HyperStereo Features

Interviews, spotlights, playlists... Welcome to the wonderful world of HyperStereo Features!

[hyperstereo-features]

Yeah! New York - How ‘Fever To Tell’ helped ignite the NY Rock Resurgence and inspired a generation of noisemakers

As far as debut records go, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Fever to Tell’ has stood out as one of the best since its release in 2003. Having sold over one million copies worldwide, the album is heralded as far more than just a decent first effort, but rather the defining soundtrack of an era – specifically mid-00s New York.

The album not only skyrocketed the young art punks to international fame, it made a significant and much needed dent in the New York music scene at the time, leaving a strong legacy, thus inspiring a whole new generation of young music makers.

As the record turns 15 years old today, here’s a look at just how big an impact ‘Fever to Tell’ had back then, and how it still feels like a breath of fresh air to this day.

But first, a bit of background on Karen O and co, and how ‘Fever to Tell’ came to be. After meeting in a local New York bar in 2000, O and guitarist Nick Zinner formed acoustic duo Unitard, sharing an apartment in Williamsburg with members of Metric, before deciding to take a more punk-fuelled route, inviting O’s Oberlin College pal Brian Chase to join on drums.

Thus the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were born, inspired by 70s US punk legends Blondie, Iggy and the Stooges, the Ramones and all those CBGB’s characters, with a fresh, contemporary avant-punk twist, inspired by the art student bands of Oberlin.

They didn’t exactly get off to a difficult start, playing some of their very first gigs as support acts for The White Stripes and fellow New Yorkers The Strokes. This led to a stint at SXSW and even UK/European tours. At the time, the New York music scene was in a rather dire state, with the likes of Limp Bizkit and other so-called “nu-metal” acts ruling the charts.

So, with just a few EP and single releases, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were becoming the latest buzz band at a rather alarming rate, with a debut album growing ever hotly anticipated by critics and fans alike. This was the birth of what is now known as the New York Rock Resurgence, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs found themselves on the frontline, with the likes of The Strokes and Interpol leading them into battle, rallying together to give the city’s music scene a much needed kick up the backside.

Finally, on 29th April 2003, ‘Fever to Tell’ was released on Interscope Records. Hyperactive, lustful and perfectly flawed, it clocked in at just under 40 minutes long. With tracks like ‘Maps’ and ‘Y Control’, the record also revealed a whole new side to the band they’d previously kept hidden – a more tender, vulnerable side, exploring the deepest complexities of human nature, such as love, loss and heartache, with the utmost sincerity.

And, despite the already existing hype around the band, no one – not even they – could have predicted just how much it would explode. After achieving great success on the Billboard chart and receiving several 4- and 5-star reviews from around the world, the album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, and went on to be certified Gold in the UK.

So what was it about the record that went on to sell over a million copies and become one of the best loved rock albums of the 00s? Could it have been the fresh, new avant-punk sound with nods to punk heroes and heroines of the 70s? Could it have been Karen O’s stellar performance as a wild yet vulnerable frontwoman? Could it have been a case of ‘right place, right time’ and the band’s association with fellow New York Rock Resurgence acts that led to the record’s unprecedented success? Did the scene they accidentally helped create, in turn, help create them? Or could it have been the individual success of album stand out ‘Maps’ alone which, in all its emotionally crippling honesty and simplicity, went on to become the biggest track from the record and one of the band’s best known songs in their entire 18 year career, even going as far as to inspire one of the most iconic lines on Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’?

*breathes*

Well, one hit wonders, they are not. A healthy combination of all of the above is what led to their debut becoming a ‘classic’ and paving the way for a rather successful career which saw them produce more crackers like ‘Show Your Bones’, ‘It’s Blitz’ and, most recently, ‘Mosquito’, always taking different directions, exploring new styles, constantly reinventing themselves in the name of art and creativity.

Since its release, ‘Fever to Tell’ has featured on countless ‘Best Albums of the Year/Decade/All Time’ lists, as well as a book called ‘1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die’, so needless to say, it’s had a bit of a lasting impact and continues to leave a strong legacy in its path, not just in terms of its own timelessness (ask any indie DJ to stick on ‘Pin’ or ‘Date With The Night’ and watch the dancefloor flood with reckless abandon) but also in the influence it has very obviously had on no end of bands.

Within their native NY, acts such as LCD Soundsystem, The Gossip and The Virgins continued the work of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in keeping their music scene bright and vibrant, creating music to get lost in and to, using ‘Fever to Tell’ as their ‘How To’ Guide.

Out with the city, Nashville’s Be Your Own Pet and LA’s Giant Drag brought a bit of New York to their home turf while, across the pond, the likes of Brighton’s Blood Red Shoes showed just how far ‘Fever to Tell’s influence had stretched.

Despite the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ rich discography, both as a band and from their various solo projects and collaborations, it can’t be denied that, with ‘Fever to Tell’, the trio created something truly special.

They made more than just a debut record. They helped reignite the fire of their city’s music scene, they gave young musicians hope and inspiration, they gave us some timeless songs which will never grow old or boring and they gave themselves an opportunity to go forth and make a career from making music, sharing the fruits of their labours with music fans the world over.

Cheers for that, guys.

[hyperstereo-features]

Ladies Who Rock - An International Women's Day Special (Part II)

In case you didn’t already know, it’s International Women’s Day. Here at HyperStereo, I’m celebrating my favourite ‘Ladies Who Rock’. It was tough but I managed to narrow the list down to a sizeable amount.

Charlotte Hatherley

Bursting onto the scene in the 90s as the girl with a guitar in Ash, Hatherley was faced with a lot of comments like ‘She’s alright, for a girl’ and ‘She must be Tim’s girlfriend’ – not that this stopped her from shredding out top notch riffs and solos as the Irish band took the world by storm. Going solo after ‘Meltdown’, Hatherley showed what she’s really made of by firstly giving us guitar pop ditties such as ‘Bastardo’ and ‘I Want You To Know’, later exploring a darker, more experimental side under the pseudonym Sylver Tongue. She may have fallen under the radar but the important thing is she has a freedom and independence to create the music she loves.

Florence Welch

Forget the Florence partying with Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris, the Florence I’ll always know and love is the one standing alone on a tiny stage in some leaky basement bar, with just her voice, loop machine and floor tom. Before she went global, I remember eagerly awaiting the release of ‘Lungs’, having recently discovered the likes of ‘Dog Days Are Over’ and ‘Kiss With A Fist’. I was absolutely besotted with her enormous vocal talent and would watch her live performances on YouTube over and over for weeks. So even with her rise to global superstardom, she’ll always have a special place in my heart.

St Vincent

I’ve known about St Vincent for years, since she featured on the track ‘What’s The Use Of Wondrin’?’ from Amanda Palmer’s debut album ‘Who Killed Amanda Palmer?’ but I’d never sat down and listened to her own stuff properly. It wasn’t until last year when I was working whilst her album ‘Actor’ was playing in the background that I realised what I had been missing out on. She has such a uniquely fragile yet powerful voice and, along with the crazy production on her music, from synths to full on brass bands, she always knows how to keep things interesting.

Gwen Stefani

Here’s another girl whose music takes me back to my school days. Songs like ‘Just A Girl’ and ‘Don’t Speak’ were some of the first to make me realise that girls who wanted to make music didn’t have to just sing like a Disney Princess and wear tight dresses – they could wear big boots and scream about how angry they are at society. I think, in her No Doubt glory days, Gwen was a definite icon for young women sick of the status quo and, although her solo stuff was a bit more mainstream, she already had that reputation as a bad ass rock chick who could do whatever the hell she wanted.

Allison Mosshart

This is a lady who just naturally reeks of coolness. She makes me want to don a leopard print, Chelsea boots and a pair of Ray Bans and just go skulking around town. I’ve been a long time fan of The Kills and was overjoyed when The Dead Weather came into existence, presenting Allison’s sultry vocals in a more textured environment and coupled with Jack White’s bluesy vocal approach. And to watch her live is really something else. She swaggers and prowls around the stage, her hair masking her face as hot, sticky voice fills the room.

Patti Smith

Here’s another classic rock chick who has much more to her than just her music. Whilst her iconic rusty vocals stand out as a definite highlight of her rock and roll back catalogue – particularly on favourites like ‘Rock N Roll Nigger’, ‘Because The Night’ and ‘Gloria’ – it’s her stance as a strong minded feminist and support for causes such as the release of Pussy Riot’s jailed members that makes her such an amazing female figure in music and I think a lot of today’s younger female musicians could do with taking a leaf or two from her book.

Fiona Apple

Of course the bewildering and bewitching Miss Fiona Apple had to be included in this list. She’s just too cool to leave out. Pick any song from ‘Tidal’, ‘When The Pawn...’ and ‘Extraordinary Machine’ and you’ll hear a girl pouring her heart out, forcibly pushing herself through an emotional rollercoaster for the good of the music. The excitement felt when she returned with new album ‘The Idler Wheel...’ was pretty immeasurable and it was just what we had been waiting for, that deep, smooth voice over percussion heavy songs with mystifying lyrics – it’s like she never left!

Alanis Morissette

I’ve mentioned a lot about these ladies’ voices but one of the most unique singers on this list has to be the legendary Alanis Morissette. From her little vocal quirks to her unusual pronunciation of certain words is something which has always made her a really fun and interesting singer, not to mention her talent for writing some really powerful, intense, thought-provoking lyrics and super catchy hooks. Yes, the lyrics of ‘Ironic’, as we all now know, may not be cases of irony but simply a series of unfortunate events, but it’s still a bloody good song. Altogether now, "It's like ray-ee-aaayn!"

Régine Chassange

Ah, Régine. To watch her dancing around stage with ribbons, twinkling on her piano or delivering those gloriously cute French vocals just fills me with unrelenting happiness. I don’t think I would love Arcade Fire a fraction of how I do now if it weren’t for Régine. From the moment I heard ‘Power Out’ right up to the release of new album ‘Reflektor’, I have been such a huge fan of the band and it’s Régine’s little feminine touches that have kept me along for the ride all these years.

Kim Deal

Despite having now left The Pixies to concentrate on The Breeders with sister Kelley, it’s hard to ignore the sheer size of contribution she made to the impact The Pixies had on the face of alternative rock music in the 80s and 90s. From her soft backing vocals beneath Frank Black’s insane bellows in ‘Debaser’ to taking lead vocals in the likes of ‘Gigantic’, not to mention her iconic bass riffs and that infectious smile, Kim is someone that everyone should want as their best friend or big sister. Not to mention The Breeders are also pretty damn amazing.

Karen O

It wouldn’t be overly inaccurate to say Karen O is *the* sound of New York. She’s an absolute powerhouse whose bright and hyperactive personality is shown not only in her vocal performance but in her choice of clothing and costumes. Although the music of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs has settled down a bit from the days of ‘Fever To Tell’ but the attitude and the energy is still there and Karen O is a modern day rock heroine who is sure to leave a legacy of screaming and wearing fingerless leather gloves behind her.

Janis Joplin

So here’s the oldest and only deceased girl on the list but part of the reason why she’s no longer with us is precisely because she was such a bad ass rock chick who gave everything she had to her music. With a voice crafted from a healthy diet of cigarettes, bourbon and whiskey, and songs about love, lust, loss and, yes, Mercedes Benz’, Janis sadly got involved with drugs and we lost her to the 27 Club in 1969. For someone who was only active on the music scene for a few years until her untimely death, Janis made an immense impact and her music has gone on to inspire so many women. If ever there was someone to prove the validity of the saying ‘Well-behaved women rarely make history’ then Janis is definitely one of them.

Regina Spektor

One of my favourite lyricists of all time, Regina Spektor’s songs trigger a spectrum of emotion within me. ‘Dance Anthem Of The 80s’ can have me dancing around with a huge smile, ‘How’ can give me such a heavy heart, then there’s certain songs like ‘Genius Next Door’ that confuse me as I can feel, but I can’t quite understand what it is I’m feeling and it’s that aspect of Regina’s music that I love. She can make me feel and cry even when I can’t understand what I’m feeling or why. The important thing is that I am feeling and as long as her music keeps doing that for me, I’ll always love her.

P!nk

Besides the Spice Girls, P!nk was the first pop star I was properly obsessed about. My cousin introduced me to ‘Mizzundaztood’ when I’d just started secondary school and songs like ‘Don’t Let Me Get Me’ and ‘Lonely Girl’ immediately rung with me as adolescence began to set in. Although I admit to being a bit of a music snob and dismissing the Top 40, I’ll always have an underlying obsession with this women as she’s been my ultimate hero for over decade. I love that she’s always stuck with the rock chick image and it’s something that makes her stand out from the perfectly polished princesses of the pop charts.

Amanda Palmer

Amanda Fucking Palmer. What can I say about this lady that I haven’t already said a million times before? Anyone who knows me even just in passing must know of my rather unhealthy obsession with this girl. I can still pinpoint the exact moment the obsession began: I was in my room with a music video channel on the TV in the background, I heard the twinkling intro of The Dresden Dolls’ ‘Girl Anachronism’, switched my attention to the TV and was glued from start to finish, only realising how wide my mouth was hanging open after the song had finished. Since that moment, around almost ten years ago, I’ve followed Amanda like a bad smell, taking every opportunity I could to meet her, see her live or get involved in any one of her crowd sourcing projects. The more she does, the more I love her. She is such a rock star and one of my favourite people on the entire planet.

So that’s that! Thanks for having a read through some of my favourite ladies in music. Again, if you have any others to add, please leave a comment or get in touch. International Women’s Day is about celebrating the wonder of women across the world so the more the merrier!

[hyperstereo-features]

Ladies Who Rock - An International Women's Day Special (Part I)

It’s International Women’s Day! And so, being a lady myself, I thought I would celebrate by writing about my favourite femme fatales in music! What started out as a ‘Top 10’ feature idea quickly expanded in an uncontrollable list – there are a lot of very talented girls out there! But I have (reluctantly) narrowed it down to a generous 30 – hence splitting it in half to save your retinas.

Lorde

I’ll admit I’m really bad (I mean really, really bad) for ignoring and discrediting music acts which are hyped up and heralded as the next big musical revelation by the mainstream industry. You see, I like to discover new music independently and having these greedy fat cats shove their autotuned garbage down my throat is not my idea of fun. In fact it makes me retaliate by deliberately not giving the artist a chance which I know is awful of me. However, with Lorde I made an exception as, after reading her recent interview with Rookie magazine’s Tavi Gevinson, I realised she’s actually a really intelligent and cultured individual. Soon after, I saw her recent performance of ‘Royals’ at the Grammy’s on TV and was completely won over. More of this please!

Lykke Li

With the raspy yet light, jazz-infused voice of a 60s girl group member, Lykke Li couples her vocal talent with a really earthy sound, heavy with percussion and exuding as much darkness and moodiness as it does energy and reckless abandon. From the iconic ‘I Follow Rivers’ from her debut record ‘Wounded Rhymes’ to the very recent ‘Love Me Like I’m Not Made Of Stone’, Lykke Li can make me feel emotions that I didn’t think I had the mental capacity to. In the same vein as Bat For Lashes and Cat Power, this girl is all about the music and it’s clear that her songs come from a very deep, personal and emotional place within her, which is probably which gives them such an ethereal feel. To put yourself out there like that through your music takes real courage and talent.

FOE

Funnily enough, I discovered FOE whilst reading something very similar to this a year or two ago, so it’s only fitting that I include her in mine! To put it simply, FOE is a fan of all things slightly sinister and creepy, whether it’s strange lyrics or over-distorted riffs, and it sounds so good. If I had ‘Bad Dream Hotline’ on vinyl, you can bet I’d have broken the record from playing it so much. But with songs like ‘Mother May I?’, ‘Genie In A Coke Can’ and ‘Cold Hard Rock’ can you really blame me? Things are a bit quiet on the FOE front at the minute but you can bet if there’s any sign of a comeback for this girl, I’ll be right on it!

Amanda Jenssen

Hands up who hates reality TV talent shows! Me too! Can’t stand them. Pop Idol, X Factor, The Voice, they’re all awful and produce nothing but forgettable mediocre singers that are pushed into the superficial world of celebrity and stardom, only to be dropped by their oh-so-supportive management team the minute sales begin to drop. Imagine my surprise, then, to discover Amanda Jenssen, Swedish singer and Idol 2007 runner-up. Discovering her through the wonders of Spotify a few years ago, I had no idea about her talent show background but her voice is so awesome, with its rusty rock chick edge, and the music she makes is so fresh and kick-ass that when I did find out, it didn’t seem to matter.

Grimes

What to say about this girl – she’s one of a kind, that’s what. First there’s the music which has all the best elements of EDM and house, never mind the fact that she writes and produces everything on her own, then there’s her surreal feather-light vocals which balance the layers of piano, synth and percussion. On the whole, listening to songs like ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Genesis’ is probably the musical equivalent to reaching enlightenment, or, at least, it would help if played in the background of your meditation session. I like that Grimes is different and does things her own way and can’t wait to see what she comes up with in the future.

Gabby Young

I’m a sucker for all things cabaret, so when I discovered Gabby Young and her band Other Animals, I immediately fell in love with her music, her voice, her image, basically everything about her. Since hearing her ‘Bear With Me’ EP back in 2008, which included the awesome carnival-esque track ‘Snakebite’, I’ve followed Gabby and her band on their musical journey and they just keep getting better and better. For a girl who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and came out the other end singing her lungs out, I only have the utmost respect.

Warpaint

OK, so technically this is cheating as there are four members of Warpaint but anyone who knows Warpaint knows they’re nothing without each other and together they create some of the most interesting, captivating music you’ll ever lay your ears on. Also, it’s my bloc and I’ll cheat if I want to! ‘The Fool’ was an excellent debut from the all-female group. It has a rich vulnerability and sensuality to it, something which they’ve continued in their second eponymous album, with mesmerising stand out track ‘Love Is To Die’. Even thinking about it gives me shivers! Keep it up, ladies.

Joan Jett

Now here’s one you’ll all be able to get behind – Miss Joan Jett. From her early days as a guitarist in trailblazing all-girl rock band The Runaways to her solo efforts with The Blackhearts, Joan was always going to become the quintessential rock girl icon. Inspiring girls all over to pick up a guitar and throw caution to the wild, Joan is probably one of the most deserving women on this list. In fact, if it weren’t for her rebellious ways and penchant for black hair and leather, who knows how much smaller this list would be? So here’s to Joan, may she continue to rock for girls all over the world.

Brody Dalle

Some may say Miss Dalle is pretty much a modern day Joan Jett. The black hair (although it’s blonde at the moment!), eyes smeared with black kohl, covered in tattoos and leather and screaming at the top of her lungs whilst thrashing the hell out of her guitar. Sound familiar? Whether she’s with The Distillers, Spinerette or going solo, one thing is for certain – Brody likes to keep it real. If she wants to sing, she’ll sing. If she wants to scream, she’ll fucking scream. She’s the queen of her own punk rock castle and if anyone wants to join the pit, they’re more than welcome. Lost? Me too. Just turn this one up loud and go mental.

Shirley Manson

Call me patriotic but, being a Scottish girl, I’ve always had a huge admiration for Shirley. I’ve listened to and loved Garbage for as long as I can remember and songs like ‘I Think I’m Paranoid’, ‘Stupid Girl’ and ‘When I Grow Up’ always give me a bittersweet nostalgic feeling. It’s always really humbling even today to see my modern day music heroes cite Shirley Manson and Garbage as a huge inspiration and, as if she couldn’t be any more kick-ass, she’s also a firm animal right activist and feminist icon. What a girl!

It’s also worth noting that Shirley features in Brody Dalle’s recent solo single ‘Meet The Foetus/Oh The Joy’ and it is AMAZING.

Emmy The Great

I may be stating the blatantly obvious here when I say Great by name, Great by nature. I can’t actually remember how I discovered Emmy. I think I may have just heard the name a few times here and there and thought, “Well, anyone with the nerve to actually put the word ‘great’ in their name is at least worth checking out,” and I wasn’t disappointed. Her laidback, almost apathetic vocals coupled with stark, sit-up-and-pay-attention lyrics is a breath of fresh air. She has a beautiful voice, yes, but her lyrics are also beautiful and luckily her voice is clear and smooth enough to give them the space they deserve to make the impact they intend on making without effects or production getting in the way. Then there’s her Christmas album with Ash’s Tim Wheeler which is basically one of the greatest things to ever happen.

Caro Emerald

With a number one album and countless sell-out tours, there’s not much I have to say to make you love Caro Emerald. Her music and voice do that all on their own. Her silky smooth caramel vocals will melt your heart and her infectious contemporary hip-hop-infused jazz ditties will have your feet tapping involuntarily. With catchy lyrics and hooks, you’ll be singing along to the second chorus upon the first listen of any one of her songs, especially the likes of ‘One Day’, ‘Liquid Lunch’ and ‘A Night Like This’.

Emilie Autumn

After following her for years, I’m still puzzled as to why Emilie is still such a cult figure and hasn’t garnered more popularity. But I guess that means more neo-Victorian, gothic, industrial goodness for the rest of us. It was one of those discoveries I made where it was all I would listen to for a good month or five... It was so different to anything I’d heard – drum machines, harpsichord, electric violin, synth and layers of screaming female vocals. It was completely alien to me and I loved it. Songs like ‘Opheliac’, ‘Misery Loves Company’ and electric violin instrumentals like ‘Organ Grinder’ and ‘Leech Jar’ and got me through the awkward first year of uni where I didn’t know anyone so constantly had my iPod earphones implanted into my ears.

Laura-Mary Carter

The only thing I dislike about Blood Red Shoes is that they weren’t in my life sooner. I’d heard of them but didn’t fully pay attention until Spotify (again, amazing for new music discoveries) recommended I give ‘Don’t Ask’ a listen and from then on I’ve been an avid fan. To think a guitarist and drummer can make a noise like this on their own is pretty incredible and it’s what has kept me interested throughout the few years I’ve known them. As Steve Ansell bangs the crap out of those drums, Laura-Mary Carter can shred like it’s going out of style. They’ve just released their third fourth album eponymous album and the intro track ‘Welcome Home’ is pretty much as mind blowing as they come.

Ritzy Bryan

Last in this first part of my Ladies Who Rock feature is guitarist, singer and front woman of Welsh power trio The Joy Formidable. I’ve been lucky enough to follow the band from early on, shortly before the release of their debut album ‘The Big Roar’ and catch them live a bunch of times – they’re seriously amazing live. Ritzy is a natural born front woman, interacting with both her fellow band members and the crowd, usually through some intense eye contact, and even in heels she still jumps around with her guitar like a proper little rock star, pounding out explosive riff after explosive riff.

So that concludes Part I of Ladies Who Rock – stay tuned for Part II coming later today. Happy International Women’s Day!

[hyperstereo-features]

HyperStereo's Hallowe'en Mixtape

Since around 2010, I've been steadily adding to my Hallowe'en playlist on Spotify, so much so that it's accumulated to a massive 10 hours long! This Hallowe'en I've decided to take on the mammoth task of reducing almost 180 songs down to just 15, making for an awesome little mixtape of modern(ish) alternative/indie/rock Hallowe'en tracks. But I do not have any blank cassette tapes OR tape recorders so you'll just have to accept this blog and use your imagination instead...

OK, here goes!

1. Devotchka - Overture (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

Of course, OF COURSE there was going to be a TNBC track in here somewhere. After all, half of the film is set in Hallowe'en Town itself, so why the hell not? I've gone for something from the 'Nightmare Revisited' album, however, opting for Devotchka's take on Danny Elfman's marvelously crafted 'Overture', giving you a taste of the whole score in one fell swoop. Devotchka have an excellent sound and this particular track, to me, feels like it possesses the essence of Hallowe'en itself...

 2. The Killers - Zombie Hands

Despite being released in 2012, I'd only recently been told about this song. I was torn between this and 'Bones' which doesn't just have a spooky vibe, doesn't just have a music video directed by Mr Hallowe'en himself, Tim Burton, but it also just happens to be one of my favourite songs by the band. That being said, 'Zombie Hands' is UNMISTAKABLY all about Hallowe'en. It's short and sweet but it definitely deserves a place in this list, even if it's only due to Brandon's whimsical attempts to spook...

3. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Halloween

Time for something a bit more old school now - some classical gothic post-punk. I mean, the genre itself pretty much shrieks Halloween, so when one of the most quintessential gothic bands of the 80s (besides the mighty Bauhaus, of course) goes ahead and releases a song named after the spooky day itself, it's just impossible not to include it in a playlist like this, even if it does make it possibly (definitely) the oldest track here. Oh how I long for the day we have more Siouxsies and less Mileys...

4. Cold Crows Dead - Ghost That Burned Your House Down

OK, so many might think I'm completely off the mark with this one but I really don't think I am. At least not too far off, anyway. Cold Crows Dead is the musical marriage of The Xcerts' frontman Murray Macleod and psychedelic pop song writer Paul Steel. The initial aim was to create music inspired by their mutual fanboy obsessions with Sparklehorse (RIP) and that's basically exactly what they've done. 'Ghost That Burned Your House Down' was the first we heard from the duo and I instantly fell in love with it. As a huge fan of The Xcerts, I loved hearing Murray's voice in a totally different musical setting. It's bittersweet yet totally creepy as hell which, I think, are two essential ingredients of a great Hallowe'en track (not to mention the video is incredibly unnerving)...

5. ME - Vampire!! Vampire!!

Another new track here, from Melbourne's finest theatrical rockers ME! The song is actually about blood sucking, power hungry individuals such as top businessmen and industry leaders so, in a waaaaay you could say it tackles a realistic horror story that we face here in the 21st Century. Or, like me, you could just say 'Screw it, it's got the word 'Vampire' in the name twice and it's bloody awesome. It's going in...'

6. Sleigh Bells - Demons

Like the song above (and quite a few in this playlist) this track is a little more subtle in its relation to Hallowe'en but it deserves a place here nonetheless. It's got a scarily awesome riff and Alexis Krauss' ability to make the line between sweet and aggressive as thin as vocally possible is just downright impressive. This ones great for a Hallowe'en DJ looking for some heavy drum and bass to really get the party started...

7. My Chemical Romance - Vampires Will Never Hurt You

That's right, I'm getting all emo on your asses now. This track is from MCR's very first record 'I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love' (I know) and it shows how the band sounded before all that 'Black Parade' crap. It's not quite a dancefloor filler like Sleigh Bells but it's a great little Hallowe'en-esque ditty, not just because it's about vampires but its rough and ready production just gives it a bit more of a spooky edge over something more polished and pristine...

8. Franz Ferdinand - Evil Eye

This spooky little number from one of Glasgow's best loved indie exports was just released in September, making it an excellent candidate for a modern Hallowe'en mixtape such as this. You've probably heard it on some TV advert recently but the full song is great from start to finish - Alex Kapranos' charismatic crooning is complimented excellently by a super creepy riff. But what's most terrifying about this track is how insanely catchy it is. The video, directed by US filmmaker Diane Martel, is pretty freakin awesome too...

9. The Horrors - Jack The Ripper

In my humble opinion, you can't have an 'alternative' Hallowe'en playlist without this band. To do so would just be plain stupid. The name, the look, the sound - everything about The Horrors screams Hallowe'en. It was difficult to choose just one track to feature on this list as any song from their debut album 'Strange House' would fit perfectly. But I'm nothing if not a girl of my word so I finally decided on 'Jack The Ripper', the story of a Victorian serial killer told in the growls, grunts and shrieks of some mad goffs...

10. Avenged Sevenfold - A Little Piece Of Heaven

Now, I know what you're thinking. Don't think that. This is actually a great song with some great Elfman-inspired production and a modern horror story to boot. It does get a little bit slow in parts but if you can stick with it to the end, it is worth it. Due to the storytelling nature of the lyrics, it's actually better if you listen to it without the video first and let your own imagination interpret them, then check out the animated video afterwards...

11. Bloc Party - Hunting For Witches

This is another one of those 'thinking outside the box' tracks. I've never been a huge fan of Bloc Party but a few years ago my boyfriend told me he always includes this in his Hallowe'en playlists so I gave it a listen and thought it not half bad. Aside from the name and a slightly spidery riff, there's nothing really creepy or scary or Hallowe'eny about it but, like Sleigh Bells, the subtle relation is there and it's a proper dancefloor filler so why the hell not, eh...?

12. Queens Of The Stone Age - Burn The Witch

OK, so Bloc Party have hunted down and caught their witch, now what? It stands to reason that Josh Homme and co melt her down with their slick riffs until she's screaming "What a world! What a world!" and such like. Her flying monkeys can't help her now, not with these guys in charge! Oh...

13. Ash - Vampire Love

'Meltdown' was a great album, wasn't it? And, as far as Hallowe'en-esque songs go, it gave us both this and the awesome 'Evil Eye'. I didn't want to confuse things by having two songs with the same title in this playlist so I luckily I had this option. It's a bit more 'Twilight'-y than ME and MCR but, with its electrifying riffs and thundering drums, it does the trick...

14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

Be honest, you saw this one coming, didn't you? From the unnerving synthy intro straight through to Nick Zinner's growling riffage and Karen O shrieking "Off, off, off with your head! Dance, dance, dance til yer dead!", it successfully sets a terrifying scene whilst also instantly drawing the punters up to the floor. Panic at the disco, indeed...

15. The North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative - Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?

I'm almost certain I'm saving the best for last here. Ever since discovering this song two or three Hallowe'ens ago, it's been possibly my all time favourite and after hearing it, you'll surely see why. It's so strange and random and features some great artists such as Arcade Fire's Win and Regine, YYYs Karen O, Beck, Feist, Peaches and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, to name just a few. At the risk of stating the blatantly obvious, it's an American indie rock parody of Band Aid's 80s Christmas number 1 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' but it's so much more than that. This group of weird and wonderful artists - collectively known as The North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative (NAHPI) - have created their very own monster and it should definitely be on your Hallowe'en playlist year after year...

So there you have it! That's Hyperstereo's Hallowe'en Mixtape. Let me know what you think, what new discoveries you made, what you loved, what you hated and any suggestions of other 'alternative' Hallowe'en tracks I may have missed. Although remember this is an uber condensed version of my 10 hour Spotify playlist so whatever you have to offer, be assured that I've most likely already heard it!

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!!

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Emma's Imagination (Part Two)

With her UK tour now underway, Emma Gillespie, better known under her musical pseudonym Emma’s Imagination, is about to embark on a brand new journey with new EP ‘Underway’. In Part One of her interview with HyperStereo, she explained how the record, which is due to be released on Monday 12th August, would serve as an introduction to her new musical transition.

But, almost three years after winning Sky 1 talent show ‘Must Be The Music’, she believes her life hasn’t completely changed. In fact, in many ways she feels no different at all. As she reveals, she’ll still reminisce about her days spent busking on Glasgow's busy Buchanan Street.

“Of course I have changed as a person, everyone does,” she explains, “but, at the core, I still feel like the same old me who stood busking on Ashton Lane in the snow.” It’s no surprise, then, that whenever she walks past buskers, she feels an inevitable pang of nostalgia. “I loved it so much,” she beams, “watching all the different people go by, getting a bit of banter, the feeling you get when you’ve made enough to go have a good night out or buy yourself a new piece of equipment.”

But it’s not all in retrospect as she hints, “I do sometimes feel like grabbing a guitar and heading down to Buchanan Street and I would never say that my busking days are over, so you may well see me... in disguise.” We’ll hold you to that, Emma.

Until then, you can catch her on tour as she takes in dates across Scotland as well as a handful in England. Upon the release of the EP, Emma plans to give it a proper launch at Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms. “I have some very talented musicians playing with me, including a double bass player,” she reveals, “so people can expect a very full sound with lots of harmonies, mixed up with some stripped back numbers.”

Whether she’s playing to random passersby or to a packed out venue filled with her own fans, it's clear that there’s nothing Emma loves more than performing her music live. “It’s, without a doubt, my favourite part of what I do,” she asserts, “I’m so excited to get back on the road and play music for people.”

What’s so humbling about Emma is that, despite her success, she has never forgotten how she got to where she is now and, more importantly, who has helped her on her way. “In my case, it’s the people who listen to and buy my music,” she explains, “so I try and make as much time as possible to reply to people’s questions and chat to them at gigs.”

Even Emma’s definition of what success is, is somewhat refreshing in itself. Ask her what advice she’d give to a young busker dreaming of success and her answer is this:

“Do you want to be a successful busker, or do you want to make a name for yourself on the pubs and clubs circuit? Do you want to start your own label and self release your music or get a record deal with a major label? All of these things have equal merit, as far as I am concerned.

“There are so many ways of doing things but I think that success and happiness need to go hand in hand. So as long as you're being true and kind to yourself, treating your loved ones right and working hard, then you will be successful in whatever you chose to do.”

This thoughtful outlook is but another example of how Emma has grown and matured whilst keeping her humility firmly intact. But, aside from her own self-discipline and the ongoing support of fans, the level-headedness of this young Scottish star is, she says, mostly down to her close friends and family, “especially those rare few who aren’t afraid to tell you if you’re being a twat!”

__________

'Underway' is out on Monday 12th August on Pebble Island Records.

For more on Emma's Imagination, including music and tour dates, visit emmasimagination.com or catch her on Facebook and Twitter.

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Emma's Imagination (Part One)

You’ll mostly likely know Emma Gillespie by her stage name Emma’s Imagination and from her victory on Sky1’s music talent show ‘Must Be The Music’ in 2010 which subsequently led to her debut album ‘Stand Still’ breaking into the Top 20. Since then, Emma has gone from working three jobs and busking on the streets of Glasgow during her free time, to completely immersing herself in her music career.

In this time, she has grown not just as an artist and a musician, but as a person. Ahead of album number two, Emma’s new EP ‘Underway’ will be released on Monday 12th August through her own independent label, Pebble Island Records, serving almost as an introduction to this musical transition. “Expect a moodier, more refined sound from this EP,” she asserts, “I’m hoping that people will hear the progression in the music and see me as a more developed and accomplished artist.”

Compared to her previous work, ‘Underway’ is far lighter in its production, a conscious decision by Emma in an attempt to give the record an organic, “less is more” feel. She explains that, during the process of her transition, she learned, “how important it is for me to get the songs out of my head and into people’s ears, without over handling them”.

For inspiration, Emma turned to the likes of Feist, Fionn Regan, Cat Power and Leonard Cohen. “Listening to those artists made me appreciate and understand the importance of space in music, to allow things to breathe and move around more naturally,” she recalls. But as she soon realised, it wasn’t just her music that needed to breathe. “I physically needed space as well, the right space,” she explains, “so I spent a lot of time getting my studio set up so that it was a comfortable and inspiring environment to work in.”

Regular trips into the Galloway countryside were also a must for Emma during this time. For a while, she lived in a small log hut there and it still remains a place close to her heart. “It’s a very beautiful and magical place,” she muses. At the end of a seven year relationship, Emma found the area to be a very cathartic and grounding place. “I spent a lot of time there gathering my thoughts and airing out my head,” she remembers.

The six track EP’s lead single ‘Pour It Out’ (below) deals with this period of her life and with its sharp lyrics, jangling guitar riffs and catchy chorus, it’s a definite stand out track. Emma agrees, “I think it sets the tone well for the rest of the EP and gives people an idea of what to expect.” It also makes perfect sense that the video for the single was shot in Galloway, in the very same areas where Emma found solace in her times of reflection.

Also featured on the EP is her well-known and well-approached cover of American alt-metal band Deftones’ ‘Change (In The House Of Flies)’. “It’s always a good challenge to take a song from a very different genre and try to make it your own,” she explains, “even if it doesn’t work, it’s a good song writing exercise.” After a friend suggested she try it, Emma began playing it live and, due to the positive reaction it has received, she's decided to include it on the record – perhaps also as a further lyrical hint at her continuing musical transition.

But, as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. In part two, Emma discusses her UK tour – which begins tonight at Glasgow’s Nice’n’Sleazy – and how, deep down, she’s still that same level-headed busker girl who loved to bring her music to Glasgow’s busiest streets.

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Be Like Pablo

“We want our music to be honest and relatable and we want people to jump around like mad when they listen to us,” says Ewen Watson, frontman of powerpop five piece Be Like Pablo. Formed in 2008 by Watson, his brother Ross (guitar/vocals) and their friend Jamie Murphy (bass/vocals) in the cosy town of Forres in the North of Scotland, the band completed their line up with the addition of Karen Johnston (synths) and Andrew Stepien (drums).

Today, they describe themselves as “The Beach Boys with Scottish accents, Moog synthesizers, noisy guitars and a healthy dose of nerdy enthusiasm,” and after hearing just a few of their songs, you'll see they paint a fairly apt picture. They proudly wear influences such as old school Weezer, Ben Kweller, Grandaddy and Teenage Fanclub on their sleeves whilst embracing all things geek with loving arms, none more so than Watson himself.

“I’ve always been overly enthusiastic about films, computer games and cartoons and I know a lot about things like Star Wars and Doctor Who,” he exclaims. “I’m really into wrestling and point and click adventure games, I’m tee total and I still live with my mum and dad!”

What’s this got to do with the music, you ask? Well, as Watson explains, when it comes to songwriting, all of his geeky enthusiasm acts as a great source of inspiration and motivation. “It definitely goes against what a lot of other people stand for,” he adds, “so I guess, in a strange way, it’s a kind of punk rock approach to making music.”

It’s not just Watson who embraces geekdom, however. Not only have two of his bandmates travelled all the way to America with him for Wrestlemania, but a third is also joining him in London for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Celebration later this year. “The other members of the band may claim to be much less geeky than me,” he says, “but don’t believe a word they say! Well, except for Karen, she’s pretty cool.”

But aside from their geeky tendencies, Watson is quick to point out that their musical influences are far more deep rooted than they may seem. “I think a lot of our songs stem from the music I was brought up on by my parents,” he recalls. “When we went on holiday, we used to listen to a lot of classic pop songs from the 50s onwards and I’ve always been fond of the idea of making music that takes me back to how I felt when I first heard those songs.”

So we have some geek fuelled punk rock infused with childhood nostalgia, but where is it all heading? Well, it’s been a long time coming but the band are finally set to release their debut album ‘The New Adventures’ on Sunday 4th August through creative indie label Stray Cat Records.

“I’m sure it’ll feel like the end of a long journey as we’ve been writing and recording it for some time,” says Watson. “Like a lot of debut albums, ours comprises the best songs we’ve written over a long period of time – some are quite old, some are relatively new.” Watson then makes the interesting observation that, although the record wasn’t written as one whole piece of work, the band did always have the concept of an album in mind when writing new music, resulting in an array of songs varying in structure and style making the final cut.

Once the songs were in place, the band took them to Glasgow’s CaVa Sound where they recorded with producer and mentor Brian McNeil. With the record being completely funded by the band, it was a long process but, as Watson recalls, “this gave us a lot of time to think about how we could improve it as we were going.”

Ahead of the album’s launch, the band released a three track sampler as well as lead single ‘Without The Pain’, giving fans and new listeners alike a good sense of what to expect from the debut. The single, in particular, shows the band’s more experimental side, featuring Aberdeen based rapper Kuda, giving the otherwise pop punk song an interesting hip-hop twist.

But although it’s received some great feedback, Watson reveals there were concerns within the band prior to its release. “We like to experiment with our songs to see how far we can push our sound,” he explains, “this particular song has ended up being quite left of centre so we hoped it wouldn’t alienate our fans.” With the video alone having reached over 2,500 views, it appears to have done quite the opposite.

As with most, if not all, young bands in Scotland, Be Like Pablo feel most at home when performing live on stage, something which they’ve shown with their extensive Scottish summer festival schedule this year. Having already ticked off Speyfest and Wickerman, the band are set to play Belladrum’s main stage on Saturday 3rd August and a special secret high profile show in Edinburgh’s Old Town on Sunday 18th August as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

No strangers to the Scottish festival environment, the band enjoy the unique atmosphere that each one possesses. “We’ve played T in the Park and Rockness in the past and they are total party festivals,” explains Watson, “on the other hand, festivals like Wickerman and Belladrum are more family-orientated.” But for Watson and co, there are no preferences when it comes to playing festivals. “Wherever we’ve played, we’ve always felt welcome and the audiences have always responded really well to our music,” he reflects.

With the release of their debut record, the future is looking very bright for these five fresh-faced noise makers. For many young bands, the prospect of making a career from doing what they love may seem naive. But with the exposure the band have already gained prior to the release of a debut album, it seems they may just be one of the few to make their dream a reality.

__________

'The New Adventures' is due for release on Sunday 4th August. The album is available to pre-order/buy from both iTunes and Amazon.

You can catch the band on Facebook and Twitter or head to belikepablo.com for music, videos, gig listings and more.

If you fancy helping the band promote their music and shows, you can join the Team Pablo Facebook group or use #teampablo on Twitter.

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Trails

With a wholly DIY ethic, Trails are armed and ready to drop some truth bombs on a landscape consumed by all things mainstream and commercial, whilst making some pretty sick music in the process. Their latest effort 'Signs' was released early in March this year and has received a great reaction from fans far and wide.

Recorded by the band at Spiral Studios, where frontman Sam Hopper lives and works, the EP was also engineered and mixed by guitarist Will Duff. “It was great as it meant there was no rush, no external producer doing not quite what you want,” explains Hopper. “Complete control over everything, which is what we like to have.”

While their debut self-titled EP saw the band focus more on the melodies and structures of the songs, such as ‘Before I Begin’ and ‘All The Other Humans’, ‘Signs’ seems to be more about making a noise, a statement even. It’s far heavier than its predecessor with tracks such as ‘SHT FKR’ (below) and ‘Signs’, uncovering a previously hidden sense of justified aggression within the band.

“We've always had a broad array of influences musically,” explains Hopper, “but this EP is definitely slightly heavier than our previous release.” He explains that this new heaviness came from the freedom to record the EP themselves. “We had control over making the production a bit more raw, and just wanted to put a couple of more raucous tracks on there this time, vent all our angst!”

The angst which Hopper refers to here is, for the most part, often fuelled by all things political, social, environmental and religious because, let’s face it, there are plenty of things to get angry about these days. And whilst they admit they’re not exactly activists and have their own hypocritical moments, “these are the real concerns of the world that need to be discussed, these are the things that run through my head every day and I need to channel them,” says Hopper with a strong sense of integrity.

“All change starts through talking about the issues, we can't avoid the multiple elephants in the room,” he adds, “we shouldn't use our own failings as an excuse to not do our best by each other and the world around us.”

The self-produced EP was released through small punk indie label Lockjaw Records, continuing the band’s strong DIY ethos. But despite the endless pros of being independent, the main difficulty they face with this approach is, of course, finance. In this digital age, even selling their music has proven to be a bit of a challenge, but the band feel they have a solution.

“With people tending to expect digital music for free, you need to give them something that's awesome if they're going to buy anything physical,” he clarifies. “We released the new EP on 10” transparent haze vinyl with black swirls, and double sided folded sleeve with artwork, lyrics and liner notes,” he explains and if that description doesn’t make your inner record collector gush then take a peep at the picture below.

With their respective day jobs, booking extensive tours is also a bit of a problem, especially for a band who thrive on playing live. It’s the story of every young punk band defiant to sell their music to the man but as always, the passion for music reigns supreme every time – otherwise why would they even bother?

“It’s hard work, but if you love it enough and you’re dedicated and willing to put in the work then it’s worth it,” asserts Hopper. “We may never be a big band, so if we set our sights on glory and don’t take pleasure in the little things along the way then you fail to enjoy the ride – and it’s all about the ride!”

Following the release of 'Signs', Trails are now blazing through the writing and recording of what is to be their debut album. “It’s exciting and is occupying most of our time,” beams Hopper, revealing once again the unmistakable love for his band. “We’ll be doing the odd gig over the summer, but we’re not going on any tours at the moment as we’re focusing on writing and recording,” he adds.

After a little further prodding, Hopper reveals the album – expected late 2013 or early 2014 – will offer a collection of almost entirely new songs. “We’re looking to encompass all the musical areas we’ve explored in the past and amalgamate them into one uber-Trails sound,” he declares. Let’s hope that’s a promise!

----------

'Signs' is out now on Lockjaw Records.

For more info on Trails' music and tour dates, visit www.wearetrails.com or catch the band on Facebook and Twitter.

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: The Joy Formidable

Speaking to Nina Glencross at Glasgow’s Oran Mor, before the explosive performance which takes place only hours later, bassist Rhydian Dafydd and drummer Matt Thomas talk about the inspiration behind new album ‘Wolf’s Law’, why rock trios are so powerful and what they really thought about that Lonely Island collaboration.

Nina: So the new album ‘Wolf’s Law’ is inspired by nature in all forms, how did this inspiration come about?

Rydian (Dafydd, Bass): There was a lot of turbulent times, difficult times in all manner of ways with the first album, The Big Roar, and I think, even though there’s not utter resolve in all those difficulties, there’s definitely, I don’t know if it’s because you lose people, obviously as you grow up. There’s been quite a few people, friends and family, that we’ve lost in this time, it really makes you question what’s important and that thing of reconnecting with yourself and asking those big questions.

Like I say, there isn’t an utter resolve there but there’s that desire to have some kind of resolve. For instance, Ritzy was estranged from her dad for quite a few years, her parents went through a long, drawn out divorce and I think they’re trying to remember what’s important and still have a relationship and that is just one aspect that it seems like this album talks about, reconnecting, talking about what’s important and all these things with nature seem to somehow seep into it.

We seem to concern ourselves with fluff and materialism and things that actually aren’t that important and we’d like to champion real, decent stories and things that have some permanence as well. I don’t think it’s a case of viewing it like inspiration, I think we just feel like these things have been part of our lives over the past couple of years and you just naturally talk about it.

N: I heard a lot of it was written on the road, how did that play a part in the creative process?

R: Yeah we’re always writing on the road, off the road, wherever. We live and breathe it every day and I think, because of that, it never gets stagnant. You feel things, you get ideas, even if they’re tiny little ideas, each and every day.

N: The album itself was recorded in Portland, Maine. How was the recording process over there?

R: It was great, we couldn’t write quick enough! We actually had some ideas anyway, some pretty fully fleshed out songs, other snippets of ideas and some songs we started writing in Portland, Maine but we had a wealth of ideas and we couldn’t write and record quick enough. It just came about really quickly. We were there for a couple of weeks in November and then we went back for a month in January and we felt like we were on fire. It was a nice contrast to being on the road because that’s obviously very chaotic and you just get snippets of time but we just wanted to lose ourselves. We were in a fucking log cabin in the middle of nowhere and it was perfect just being utterly consumed by the songs.

N: Like the first album, you produced this record yourselves again, so it seems like it’s quite important for you to have that creative control. Do you have quite an independent DIY ethos for the band in general?

R: Yeah, I think we know what we want to achieve. It’s not out of being precious or egotistical, we’ve always done things ourselves and we make our own decisions about what and how we play. The choices you make with your sounds, production, it’s all part of it for us. It’s the same with the artwork, we’ve always done that so it just feels utterly natural. But it was definitely handy to have a mixer there, through Andy Wallace, to actually have some objectivity as well because when it comes to the mixing side of things, you’ve got to be careful that you’re ears don’t get tired, so as part of our creative process, it felt good to step away and have a really good collaborator at that point. We were very happy with what he did as well.

N: With a lot of your music videos I’ve noticed you like being out in an open space. When it comes to music videos, how involved are you in the ideas, concepts, treatments etc, do you have the same DIY approach?

Yeah absolutely, right from the start. It doesn’t really make sense to us to give our music over to someone else to come up with visuals and stories to go with it. I think even though we’re absolutely not adverse to having collaborations with people, it has to speak to us as if they utterly understand what’s going on and that their visuals really say the same story as the lyrics or enhance it in some way. That’s what we did with Martin Wittfooth who did the album artwork. But yeah we’ve always been very involved with the videos, to our detriment sometimes. We’ve had some really hard days filming.

N: Yeah, like in the video for ‘This Ladder Is Ours’. You’re covered from head to toe in dust!

R: Well, that was a doddle compared to some of the others.

Matt (Thomas, Drums): Yeah, some of them have been terrible. We’ve been rained on so much, I’m surprised we didn’t get pneumonia on one of the video shoots.

R: With ‘I Don’t Want To See You Like This’, that was just insane. It’s a long story so I won’t bore you...

N: Going from the studio to the stage, how do you guys find this contrast? Obviously playing live for you guys is such a different experience, you’re all so animated onstage and have a great connection and presence. Matt even has his drums up front so you can all share that experience. So is it quite a stark contrast or are you just as energetic in the studio?

M: As far as I know, I think he’s mostly asleep in the studio! We put as much energy into everything we do. Sometimes it’s not right to be crazy while you’re recording stuff because you might get a bad song but we do put as much effort as we can into everything we do, I think that’s generally the way we operate. We always try and improve, try and get better and better. It doesn’t matter where we are, we could playing to two people or 1000 or 20,000 people, it doesn’t matter. We’ll still try and be better than our last show and hopefully just keep progressing.

N: I’ve often noticed that with rock trios there is this chemistry onstage. They feed off of each other so much more and just generate a lot more power with fewer members and you are definitely one of those bands. What do you think it is that makes rock trios so powerful?

R: It’s good that you picked up on that. I think when it is done right, it’s true, it can be very powerful. Because you’re quite naked, it makes you very aware of the space and how things are relative to each other. I think for something to have a lot of impact, it also needs, for us anyway, to have those quieter moments and you can really push and pull with the dynamics and the tension. I just think it makes you really aware of what you’re doing because it is very stark, you can’t hide behind anything. Sometimes it can be a bit easy to fall into a four or five piece band and almost hide behind the layers. It’s hard to hear what’s going on sometimes but you can’t do that so much with a three piece so it really makes you focussed about every single thing that you’re playing and it’s a really nice challenge actually. We always enjoy deconstructing the studio stuff and put it into a live context.

N: Speaking of powerful trios, you played the O2 in London last year with Muse. Unfortunately you had to miss the first night but on the second night you were ace. Ritzy commented on the size and scale of the venue, but how did you guys find playing a venue that size? From the stage, did you feel overwhelmed at all or did it give you that extra boost of confidence to really put on show and make enough noise to fill the place?

R: Never overwhelmed. We’ve actually done a lot of stadium gigs now and I think we actually really embrace it and enjoy it. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and have done right from the start anyway but I think everybody deserves your full passion, like Matt was saying, whether it’s two or a million people. When you write something that you stand behind and you think people deserve to hear the stories, it’s not as if we’re asking for acceptance from people, it’s more that we can’t fucking shout loud enough for people to hear. I think we love playing on all stages, they all have their different challenges but variety is good.

  N: You just started this second leg of your UK tour last week in Liverpool so it’s early days yet but how has the tour being going so far? How has the new material gone down with audiences?

R: It’s been really, really good so far. We had a UK stint before then we went to Europe so this is the second leg. It’s been nice to play songs off the new album and see how they grow because they naturally do grow into different beasts live anyway.

N: Any new live favourites so far?

R: We haven’t played every single song off the new album yet so it’s still early days but maybe ‘Cholla’, I don’t know. It varies and that’s what’s nice. We’ve actually got a really diverse audience and they all pick up on different things.

M: Yesterday in Leeds, people were going nuts for ‘Silent Treatment’, weren’t they? Clapping their hands, we’d never heard that before.

R: Yeah, last night was a really good one actually, Leeds know how to party. Glasgow’s got some competition tonight!

  N: Are you looking forward to playing Glasgow tonight? Any fond memories of playing in Scotland in the past?

R: Yeah definitely! We’ve played Oran Mor before and many a time in King Tuts. There’s some great venues around here.

M: The Art School, that’s in Glasgow isn’t it? Played there.

R: Glasgow definitely has a good heritage of all kinds of guitar music. Not just guitar music. I feel like there’s definitely a real discerning kind of listener over here. It’s not just about what’s the fucking latest trend or anything like that. I do feel like people go out and seek new music so it feels like a real vibrant culture, for us coming and playing here.

  N: So just before returning to the UK, you mentioned that you played some European shows, including some with Bloc Party. How did you find that?

R: It was good fun as well, they’re lovely guys to tour with actually, and the crew were all nice. I mean, it was very brief, it was only six shows or something like that but yeah it was good fun. Nothing beats playing to your own audiences, they want to hear every song, not just a couple they might’ve heard on the radio or whatever. But still, it’s nice now and again to play to utterly new audiences and I do feel like the Bloc Party audiences generally had their ears open. Some of the support slots we’ve done, people just really didn’t give a crap, almost about the main act apart from a couple of songs that they know so to get to a support slot is almost like the door is shut and those are a bit frustrating but the Bloc Party shows were good.

N: So you’re finishing off the UK tour at the Roundhouse in London and then it’s straight over to Texas for SXSW which I bet you’re looking forward to. What are the plans? Anymore bike shop performances?

M: Generally, I was to eat as much BBQ as I can.

R: That’s the priority!

M: And secondary is the shows, really, for me. It’s just unfortunate we’ve got to do them! I’m just going to be full of BBQ going “Awww, do we have to?” No, it’s going to be exciting, we’ve got some great shows lined up, we’re actually playing a BBQ joint, as a side note.

R: It’s hard not to in Texas.

M: It’s supposed to be the top BBQ joint in Texas, so that’s exciting.

R: Austin’s a good music place as well. Last time we were there, we played like 10 shows in about four days, it’s pretty crazy over at SXSW. Have you ever been?

N: No, I’ve always wanted to go though.

M: As a band, it’s very difficult to make an impression unless you play the right shows at the right time. The first time we played there, we were very lucky in the shows we got and the buzz we had around us at the time.  We played just a few shows and, from that, people still talk about them now and we’re like “Well, you should watch us now, we’re even better! We were shit back then!”

N: Then it’s straight into a full on tour of the US and Canada after that. Are there any contrasts between touring the UK and the US?

R: Generally no and I think luckily no as well because the audiences we tend to attract are people, like I was saying, who generally are there because they want to be there. I’ve never felt like we’ve been part of any hype machine or a singles kind of band where people just want to hear a song or two, I feel like people are there for the entire show. Everybody is pretty enthusiastic, pretty much everywhere we go I feel like we have a pretty loyal fanbase.

N: You’ve recently made some announcements about some summer festivals, US festivals like Shaky Knees and Firefly. What is it about festivals and particularly all these smaller festivals that you enjoy most compared to your own tours?

M: Again, it’s playing to a different audience. A lot of people that go to festivals are there sometimes just because it’s a festival. Maybe they want to see one act there and they’ll just chance upon you playing. It’s like a melting pot of music depending on the type of festival it is. You could go to a rock festival, you could go to a really random festival that’s got loads of different things on, like Glastonbury for instance. You’ll be walking around and suddenly think, “Woah! I really like oom-pah music today!” and then you’ll go and watch Radiohead or something. So it’s a good way sometimes to be introduced to new music live as well. That’s what I’d say anyway, anything to add to that?

R: No, you’re right, you chance upon things and, like Matt says, you might come across a different audience there. It’s all about the variety again, isn’t it?

N: One thing I have to ask about is the Lonely Island collaboration. Recently Lonely Island sampled ‘Whirring’ in one of their recent singles ‘YOLO’, so how does something like that come about? What did you think of the end product?

R: Yeah, how did that come about? I don’t know. They did get in touch with us and we didn’t mind. We actually enjoyed putting our music in different contexts and seeing what kind of creative output will come from it. I think in this day and age, it’s important for people to digest your music in all kinds of ways. We get asked how we felt being on the Twilight soundtrack or being on this movie or whatever. I just think that the way people listen to things is very different now and the days of it just being radio, it’s hard for some bands and it’s important that you try to seep into people’s consciousness in different ways. I thought it was a fun track, we used to watch some of their early videos.

M: You know what’s quite interesting is the latest news about Adam Samberg is marrying Joanna Newsom. Maybe we could borrow her as a harpist one day. We’ll get in touch!

R: That should’ve been in the contract!

M: We didn’t know he was marrying her then though, did we?

N: So touring and playing festivals is taking you up to the end of June so far. Without giving away too much, can we expect any UK festival appearances from you guys this year?

R: Yeah, I think so. I mean, they’re all getting sorted out now so it’s hard to actually officially confirm something but we’ll absolutely be playing UK and Europe festivals and just touring for the rest of the year. There’s talk of another big, almost stadium kind of tour as well, towards the end of the year.

M: Not our own, obviously! We can’t play stadiums quite yet!

R: We’re going back to Australia hopefully. There are plenty of places that we still want to go with this album as well.

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: ME (band)

Nina Glencross caught up with bassist Mikey Godde and drummer Spike Rogers to talk about the new album, their mutual distaste for TV talent shows and that night Mikey almost got stabbed in Glasgow after supporting The Xcerts.“Best night ever,” apparently...

Nina: So your new album ‘Even The Odd Ones Out’ is out over here in the UK now, how has the response been so far, that you’ve seen?

Mikey (Godde, bass): Yeah, fantastic. People seem to really be digging it. We're definitely digging it as well, so internally the response has been the best.

Spike (Rogers, drums): It’s only been out for two weeks.

M: The only thing we really know is what we see from people at shows and that seems to be going really well and the reviews are good. We're just really proud to have an album and to dig it so much.

N: It’s quite huge sounding in terms of production, what was the recording process like? Was it ever a challenge getting the sound you wanted?

M: Not for me and Spike because we nail everything in one take!

S: Mikey and I, being bass and drums, were finished in two weeks, if that. A week? I think we did the whole thing in a week. 

M: Once we got Spike’s drum sound, he just nailed everything really fast. 

S: In terms of the whole process though, it wasn’t really challenging but more fun and experimentation. I didn’t necessarily find it challenging because the people we were working with and the environment was really relaxed. It was in a barn. A barn that was converted into a studio. The guy that owns it is a guy called Barny Barnicott.

M: Barny Barnicott, with a barn!

S: It was his dad’s farmhouse, I guess you’d call it. He totally converted it, and built the studio with his own hands. It’s awesome. 

M: It does look awesome. And there were no time restraints. Back in Australia, we'd literally get kicked out of the studio every time we went to record because there’s a lot of stuff in our songs, it would take quite a while. So we were used to working under really high pressured situations, whereas this was really relaxed. We’d just rock up, have a coffee, go for a walk out in the countryside...

S: Go see the horses in the backyard

M: Yeah, yeah.

S: It was quite funny because Barney used to say, “We're finishing at 5 today,” and at 3am in the morning he’d decide to go to bed. Yeah, it was a great experience.

N: So, the album – and your music in general – experiments with a lot of different styles from lush ballads to full on rock opera anthems but how would you guys describe your music to people who are unfamiliar with it?

M: I used to say all these stupid sub genres. But now I just say rock music and tell people to check it out.  

N: Yeah, that’s the easiest way.

M: Yeah, I’ve just taken that on recently. 

S: Epic is a good word though.

M: Yeah or like fucking killer. That works too. Bleeping killer. 

N: Well if you’re going to say it, you might as well say it in full!

M: Yeah!

S: It’s one of those things like, The Beatles were a band that never really had a genre. They could write music in any style and it would still be The Beatles. I guess we would like to be that band that writes music and it would still be us, no matter what genre it is.

M: I think we're in a really good position, me and Josh (Murphy, guitarist) were talking about it today. I don’t think we're pigeon holed into any sort of style, so therefore, we are free to experiment with music. We have been worried when we did something far out, away from what we'd usually do. But when we play it altogether it just sounds like us. So I’m not sure what kind of genre we are. Rock...

  N: There are some elements of your music which can also be quite theatrical. Do any of you have any theatrical backgrounds?

S: Yeah, I have a little bit. It was mainly in technical theatre though. So I did a lot of lighting and stage management, working on lots of musicals and things like that. But I think we've all got a flare for the theatrical, a bit of drama.

M: Yeah, we're all pretty over the top when it comes to music. I think that’s what theatre is, really, because you can go to acting school but some people are just natural born actors. Or you can go to theatrical music school but some people are just over the top anyway.

N: So speaking of your influences and inspirations, is it a case that you share a lot of the same tastes and influences or is it about having different influences and bringing them together? 

S: I think it’s a bit of both.  We have a lot of bands and influences that we all like, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead...

M: Mars Volta.

S: Mars Volta. Luke really likes a lot of classical music and I did as well. I grew up playing classical percussion, but I think finding these guys opened me up to finding more classical music I actually like as opposed to stuff my High School said that I had to learn.

“Do not mess up that triangle part Spike! It’s very, very difficult!”

 “Oh thanks Mr Ford, I'll get it correct!”

N: So, in the video for ‘Vampire! Vampire!’ you’re sort of poking fun at Simon Cowell and The X Factor, so is this something you have quite strong views on?

M: Yes, we all are not fans of TV. We don’t really watch TV. I grew up without a television, and it just seems like some aggro bastard is yelling at you every time you switch the TV on. All the advertisements just scream and scream down your throat. That’s not even the worst of it. Music exists because it’s a form of creative expression like any art form. TV shows like that literally take everything natural and organic away from it. You can’t coach someone how to be a musician because it’s meant to be some form of expression. Just out of curiosity, I’ve seen these programmes, I just can’t believe it. It’s like literally telling people like how to be a person. It’s wrong.

S: The sad thing about most TV shows and especially the people that run them is these people have talent but they think the only way they can reach success is being on a show like that. So what generally happens is characters like, who we're calling “Simon Powell” in the video, they exploit them, they get 10 minutes of fame, make their money, then move on. Whereas, if this person worked a little bit harder, for a bit longer they'd probably reach more success than some of these vampire characters are ever going to give them. That’s sort of the basis for the video. We just showed that in a very brutal and honest way.

N: So I’m aware you’re all from different parts of Australia, but you met and formed in Melbourne. So can you say a bit about how you first got together. 

M: Yeah, a long time ago, a couple of us met at a festival and that was a whole different band then, it was like a really weird jammy, Mars Volta-y, intense-

S: Hard rock, maybe?

M: I don’t know, something! I don’t even know what that is. Then we found Spike and Luke on a musician’s dating site, basically.

S: We met through internet dating.

M: There’s this thing called Melband. You put down your influences, what you like. Melbourne is a major music sort of melting pot. So you just go on that and find people who are into the same thing as you, and we were just lucky that we found these guys. It took flipping ages to find Spike, we auditioned 30 drummers, before we found him.

N: Sounds painful.

M: It was painful.

S: It was alright for me.

M: Yeah, you were just sitting at home, doing whatever!

N: So, like you said, Melbourne is like a hub of music and art so is that something you guys were involved in?

M: Yeah, damn straight, heavily.

S: We were. I think now because we’ve been away for so long we’ve been out of it for a little bit.

M: Everyone needs a change, change is good.

S: But especially the Brunswick and Fitzroy areas, that was were a lot of local bands who were starting scenes and developing things so there were a lot of parties around those areas, a lot of which Mikey put on himself.

M: It’s a good community there but people need change to keep themselves inspired. I think if you stay in the same spot, doing the same thing for too long, you lose your inspiration. So as much as that place is really good and even after travelling a lot, I’d say Melbourne is one of the greatest places that I’ve seen, it’s just good to get out there and see other things.

N: So is that what drew you all to Melbourne in the first place?

S: What drew me to Melbourne? The fact that my parents had me in Melbourne! I’m the only one originally from Melbourne.

M: The rest of us moved there for that reason, because everyone in Australia knows that’s where you would go to find... Spike.

N: This is one thing you’ve probably been asked a few times but, just to satisfy my own curiosity, how did you decide on the name ME? It is a bit of a pain in the backside for people trying to find your music!

M: Yeah, well we didn’t think about the Internet. We weren’t really in the world of the Internet when we first came up with it. We were just rehearsing all the time and stuff. It just started because we couldn’t decide on a name. We had a list of like a thousand names and no one could agree on anything and someone said it as a joke. The fact that it meant nothing and everything all at the same time, meaning nothing as in when you’re trying to get a meaning out of it but also meaning everything because it is what you address yourself as which is where the symbol really comes from as well. It’s hilarious.

S: It’s also great to watch people like radio presenters stumble over the name. “This is Me. Not me! It’s the band, Me.” Except when you call your song ‘Naked’ and people try and search for ‘Me – Naked’, that’s not a very good idea, not for us anyway.

M: At least our band isn’t called Your Mum.

S: That’s very true!

N: So you’re a few dates into your UK tour at the moment, how have the first few shows been?

M: Yeah really good, London was flipping amazing, that was last night. They’ve all been really good but I’m just going to bang on about London because that was phenomenal. I don’t know what else to say, it was just a really good show, there was a really good vibe and there were just awesome people there.

S: It’s good to be doing our own tour because for the last year when we were touring the UK and Europe, we were doing support tours. They were quite big acts but it’s a different vibe doing your own show. Of course, they’re a  bit smaller but people are down the front and they know the words and that’s absolutely awesome.

N: Yeah it must be great hearing the audience sing back.

S: Yeah, especially if you forget the lyrics, they can just help you out.

N: Are you looking forward to playing Glasgow tonight?

M: Shit yeah, man, I’m pumped! I’m fizzing with stuff because I’m... Yeah, I’m really excited. We get excited before every show really but we’ve literally been speaking about Glasgow since the tour started.

S: Everyone is very friendly in Glasgow all the time. We played here once before and it was a good gig.

M: We always having a fucking rad time here, we always have a really good time in Glasgow. I’m going to try to go back to the hotel early tonight because I don’t want to have too much of a good time because the tour has just started. But yeah, Glasgow is amazing, every time we come here, good shit happens

N: Any fond memories?

M: Yes indeed.

S: Well, apart from the fact that you nearly got stabbed last time.

M: That was the best night ever, though!

S: It was a really good night! You should tell the story...

M: I don’t know what to say.

S: Tell the story!

M: Some guy wanted to stab me...

S: What actually happened was we played-

M: OK, I’ll tell the story! So we played with Twin Atlantic and then we went out and we were all having a really good time and we got pretty rowdy. Out of the whole touring party, there was this guy at the front who was picking a fight with them. I just went out there to tell him to fuck off, basically and it turned out that he was a bit of a knifey kind of guy.

S: It must’ve been on The Xcerts tour.

M: Yeah, it was The Xcerts tour! Twin Atlantic were there but it wasn’t their tour.

S: The Xcerts’ guitar tech jumped in front and stopped everything and afterwards he told Mikey that the guy was about to pull a knife on him and no one had any idea that this guy had a knife. I guess it took a local to know what was actually going on. But yeah, that’s a fond memory!

M: But that night was really fun. Good times.

N: Obviously there’s a lot of heavy production on the record and only four of you guys so how do you achieve that epic factor and that power that the album has within a live environment?

M: With brutal force and energy! I think anything that is missing in a record, you can make up for by the fact that it’s live.

N: Yeah I’ve noticed you’re all quite animated on stage, which is always a good sign.

M: Yeah, we just get excited. It goes that to that being over the top thing.

S: When we do have the opportunity, we like to have guests onstage as well.

M: Yeah, sometimes 30 at a time!

S: Last year in London, at the KOKO, we had 18 people playing drums at once but we couldn’t fit them all in our van today so they’re not playing in Glasgow.

M: Sometimes we have string sections and horn sections, when we can. Apart from that, we just play. We’ve always had the problem that our studio recordings weren’t as good as the live shows because we never really had enough time or money to do it. We are really a dedicated live band, we’re not the kind of band to think, “Let’s write a song and record it,” it’s more, “Let’s write a song and play it a hundred times to people”.

N: Earlier this year, you played Big Day Out and it looked like you had great fun, how did you find it?

S: Awesome, absolutely awesome.

M: It was like above and beyond expectations which is saying something because it’s pretty much a dream come true to play that for any Australian.

S: It’s the biggest touring festival in Australia, so it’s pretty amazing to have the opportunity to do that. I do think I’m probably still recovering from it.

M: Yeah, I pretty much stopped drinking after that because they just treat you too well. I had too much of a good time. So we’re kind of knuckling down on this tour and being a lot more productive, less getting boozed up all the time. We’ve been taking all of our studio equipment to the hotels and writing songs for the band all night, just trying to make the most out of all our time. We also came to that idea just after Big Day Out because that was just an endless party. I don’t know those people do it, because some people do that all the time and I felt like I needed to go to rehab after it.

N: Do you have any more festivals lined up for this year so far?

M: Indeed, we’ve got one in Zurich, M4. And what’s that German one?

S: That’s a secret! We can’t tell anyone that yet.

M: Ah, nothing.

S: Actually, the Switzerland one, if people go onto our website, metheband.com, they can win a ticket and an air fare to come party with us and check out the festival. It’s all paid for.

M: Yeah they’ll probably get better accommodation than us!

S: Oh, they definitely will.

M: Whoever wins the prize, I’m staying in their room.

S: In terms of festivals, we definitely have that one coming up. There is one coming up in Germany which we can’t announce and there’s a bunch of others that we have to wait until people say, “You can tell them now!”

N: Lastly, a big question. What are your hopes and ambitions for the future of the band? However small or mighty!

M: Longevity. And organic evolution. And happiness and, when I’m an old man, to be content.

S: That was deep, man. I’d like to see every country in the world, playing music. If I’ve done that, then no matter what has happened to that point or what has happened past that point, I’ll be happy.

M: Dude, do you know how many fucking countries there are?

S: Yeah, exactly! Well, let’s race, let’s see if you can be all happy and content or if I can go see every country in the world!

M: Right on.

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Paul Banks

Relative to his first solo record, ‘Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper’, which was released under the nom de plume in the title, this second solo record, produced by long-term Interpol collaborator Peter Katis, explores more of an “old school rock band” sound. Opener ‘The Base’ was released as the first single from the record and, although it was not Banks’ personal choice, he saw that it was a smart one. “That’s the kind of thing I let the professionals worry about,” he explains, “It’s not a song I would’ve picked as being a single but I think the label just thought it was a good introduction to the music on the record and I would agree.”

Putting his alter ego behind him, Banks is releasing this album under his own name. On the surface, an established artist taking on an alias and then discarding it just as quick seems a bit odd. However, when he explains his reasoning behind it, it all strangely begins to make sense. “Basically, I’ve been doing this since the 90s, I’ve been a songwriter since I first moved to New York and, before Interpol, when I was in college, I would play shows, just open mic or acoustic solo performances as Julian Plenti.”

When Interpol took off, Banks explains that he was keen to join under his stage name but the rest of the band preferred that he stick to his own. Banks agreed but made a promise to himself to one day return to his old Julian Plenti material and bring it to life. Nine years and three Interpol albums later, the time was right and Banks went ahead to record his first solo record. “That record was my retrospective of my early work and obeying that early vision I had as a solo artist using that name”, he recalls.

So why Paul Banks now and not Julian Plenti? The answer is surprisingly simple. “None of the songs on the new record were written when I was Julian Plenti, I wrote them as me now and so just to be very simple with things, I thought I’d just use my real name.” *** This more honest and direct approach is also reflected in his lyrics. Taking a step back from the more enigmatic style he’s known for, Banks found this personal expression to be somewhat cathartic.

“To me, music is not really the forum for autobiography,” he says, “this is not sappy, confessional folk music – it’s rock music.” But, although Banks claims that “emotions can be a little bit one dimensional,” his new record sees him tap into some raw emotions which proves to be a rather satisfying experience. “With ‘Paid For That’, I feel like I just put my finger on anger,” he explains, “it’s a very simple emotion and a very gratifying one to express with music.” Interpol fans will know all too well, Banks is far from the angriest sounding vocalist and this was one of the first times he has expressed such a raw emotion through both the lyrics and his voice. “It’s very therapeutic having a rage song because just fucking shouting your head off feels good.”

Assuming characters has also been very important to him throughout his singing career and can be just as powerful in terms of personal expression. “A lot of the time I’ll use the first person but I’m inhabiting a character”, he explains, “but I think part of why my work speaks to people is that folk can sense that I am also being very honest about my own self when referring to someone in third person.” It’s a bit of a Schrodinger’s Cat scenario as Banks adds, “It’s always been fairly honest and fairly personal and always has not.”

In terms of this new record, Banks explains, “there are instances where I’m absolutely a character, like ‘I’ll Sue You’, and then there are moments where it’s probably pretty much me, like ‘Over My Shoulder’, ‘Paid For That’ or ‘Young Again’.”

Lyrics aside, however, Banks explains that the rhythm and the melody are even more important which is why, for him, the music always comes before the lyrics. A poet from a young age, Banks quickly learned after joining Interpol that forcing a poem into a song just doesn’t work. “I realised it would be arrogant to try and force lyrics that don’t flow over a song just because you love the poem so much,” he explains. So whether it’s feeding from Interpol guitarist Daniel Kessler’s progression or the development of his own material, the music always inspires his lyrics.

However, in some cases the music will not want for lyrics at all. “With some songs, I just feel like the music is trying to say something that’s more subtle and more esoteric and I’m going to bring it too much down to Earth if I put a vocal on it,” he says, “I’d much prefer that it exist only in the musical realm.”

Sadly, Banks finds these instrumentals to be very rare and so he holds them to be very precious, “like unicorns”. ‘Banks’ contains a couple of instrumental tracks including ‘Lisbon’, a song that Banks has been working on for years. “I find that sometimes other people disagree with me about the need to put a vocal on my instrumentals,” he says, “but it’s very cut and dry that some songs want them and some songs don’t and I love the ones that don’t.”

Interpol are set to rerelease their debut album ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’ with bonus material to mark its ten year anniversary but, soon after, Banks will be embarking on a solo UK tour of the new record at the start of 2013 and is incredibly confident that it will go well. “I feel like I’ve made a stronger record, my live band is tighter and we now have two albums worth of material to choose from,” he affirms, “so I’m really confident in the show and I’m very much looking forward to coming over there to play.”

And what of Julian Plenti? Well, the question of his return is touch and go. Banks does still have some material from those days but unless he feels inclined to record and release everything he has ever written, it looks like the real Banks is here to stay. “The chances are I’ll be more excited about new material I’m writing, in which case I’ll probably just continue as Paul Banks.”

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Stuart McHugh (is this music?)

However, founder and editor Stuart McHugh, is not so keen to blow his own trumpet. He thinks back on the decade of Is This Music? so far, the highs and lows, and what reaching this milestone actually means. “Actually getting to ten years is a bit of a miracle,” he quips, “Ten years, in this age of the internet is probably not bad going considering so much stuff falls by the way side.”

  The story of Is This Music? is one of trial and error. After being made redundant by a software publisher in 2000, McHugh decided to make the move into freelance journalism. Jobs with Chemikal Underground and Timini – a pre-iTunes, trailblazing MP3 company – eventually fizzled out and with many newspapers unable to pay writers, McHugh was running low on options. So what did he decide to do? “Well, I’d always fancied doing a magazine,” he says coyly. “At a time when everyone was deciding to move onto the internet, I decided to do a magazine, even though the printed word was probably in its last dying throes,” he smirks, fully aware how absurd his initial idea may have sounded.

A love of Scottish music was what spawned the birth of Is This Music? – McHugh even took the name from a Teenage Fanclub song. He saw the lack of coverage of Scottish music as a problem he could try and fix. “I didn’t believe Scottish music was getting a fair crack of the whip,” he states, “so I decided if the British press weren’t going to shout about it then I’d give it a shot.”

“I never really had any sort of fixed plan,” he recalls, “I just thought I’d start it, had a prototype up within two weeks, made up around 300 copies of them and started selling them around shops.” After the first issue gained minor success, breaking the story of the departure of Idlewild’s Bob Fairfoull, McHugh decided to proceed with another issue, this time taking on more writers and including the first Is This Music? cover CD – something that went on to become one of the magazine’s most prominent and successful features.

Five years, 22 issues and around 250 bands later, McHugh realised that the cost of running the magazine was too much and a full transition to the website was the only viable solution. “Up until then, the website had really just been a vehicle for selling the magazine,” he explains, “we’d put up the odd interview as a teaser for the latest issue but eventually we decided to just put everything online.”

To mark the ten years since McHugh decided, against all odds, to take the reins of Scottish music journalism into his own hands, the editor has organised a gig at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus on 13 December. The show will feature bands that Is This Music? has backed for years – a full band set from headliner and Scottish music veteran Ballboy and an acoustic set from We Were Promised Jetpacks frontman Adam Thompson – and will be opened by Edinburgh based newcomers We See Lights. “It doubles as a Christmas party too,” adds McHugh, “there might be a free mince pie with every ticket if we can afford it.”

But whilst the gig is a celebration of Is This Music’s ten years in existence, it’s also a celebration of what the publication has done for Scottish music in the past decade. McHugh considers this and comes to an honest yet modest conclusion. “There is the satisfaction of seeing the likes of Franz Ferdinand or Frightened Rabbit, bands that we’ve interviewed actually coming through and making it big,” he explains, “I’m not saying that, in the case of Franz, it was because they’d been in the magazine that they became globetrotting megastars, but I suppose every little helps!”

However, since moving online, McHugh has found it much more difficult to break new talent, with articles making less impact in their digital form. “For bands, being on the cover or even in a small feature in Is This Music? would be a really big deal because they probably weren’t going to be featured in the NME,” he explains, “but when it came down to just the website, articles didn’t have as much focus or impact because they weren’t staring at you from a newsstand.”

Having started Is This Music? as an attempt to give more coverage to Scottish bands and musicians, McHugh believes that coverage elsewhere in the media has improved in the last ten years but still has a long way to go. “There are more magazines around in Scotland, like The Skinny and Clash, which is good but the coverage is poorer in the mainstream press which is a shame,” he says, “but there is a bit more coverage than there used to be, perhaps down to the fact that Scottish music has become a bit more, I don’t know, fashionable? Acceptable? Mainstream?”

McHugh goes on to suggest that, although the rise of the internet should have, in theory, improved the coverage of Scottish music in the form of blogs and independent websites just like Is This Music?, it has become a victim of its own success. “In a sense, it may actually be diluting things because there’s only so much you can read,” he says, “I sometimes wonder if anyone reads blogs apart from other bloggers.”

However, after ten successful years – five of which have been spent online – Is This Music? will continue to do what it does best: expose the best musical talents in Scotland and beyond. With the likes of The List, Clash and The Skinny around, McHugh says, “there may be less need for a printed Is This Music?, although I’d like to still be pushing my own particular agenda.”

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Amanda Palmer

  Knowing her fanbase to be as insanely loyal as they are, her confidence in them to help her out with her project was not unfounded. “The first day when we hit the [$10,000] goal, I knew we were well on our way for it to be really successful,” says Palmer. Besides her legion of devotees, Palmer has also had unparalleled support from her friends, family and team, something which was clear at her Kickstarter Countdown Party which was webcast on the Internet. From her husband Neil Gaiman to her management team and friends from all walks of her life, Palmer soaked up the support which fuelled what she describes “felt like a very genuine community effort.” As you may expect, this kind of success doesn’t happen overnight, at least it certainly hasn’t for Palmer who has been writing songs, performing music, connecting and communicating with fans and building up a fanbase with her Dresden Dolls cohort, drummer Brian Viglione since the birth of the band in 2000. Ask her what advice she would give new acts looking to use online crowdfunding platforms for their musical endeavours and her answer is simple but important: You need to have a crowd before you can crowdfund. “You really have to do the things that bands have had to do from the beginning of time,” she advises, “write good songs, be good performers, work on your show, build a fanbase and then you can go to that fanbase for help.” On the flipside, to more established acts looking to leave their label, just as she did with Roadrunner in 2010, Palmer asserts, “there is life after the major label and if you’re a great artist with an established fanbase and you have a direct connection to them already, this is possible.” A future where artists can become increasingly more empowered is what a hopeful Palmer envisions. “To me, the best part of crowdfunding is just the power of what and how things happen if creation and distribution really is in the hands of the artist,” she explains, “if more of that can happen, I’ll be very happy.” Besides funding various projects, Palmer has also crowdsourced countless items and favours from fans, from food, shelter, instruments, costumes and even musicians themselves. The idea of the Grand Theft Orchestra was to have different musicians (namely string and brass) from the location of each show perform with the band. All musicians, both professional and amateur, were grateful for the opportunity but Palmer and her team recently faced a backlash of criticism online after Steve Albini blogged his thoughts about Palmer’s decision to pay the crowdsourced musicians not in cash but in beer and hugs. In the end, the team decided to start paying the musicians properly, keeping everyone happy and the musicians a little better off, despite most of them not caring about not being paid in the first place. Crowdfunding and Kickstarter aside, Palmer’s new album ‘Theatre Is Evil’ is a 12-track tour-de-force, revealing Palmer in a whole new light, like you’ve never seen her before. Inspired hugely by her teenage record collection, a healthy dose of The Cars, INXS, Depeche Mode and The Cure, the record is, in Palmer’s own words, “unapologetically 80s”. It’s punk cabaret covered in glitter and channelled through a synthesizer or five. Lyric wise, Palmer takes a far more literal approach compared to the more poetic and abstract style she usually adopts. “A lot of it was just about giving myself permission to do things the way they came into my head,” she explains, “without feeling I had to be deliberately weird.” There’s a recurring theme throughout ‘Theatre Is Evil’ of killing and death, particularly in the likes of ‘The Killing Type’, ‘Trout Heart Replica’ and ‘The Bed Song’, which Palmer declares, “is up there among the best songs I’ve written, period.” But this “theme” was something Palmer herself didn’t notice until much later. “None of those songs were written at the same time but I realised when I went into the recording studio, I was like, ‘Oh jeez, there’s a lot of killing and death on this record’,” she recalls. The album was recorded in Melbourne, Australia, with Palmer’s new band The Grand Theft Orchestra and producer John Congleton. Australia is a place Palmer has always held close to her heart so it was no surprise that this is where she chose to record the songs she was so excited about sharing. “I knew I would be happy there, it’s as simple as that”, she explains, “I woke up happy, I rode my bike to the studio happy, I went to the coffee shop happy because I just love it there.” In the studio, Palmer felt safe knowing Congleton was in charge as producer, describing him as almost like a long lost brother in that their musical tastes are uncannily similar. “All I had to do was say ‘Psychedelic Furs marimbas!’ and he would say ‘Yes, yes, yes!’,” she recalls, “we were absolutely speaking the same language which just made the process simpler.” In Palmer’s eyes, the Grand Theft Orchestra – Chad Raines on guitar and synth, Jherek Bischoff on bass and Michael McQuilken on drums – almost seem too good to be true. The trio brought her songs to life in ways she admits, “I certainly never could have done myself or even with hired studio musicians because they came in with really strong personalities and musical tastes.” The band also, between them, compose and conduct the strings, brass and stage direction, important skills that are crucial to the music and the show but often go unnoticed with Palmer in the spotlight. “I feel like they need buckets of credit but since I’m me, they tend to get overshadowed,” she admits. Now, with the Kickstarter campaign over, the album unleashed on the world and the Albini fiasco well and truly settled, Palmer and co have taken to the road to spread love and mayhem until late 2013, with shows Palmer describes as “a Rocky Horror meets Flaming Lips experience.” A year and a half on tour may seem like a daunting prospect but Palmer couldn’t be more excited. “If I weren’t as in love with the record, I think it would be harder to look down the barrel of a year and a half on the road,” she explains, “but I’m so proud of it and I love the band so much that it just feels more like a lucky honour to be able to go out and promote it.” 

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Milk Maid

  Music reviewers are quick to point out the comparisons between ‘Yucca’ and ‘Mostly No’, whether it’s the psychedelic nature more present on the latter record, or Cohen’s ever increasing penchant for dark lyrics creating a continuous theme of despair. Personally, Cohen struggles to see much difference between the two records. “Probably the main difference is how it sounds, the songs on ‘Mostly No’ sound a bit sweeter,” he explains, “but there are songs on the first record that, when played live, sound more similar to songs on the new record,” which makes sense considering that many of the tracks on ‘Mostly No’ were played on the ‘Yucca’ tour, giving them a chance to mingle with songs from the first record, being jammed out by a full band on stage before being recorded. He adds, “There’s probably just a bit more movement on the new album, it has more of the ups and downs which were there on the first album before the production levelled it out a bit more.” After recording ‘Yucca’ himself at home, Cohen’s plan for ‘Mostly No’ was to record with the band in place at the time, but, as with most things, life happened. “The others moved to London and Australia and God knows where else, so it ended up being recorded in a very similar way to the first one,” he explains, not that he’s complaining, of course. “It’s just a more stress free environment to work, you can take your time a bit more without worrying about the money,” he explains, “you can just keep making new music without having a budget, without having to compromise.” But it’s not all fun and games, as Cohen explains. With no one to bounce ideas off of, Cohen admits he felt like he “went a bit mental” when recording the album on his own. “It sends you fucking insane,” he exclaims, “I was just by myself for too long and started thinking guitars were out of tune and had to keep re-recording them.” Releasing ‘Summertime’ as the lead single from ‘Mostly No’ (“It’s got a ‘wah’ solo in it so, you know, it’s obviously going to be a hit!”), Cohen is also gearing up for a UK tour of the new album, with a brand new line up in tow to help create that highly intense performance Milk Maid is known for. “There’s been about eleven people in the band over two years but now it feels like it’s going to stick,” he explains, “when it comes to playing live, I just try to have fun because you’ve already done all the hard work, writing and recording the songs.” Looking to the near future, Cohen is already keen to get started on album number three. “All I think about on a daily basis for the band is writing new songs, that’s the only really important thing,” he reveals, “If I haven’t written a song for a week, that’s when I start hating myself, because I’m not being creative enough or trying hard enough.” And so Milk Maid continues just as it began, by default, through Cohen’s simple yet genuine love for making new music.

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

  “I guess it’s a bit different from my other albums, in that, it’s a bit heavier,” he says, explaining that the “natural reaction” was to make something completely different, almost the complete opposite of anything he had done before with the band. In short, he explains that the main idea behind ‘Maps’ was “to make a pop record that sounded like it came from a 25-year-old kid from Essex that grew up listening to punk rock and isn’t the most articulate speaker,” and, in many ways, it does. In true Get Cape style, there are songs which people can identify with and which translate well on the album both musically and, perhaps more importantly, lyrically. Take ‘The Long And Short Of It All’, for example, which features London based MC, Jehst. “In my opinion, Jehst is the best MC in the country, if not the world,” says Duckworth, with a strong sense of true admiration in his voice. “I just think the way that he’s able to tell stories and paint pictures with words is extraordinary,” he continues, adding that it was a pleasure for him to work with “somebody that spends so much time and focus on making sure that what he was saying was articulate and developed and true to himself.” The new album was produced by Jason Perry (Kids In Glass Houses, The Blackout) who Duckworth describes as, “probably the happiest man on the planet,” before crediting him for the upbeat nature of ‘Maps’. “I’d heard really good things from Kids In Glass Houses about how fresh and fun it was to make a record with Jason,” recalls Duckworth, “He just made it comfortable, we’d turn up to the studio and just hang out, make as much noise as we could.” The singer continues, explaining that, after the recording of his rather introspective solo effort, ‘The Mannequin’, it was a refreshing experience to approach recording in such a relaxed manner. “It was a really nice way to make a record,” he explains, “to not have to feel pressured and laboured and just to kick back and enjoy making music. The first songs we heard from the album were ‘The Real McCoy’, released as a free download with a Black Keys style sleazy blues feel to it, and first single ‘Daylight Robbery’, a happy-go-lucky pop gem if ever there was one. These tracks offered fans a possible preview of what to expect from the new record. Or did they? “To be fair, I’d say they’re probably the two heaviest tracks on the album, which is why I wanted them to come out first,” reveals Duckworth, “so that people can dip their toe into the pool and not put on the record, thinking they’ve got the wrong disc.” The video for the latter track was co-directed by Duckworth with his friend and sees him parodying various music videos, from R.E.M’s ‘Shiny Happy People’ to the Beastie Boys’ ‘Sabotage’ and even Get Cape’s very first single ‘War Of The Worlds’. “The plan was to try and make our own versions of videos we liked for as little money as we had,” explains Duckworth, “there wasn’t really a technical side to it, we were just larking about.” To celebrate the release of ‘Maps’, Duckworth and co are set out on a tour which took in Spain, the UK and even a trip to the Channel Islands. Having last toured with the band in October 2010, it’s no surprise that Duckworth was incredibly excited to get back on the road once again. “There’s something about playing in a band or with other people in an environment where there’s a crowd, there’s an energy there that you can’t find anywhere else,” he explains, “’Maps’ is a really live sounding record and the key for us to let people know about it is to play some shows.” Besides a few festival shows in the summer, Duckworth is hesitant to reveal, or even make anymore plans beyond the tour. “My new motto this year is just to finish things and do them as best as I can,” declares Duckworth, inadvertently revealing how, just as with his music, he’s also very honest with himself and what he believes is best for his music. Where some bands take on world tours, festivals, TV appearances, radio sessions and countless interviews, for Duckworth, the music comes first and foremost. “I don’t want to try and take on too many things that are going to distract from the task at hand, which is honouring this record.”

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Alabama Shakes

  Having signed to Rough Trade Records last November, the band are now set to release their debut album, ‘Boys And Girls’, this month. Taking to Nashville’s Bomb Shelter studio to record the album, frontwoman and vocal powerhouse Brittany Howard explains that the band “started over a year ago and did several sessions throughout the year until it was completed.” The group recorded and produced the 11 track album themselves, allowing them to make it on their own terms, leading to the creation of what Howard describes as, “a very organic sounding record”. All four members of the band share a wide variety of personal music tastes, “from AC/DC to Led Zeppelin to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings to Daft Punk to Kings of Leon and My Morning Jacket”, explains Howard. This diversity is reflected on the album, with the band collecting all their influences and personal styles together to create their own signature blend of blues, soul and good old rock and roll. “We don’t really sit down and say let’s write a soul song or let’s write a rock song,” says Howard, “Our songs just generally contain a blend of it all.” However, after being stamped countless times with the “retro soul” label, the band, though honoured to be described as such, are adamant that it’s not what they’re about. “We consider ourselves a Rock and Roll band,” states Howard, very quick and to the point. Upon the release of ‘Boys And Girls’, the band are in for a crazy time in the coming months. “We plan on hitting the road pretty hard when the record comes out,” she explains, “First a US tour and then a European tour.” The band are known for their amazing live shows and the electric atmosphere that they create. So it’s no big surprise that their recent sold out shows in London proved to be a great success and saw the band greeted with a fantastic reception from their new British fans. “We had such a blast in London, the shows were so much fun and we were able to meet so many cool people”, recalls Howard, “That is part of what makes this all so exciting, getting to play in front of and meet so many great folks.” Speaking to Howard, it’s clear that performing is, for this band, their raison d’être as she explains, “Playing live is like nothing else, there is an electricity that cannot be topped.” But it’s not just about what they get from playing live, what they give is just as important. “We want people to leave their troubles at home and just have a good time”, exclaims Howard, “We surely do!” After the band’s relentless post-album release touring, they show no signs of slowing down, having been invited to a whole host of summer festivals across America and Europe, from Sasquatch and Bonnaroo to Latitude, T in The Park and End Of The Road, with many more to be announced. Beyond that, the band are keen to just keep doing what they love. Having achieved the level of success that Alabama Shakes have in such a short space of time, it’s great that this grassroots band have no intention of losing face. “We just want to be able to write more and make more records,” confirms Howard, “we just try to make authentic music and play our hearts out live.”

[hyperstereo-features]

Interview: Maps & Atlases

The key word, however, is probably “experimental” and with the band’s second long player ‘Beware And Be Grateful’, released this month, the boundaries are being pushed further as the Chicago four piece challenge themselves and their sound to create something they can be truly proud of. “We tried to make an album that builds upon our previous work and to make the most focused, expressive and interesting record that we could,” explains Davison, and the result is an album which is more sonically expansive and technically challenging. “It includes a lot of new types of experimentation for us such as improvisation and the use of effects to name a few,” continues Davison. Improvisation seems to be something which is key to the new record, each track is given its own spontaneous energy and Davison is quick to affirm that “many classic albums have that feel and we wanted to have the best of both worlds: a deliberate, good sounding album, with spontaneity and a lot of live energy.” Going a little deeper, Davison reveals that throughout the album, there is a continuous feel of weight. Musically, there is an expansion on their use of texture, while the lyrics focus on the important and the meaningful. He explains, “Some songs are heavy and others are light feeling, sometimes in regards to the same subject.” More interestingly is how Davison explains his personal geographic references within the album. Many of the songs were written while walking and the lyrics reference certain locations so, for Davison, “listening back to the songs often makes me visualise those locations.” Similar to their debut record, the preliminary tracking and demoing ‘Beware And Be Grateful’ mostly took place in Dave’s parent’s basement and, even during these early planning stages, the band’s long time friend and producer Jason Cupp was heavily involved. “Jason and I came upon this guy selling a pile of Casio keyboards on the street and thought that it could be fun to play around with them a bit in the recording process, so we ended up buying all of them,” recalls Dave, “We used them quite a bit when planning and demoing and although there is barely any keyboard on the album, I feel that it did inform the final sound.” The band would later head to Omaha, Nebraska with Cupp to record the album at ARC studios, a decision based simply on a desire to actually put together a record in the studio setting, which was a first for them. “It was a great experience,” says Davison, “the studio provided us with a lot of new sounds and instruments to experiment with.” But it wasn’t just the record that Omaha had a positive effect on. “It is a fantastic studio,” he acknowledges, “but I think that just having all of us hanging out all day in that new environment was significant in itself.” And needless to say, the band were more than thrilled to be working with Cupp again, citing him as “extremely talented”. “It’s excellent to work with someone who is so capable of helping to realise ideas,” says Davison, “I especially appreciate the momentum that we are able to get going when we both get really excited about what’s happening, allowing us to go further down different musical paths working together than we might on our own.” With the new record due for release this month, the band are dropping down on British soil, something which they are indescribably excited about given the success of their 2010 UK tour which was a complete sell out. “It is always incredible to travel to new places and have there actually be people at the shows and we feel really fortunate that we're able to do that,” exclaims Davison, “each time that we've come to the UK we have felt comfortable and people have been very hospitable to us, so we're looking forward to returning.” This hospitality spreads across Maps & Atlases’ worldwide fan base whose sheer dedication always leaves the band incredibly humbled. “I’m always really excited to have conversations with people while we're on tour and often there are times when I feel surprised and excited by the insightful things they have to say about our music,” admits Davison, “I think that it takes a lot of dedication to listen carefully and internalize music and it makes me excited, because I love listening to music in that way.” Beyond touring the new record, the band have no set plans as of yet, simply taking things as they come. This could mean anything from more touring to festival slots, you name it. But one thing is for sure: with the release of such an ambitious experimental record and a hugely devoted fan base, Maps & Atlases have a huge year ahead of them.