The recent surge in mainstream popularity of the folk rock/pop genre is thanks to up-and-coming bands whose strengths lie in heartfelt lyrics and talented musicianship. One band that stood out among the many hopefuls in 2008 was Noah and the Whale, a London quartet whose debut album, “Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down,” reached #5 on the UK albums chart; British music magazine Q gave the album 4 stars. Stateside, the sweet sounds of their sunny UK top 10 hit, “5 Years Time,” provided the optimistic musical backdrop for a 2008 Saturn car commercial. (You know which one I’m referring to: it’s the only commercial of recent memory that featured a ukulele, and I’m sure it had you whistling too.) Before the band headed over to California for an appearance at Coachella before a string of North American dates, drummer Doug Fink of the Whale graciously answered a few questions I had for them from across the pond.
Mary Chang, Popwreckoning: You just completed tour dates in the UK and Italy on the “Club Silencio” tour, which mixed the drama of the cinema with live music. Who came up with the idea?
Doug Fink, Noah and the Whale: Charlie [Fink] had the original idea and many of the subsequent details. Future Shorts, a short film label with a massive network of short filmmakers, helped us flesh out our ideas.
PW: It must have been a major undertaking – was it difficult to prepare for this different-than-usual style of stage show? What did you learn from the experience?
DF: It was hard work that was months in planning. We didn’t just design the whole evening from the opening of doors to the exit music, that is the entertainment between and during the music, but we actually filmed a lot of original material ourselves, including a virtual compere, and edited a selection of archive footage, too.
With Future Shorts, we found appropriate independent short films to show, too. So it was a show in the traditional sense. And it meant we had to think about lots of things in advance, the choice of songs, the timing of songs and obviously to connect everything to the visuals. But the truth is we didn’t know whether it was actually going to work until the first night. The truth is that we did change some of the interim videos, just made it slightly shorter and direct. It was almost a three-hour epic of interconnectedness initially which is probably quite a big ask for a thousand or so gig-goers. So we know what works really well and what works less well from the evening.
PW: How do you think “Club Silencio” went down with your audiences? Given your band’s love of film, are you planning other cinematic-type adventures?
DF: It was really well received we think. I think some people were initially skeptical about concentrating for nearly 3 hours. But the set itself really interacts well with the visuals, the more introspective moments especially. It’s quite an intense synaesthesia.
Charlie has just finished filming a feature-length, hour-long music video for the new album which will be released with the music at the same time. A lot of the first record and some B-sides are being used on a new British film in post-production by a young British film director, The Scouting Book for Boys.
So lots of projects.
PW: For your North American tour this spring, you’re starting off at the Coachella Festival in California, then traversing the country, finally ending up in Washington D.C. the second of May. What are you most looking forward to seeing and doing on this tour?
DF: It’s always exciting touring the U.S., the road traveling especially. It isn’t glamorous but it’s hard fun and you see so much of a massive country. Coachella should be great, and we’ve never been to Washington as you’re well aware. So the capital will certainly be a highlight.
PW: You’ll be touring with the Los Angeles-based Ferraby Lionheart and the Minnesotian violist Anni Rossi on this tour. How did you get to know them, and how did you choose them as your support on this tour?
DF: We get suggestions and propositions for touring all the time. In Brooklyn in February we did a gig with Ferraby and they really know how to play and what they’re doing, so that should be cool. And Anni, we actually supported at a gig in Oxford probably about 2 years ago, so when her name was mentioned we said yes to her immediately.
PW: Your debut album, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down, brought the folk sound back to the masses in a big way. I hear you recorded your new album here in the States earlier this year. What can you tell us about the process of recording it?
DF: Well, we mixed it in New York. Well, Hoboken, New Jersey to be precise. But the recording was at Rak Studios in London. We had a lot of demo preparation and pre-production, so a lot of details, sounds, instrumentation, arrangements, and the songs themselves were all settled before we walked in. So it was really a case of getting exactly what we wanted from the sounds and experimenting a little that way. But the hard yards and the experimentation were mostly done outside the studio. So we were only in there for 3 weeks.
PW: Can we expect the fiddle, ukulele, and whistling, all of which featured prominently in Peaceful…? How will the new material differ from your previous album? What surprises are in store for us?
DF: Although the first record had its melancholy moments, they didn’t always translate to the sound of the record. This record is a little more self-aware maybe. Sounds and moods match up a little closer. Some people might say it is more mature, more electrical, more experimental. But it’s still immediately our record. Strings do feature heavily, but the electric guitar and piano effects have replaced the ukulele and clapping.
PW: I read on your web site that you recently composed the music for this year’s London International Documentary Festival (LIDF). That’s exciting. How did you get involved with this project?
DF: They knew we were interested in film and asked us if we had anything they might use. Charlie had an instrumental guitar piece that worked really nicely.
PW: What are you guys listening to at the moment? Any sounds or bands you’re especially in love with right now?
DF: Always a toughie – at this very moment I am listening to Beck and getting back into his stuff, Radiohead too I am re-listening to. Nothing very new I’m afraid at this instant. But watch out for Planet Earth and Jay Jay Pistolet.
PW: One last – and purely selfish – question. Can I request “Mary” to be included on this tour’s set list?
DF: I think we may well be able to accommodate that.
PW: Thanks very much for your help. Have a fantastic time at Coachella and on tour – I am really looking forward to seeing you at the Black Cat in May.
DF: See you there. We’re really looking forward to it, too.
Tour Dates:
Apr 17 – Coachella Festival / Indio, Ca.
Apr 18 – The Independent / San Francisco
Apr 20 - Doug Fir Lounge / Portland
Apr 21 - Chop Suey / Seattle
Apr 24 – 7th Street Entry / Minneapolis
Apr 25 – Empty Bottle / Chicago
Apr 26 – Magic Bag / Detroit
Apr 27 – Mod Club / Toronto
Apr 28 – Les Saints / Montreal
Apr 29 – Paradise Rock Club / Boston
May 01 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City
May 02 – Black Cat / Washington DC
Noah and the Whale: website | myspace
You probably know Laura Marling best as a former member of London folk pop band Noah and the Whale: she provided angelic harmonizing vocals to the band’s hit “Five Years Time.” According to her official website, the English songbird now has plans to play several dates across North America in support of her Mercury Prize-nominated debut album released in 2008, Alas I Cannot Swim, which incidentally was produced by NATW’s singer/songwriter Charlie Fink. Catch her folky stylings at the following venues in February 2010.
The crowd sang along enthusiastically to songs off their first album like “Mary” (an obvious favorite of mine) and “2 Atoms and a Molecule”. Another crowd favorite, “Give a Little Love”, started enough like the album track we all know and love, but then, like several songs in their set, concluded with an extended all-out rocking jam outro with Charlie kneeling over his guitar, frantically fooling with some electronic gizmos on the floor, while drummer Doug, bassist 
