The Secret Machines interview

The Secret Machines
By alexander laurence

They will be playing in LA at the Avalon on Feb 21st, and in Santa Ana at The Galaxy on Feb 20th. Autolux will be supporting them on both shows.

The Secret Machines come from Dallas, Texas. Benjamin Curtis (guitar/vocals), Josh Garza (drums, and Brandon Curtis (vocals, bass) formed the Secret Machines in the summer of 2000. They spent years in the Dallas indie music scene before heading first to Chicago to record. After several months of rehearsals and recording sessions with engineer Brian Deck, the Secret Machines had their first self-made disc. This was handed out at gigs when they arrived in New York a few months later. They landed in Williamsburg in the midst of a creative period. They had to get regular jobs at cafes to survive in the city. Brandon actually worked at The L Café.

The Secret Machines soon created a reputation as one of the best live bands in New York. Ace Fu Records released their Chicago recordings in March of 2002. A track by the band was included on Yes New York, helping them to introduce their music to an even larger audience. Their first full length album, Now Here Is Nowhere, is being released in May 2004. The songs "Sad and Lonely" and "Nowhere Again" are already classics. They came through town on a tour with Blonde Redhead. I got to talk with them in person and on the phone for a while. This is a band to look out for. They have made one of the great records of the year.

AL: This is you first big tour across America. How is it going?

Ben: It's going really well. We are having such a good time. We get along with Blonde Redhead. We are going to tour with them for another month or so. We are playing more and we are getting tighter. We are not so much concerned with playing it right as enjoying ourselves on stage.

AL: Has anything strange happened on this tour?

Ben: It's all been so strange. We got to play a show with Joan Jett, which was pretty far out. Each night has been peculiar. We seem to attract a strange crowd. Each town has its own color. We have had a bunch of crazy nights so far. I can't be more specific.

AL: When you present your music in cities where you have never been before, sometimes you don't know what to expect. People show up and have expectations.

Ben: Yeah. When people see us walking around after the show, sometimes they don't know it was us, because during the show they only saw a silhouette. It's funny. You can actually have a conversation with someone for a long time before they realize that you were the one who was onstage and who they came to see. You can find out what people think before they figure out that you are playing.

AL: Secret Machines has a thing: when you are on stage, you are larger than life, but when you get offstage, you are just regular guys. How did you get together and form the band?

Ben: We were all living in Dallas, Texas. We were all involved in that music scene. It's very small. We kept on running into each other. We all came together at the same time and wanted to take music a little bit more seriously. We started the band.

AL: Had you played in bands before?

Ben: Brandon and Josh played in a band called Captain Audio. Before that Josh was in a band called Comet. Brandon and I played in bands when we were younger. It was Dallas, Texas stuff. I band drums before. These guys wanted me to play guitar with them. I had to go buy a guitar.

AL: Did you ever play shows outside of Dallas?

Ben: Comet did. They were on Dedicated Records. They were a big indie rock band. We have all did some touring. But it has mostly been underground. This is the first time that we have peeked our heads above the clouds so to speak. We have done shorter tours with Spiritualized. We have done longer tours with Trail of Dead. We did that a year and a half ago. This is the beginning of what will be a full year of touring. Our record comes out in May 2004. We will be rolling by then. We have been getting a very good response. It's all about supply and demand.

AL: Did you have a musical background?

Ben: Yeah. It's no more musical than any household. There was a piano in the house. Music was around but it wasn't forced down our throats. We both had piano lessons from the time we were small kids.

AL: Does your family come to shows?

Ben: Whenever we play in Texas they do. They are very supportive. Our parents grew up in the 1960s so they are both rock and roll fans. That is what we do.

AL: Was the Secret Machines a band when you left Texas?

Ben: No. The Secret Machines was formed at the same time when we moved away. We never played in Texas as a local band. We just decided to do it when we were traveling. We first decided to go to Chicago and record our first EP.

AL: How did you go about recording that?

Ben: We saved some cash. We drove to Chicago. We recorded it with Brian Deck who was working with Califone. We liked their records a lot at the time. We spent a week in Chicago and hammered it out very quickly.

AL: You didn't have a record label at the time?

Ben: No. We actually gave it away for free when we first moved to New York City. We made them on the way up. We pressed them and just gave them out. We went out all the time. Some people still have it. It's funny. A while later Ace Fu Records decided that they wanted to bring it out as a regular release. Then it came out in Europe. It has had a longer life than we expected.

AL: How do you write songs in the band? Do you always work the same way?

Ben: Yeah. Things usually happen in the rehearsal room. We kick around some ideas. We all bring different things to the table. Every song still ends up sounding like The Secret Machines. We tape a lot of what we do. We listen to things a lot. It is becoming more that way. We are learning how to refine our ideas more. We want to be more concise about what we want to say. That is the direction where we are moving.

AL: When you were making this new album what did you guys want to do? What was the plan?

Ben: We were thinking about what we liked and didn't like about modern music. We were trying to prove that we could make something that we were happy with. We will know in a few years whether it stands the test of time or not. We are pretty confident with the record at the moment.

AL: Did you want to make an album that people could dip into at any point or something that needs to be listened to in its entirety?

Ben: We tried our best to have something that was more immediate, more emotional, more direct and little easier. Granted it is still difficult at times. In many ways it's a lot more concise than the EP was, even though it's longer. We have heard comments like: "You are a good live band, but the records are so-so." We wanted to even off that perception. We wanted to make a record that is intense as a Secret Machines live show is.

AL: Is this album a bunch of live takes then?

Ben: It was all done live. There are overdubs of course. You can't make a record sound like we do when we are live. You are never going to listen to it that loud. You end up doing embellishments and implications of volume. You can create the illusion of more happening than is actually happening. Things sound different at different volumes. You have to compensate for the fact that most people will hear this record at home on their computer or on headphones sitting on a subway train.

AL: What are your songs about generally?

Ben: Usually they are about current things. The songs are as vague as how we are felling at a given time. We never try to make songs topical. We like lyrics that are open to interpretation. We are always playing what we feel at that moment. It's always hard to put it into words, and that is the reason we play music. Music is how we express ourselves. If I could tell you what we are about emotionally, I would be writing books.

AL: How did the Dallas indie scene influence what you are doing?

Ben: The Dallas scene is really good. Dallas is a city that doesn't have the intensity of cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or San Francisco. Those cities are twice as intense. Dallas bands are good and they can play well but there is a certain lack of intensity. We are friends with The Polyphonic Spree for example. They are great and they have this great idea for a band. It's fine. But there is not that extra layer of depth to what they are doing that you have when you have a certain element of uncertainty in your daily life. The problem with some New York bands is that they are too intense and not together. In Dallas there is a level of professionalism and it's easy to get together and practice. There is more space to do your own thing.

AL: Do you like any other bands?

Ben: Spiritualized has been making great records for a long time. I really like Amazing Grace. We have toured with them. We learned a lot from watching them play. I really love The Fiery Furnaces. They are very clever. I haven't heard that in a band in a long time. There is no one writing songs like they do. I like Broken Social Scene. None of this is kicking my ass like any records made in the 1970s. Bands like to recycle the classics over and over again.

AL: You like all the Classic Rock stuff?

Ben: Yeah. We like those records and every point of history. We are not revivalists or anything. There are all the classic records that kids are jamming in the high school parking lot to this day. We like that stuff. We want to make records that kids are playing at their high school parties in twenty years.

AL: Many of those bands like Rush and Aerosmith did a few albums before they hit their stride.

Ben: Right. The record labels developed many of those bands. It's hard to expect greatness from your first record. I hardly know any artist that has made that happen. If it does happen, that doesn't bode well for the rest of their career. That is what history has shown. Hopefully bands get an opportunity to grow and figure out what they want to say. It hasn't happened in a while.

AL: Some of those bands tried to make the length of the album a listening experience. Not just a few good songs and the rest filler.

Ben: Right. You have a spoonful of sugar. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I don't think that there is any lack in integrity in that at all. It's just as hard to write a good pop song, as it is to write a good concept album. The goal is to do both. You want to make something that hits you right away and also something that is complex enough that you want to spend some time with it. Every good record is like that.

AL: What about the audience for The Secret Machines? I noticed that a lot of models show up to the shows and are attracted to the band.

Ben: We are attracted to them too, so it's a mutual admiration. We try to make the groove a lot sexy. Led Zeppelin is really sexy music. It's heavy, dirty, and there's something enticing about it. That is an influence on us.

AL: What do you think of Williamsburg?

Ben: It's great. It deserves the attention. The bands are great there. Those are world-class bands that are really good at what they do. I just don't like turning it into something that it is not, which is just one certain type of music or art. That is not how it is in New York. There are a lot of different things going on. It is always changing. There are a lot of inspired people in that town. I am not sure why. People are always stepping up their game. I like that.

AL: Are you reading any books right now?

Ben: I am halfway through Crime and Punishment. Brandon suggested that I read it. I bought it for a dollar. I am on my psychotic kick for the moment.

AL: What do you think about the idea in that book that some men are extra-ordinary and are beyond good and evil? Only common men are marred by guilt and shame.

Ben: Anything is possible these days. The dilemma is not as big these days as in the age when he wrote it. But it is a scary idea. It freaks me out.

AL: What cities have you liked on the tour?

Ben: I have been there before but Cincinnati really impressed me. There is an amazing art scene there. We played at the opening at contemporary art gallery. All these people from Brooklyn were there. So much is happening in Cincinnati. It was surprising.

AL: Have you bought any new CD on this tour?

Ben: We haven't been doing that very much. But we did buy the new Dylan CD of a live show in 1964. It's amazing. We kept listening to that over and over again. I can't stand the Joan Baez part. Her voice is annoying. But the first disc is amazing.

AL: Have you played in Europe before?

Ben: We have just played in the UK and we have done really well there. We will be back there in May 2004.

AL: You were hanging out with Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre at South By Southwest.

Ben: We know Anton very well. We played The Fader party with his band. Anton has been into The Secret Machines for a long time. He did a live recording of us that hopefully we will be able to release in the future. It was a show we did in LA about a year ago. We played a really exceptional show also there at South by Southwest. We played at the same time as Big Star so I was pissed.

Website: www.thesecretmachines.com

The Hives Interview

The Hives Interview
By Alexander Laurence

The Hives are pure rock and roll music. They create music that sounds like five guys in a room trying to something vital and exciting. This Swedish band includes Vigilante Carlstroem (guitar), Dr. Matt Destruction (bass), Chris Dangerous (drums), Nicholaus Arson (guitar) and their leader, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist (vocals). Almqvist is a charismatic leader and frontman.

The band comes from the small town Fagersta, Sweden. They were just in high school when they started. In the early days the band members were known to fight onstage and insult the audience. Soon they hooked up with invisible member Randy Fitzsimmons and decided one day that they were “The Greatest Band.” Their sound combines 1960’s mod, 1970’s punk rock, and Motown R & B. The Hives released their debut album, Barely Legal (1997) on Burning Heart Records. The volatile band broke up soon after. The group reunited to record their second album, Veni Vidi Vicious in 2002, an amazingly successful record that won fans and critics over alike.

In July 2004, they returned with their third album, Tyrannosaurus Hives, on Interscope. The American release also includes a DVD, which features some videos, a documentary, and two live shows.

With Tyrannosaurus Hives, the Swedish band may have released their best album to date. Great songs like “Walk Idiot Walk,” “See Through Head,” “Missing Link,” and “Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones” are memorable and deliver the punch. We have at Free Williamsburg done interview with a lot of Swedish bands over the years. We sort of ushered in that sound and championed it for years when no one else was talking about the scene. The Hives were happy to talk to us. They had to cancel interviews with Spin Magazine and MTV just to talk to us. I got to speak with drummer Chris Dangerous for a few moments right before a show.

AL: Where are you right now?

Chris: We are in Seattle.

AL: Do you like coming to America?

Chris: We like it a lot. It was very weird coming here the first time. But we like it now. We are very lucky to have the success we have had. We like to play anywhere. As long as we get to play some songs and perform. People can like it or hate it. We are fine with that. As long as we accomplish what we want to: and that is to have fun.

AL: Are there any American cities that you prefer to go to?

Chris: We are just concerned about playing a good show. There are places that we like to go. We like to go to Austin, Texas a lot. That was the first place we went to in America. We played South by Southwest in 1999. At that time, we hung around for a few days, so we got to see a lot of Austin. We always like to go back there. We like to go to the big cities because we always have good shows there. Places like New York City and Los Angeles always turn out to be some of the best shows we do. There are a lot of good places to play in America.

AL: Where are you from in Sweden?

Chris: We are from a real small town called Fagersta, Sweden. It’s about a two-hour drive northwest of Stockholm. We have a few hockey players. But it’s known as a real small steel industry town with twelve thousand people in it. It’s not that famous.

AL: How did you guys meet each other?

Chris: I don’t know how much you know about the Randy Fitzsimmons story.

AL: I know a little bout it.

Chris: It’s true. That is the way it works. He is still around. We get asked that question a lot.

AL: Are The Hives a boy band? Is it all Randy Fitzsimmons’ vision?

Chris: No. I don’t think so at all. It’s more like there are six people in the band. We were thirteen when we started. We thought it would be a good idea to play punk music. We used to see him more in the beginning. The Hives have always been six people. Randy Fitzsimmons doesn’t want to be known, he doesn’t want to be on TV, he doesn’t want to tour, and he doesn’t want to do anything.

AL: Will Randy ever join you onstage in the future?

Chris: No.

AL: He likes to stay home?

Chris: Yeah. He likes to come up with good ideas.

AL: What are some of his hobbies?

Chris: His hobbies? I am not going to tell you. I am not going to tell you anything. He is the sixth member. That is all I can say. He doesn’t want anything to be known about him.

AL: The last record Veni Vidi Vicious was pretty good. There is always that expectation that the following record will be even better. Do you think that you achieved that?

Chris: Yeah. We feel that we have pulled it off. We have to think about doing that with everything that we do. We put in a lot of time and effort with everything that we do. Of course we like this album, Tyrannosaurus Hives, the most because it was the last one that we have made. It is very difficult for us to make music. It doesn’t come easy. When we are done with a record, we can sit back and relax and not listen to it for a while. If you can listen to it a few weeks later and you feel happy, then you know it might be a good record. I think with this record we are close to 90% perfect. It is almost everything we expected to do.

AL: Did you want to take the music in a different direction with this record?

Chris: Yeah. We tried to take the music in a few directions. After a while, it would still sound like us. At this point we can play any song and it will still sound like us because we have been playing together for ten years. We wanted to make a record that was really different. There is no point in making a record you have already done.

AL: It seems like there are some rock and roll songs, some punk rock songs, and some Motown R & B influenced songs. Was that deliberate?

Chris: I don’t know if it was deliberate. We make the songs that we wanted to make. We listen to all types of music. Everything from early disco music to current hiphop. The record is going to sound like different things. Everything we do is deliberate. The stuff on the record didn’t end up there by chance.

AL: I think that Tyrannosaurus Hives is better than the previous one.

Chris: I think that Veni Vidi Vicious is really good. But if you say the new one is better than it must be true.

***

AL: How do you write songs? What comes first?

Chris: The music comes first. It’s cool when we can come up with some lyrics and write a song in the studio. But usually it happens that the music comes first and lyrics afterwards. A good song is always music first. That is what you hear when you hear a good song. The lyrics are like this extra layer that you can explore if you want to go further into the song.

AL: Do you like writing songs, playing live, or recording in a studio?

Chris: We all like playing live. We have played a lot of shows in the past ten years. I am not sure how many. It’s a lot. That is what we enjoy doing the most. Recording your songs is not as fun. Playing live in front of an audience is why we joined a band.

AL: Do you like to play with any certain bands?

Chris: Of course. There are millions of them. We do like the bands that we are on tour right now, who are Sahara Hotnights and The Reigning Sound. We have toured with them before. We like them a lot. They are good friends. Sahara Hotnights are from Sweden. Sweden is not that big, so when you take a step outside of Fagersta, you meet other bands and people. Greg Cartwright had a band before The Reigning Sound called The Compulsive Gamblers. He had a band before that called The Oblivians. That was a band that we listened to a lot when we were growing up. When we started playing over her we contacted Greg and he was interested in playing with us.

AL: Pelle does a lot of talking in between songs.

Chris: He talks all the time.

AL: Was that always a part of the first Hives’ shows? Was Pelle always a cheerleader for the band?

Chris: Yeah. It’s hard to keep him quiet really. It’s the way we want to do a show. It’s always interesting to get a reaction from an audience. Pelle was good at getting noticed and getting an immediate reaction. Some people would get mad. It was always funny to us to get a reaction from the punks. It’s the way we have always been.

AL: Did Pelle talk more if there was a negative reaction from the audience?

Chris: No, he wouldn’t talk more. He would just say more rude things. More people love us now, so it’s hard to say rude things when people love you. It worked out great in the beginning, but things have changed a bit. If there is some idiot in the audience who saying something, Pelle is going to talk directly to him.

AL: Does he stare him down?

Chris: Stare him down. Talk to him. Make him leave if things are getting ugly.

AL: Do people throw things at you?

Chris: Yeah. Everything from woman’s underwear to huge bottles of beer. Someone meant to kill us. It didn’t work.

AL: When you play in Sweden does Pelle speak in Swedish?

Chris: Yeah. It’s our first language. It would be stupid to talk to fellow Swedes in English. It’s still us. It doesn’t matter what language we are speaking.

AL: I went to the Weenie Roast concert this summer. You played with Velvet Revolver and The Strokes. It seemed like someone from Velvet Revolver was doing a soundcheck while you were playing. Pelle got on their case for that.

Chris: Yeah. It always happens with us at festivals. It’s people trying to set up their drum set when another band is playing. You are not supposed to play your bass drum when another band is playing onstage. People should know that. We got upset. We don’t care if Elvis Presley is setting up their backline. We would have still made fun of them because it wasn’t polite to do that.

AL: This American tour was short.

Chris: We played about twelve shows. We are going to Japan to play some shows and then we will be back in America in October 2004. We want to play for the people. There are a few other countries besides America. We want to get them all in. But we will be back in the Fall you know. We haven’t picked the bands that are going to support us on the next tour. We will when we get back to Sweden and can think about it. We are enjoying this tour right now.

AL: Do you have any advice for young people who want to form a band and like the Hives?
Chris: Buy all our records and listen to them a lot.

Website: www.hivesmusic.com

Irvine Welsh Interview

    Photo: Rex Bruce

Born and formed in 1961, Scottish author Irvine Welsh is now acknowledged as the distinct voice of British youth culture. Writing in a crude, phonetic dialect about drugs, sex, violence, and soccer, Welsh captured the lazy imagination of a generation not easily seduced by books. After debuting in March 1994 with The Acid House, a hilarious, soulful, and shocking short-story collection, Welsh became a full-fledged media phenomenon with the publication of his first novel Trainspotting, published in August of the same year.

The book, by turns depressing and exhilarating gave mordant insight into the Edinburgh housing projects where the writer grew up. As well as earning Welsh heady comparisons to the likes of Celine, the book was shortlisted for Britain's prestigious Booker Prize, stayed on bestseller lists for over two years, and in 1995 was adapted for the stage.

The hyperkinetic hit movie version of Trainspotting (1996), coming on the heels of Welsh's ambitious, hallucinatory second novel The Marabou Stork Nightmares (1995), engendered a level of press attention that led Welsh to retreat to relative anonymity in Amsterdam. The negative reviews that were accorded to Welsh's next book, a slightly uneven short-story triptych Ecstasy (1996), may have been as much a comment on the media overkill surrounding the writer as the quality of his work.

More plays and the film version of The Acid House followed. In the decade's end, he wrote Filth (1999) which was loved by some, but panned equally by others. Welsh then took some time off and surfaced in places like Ibiza. Now he suddenly emerges with his most complete novel yet Glue. I was able to speak to him on his recent tour.

AL: Have you been working on DJ skills and break dancing?

Irvine: The weird thing is I spend so much time writing, I don't have time for music. I will go into the studio when I get back to London. I also will go to Ibiza which I go to most summers. I have been going for years and years.

AL: Did Ibiza start happening in 1988?

Irvine: Yeah. It was Oakenfold and the Happy Mondays who kind of kicked it off. It's always been sort of a hippie alternative thing. Oakenfold started going over there. It started having a good feel to it. But when the Manumission Hotel started three years ago; that was the best time in Ibiza. It's become sort of a corporate now. It's like fucking bingo, now, you know what I mean?

AL: Packaged tours?

Irvine: Yeah, I see all these Ibiza collections of music with remixes of Moloko and Paul van Dyk. Then there's the Miami music conference. It's more fun. Miami has gotten so big, that everything that is going to be in Ibiza is showcased in Miami first. All the hits. A lot of people are skipping Ibiza and going straight to Miami. They can hear what's going to be popular in the summer. I've never been to Love Parade. They had one in Leeds which was supposed to be really good. I've been to Gatecrasher and T in The Park.

AL: There is some familiar terrain in the new book Glue?

Irvine: The usual stuff: football, drugs, sex. There's no Ibiza, but there's Amsterdam. The novel takes place over four decades.

AL: There is "Dad's ten rules" which are all about the importance of being faithful to your friends, your mates. That is pretty important?

Irvine: Yeah. It's all about taking a look at the collapse of traditional values based on Christianity and Socialism. Both of which don't really exist anymore. Certainly those were the old values that we all came from, the whole working class thing. It's like Presbyterianism and Industrial Socialism doesn't exist anymore. It's all consumer capitalism, like everywhere else. Now you have loan sharking and drug dealing and that's were people learn their morality, instead of in the churches and unions.

AL: Many of your characters are in arrested adolescence. Very few of them seem to take on the responsibility of having of family and so on. They don't mature much beyond post-adolescence.

Irvine: After you have adolescence, you have twenty years to kill yourself. If you fuck that up, then you have to think about doing something else. It's a thing that people do in our time. They realize that you are a long time dead. This is the thing about consumer capitalism: we want everything and we want it as long as possible.

AL: How did you feel about the recent football season? You follow the Hiberian team, right?

Irvine: Yes, we made it to the Cup Final but got beat. It's was a pretty good season. We got into Europe as well. We just signed an Ecuadorian guy who's supposed to be really good. Of the London teams, I like Westham. They got rid of their manager which was the wrong thing to do, I think. Football now, to be honest, it bores me. You can publish the salaries of the teams and then you look at the standings and they are almost the same. It's like American baseball, and the New York Yankees, and they have all the money. You look at the Pittsburgh Pirates -- they will never win another fucking game again. One player on the Yankees makes as much as the whole Pirate team. There's a monopoly in sports. They should break it up.

AL: I was reading some of the reviews and some of the stuff on Amazon, and the general reaction to this new book, Glue, is pretty positive. Many people hated all the music references in Filth, but most seem to really love the new book.

Irvine: I hated the music as well. I had to listen to a lot of Michael Bolton to find that character, you know what I mean. That's how I get characters. There are three things: where they stay, who they lay, and what they play. That's all my characters right there.

AL: This one guy in his review of Glue says, "Welsh has lost the plot.."

Irvine: There is no fucking plot for Glue, there are just characters. I just put a bunch of characters in one book to see where they'd go.

AL: This guy apparently liked Filth a lot too.

Irvine: The funny thing is that the people who don't like this book liked Filth, and the people who didn't like Filth, like this book. There are two types. This book appeals more to the literary types. And Filth appeals more to the sleaze merchants. There are the sleaze merchants and the literati and it's very hard to please both.

AL: Can you imagine people going into a bookstore and flipping through your books to see if there are any interruptions or tapeworms trying to control the narrative?

Irvine: Some people like the text to be broken up. They like weird things to happen. Glue has no effects. It's a straight narrative. There's no talking babies or exploding squirrels. There's no plan on what novel I plan to write next. I never know what I'm going to do one minute to the next. I don't have a master plan. I finally wrote a proper book.

AL: Americans still complain about the language. They think it's hard to read. There was a lexicon in one of the American editions.

Irvine: It makes it more fun when you have to figure it out. I don't like writing in Standard English. I tried that before. People don't talk like that. If you look at films or TV, or songs and music, people don't talk in Standard English. Why do we have to put up with that in a book, when we never would in TV, or a film, or in real life? I think Standard English is really fucking depressing and boring.

AL: Also Americans have a problem with the word "cunt." You can say "motherfucker" or "asshole" but nobody wants to be called a "cunt." It's too low for some reason. In England, you call all your best friends "cunts" all the time.

Irvine: Some people in Washington DC walked out on the reading. I don't know why it's so taboo. People invest too much power in words. If you let a word hurt you, I think it's a silly thing. Language shouldn't have that sort of power.

AL: I had a question about Ewen McGregor. You acted with him and helped him along in his career by writing Trainspotting. He's sort of a big film star now. What's he like and do you still see him around?

Irvine: He's a nice guy. He has the same bank as me, so I see him at the bank quite often, in Piccadilly.

AL: Looking at another review, this fellow was disappointed because he felt you were too conservative with this novel. How do you feel about that?

Irvine: Yeah. It's more of a straight novel really. The subject matter dictated the style. The subject matter didn't really lend itself to tape worms and stuff like that.

AL: Many people really like this character Terry in the new book and wished there was more of him in the novel.

Irvine: Really? He's a good character, because he just gets into it and doesn't give a toss.

AL: It says here (looking at an Amazon.com print out) that people who bought books by Irvine Welsh also bought books by Chuck Palaniuk, J. G. Ballard, Nick Hornsby, Bukowski, and Hunter S. Thompson.

Irvine: Hey. That's good company to be in.

AL: So, on this book tour, you are just going to do a straight reading from the new book? No performance?

Irvine: I don't know if I will be doing a straight reading because I won't be fucking straight. There will be a reading of sorts. Tonight I'm going to see Mogwai at the Fillmore afterwards. Also DJ Brian is having a party. I went to Mission Rock.

AL: Do you like Arab Strap?

Irvine: I think they are good. I like that sort of stuff. They are from Falkirk, which is just up the road from me. The Scottish have to be dark.

AL: Your upcoming novel is called Porno.

Irvine: I'm about two-thirds of the way through it. I hope to get it done this summer. It's going to be hardcore. All the freaks will like this one. All the literati will think, "Oh, he went all immature again."

AL: I just picked up a bunch of new CD's. Are you into any of these bands (opening bag)?

Irvine: Oh, Radiohead's new one. Aye. One of the guys from Radiohead was at the launch party for Glue, in London. I haven't heard this new one. It came out very quickly after Kid A. It's supposed to be very different. It's a new style again. Kid A was like their Metal Machine Music.

AL: Here's one from Sigur Ros.

Irvine: Never heard of them. What do you reckon of them?

AL: They are like Icelandic answer to Travis.

Irvine: Do you know Travis?

AL: Yes.

Irvine: I'm not a massive Travis fan.

If a band is a rock and roll band, they better be spectacular for me. I like dance music more. I think Mogwai are interesting.

AL: When you are writing novels what is your schedule like?

Irvine: I tend to work in the mornings. When I wait to start until the afternoon I'm usually fucked. Maribou Stork Nightmares took me five weeks. Glue took me about a year because I didn't have any story. It is sort of a wasteful way to work.

AL: Do you have any other hobbies?

Irvine: Hunting, fishing, shooting. And music takes up a lot of my time.

AL: Fishing? Usually catch anything?

Irvine: Yeah, I caught a few diseases.

AL: Ever killed anything?

Irvine: Just a few brain cells.

AL: People always talk about drug use in connection with yourself. Do you think that people's attitudes towards drugs have evolved?

Irvine: No, they have stayed the same.

AL: Do you look on the Internet much?

Irvine: I am not a great Internet person. I spend so much time on the screen when I am writing, the last thing you want to do is spend more time on the Internet looking at a screen. That's what I hate about all this technology. You have a screen for everything. You just have to say to yourself no more screens.

AL: Do you have a cell phone?

Irvine: No. Don't have a cell phone. Never have driven a car in my life. I don't even have a watch.

AL: You spend a lot of time in nature?

Irvine: Relaxing on beaches and stuff like that. The computer is the only concession because it's easier to write with.

AL: Seen any good films lately?

I rvine: I am a presenter of films and a film critic on TV in Britain. It's called "Cult Saturdays" on Channel Four. We screen two films and I talk about them. All films from all eras. I've been doing that about a year. I can say "This film is shite" or "It's so shite, that it's good."

AL: They put you on against The Bill and The Royale Family.

Irvine: Yeah, I clean up.

AL: So you must have five people watching you.

Irvine: Hey. Come on, man. At least a half a dozen.

AL: Is there anything you personally don't like?

Irvine: I hate politics. I'm glad that hardly anyone voted in the British general elections.

AL: Who designs your books?

Irvine: The British publishers usually come up with an idea. If the American publishers like it, they keep it. If they don't, they do their own. If the cover works, I say it was my idea. If not, I say it's them who fucked up.

AL: What about this book Glue? There is no glue sniffing in it.

Irvine: That was the joke on everyone. Have a book called Glue but don't have any glue in it. I am going to have a book called Heroin, and it will be about trainspotters and guys who look out for trains, and there will be no heroin in it.

AL: That was the idea of Trainspotting. Little kids make fun of each other and say, "You are a trainspotter."

Irvine: It's nerds.

AL: Nerds. That was what you were pointing out, that heroin users are nerds.

Irvine: It's pointless. They like to collect train engine numbers. It's the same with heroin after a while. It becomes pointless. Trainspotting is a very obsessive thing.

AL: But otherwise you promote any kind of hedonism as long as it's not destructive?

Irvine: Yeah, a bit of hedonism is good.

AL: Is that a message you want to send out to the fans.

Irvine: It's no message really. It's a personal philosophy.

-ALEXANDER LAURENCE

Kasabian Interview 2005

Kasabian Interview
By alexander laurence

Kasabian are one of the big bands of the past year from England. They have been compared to everyone from Stereolab to Stone Roses to Primal Scream. They had four hit singles, and their first album came out in Fall 2004 and sold over 250,000 copies. Their shows have all been sold out all over England in the past year. The rise of Kasabian has been fast. A year ago they were unknown. Now they have played a sold out show in New York at Bowery Ballroom in November, without having any formal releases.

The group, who will embark on a month-long tour supporting The Music, is set to kick-off mid-February in NYC and end in March at SXSW. They're from Leicester, England and are named after one of the killers involved with the Manson Family. I spoke to lead singer, Tom Meighan, around the beginning of the year, about this phenomenal band. Kasabian is Tom Meighan (vocals), Sergio Pizzorno (lead guitar, keyboards), Chris Edwards (bass) and Christopher Karloff (guitar, keyboards).

**********

AL: When did you record the album?

Tom: We recorded the album about a year ago at the farm. We had to move away from the city to get our heads together. We had to do that to record this beautiful baby of ours. If we would have done in a proper studio in the city we would have been out of it. We had to get our heads together and concentrate.

AL: How long was the recording process?

Tom: It took about eight months altogether. We had skeletons of songs for a long time. We knew what we wanted to do. We had the songs in our minds. We lived like hippies man for two years. It was amazing.


AL: It was like a commune?

Tom: Yeah, it was kinda like that. Not far off it. There was not much health food. It was all rubbish food mate and junk food. We ate boxes of potato chips.

AL: Was there any bin diving?

Tom: There was plenty of that mate.

AL: When you record a song how do you go about it?

Tom: We start to get into an idea and put it down. We start with the computer. We start with the beats. Sometimes we lay down some guitar. Sometimes Sergio writes down some guitar parts and brings that in to the rest of the band. It's much like how you would do a hiphop album.

AL: Most of the members of Kasabian grew up with rave culture and much of that music is computer based. Since you are a rock band you would think that some of these tracks are live takes.

Tom: No, they weren't. We just went in there and played it. Some of it was one take and some of it wasn't. It all depended on how we were feeling and how the mood was. Sometimes we would attack a song in one take or a few takes. We wouldn't take that long there. We were trying to create a vibe. It was quite simple.

AL: How long have you been touring?

Tom: We have been playing nonstop since February 2004. We have played Japan. We have been to New York. We played Bowery Ballroom. We have been to Europe. We have been all over England. We have probably played 130 gigs this past year. It's been pretty tense. The year before we probably only played forty shows altogether. We are just finding our feet live now.

AL: What were the earlier shows like?

Tom: They were alright. We tried some more experimental shit out. It was like a wall of sound. We knew we had to perform more and get better. Sometimes we hit the bull's eyes.

AL: You were on the cover of the NME recently. How do you feel about that?

Tom: It's amazing. We have been waiting seven years for it mate. When it happens to you, you can't believe it. They had to put us on there. There was nothing they could do about it. They had to write about us. It's a wonderful thing. I remember buying an NME when I was sixteen years old. Richard Ashcroft was on the cover. I was thinking to myself wouldn't it be amazing one day if they put us on there. We got on there. We were laughing at the picture. We felt like kids again. It's a proud moment.

AL: So now even people who don't even follow music recognize you?

Tom: It's a bit different from how it used to be mate. Six months ago no one gave a shit. It's changed really fast. You are right. People recognize us. Friends call up and want tickets. When you are in a popular band it is all very flattering. I find it all amazing.

AL: How do you write songs in the band?

Tom: Sergio and Karloff do the music and the tunes. Sergio writes most of the lyrics.

AL: What are your songs about generally?

Tom: I would say that the songs are about a mish mash of the world today. Sometimes there are some jumbled up words that don't really mean anything, but it's all quite positive.

AL: I heard some stuff that you said about Keane. It was like there are rock bands and then there are these student types. Sometimes when you go to a festival you have to sit through all these bands with high voices and who wear sweaters.

Tom: They are alright. There will always be students who want to be in bands. The good thing about Kasabian is that we got the students who want to watch us play as well. We got the cool students. We got the hooligans watching us. We have boyfriend and girlfriend watching us together. There are teenagers. We have all types of people at our gig, which is a great thing.

AL: Sometimes you heard an amazing record by Radiohead or Gomez and then you see them live and they look like a bunch of dicks.

Tom: Yeah. Radiohead are amazing. They are clever. Gomez are a good band. What happened to them?

AL: I think that their label dropped them. They have been playing a lot live in the Unites States. When was your record released?

Tom: It came out three months ago and it's doing really well. It comes out in the USA in March 2005. It should be awesome.

AL: You are coming over for a big tour?

Tom: We are coming over for about three months. It's absolutely thrilling that we are actually coming over to the States and playing.

AL: You already played one show in New York at Bowery Ballroom. What is the show going to be like?

Tom: When we play we are going to be on fire. We are going to be locked and loaded. We are going to be ready to go. We are going to give you our heart and our blood, man. We are going to give you a rock and roll show. We are going to spill our blood. We are not lying to you. You are going to fucking believe it. It's going to be like an electric pole fucking hitting you really hard in the balls. It's going to throw you around. You are going to love it.

AL: Maybe you don't want to be in the front row or you'll get hurt?

Tom: Your head will be bleeding if you are in the front row, I'll tell you that.

AL: If you are an American girl and you are a big fan of Kasabian, where do you line up to get a proper introduction to the band? Is there a hotline?

Tom: No. Just come to the back room at the venue, line them up, one by one.

AL: How are you going to prepare for this tour?

Tom: We are playing a few shows before the American tour. Hopefully we will have some time to go home and eat some turkey and chill out. We will try to detox. But that will never happen. We will be there in March.

AL: Have you played with The Music before?

Tom: No, we haven't. We are friends with them. They are top guys. They are a good band.

AL: Kasabian is mostly from Leicester, England. What is that town known for?

Tom: It's known for nothing. You remember that guy Englebert Humperdinck? He knocked off the Beatles from number one? He's the only guy from Leicester who is known to anybody.

AL: I didn't realize that he is English.

Tom: Well, he pretends to be. I am not sure what he is. Leicester is right in the smack middle of England. We are the only thing that has come from Leicester.

AL: Are there any other bands that you like?

Tom: I like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. They are cool. I like Mad Action.

AL: What other things do you do with your time besides music?

Tom: I just get stoned mate. I get pissed.

Website: www.kasabian.co.uk

2005 Kasabian Tour
Kasabian appearing with The Music
Thu 02/17/05 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Fri 02/18/05 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Sat 02/19/05 Philadelphia, PA Theatre Of Living Arts
Tue 02/22/05 Providence, RI The Call
Wed 02/23/05 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
Thu 02/24/05 Montreal, QC La Tulipe
Sat 02/26/05 London, ON Centennial Hall
Sun 02/27/05 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
Mon 02/28/05 Covington, KY Jillian's Entertainment Center
Wed 03/02/05 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar
Thu 03/03/05 Saint Louis, MO The Pageant
Mon 03/07/05 Seattle, WA Neumo's
Tue 03/08/05 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
Wed 03/09/05 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
Fri 03/11/05 San Francisco, CA Slim's
Sat 03/12/05 Los Angeles, CA Music Box At The Fonda
Sun 03/13/05 San Diego, CA Canes
Tue 03/15/05 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
Thu 03/17/05 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room
Fri 03/18/05 Houston, TX Meridian
Sat 03/19/05 Houston, TX Meridian

COLDER interview

Colder Interview by Alexander Laurence


Colder in a one-man band that comes from Paris, France. They have released their first album “Again” (2004). Colder is actually the work of graphic designer and video producer, Marc Nguyen Tan, who in his spare time has developed one of the most accomplished and critically acclaimed debut albums. He began making music with his background working as art director for TV and fashion. During the last part of 2002 he produced his first musical project and sent a few demos out. Output Recordings soon signed him.

Colder “Again” was finally released in late 2003 and immediately discovered by fans and critics. The album seems like an intimate journey by a lonely traveler in an abandoned city. The CD also includes a DVD which is very much part of the complete experience. The record is reminiscent of Joy Division and Coil but is also very modern. It is a combination of dance music, rock, industrial, and techno. It is its own genre really.

Colder made their live debut at the famous Elysee Montmartre venue in their hometown Paris. Soon after Colder performed to a capacity audience of six thousand people at Europe’s premier music festival, Sonar, in Barcelona. Colder has since performed at many European stages and festivals. They have even played with The Rapture on their French tour dates. I spoke to Marc before his recent show at Bowery Ballroom.

NOTE: This is a rare interview with this band. Not many people in the USA have seen this band. They only played once in Fall 2004, and that tour included dates at Spaceland and Bowery Ballroom. I get contacted all the time about Marc Tan and COLDER.

***

AL: How long have you been doing music?

Marc: I have been playing music for a long time. But I have only been doing it seriously for a short time. The band has only been playing together for a year. I have been recording things for at least ten or fifteen years. The whole Colder thing was just a coincidence. It started about two years ago. I did it for professional and personal reasons. There was a time for three months where I had nothing planned. I had some free time. I decided to spend that time focusing on making music.

AL: You are from France?

Marc: I was born in Paris. I have always lived there. I am from a real boring area. It’s in the 15th arrondisement. It’s very Catholic.

AL: Do you come from a very musical family?

Marc: No. They were all involved with medicine. I used to listen to music at an early age.

AL: Did you play instruments or did you come from a technical background?

Marc: I used computers quite a lot. I use it like an eight track recorder. I record things in it. I am not a very good musician. When I play some guitar or bass lines, I just play some simple notes. I play some stuff on keyboards. I use the computer as a multi-track recorder. I don’t use sophisticated gear.

AL: What was the first track you did?

Marc: That was “One Night In Tokyo.” I recorded it all in three months. That was the first song. The last song was “Silicone Sexy.” It’s more techno sounding.

AL: Was the recordings done as an album format in mind?

Marc: For me, the album format is really important. I don’t like the single format. I don’t like releasing singles from the album. I like how you can listen to a whole album and it can tell an abstract story.

AL: How do you start working on a track?

Marc: Basically it’s about personal things that have happened in my life. The record was written after I had been traveling often for a few years. The Colder record talks about those travels in a real distant way.

AL: You did all the vocals on the record?

Marc: Yeah. I did all the vocals and all the music. I did all the artwork. I had one close friend mix the record and master it. He did it more properly. I know nothing about mastering.

AL: The record has been out a while in Europe?

Marc: It was released a year before in Europe. The record is exactly the same. It has one CD and one DVD. It’s a set.

AL: Since you did this all by yourself, when did you start a band?

Marc: That was coincidental as well. Two months before the record came out, I had a dream about a live band. In the dream I was talking to my friend who now plays with Colder. He was saying in the dream “Maybe we should try to play Colder live?” I wasn’t into it too much in the dream. A half-hour after having that dream I got a strange email from Trevor Jackson, from Output Recordings. He said that he couldn’t sleep that night. During that night he had a dream of a band playing Colder live. Trevor’s description was so accurate and close to what my friend was talking about that we thought that maybe we should do it. We spent two months in a rehearsal studio. That’s how the band started.

AL: How many live shows have you played?

Marc: Maybe about forty.

AL: Have bands did you listen to when you were growing up?

Marc: Some guy wrote something in a French webzine like “the Strange thing about the Colder record is that you feel the border between the influences and personal life were so close that they melt into one another.” I think that guy is quite right. I could tell you my influences and it would be about a thousand band names, so it would be boring to recall. When I was a teenager, and also at this moment in my life, music is so close to my life. I listen to music every day. I have always been a fan of certain bands but that changes always in different periods of my life. It’s very difficult to acknowledge certain bands. I have always been a fan of what I call “Darker Pop” or “Pop Obscure.” It’s like older pop music that is very intimate. It goes from Nick Drake to The Scientist. The Scientist has been doing dub records since the 1980s. There are bands like Coil, Non, Current 93 and Death In June.

AL: Some of those bands have strange politics.

Marc: I don’t care about the politics too much. I am more concerned about the music and the feelings.

AL: What sort of bands do you play with?

Marc: It’s all various people. We are a small band. Ninety percent of the time we are playing as a support band with bands who are kind enough to accept us. We are not picky who we play with.

AL: Are you playing with more techno people or bands?

Marc: It’s true that we are playing in clubs, so we do play with bands and club music. We always have DJs playing with us. Sometimes we have played with rock bands. In France we supported The Rapture.

AL: Do people play your record in Clubs?

Marc: I guess that they do. I heard that some DJ in Germany used to play a few tracks. When the record came out they were playing it in clubs in France. I don’t go to clubs very often so I don’t know if they are playing my records.

AL: This is your first tour of America?

Marc: Yeah, this is our first tour ever. We are starting today. We played one show in New York during CMJ a month ago. We played a show in Denmark. We went back to Paris. We came to America two days ago. Tonight is the first show of the tour. We will be Los Angeles in three days.

AL: What are your impressions of playing in America?

Marc: We have always like to play in New York. This is our fourth show in New York. We have met a lot of cool people. Tonight is a special night because the election just happened. It is strange to be here right now because we are doing a gig that is a social entertainment. It’s is during a difficult context.

AL: What songs do you play in the live show?

Marc: We play most of the songs from the record. We also play two new songs. Those songs will be on the second record.

AL: Do you have any advice for people who want to do records?

Marc: No. My advice is no advice.

AL: Have you done any collaborations with other bands or singers?

Marc: I would like to but so far there is no real plan. There is only one English band that I know of that would be interested in some form of collaboration. They are called Chris & Cosey.

AL: Have you seen any of the Throbbing Gristle performances?

Marc: The only thing I saw was Genesis P-Orridge. It was a movie soundtrack.

AL: Are there any novelists that you like?

Marc: I like all the Russian writers like Doestoevsky and Checkov. I like a lot of things about Eastern European culture.

AL: Have you been there?

Marc: I have been to Warsaw, Poland.

AL: What do you think of people comparing your music to Joy Division?

Marc: For some people it makes sense to compare the whole record to Joy Division. I like that period and place where Joy Division comes from, and for me, it doesn’t just stop at Joy Division. It goes much deeper. I am very interested in where that band is coming from. I am interested in the whole musical culture. I am interested in bands from the same time from France and the USA. In France, you had a band called Marquis de Sade. If you asked me what band you preferred, Marquis de Sade or Joy Division, I couldn’t tell you. They don’t sound like each other, but they were around at the same time. There are a hundred bands from that time.

Website: www.outputrecordings.com

Best music and film of 2005

The Delgados Interview

One of the best bands from Scotland, The Delgados, have been together for over ten years now. Their five albums are some of the most interesting music to come from Scotland in recent times. Most of the band met in college. They are Stewart Henderson (bass guitar), Emma Pollack (vocals/guitar), Paul Savage (drums), and Alun Woodward (vocals/guitar). They are dedicated songwriters. Their songs feature a mix of female and male vocals. In 1996, they started their own record label, Chemikal Underground, thus having a hand in the Scottish Underground music scene, and discovering bands like Bis, Arab Strap, Mogwai, and Sluts of Trust.

The Delgados' first album Domestiques (1996) immediately caught the attention of the late John Peel. He soon introduced The Delgados to the world by featuring their music regularly on his radio show. The band toured with Elastica and The Wedding Present, who were at the height of their popularity at the time. They soon worked on their second album, Peloton (1998). They even played a show at John Peel's house for his 50th birthday party. Still they were a very underground band.

Things soon changed when they released their third album, The Great Eastern (1999). This album had a more expansive sound. The Delgados worked with classical musicians and even Dave Fridmann who had previously done great albums with Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev. The Great Eastern met rave reviews.

Their fourth album, Hate (2001), was a continuation of the new-found sound. Most of the fourth album was darker. Songs like "Child Killer" and "The Drowning Years" were some of the darkest music they had ever done. A few years passed and now we have the fifth album, Universal Audio (2004). The Delgados toured the United States in November 2004. I spoke to leader Alun Woodward during the recent tour about the new album and the new direction of the band.

AL: When did you record the new album, Universal Audio?

Alun: We started recording it earlier this year. I think that we started in January and February and finished it up by May. We worked with a different producer. The previous two records were done pretty much the same way. This time we worked with a guy called Tony Dugan. So first of all when you work with a different producer that is going to make it different. Secondly, we decided that we weren't going to use that much orchestration. That brought about a different approach.

AL: Why did you decided to not use an orchestra?

Alun: We felt that if we used an orchestra again that it would have a feel that was similar to the previous one. We wanted to take a different approach. Sometimes you want to explore different things. We worked a lot before on harmonies, guitars, and piano parts. It gives the songs a different feel when you have a different emphasis.

AL: How are the songs written in the band?

Alun: Emma and me write all the songs. We bring them in the studio and then we all rewrite them together. It takes ages to be honest with you. It would be easier if you had one or two people who do everything. It doesn't work like that with us. Even though Emma and me write all the songs we are not the best arrangers. Stewart and Paul are better at coming up with parts and arrangements. It's a slow process but it works.

AL: So the songs that you sing are your songs and the ones with Emma's voice are written by her?

Alun: Yeah. We tried to swap around sometimes but it has never worked. It's a strange thing. It has something to do with the familiarity with a song and the phrasing. You write with your own touch.

AL: What are your songs about on the new album?

Alun: A lot of it is about "not giving up." It's funny. You get to a point in life where you realize that life is really short. There are a lot of grey areas. A lot of this record is about trying to be optimistic. Trying to be positive.

AL: Since you have formed a record label, Chemikal Underground, you spend a lot of time listening to and dealing with other bands?

Alun: Yeah. We get fifty or a hundred demos a week. A lot of it is not particularly good. But once in a while you will get something that is fantastic.

AL: Are these all bands from Scotland?

Alun: No, we get stuff from all over the world. We get things from Europe and North America. In the past year we have got a ton of demos from Japan. I think that the label's profile in Japan has gone up. We have many Japanese bands sending us music.

AL: How did you find the band Sluts of Trust?

Alun: We saw them play live actually in a place called Nice and Sleazy, in Glasgow. We were blown away. It was only their sixth concert but it was fantastic.

AL: What other bands are on Chemikal Underground now?

Alun: A band called Mother and The Addicts. Another band called Arab Strap. A band from the States called Radar Brothers. There is Aerogramme. We have a bunch of singles that we do of various electronica people.

AL: You were instrumental in discovering the band Interpol when they were first starting up?

Alun: Yeah. We met Daniel Kessler in 1997 or 1998. He gave us a demo. We ended up releasing it a few years later on Chemikal Underground. Matador picked them up and took them from there. They are a good band. The record we had done with Interpol goes for a lot on Ebay. We had an agreement with the band that we would release a certain amount. I would love to re-release it. It's a great record. You could tell back then that they were a great band.

AL: What other bands have you played with that you liked?

Alun: On this tour we have played with Crooked Fingers. I really like them. I like Sons and Daughters too. They are from Glasgow. Those are really the only two bands that I can think of because this year we have been mostly in the studio. I don't think we have played with that many bands this year.

AL: Were you just doing something today? I called you before and they said you were in the studio?

Alun: We were doing something for Fearless Music. It's a TV thing in New York City. We recorded just three songs.

AL: How did that go?

Alun: One song took up a while, but it was fine.

AL: You have just been touring in America for a few weeks. What are you going to do the rest of the year and early next year?

Alun: We are going to play in other parts of Europe until Christmas. Then we go back to Glasgow. We are not doing much in January. Maybe a few shows in Britain. In February, we are going to Japan and Australia. I have visited those places before, but The Delgados have never played in those countries before. This will be the first time.

AL: John Peel was a real champion of the band early on. He just died a few weeks ago. How do you feel about that?

Alun: It's one of those things. John was a great guy. So much of the music that I have heard, I have heard it first on John Peel's show. He is totally irreplaceable. It's sad that he died for so many reasons.

AL: What other things are musical influences for you?

Alun: You are probably influenced by so much stuff that you grow up with. My brother was really into punk when I was growing up. Some of the first records people played me were Stiff Little Fingers and Iggy Pop. My Dad was into Jazz and Country Music. My Mom liked Folk Music. Most of these things rub off on you and you keep coming back to it. Recently I have been getting into films. I am not sure how much that is an influence on the music.

AL: Have the music of the Delgados been in a film or on a soundtrack?

Alun: No. We did this thing with a guy from New York called Joe Coleman. We put music to his paintings. We did that at Barbican Centre in London. It was a one-night thing. One of our songs was used in a Japanese animation. It was a Manga thing called Gun Slinger Girl.

AL: have you read any good books that you care to mention?

Alun: I read Time Out Of Joint by Phillip K. Dick. I have never read anything by him before. My girlfriend gave me this book. I really liked it. It was really inventive. I am really interested in archeology and history.

AL: Did all the members of the band go to a University?

Alun: Yeah, Paul and Emma met at a University. I grew up with Stewart and Paul. I went to University in England.

AL: Have your parents gone to any shows?

Alun: My mum and dad came to a show last year. That was their first time. They loved it. It was a great show. It was a big concert hall in Glasgow. It's one of those things. Your mum could come around to one of these divey little clubs in the country or to a nice theater. It was a good choice to come to a big event at a hall. I supposed they were really proud. It was the first time they had seen it. There was about three thousand people there.

AL: Were they wondering what you were doing for the past ten years?

Alun: They are pretty cool about it. There are always aunts and uncles wondering when you are going to get a proper job. But my parents have always been quite supportive of things. I know a lot of people who play in bands who get hassled by their families.

AL: What do you love about making music?

Alun: I like writing songs. I usually bring a tape recorder around with me because I often have a melody in my head. Other times I sit down with a guitar and a piano and put songs together. I really like it. That is what I love about what we do. I love writing new songs.

AL: The next album will also be really stripped down?

Alun: I don't know. We didn't know what we were going to do with Universal Audio until we sat down and talked about it. We'll see. We'll have a good thinking.

AL: What should new bands be doing if they want to play in a band?

Alun: It's all about commitment. I see so many bands. Some of these bands have big record deals and they are really good bands. They will cancel shows because someone can't make it. You need total commitment. You will know yourself if you have talent and you have got the songs.

Website: www.delgados.co.uk