culzean Castle and Edinburgh Castle. It must make a real change from the sweaty beery venues. ”It was really cool to play in weird venues like castles and country houses. It was really civilised.”
Of course, some sweaty beery venues are better than other. Yes, we’re talking about the Glasgow Barrowlands. The subject of Amy’s song ‘Barrowland Ballroom’ (“And when the stars shine so bright on the cold December night / I wish that I was on the stage… Well there is magic in the air I swear”), she’s incredibly excited to be playing a Christmassy gig there. “Yeah that’s just been announced. That’s amazing, I didn’t think I’d be playing there so soon. I’m so excited about it and I really can’t wait to play and I think my friends are even more excited than me. I’ve had a text today saying ‘Can I come onstage to stagedive?’”
One final thing Amy – I was looking on your forum, and there seems to be a group of people trying to guess what your favourite flavour ice cream is. Can you put us out of our misery? “I think it’s probably chocolate,” she says with a smile in her voice. Intelligent journalism at its finest. Thanks for that.
--------
Amy Macdonald releases single ‘L.A’ on October 15th through Vertigo Records. Album ‘This Is The Life’ is out now
Amy Macdonald
MySpace
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