Music > Interviews
Interview with Metronomy
25/05/11
You guys look so beautiful in your press shots, and you’ve obviously had some face changes in the line-up since the last album…It happened a while ago for us, but I guess this is the first time there has been a new record with new faces, but it happened about two years ago when we were touring ‘Nights Out’. Gabriel, who was playing bass before, just kinda wanted to concentrate on his own stuff in a very reasonable way, so yeah, Anna and Gbenga joined a while ago and it’s been kind of… never look back!
Not being in anyway disrespectful to Gabriel, but you all look so good together now! You’ve got a real United Colours of Benetton thing going on…Well yeah, that was the idea!
Being a Norwich magazine, we’re concerned with locality, and so I want to talk a little about yours, Joe. You grew up in Totnes, didn’t you? The home of the creative hub, Dartington College.I did yeah, I grew up near there. I actually lived right up near Dartington; my parents lived up there, so I was just outside of town, but it’s a bit of an anomaly in that part of the world, like it’s a very kinda like hippyish town; lots of second homers from London now. No-one seems to work really, but as far as growing up in the country goes, it’s lovely; you just seem to do nothing all the time! But actually Oscar from the group lived in Norwich, well, his Mum still lives in Norwich and he spent his teens there.
Sweet – he’ll be the one with the stories to tell. So, although Dartington seemed like a creative place, it can’t have compared to when you moved to Brighton. You grew into a band then –Yeah, well Devon – and maybe Dartington – there are a lot of things that go on there and it was a very interesting place to grow up, but I think the stuff that they have there, particularly when you’re a teenager, isn’t the stuff that you want or that you’re imagining; you want bands and there’s no nightlife to speak of really, down there. So yeah, moving to Brighton was the first opportunity I had really to indulge my interests, and going from somewhere with absolutely no nightlife to speak of, to somewhere where they have club nights for very specific things was incredible, really.
How much did that inform your sound, do you think, in your first album, ‘…Pip Paine’?I don’t know; I started making the music when I was in Devon and I think probably in a weird way, when I moved to Brighton it started getting a bit more pastiche-y! I’m not talking about stuff on the record, but I went through a phase of making music that was kind of making it to please other people, but with a lot of that stuff, I got over it and realised that it was much better to be honest about what you like listening to and making, so for a short while it was a little hurdle. Then I think the difference is that in Brighton you can give your music to people that could potentially help you out – that’s kind of what happened really, in Brighton.
We’re talking about locality, but when I first came into listening to you during your ‘Nights Out’ release, I didn’t instantly know you were a UK band. Even now, despite your new album references to ‘English Riviera’, I don’t think you can instantly mark you as a British band. Is that something that has any bearing to you?I don’t think it’s necessarily intentional, but being an English band, or trying to be one is almost setting up your stall in a slightly bizarre way. Obviously England is where we’re all from, and we all feel incredibly like we want to be liked here, but I think to just see that as the be all and end all is funny to me. I suppose it’s just a different thing really; we never, or I never made a point of saying ‘English’, because it’s not necessarily relevant in a way, unless you want to be a little bit proud of the fact that we’re English.
Well we will – you don’t have to make reference to it, but we’ll claim you as ours and put a flag in the sand! However, you’ve marked your card a little with an album called ‘English Riviera’ – what was your muse for this new album? It was a few different things really; probably the notable thing was that we’re just getting to an age, I mean, I’m not particularly old, or particularly young, but we’re getting to an age after travelling and working away that you start to think about how you grew up and you start to miss just being able to go and stay there because you’re busy. I suppose I was just thinking about, I dunno, aspirations as a teenager, and how where I grew up affected what I did and how I wished it was maybe more connected to the world of music. I mean obviously somewhere like Dartington is connected, but in slightly different way. I suppose it’s kinda like me trying to do an album inspired by that really, and all those feelings that you have about; I dunno, I suppose it’s easier for country folk to understand! You grow up in a place where you learn to make your own fun, and you form a really tight knit group of friends and turn everything you’ve got around you… you use your imagination, you know? The album’s kind of about re-imagining where I grew up as somewhere very exciting and full of potential, which it kinda was, ‘cause here I am! Musicians, or bands tend to be inclined to be a bit down on where they’re from and maybe I just wanted to do something positive, or confident about where I’m from. It’s not literally about where I’m from; lyrically it’s pretty vague.
I don’t know if it’s me, but there seems to be a sinister feeling to it, compared to the last album; is there a sense of unease in you, or am I reading too much into it? I guess it’s not really supposed to be sinister, it’s more supposed to be me, well, the other part of the idea is imagining a music scene that I grew up in the history of music that was made there that doesn’t necessarily exist, so I was trying to give a sound to that album that was a sound you could imagine from the English Riviera, like people making that kind of music down there, so it’s definitely not supposed to be sinister, but more like confident in the fact that it’s more menacing.
It’s strange – I got this really strong image of wurlitzers out of season! I want to ask you about the remixing and production work that you do; does that exposure to different artists and sounds teach you a lot?I think more than anything it’s just a different; now that I’m so aware of the music I do and present as Metronomy that gets released and talked about, it’s almost like the production and remixing can be quite a release. It’s not just necessarily associated with you and you can relax a little bit, so I think it helps you try out ideas. Certainly I’ve been doing less remixes recently, but when I was doing a lot of them it was a really enjoyable way to try out things and to muck around with someone else’s stuff instead of your own! I think now I’m more interested in pursuing the production side of things, so it’s a bit more of a joint effort, you know, it’s a collaborative thing. I think there’s a certain amount of pride that you attach to it; remixing is much more of a distanced thing between you and the person that made it.
I guess you don’t even need to meet them…No, that’s the thing, and it’s kinda nice to meet them, really.
I was really pleased to see you had production credits on Roots Manuva’s ‘Slime & Reason’ – what was it like working with him?Oh, it was great; it was probably the first time I was doing that kind of thing and I felt like ‘Oh gosh, this is a bit of a big deal, isn’t it?!’ He’s someone that when I was growing up, I was listening to his music, and a musician that I was very aware of and kinda inspired by, so it was very nice. I think you still, even bearing that all in mind, you’ve got to approach it with this confidence – not over-confidence, but that you’re not gonna just sit there and say nothing! You’ve got to have some awareness of the fact that they’re using you because they want your ideas, so it was great and the fact that stuff got used, and he seemed happy – he’s a really interesting guy.
So what are your hopes for this new album – I’m bloody loving it by the way – but are you looking for it to be a success commercially?No, well obviously that would be a nice thing, but it would be a very weird thing for me to kind of sit down and do a record and say, “OK, I’m going for it!” It would only ever be a really happy kind of accident, or a by-product of it all, in a way. The fans we have are really amazing and really get it and we love playing for them, so I’m in no rush to hit the number one spot.
I think it’s got Mercury written all over it! I’m going to put a wager on it now…Haha, well you know, why not?! You’d get good odds.
Lastly Joe, what would you like from us? You’ve been before, haven’t you?Yeah, we’ve been before; I guess we’d like some Kettle Chips, some mustard… I dunno, every time we’ve come it’s been pretty great. Places like Norwich take you a bit by surprise and the kids still know how to have fun there! But you know, I’d be happy with some local produce, haha.
Emma Roberts
Metronomy bring their new line-up to the Waterfront on April 15th. For tickets, go to www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk.
You guys look so beautiful in your press shots, and you’ve obviously had some face changes in the line-up since the last album…It happened a while ago for us, but I guess this is the first time there has been a new record with new faces, but it happened about two years ago when we were touring ‘Nights Out’. Gabriel, who was playing bass before, just kinda wanted to concentrate on his own stuff in a very reasonable way, so yeah, Anna and Gbenga joined a while ago and it’s been kind of… never look back!
Not being in anyway disrespectful to Gabriel, but you all look so good together now! You’ve got a real United Colours of Benetton thing going on…Well yeah, that was the idea!
Being a Norwich magazine, we’re concerned with locality, and so I want to talk a little about yours, Joe. You grew up in Totnes, didn’t you? The home of the creative hub, Dartington College.I did yeah, I grew up near there. I actually lived right up near Dartington; my parents lived up there, so I was just outside of town, but it’s a bit of an anomaly in that part of the world, like it’s a very kinda like hippyish town; lots of second homers from London now. No-one seems to work really, but as far as growing up in the country goes, it’s lovely; you just seem to do nothing all the time! But actually Oscar from the group lived in Norwich, well, his Mum still lives in Norwich and he spent his teens there.
Sweet – he’ll be the one with the stories to tell. So, although Dartington seemed like a creative place, it can’t have compared to when you moved to Brighton. You grew into a band then –Yeah, well Devon – and maybe Dartington – there are a lot of things that go on there and it was a very interesting place to grow up, but I think the stuff that they have there, particularly when you’re a teenager, isn’t the stuff that you want or that you’re imagining; you want bands and there’s no nightlife to speak of really, down there. So yeah, moving to Brighton was the first opportunity I had really to indulge my interests, and going from somewhere with absolutely no nightlife to speak of, to somewhere where they have club nights for very specific things was incredible, really.
How much did that inform your sound, do you think, in your first album, ‘…Pip Paine’?I don’t know; I started making the music when I was in Devon and I think probably in a weird way, when I moved to Brighton it started getting a bit more pastiche-y! I’m not talking about stuff on the record, but I went through a phase of making music that was kind of making it to please other people, but with a lot of that stuff, I got over it and realised that it was much better to be honest about what you like listening to and making, so for a short while it was a little hurdle. Then I think the difference is that in Brighton you can give your music to people that could potentially help you out – that’s kind of what happened really, in Brighton.
We’re talking about locality, but when I first came into listening to you during your ‘Nights Out’ release, I didn’t instantly know you were a UK band. Even now, despite your new album references to ‘English Riviera’, I don’t think you can instantly mark you as a British band. Is that something that has any bearing to you?I don’t think it’s necessarily intentional, but being an English band, or trying to be one is almost setting up your stall in a slightly bizarre way. Obviously England is where we’re all from, and we all feel incredibly like we want to be liked here, but I think to just see that as the be all and end all is funny to me. I suppose it’s just a different thing really; we never, or I never made a point of saying ‘English’, because it’s not necessarily relevant in a way, unless you want to be a little bit proud of the fact that we’re English.
Well we will – you don’t have to make reference to it, but we’ll claim you as ours and put a flag in the sand! However, you’ve marked your card a little with an album called ‘English Riviera’ – what was your muse for this new album? It was a few different things really; probably the notable thing was that we’re just getting to an age, I mean, I’m not particularly old, or particularly young, but we’re getting to an age after travelling and working away that you start to think about how you grew up and you start to miss just being able to go and stay there because you’re busy. I suppose I was just thinking about, I dunno, aspirations as a teenager, and how where I grew up affected what I did and how I wished it was maybe more connected to the world of music. I mean obviously somewhere like Dartington is connected, but in slightly different way. I suppose it’s kinda like me trying to do an album inspired by that really, and all those feelings that you have about; I dunno, I suppose it’s easier for country folk to understand! You grow up in a place where you learn to make your own fun, and you form a really tight knit group of friends and turn everything you’ve got around you… you use your imagination, you know? The album’s kind of about re-imagining where I grew up as somewhere very exciting and full of potential, which it kinda was, ‘cause here I am! Musicians, or bands tend to be inclined to be a bit down on where they’re from and maybe I just wanted to do something positive, or confident about where I’m from. It’s not literally about where I’m from; lyrically it’s pretty vague.
I don’t know if it’s me, but there seems to be a sinister feeling to it, compared to the last album; is there a sense of unease in you, or am I reading too much into it? I guess it’s not really supposed to be sinister, it’s more supposed to be me, well, the other part of the idea is imagining a music scene that I grew up in the history of music that was made there that doesn’t necessarily exist, so I was trying to give a sound to that album that was a sound you could imagine from the English Riviera, like people making that kind of music down there, so it’s definitely not supposed to be sinister, but more like confident in the fact that it’s more menacing.
It’s strange – I got this really strong image of wurlitzers out of season! I want to ask you about the remixing and production work that you do; does that exposure to different artists and sounds teach you a lot?I think more than anything it’s just a different; now that I’m so aware of the music I do and present as Metronomy that gets released and talked about, it’s almost like the production and remixing can be quite a release. It’s not just necessarily associated with you and you can relax a little bit, so I think it helps you try out ideas. Certainly I’ve been doing less remixes recently, but when I was doing a lot of them it was a really enjoyable way to try out things and to muck around with someone else’s stuff instead of your own! I think now I’m more interested in pursuing the production side of things, so it’s a bit more of a joint effort, you know, it’s a collaborative thing. I think there’s a certain amount of pride that you attach to it; remixing is much more of a distanced thing between you and the person that made it.
I guess you don’t even need to meet them…No, that’s the thing, and it’s kinda nice to meet them, really.
I was really pleased to see you had production credits on Roots Manuva’s ‘Slime & Reason’ – what was it like working with him?Oh, it was great; it was probably the first time I was doing that kind of thing and I felt like ‘Oh gosh, this is a bit of a big deal, isn’t it?!’ He’s someone that when I was growing up, I was listening to his music, and a musician that I was very aware of and kinda inspired by, so it was very nice. I think you still, even bearing that all in mind, you’ve got to approach it with this confidence – not over-confidence, but that you’re not gonna just sit there and say nothing! You’ve got to have some awareness of the fact that they’re using you because they want your ideas, so it was great and the fact that stuff got used, and he seemed happy – he’s a really interesting guy.
So what are your hopes for this new album – I’m bloody loving it by the way – but are you looking for it to be a success commercially?No, well obviously that would be a nice thing, but it would be a very weird thing for me to kind of sit down and do a record and say, “OK, I’m going for it!” It would only ever be a really happy kind of accident, or a by-product of it all, in a way. The fans we have are really amazing and really get it and we love playing for them, so I’m in no rush to hit the number one spot.
I think it’s got Mercury written all over it! I’m going to put a wager on it now…Haha, well you know, why not?! You’d get good odds.
Lastly Joe, what would you like from us? You’ve been before, haven’t you?Yeah, we’ve been before; I guess we’d like some Kettle Chips, some mustard… I dunno, every time we’ve come it’s been pretty great. Places like Norwich take you a bit by surprise and the kids still know how to have fun there! But you know, I’d be happy with some local produce, haha.
Emma Roberts
Metronomy bring their new line-up to the Waterfront on April 15th. For tickets, go to www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk.
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