One of the most exciting bands of the moment, Pendulum, are touring in North America right now. The Australian/British drum and bass and electronic band are playing a series of shows as support for Linkin Park, as well as headlining some of their largest shows of their own on our continent to date. I had an opportunity to ask Gareth McGrillen, bassist and co-founder of the group, some questions during a rare moment of free time while they’re on the road. He tells me how the band’s move from Australia to Britain was pivotal to their success, about their crazy fans that “destroy each other,” and how Immersion, their latest album just released this week in the U.S., differs from their two previous albums. Read on.
MC: Tell me about the beginnings of Pendulum. What was it like growing up in Perth, what is the music scene like there? How do you think it contributed to the way your band sounds and your songs? GM: Because we started out in such an underground scene as drum and bass, but came into the scene at such a late stage, and because we had come from Perth, I think we didn’t have such strong ties to the culture of the genre. This enabled us to break the rules so to speak, and I think that’s how the sound developed so quickly. We didn’t feel out of place putting guitars and other influences we grew up with into the music, where as if we had grown up in the UK, it would have been something we’d have steered clear of.
MC:Who came up with the name, and how does it relate to what your band does musically? GM: [Band co-founder] Rob [Swire] and I put a list together and just shortened the list until we agreed.
MC: In 2003 you moved your band from Australia to the UK. Why the UK and not America or elsewhere? Did you have any reservations/worries on making such a long distance move? GM: At the time we were in an underground dance music scene, we had just written our first song and it blew up in a huge way in the UK (the home of electronic music), so it was an inevitable move for us, Australia was too far away from everywhere else. It’s always hard to pick up and move to such a harsh place as London when you’re young, and it was a massive struggle for a few years, but the harshness tends to push you to succeed.
MC: Did any of these worries actually come to light? Conversely, what things happened that you think would not have if you had stayed in Australia? GM: We’d have not gotten anywhere if we had stayed in Australia, the move for us was essential. Australia is far to relaxed it makes me lazy, we needed to be pushed by a place like the UK where the music scene waits for nobody.
MC: How did you find the other members of Pendulum in the UK? Was it by newspaper advert, word of mouth, recommendation by a friend, etc.? Your music is so dynamic, I have it in my mind that you really have to have a group of people who are really in sync in order to make music that works. GM: I had been working with Ben Verse [Benjamin Mount] as my MC in DJ shows for quite some time, so introducing him into the live show was a natural step. Perry [Peredur ap Gwynedd] had played on some of our early tracks and played guitar on other drum and bass tracks in the past. Kevin [Sawka], we found on YouTube, haha!
MC: To someone who has never heard your music before, how would you describe your sound? GM: If you like rock and metal you’ll hear that in the music, if you like electronic music and heavy bass you’ll hear that. I think that’s why we attract so many listens from across genres – the music hits many styles all at once.
MC: I like both hard rock and dance, and I find my favourite songs of yours combines the best of those two worlds. Some of your oldest fans have stated that you have abandoned the drum and bass genre for a more commercial, alternative rock / electronic sound? How would you respond to that? GM: The very second track we wrote had guitars and full vocals from Rob in it, back in 2003. Our first album had the guitarist and basses from the metal band Karnivool playing on it, as well as Perry playing on “Girl In The Fire,” we didn’t abandon anything, we just got more and more bored of doing the exact same thing and felt we had earnt enough of a creative license to start introducing our greater influences into the music. The fact it got big and the fact it all blew up was a secondary event. We had already done it and it turned out a lot more people wanted to hear it than we had anticipated. Selling out for us would have been continuing to write the tracks that people around us wanted us to write over and over again.
MC: I had the chance to see you play at Arena at Roskilde Festival last summer (2010). Before you got onstage and the front pits opened, fans were actually pushing and shoving each other to get the best, closest spots to the front of the stage. I got injured the night before at Biffy Clyro in the pit at the same stage, so I opted to watch you guys from a distance (probably a wise decision, as I’m small!). Is this usual for Pendulum concerts? GM: Yes, our audiences destroy each other, it’s incredible to watch!
MC: Who does your lighting? I thought the visuals plus music were really amazing, a consummate experience. GM: Lighting is a very important aspect to the show for us, we put in so much time and effort into the sound, so it’s also important to do the same with the visual aspect of the show.
MC: You guys have such an energetic live set. I had no idea the Scandinavians were as mental over you as the Brits. Were you surprised? GM: All across Europe and the UK, as well as Australia, we’re getting that same reaction. I think it’s just some kind of gene we excite in people that makes them want to destroy each other.
MC: That said, it seems like the UK music scene has been more welcoming of your music than other countries – agree or disagree, and why? GM: The UK was initially the home of what we were doing (drum and bass) so we’ve spent the longest time there, I think that’s mostly why we’re biggest in the UK. The UK in a lot of ways is the center of the universe for *new* music because of radio stations like Radio1, so a lot of new bands are broken in the UK first.
MC: Do you have a favourite show / festival moment from last year? What do you remember about it / what makes it so memorable to you in your mind? GM: Reading Festivaland Sonisphere were amazing, They all were.
MC: Your last album Immersion was released in the UK last year but is just getting released in America this month. You have some real big heavy hitters in the business on this one – Liam Howlett of the Prodigy for the track “Immunize,” for one. How did this collaboration happen? GM: We put together a list of artists we’d like to work with and our management set about contacting them. With Liam however, we cross paths with the Prodigy guys a lot, so we were hanging out in Australia and decided to do a track to show the world we don’t hate each other.
MC: How do you feel Immersion fits in the Pendulum story so far? What are your plans for future material, are you working on new stuff now? GM: Immersion was the best parts of Hold Your Colour and In Silico taken to the next level, we drew on our previous albums for inspiration on the third.
MC: What’s a surprising fact about you or your band that most people don’t know? GM: We’re Australian? Many still don’t realize this.
MC: You are about to go on an extensive tour of North America, opening for Linkin Park for some dates and headlining your own shows on others. Where are you most looking forward to visiting / playing and why? GM: America is a tough place to crack, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.
Tour Dates
Jan 28 – Xcel Energy Center / St. Paul*
Jan 29 – Sprint Center / Kansas City*
Jan 31 – Wells Fargo Center / Philadelphia*
Feb 01 – TD Garden / Boston*
Feb 02 – Guvernment / Toronto#
Feb 04 – Madison Square Garden / New York City*
Feb 05 – Irving Plaza / New York City#
Feb 07 – Bell Centre / Montreal*
Feb 08 – Air Canada Centre / Toronto*
Feb 10 – Verizon Center / Washington, DC*
Feb 11 – Mohegan Sun Arena / Uncasville, CT*
Feb 16 – Ogden Theatre / Denver#
Feb 17 – In the Venue / Salt Lake City#
Feb 19 – Showbox SoDo / Seattle#
Feb 20 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver#
Feb 23 – Fillmore / San Francisco#
Feb 25 – Wiltern / Los Angeles#
Feb 26 – House of Blues / Las Vegas#
Mar 25-27 – Ultra Music Festival / Miami
#with Innerpartysystem
*supporting Linkin Park
The Postelles at DC9, September 18, 2010. Tiny little club whose future remains in doubt (unfortunately), you can’t get atmosphere like that anywhere else in Washington. The band sounded amazing, and the audience reaction was absolutely mental. And they haven’t even put out an album yet! Definitely a band to watch in 2011.
The runner-up show would be the Joy Formidable at Black Cat Backstage, November 11, 2010. The Backstage is of comparable size to DC9 (hint hint to bands, management, and promoters) and perfectly intimate. I had no idea how hard this band from Wales was going to rock out, and rock our hard they did. I almost got hit in the head by frontwoman Ritzy Bryan’s guitar a couple times.
Most Anticipated in 2011:
White Lies’s second album, Ritual (Fiction) – the lead single, “Bigger Than Us,” sounds grand and gothic, just as “To Lose My Life” was in 2009. It seems a lifetime ago that I saw them gig, when in fact it was March 2009. So I’m looking forward to the new material and seeing them live again.
The Joy Formidable’s debut album, The Big Roar (Atlantic) – I have the band’s EP A Balloon Called Moaning, which is nothing short of amazing, so a whole album coming in early 2011 will be great.
Two Door Cinema Club’s second album – I know they’re working on new material, I just hope they can work fast enough so they can get it out before Christmas 2011. Here’s to hoping.
Frankie and the Heartstrings’s debut album, Hunger (Sex Pop Ltd) – the Sunderland band has released three singles so far, “Hunger,” “Tender”, and “Ungrateful,” all of which I adore. While in America the big thing this year has been to go backward to Beach Boys-esque surf pop, England is returning to Beatles-esque guitar pop, and I look to this band to do well next year.
Most Overrated in 2010:
Kings of Leon. I still don’t get their popularity. I’ll be honest, the pigeon story about their show in St. Louis in July made me giggle.
Hmm, who else…Kanye West on Twitter. Do we really need to hear from him via his electronic soapbox?
Favorite Musical Memory of the Year:
It’s really difficult for me to choose among all the amazing shows I’ve been given the opportunity to cover, so I’m going to give my top 3.
I went to my first major European music festival, Roskilde in Denmark, this summer and saw 28 bands from all over the world during the entire experience. It was truly mind-blowing. There were so many bands that I never expected to ever see live – Bad Lieutenant with Bernard Sumner (playing his new band’s songs along with Joy Division and New Order classics), LCD Soundsystem, and Pendulum, just to name three – and of course lots of Scandinavian acts playing right in their backyard, like the Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Miike Snow, the Kissaway Trail, and Casiokids. My trip had been booked months before Delphic was announced as a late addition, which was an unexpected surprise. I could have however made do without getting shoved to the ground during Biffy Clyro on the second night, having to get pulled out and over the barrier swiftly by vigilant festival security.
Watching the Temper Trap play triumphant shows in September at Philadelphia’s Trocadero and Boston’s House of Blues signaled to me that they have the goods to be superstars. I’d already seen them in April in DC and also at Roskilde. In my opinion, they played the best set of the entire festival and completely smoked Prince, who played on the adjacent, huge Orange stage just after their set and bored me to tears; I along with some new friends I’d just made that day left early. When preparing to see them again on the last of their many tours of our continent this year, I expected to enjoy their show. But I was overwhelmed both times. I saw girls looking like they were going to faint and people jumping up and down like crazy during “Sweet Disposition.” And when you hear fans have come from as far away as Asia for these shows, you know the band has to be special.
Delphic’s first-ever show in DC, at DC9 on October 8, was pretty amazing. All my friends had come along to this Friday night show and afterwards, they all came up to me with these starry-eyed expressions, telling me the show was far too short and asking me when they’d return to Washington. I’ve always thought that as a music blogger, I have two main goals: 1, to spread the word about music I love and get people excited about it and 2, put Washington on the map as a city bands want and need to play. This show and the mental crowd reaction gave me validation that all my hard work blogging concerts in town does make a difference.
Australian electronic drum and bass band Pendulum have announced they will be officially releasing their third album, Immersion, in America on January 25, 2011.
Immersion was released in late May in most of the world, hitting the number one spot on the UK albums chart the week of its release. The first single from the album, “Witchcraft,” will be released stateside on December 14. Watch the video for the song below.
The band, now based in London, have also announced a support slot with Linkin Park for January and February of next year. Catch their amazing live set if you can – I saw their energetic and fun stage show (and the completely mental Scandinavian audience reaction to them) at Roskilde Festival‘s Arena stage in July. It absolutely broke my heart that I had choose between them and Muse, so I’m definitely going to catch them in February when they hit my town. West Coast headlining dates are expected to follow soon.
Tour Dates (all dates supporting Linkin Park)
Jan 20 – Bank Atlantic Center / Sunrise, FL
Jan 22 – St. Pete Times Forum / Tampa
Jan 23 – Philips Arena / Atlanta
Jan 25 – Joe Louis Arena / Detroit
Jan 26 – United Center / Chicago
Jan 28 – Xcel Energy Center / Saint Paul
Jan 29 – Sprint Center / Kansas City
Jan 31 – Wells Fargo Center / Philadelphia
Feb 01 – TD Garden / Boston
Feb 04 – Madison Square Garden / New York City
Feb 07 – Bell Centre / Montreal
Feb 08 – Air Canada Centre / Toronto
Feb 10 – Verizon Center / Washington, DC
Feb 11 – Mohegan Sun Arena / Uncasville, CT
In the second half of my interview with Delphic‘s guitarist, the incredibly thoughtful Matt Cocksedge, we talk more about how album #2 is going to differ from their debut album Acolyte, and Matt tells me his personal philosophy on being a guitarist. We even chat about their Irish mates Two Door Cinema Club in my attempt to persuade them to come back and do a co-headlining tour in the States together next year. (Time will tell if I was successful…)
Matt Cocksedge, Delphic: It’s very strange, being in a band and writing intensely personal stuff and then giving it to the public, and it’s not yours anymore, you know? It’s theirs. It’s there for them to interpret as they like, and it’s there for them to believe in or destroy. And you just kind of have to go with it. And it’s definitely difficult to get used to. Now we know a little more about what it’s about, we know how it goes and we’ve been there, and we know we’ve made a record and we can do it, we’ve got a bit more belief in ourselves and more of an idea of who we are and what we want to do. It’s an exciting time in Camp Delphic! We’re very much looking to the future. It’s very weird saying all this, having coming to tour America for the first time, it’s bizarre. It’s like, “Hi! We’re here supporting a band in America on our first tour, and we’re looking forward to writing our second album!” Considering our album only just came out…bizarre! Mary Chang, PopWreckoning: It’s good! Maybe it’s my personal observation with how much music I get sent, but there’s seems an oversaturation of the new generation of bands coming out of Britain. And there’s no way NME, or Q, or anyone else can keep up with everyone. As a blogger I think you do get jaded because there are so many bands to assess. Do you feel that there’s pressure to come out with a second album quickly, because you worry you might get lost in the shuffle as new bands come up? Maybe you can tell me more about how the recording process is going for Delphic album #2. MC: We’re doing bits and bobs in our studio [back in Manchester] and building up ideas, but we’re really approaching it differently than the first record. The first record was very much built up at our studio at home and was very layered and detailed. By the time we went to the [recording] studio, we knew basically how the songs were going to turn out and exactly what they would sound like and all that, whereas for this one, we kind of want to leave more to chance and be more open before we get to the studio. We want to play together more in the studio and then take it on a more natural band angle, rather than building it up in a studio environment. And yeah, there is definitely that feeling of pressure. You know, there isn’t that luxury that bands used to have of doing the first record, going on tour, maybe taking 18 months, 2 years to write, record, and release the second record. That time’s gone. The public’s attention span is so short, and that’s a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good because bands can’t get lazy. But it’s bad, it’s changed the way music is digested, it’s changed the way bands have to approach writing and touring. And their releases. And we’re kind of part of a generation of bands that needs to keep writing and recording and releasing and touring and writing and doing that to establish a fanbase, establish some sort of place within the whole thing. But for us personally, we just want to write the next album because we’ve got ideas and we’re inspired to do it, we want to get it out there. We don’t want to go on a holiday for 6 months, we don’t want to stop doing this and we don’t want to keep touring endlessly. We are very much like, “right, this is the first record, we achieved a certain amount [of success and fame] with that, but there’s so much more we want to do.” We don’t want to play the same songs for another year. And this is our first tour of the U.S., properly, and so where are we? We’re in September, 2010? Most of these songs were written like in 2008. Some of them were written at the end of 2007. PW: So are we looking at a 2012 release then [for album #2]? MC: Hopefully! I think, maybe sooner if we’re able to. PW: I guess it depends on touring commitments and if you’re even home long enough to do anything. MC: We’re excited, we have a lot of ideas and are really keen as soon we get back from America, we’ve got a few more gigs, got four or five gigs, but once that’s done, we’re straight into rehearsals for the second album. Straight into that. And we’re really…that’s the most exciting thing, we don’t want to stop. We’re doing something we really love doing. We’re not going to take it for granted. We want to just work on it and get better. We just can’t wait to, you know…as much fun as this has been in the United States, I don’t want to put that down, I’m just saying that we’re so excited to kind of see what happens next, and see where it takes us, and see where we go with it. We got into a band to write music and make albums, you know? And to be given the chance to do that is the most incredible thing. We feel incredibly lucky to be able to do it, and we want to do it to the best of our ability. And we’ll see how that goes. We’ll wait and see. [smiles] PW: It should be interesting to see how this one turns out, with the different approach. MC: Definitely, definitely! PW: I know I’m definitely looking forward to it! And a lot of people are.
PW: Since I am a writer, I would like to know who in Delphic comes up with the song titles and who writes the lyrics? MC: Emmm…the whole thing is a very collaborative process. Everything – music, lyrics, videos, art, all that stuff is very much the three of us. We won’t let anything through that not all three of us are behind, you know? It’s one of those things where everything we do is Delphic, it’s not “Matt from Delphic,” or James or Rick from Delphic. It’s the band. Well, magicians should never reveal their secrets, should they? [smiles] PW: [laughs] I was just curious because every band has their own little story [on how they come up with lyrics]. The most unusual one I’ve heard is of White Lies, who came in second in theBBC Sound of 2009 poll. Bassist Charles Cave of White Lies writes the lyrics for guitarist Harry McVeigh to sing. Interesting, yet it must be weird singing about someone else’s experiences. Do you find when you’re writing lyrics it becomes an emotional thing? Because it’s been amazing to talk to other Delphic fans and hear what they’ve gotten out of your song lyrics. Different people get different things out of music. Coming from the writer’s perspective, I like to look at lyrics closely and interpret them. Are there any particular songs on the album that are especially personal to you? MC: All of the songs are very personal to me. Definitely. And you know, it’s strange when you write something and then someone else is expressing it. And it’s also interesting, because you get the opportunity to see another interpretation of it almost immediately. I think a lot of what we wrote on the first album, lyrically, was open to interpretation, and purposely so. I mean, yeah, it’s personal, but I think one of the great things about music is that it’s your thing. We’ve written this album, but it’s your album. All of the experiences of listening to it, you’ll never share the same experiences that someone else has when they listen to the album. But that’s amazing, that it can be so personal. I like that people can read into things and take different things from it, and that’s fine. But there’s always going to be what it means to you, and it’s always going to be that personal thing. But certainly now I don’t think we want to impose that on the audience. We have a thing of what it means to us, but the audience…I wouldn’t want to say anyone’s interpretation of our music is wrong or inaccurate. PW: Morrissey has been asked many times to explain, “what does this particularSmiths song mean?” and he has said, I don’t want to say what it means to me, because music means different things to different people. MC: Definitely. I’d hate to destroy anyone’s idea of something. Someone could think one of our songs is a really romantic song, when actually it’s about trying to get away from someone. It’s like Sting… PW: [laughs] Yes yes! MC/PW: [at the same time] “Every Breath You Take”! MC: Some people have that as a wedding song. And it’s a stalker song, you know? [both of us laugh] For that reason, it’s nice for people to have their own interpretation. And not be too clinical about it.
PW: So how long have you been playing guitar? MC: Since I was about…hmmm…shit, I don’t remember. 14 or 15 maybe? PW: Wow. MC: When was OK Computer? Was that 1997 or 1999? [It was released in June 1997.] PW: Not sure, it seems like so long ago now! When did you get into synths? Was that before Delphic? MC: Me and Rick had always been messing around with synths. His dad built a synth once. His dad was always into cool music. [I don't know Rick Boardman's dad personally but from what I have heard about him, he is probably the coolest dad ever.] PW: That is like the coolest thing, ever. MC: He’s very cool, very cool. If you ever get to meet him, you’d like him. PW: All I can say is, all of your families seem so cool. For example, James’s parents. How is it possible they let him move to Manchester and never made him move back home? [James Cook is from Chippenham, England, a town west of London, but moved to Manchester years ago for university.] My parents would have never let me do that. MC: Oh, you should come over for a course. That’s what James did, he came up to Manchester for uni and just stayed here. And they were cool about it. PW: But then he stayed. Forever! There’s never been a reason for him to go back? MC: Manchester, it’s a better place than Chippenham. Not to slag off Chippenham, I have been to Chippenham, but Manchester is better than Chippenham. PW: What’s Chippenham like? MC: It’s a smallish town out in Wiltshire. Lots of countryside, there’s no scene there. Yeah, we were into synths, and he had a Juno 60 that we messed about with, and that was fun. But yeah, I was much more into guitars and effects pedals. I like synths but I’m one of those people who doesn’t really bother with algorithms. And chains and stuff like that. I like to sit down at a synth and fiddle about, and I let my ears guide me to the sound. PW: So are Rick and James more of the technicians on that side of things? MC: Very much, yeah yeah. They’ll talk about sound waves and I understand that stuff, but it doesn’t interest me. I don’t care about the calculations and the technical specifications of sound. I just care about the sound hitting me and expressing something. And that’s the way I operate. And I think it’s kind of good to have that in the band. Like those guys can get technical about it and then I can come in and say, “that just sounds like shit.” [laughs] “But it’s got this amazing sound wave function on it!” And it’s like, I’m not bothered. PW: “It’s not doing a thing for me.” MC: Yeah, “make it sound better.” PW: Now is it because of their university backgrounds that they know all this stuff about synths? MC: I dunno, maybe? PW: Weren’t they studying music? MC: Well, it wasn’t straight music. It was recording and popular music. I think they took something from that, but they just both researched the synth thing and really got into it. And that’s their area. I was quite happy to let them have that. It’s like, just let me buy effects pedals and I’m happy! That’s fine. And in the studio, it’s good to have an outside perspective on these kinds of things. I think it’s always important to have that objectivity. I’ve not spent 3 hours finely tuning a synth and I’m not involved in that side of things, so I can have that kind of objective view. And say, “look, I appreciate it, it’s a good sound, it’s got a lot of technical merit to it, but does it fit? Is it right? Does it work?” Sometimes it’s yes and sometimes it’s no. It goes both ways, like with the guitars. We’re each other’s critics and friends and compatriots, so it varies…I’ve left them to it, I’ve gotten more into it over time but… PW: I know in the live setting you play synth, for example during most of “Doubt.” MC: Yeah, on a couple of things. But it’s a functional thing. I just enjoy, like “Epherema,” that kind of tremolo-ey sound in that song, that was the result of me sitting in a room for 6 hours messing around with guitar effects and getting that right. And that’s what I love doing. And that works in that context. The last line of “Acolyte,” that’s more of a Rick and James kind of area, and that all happens together. Whatever makes the best song, and what sounds good.
PW: What I really love about Delphic is that you have this perfect marriage of good guitar riffs with good synth melodies. Great guitar bands have great guitar riffs, and then some of them try to introduce the synth into the mix and have trouble integrating them into their sound. It ends up becoming a plinky plonky thing in the background that does not belong. Or guitars are added to synth pop bands and the guitars sound out of place. Whereas you guys, you have everything integrated well. For example, “Halcyon” and the guitar solo. I’ve given this a lot of thought this year, I put the question out to people, if you had to be reincarnated as a part of a song, what would you be and why? MC: If I had to be reincarnated as part of a song? PW: Yeah, and it couldn’t be a whole song, it had to be one disparate part of a song. And I said your “Halcyon” guitar solo. MC: Wow! I am very honored! PW: With the runner-up of the guitar lines in the verse of “What You Know,” played by Sam Halliday of Two Door Cinema Club. MC: I like Sam. PW: Both of you are amazing guitarists. MC: I think he’s better than me. PW: You think? MC: He’s good! Really good. [smiles] PW: Don’t tell him that, because I saw that video of you guys in Australia and the band war. [And as Matt says, watch this video clip with a grain of salt.] MC: Yeah… [laughs] They made us do that! We were just having a laugh and one of them said, “Delphic and Two Door war!” And it’s like, “oh no…” We’re real mates! PW: They know you’re messing, surely. MC: Yeah, but it’s like what we were saying earlier, about band rivalry and stuff like that. You don’t want it to cross over to anything that is actually serious in that way. We admire Two Door very much. We’re such a very different band to Two Door that there can’t be a rivalry, really. Who we appeal to in our kind of market is so different to theirs. There’s no rivalry there. We just think they’re great guys who write good songs. The rest of it is just banter. But yeah…it’s an interesting question, really, I’m going to have to give this some more thought.
PW: Having played guitar for so many years, was there one song that made you think, “yes, I’m definitely going to be a guitarist“? MC: I don’t think there as a song that generally made me want to be a guitarist, but my favorite guitar solo of all time is what I’d probably want to be reincarnated as, it’s the solo for “Sympathy for the Devil” [Rolling Stones]. The sound is incredible, it just screams, it’s such a real, organic sound. It speaks to you. In terms of the actual line, the guitar solo, I just love the restraint. Is it Keith [Richards] doing that solo, or not? PW: I would think so. Who else could it be? MC: Right right, I just wanted to make sure. [smiles] PW: Don’t worry, I won’t tell my best buds, the Rolling Stones. [laughs] ‘cos me and Mick are like this. MC: “Sympathy for the Devil” is one of the greatest songs of all time, a 6-minute epic. He’s got x bars to do a solo in, and what does he do? He’s really minimal, like [mimics the guitar solo]. But my absolute favorite part of it, if I can be even more specific, is within the solo. There’s a part of the solo…you know, he does these really great parts that really scream at you, the amp sounds incredible. And there’s a bit where he goes “dum da dum dum” [really simple, bare part of the solo], and that’s it. You’ve got a solo for “Sympathy for the Devil.” And all you do is play a note like a child. Anybody could do it. But it’s just perfect. I think that’s what’s important about playing guitar. For me personally, it’s not an ego thing, it’s not a “look at me” kind of thing, I never ask for the solos, I never want solos in a song. I get all nervous! PW: Really? I never would have figured you would feel that way. MC: Yeah, I get really worried about it! PW: Should I tell people not to look at you when you’re playing the solo in “Halcyon”? [laughs] MC: We had to do Jools Holland. [You can watch the video below. Matt's amazing guitar solo starts in at 3.05.] Honestly, I was so scared for weeks before. Every night before I went to bed I would be playing it in my head. Honestly, so nervous. So I never ask for the solos. For me personally, playing guitar is adding to the track and just being part of the track, and if the best thing for the song is to play one note, then that’s just as valid as being Slash and having huge guitar solos going up and down the neck doing all the technical shit you want to do. For me, it’s about feeling and emotion and doing something different that fits into the song. PW: Your guitar is beautiful, I think it’s gorgeous. MC: Thank you!
PW: When I saw you at Roskilde, the lighting was amazing. Is your lighting guy, Squib Swain, with you on this tour? MC: Sadly, no. Yeah, he’s brilliant. PW: I hope when you come back next time he’ll come with you. MC: So do we. It’ s really weird doing shows without him. He’s become such an integral part of our shows and what we do. We always like to try and do something interesting with the lights and audiovisual experience, it’s always kind of weird when Squib is not along. But we want him back, we miss him. He’s actually out with Two Door [in the UK] at the moment… PW: [laughs] Really? What are you guys going to do if you tour the same time? Bidding war? MC: He gets paid double! But if we’re playing together… PW: Yeah, come back and do a co-headlining tour with them! MC: That would be great, wouldn’t it? Really nice. PW: Yes, I have been talking with new friends in Hong Kong, they all want you back. MC: Oh really? Awww. PW: They were all saying that it was the best day of their lives when you and Two Door played together back in August. I was thinking, your two bands need to come back together and tour as co-headliners in America so there aren’t any arguments. MC: Yeah, no, I would happily support Two Door. PW: No, I need to hear “Submission” and the only way I’d get that is if you headlined. Right? MC: How’s this, we will support Two Door and still play “Submission.” I am more than happy to do that. PW: Are you playing “Submission” on this tour? MC: [looks mysterious] Maybe… [I laugh]. Yes. We were going to play it in Philly but we didn’t have time with all the stress before the gig, we had to cut back. PW: The reason why that song is so special to me, after your album came out, we had the second largest recorded snowfall ever in Washington in February. At one point the snow had reached my height. MC: No way. PW: Yeah. And in order to get my car out, I had to keep shoveling the driveway, and I would measure different distances of snow cleared by how many times I heard “Submission” to finish that line of snow. I must have heard “Submission” 500 times. So it’s very special to me. That’s my little “Submission” story. MC: Well, I’m glad we could be there for you in your time of need. [laughs]
PW: Well, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. MC: Thank you, cheers.
Thanks very much to Matt for an amazing interview and taking time out of his busy schedule to chat with me, and special thanks to Delphic’s management for arranging the interview.
Tour Dates
Oct 05 – Phoenix / Toronto*
Oct 07 – Newport Music Hall / Columbus*
Oct 08 – DC9 / Washington, DC^
Oct 11 – St. Andrews / Detroit*
Oct 12 – Metro / Chicago*
Oct 13 – Turner Hall / Milwaukee*
Oct 14 – First Avenue / Minneapolis*
Oct 21 – Popscene / San Francisco&
Oct 22 – Fox / Pomona, CA*
Oct 23 – Club Nokia / Los Angeles*
^ Delphic only
* supporting the Temper Trap
& with the Hundred in the Hands
Live photos in this review were from Roskilde Festival, taken by Mary Chang, July 2, 2010
The Temper Trap have been touring so much and in so many places in 2010, I’ve lost count. So I consider the Trocadero gig in Philadelphia the start of their “latest and greatest” North American tour, if you will. The Melbourne-based band played to an enthused crowd there Sunday night. It’s pretty uncommon for me to know about all three bands on a tour – usually I’ll know the headliner and probably one of the headliners peripherally, but on this tour, I was stoked beyond belief that two of the best electronic bands of the moment would be support for the Temper Trap.
Brooklyn’s the Hundred in the Hands have just released their self-titled debut album on Warp Records last week, and it’s an amazing effort. Definitely in my top 5 of albums of 2010, I think it would handily beat out LCD Soundsystem’s This is Happening in a head-to-head contest on the dance floor. You always wonder how electronic bands translate (or don’t) in the live environment, and I can say without a doubt the Hundred in the Hands passes with flying colors. The only issue I had was with some of the instrumentation getting muddled, which I think was more of a fault of the venue’s sound system and not a reflection on the duo. Weirdly, the front row of the standing crowd stock still for the entire night, and it was us and my new friends in the second row that were kicking up our heels to the Brooklyn duo (and the rest of the night for that matter).
Eleanore Everdell (lead vocals / synths) sings, at times, with a yelping howl not unlike Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes but I think Everdell does this better, because her disaffected voice is perfect for dance music. Check out the amazing “Last City,” the opening track on their album, with its “oh oh oh OH ohs” that will make this an earworm for sure, and even better live. “Pigeons,” a single getting a lot of airplay on British radio, is another gem. A fascinating sidenote: Hundred’s guitarist (and also beat master) Jason Friedman has the same model of Rickenbacker as Delphic’s Matt Cocksedge, so I was doubly blown away by equipment prettiness.
So the next two bands of the night I had been lucky enough to have seen last at Roskilde Festival in very sunny Denmark in July. Delphic released two singles, “Counterpoint” and “This Momentary,” in their home country in 2009. While these didn’t race up the UK singles chart, they generated enough interest such that when the Manchester, England band let loose their debut album, Acolyte, early this year on their own Polydor imprint Chimeric, the buzz was enormous. I was already a big fan of theirs after hearing Acolyte in January, and it quickly became the soundtrack to my cardiovascular workouts for the rest of the DC winter (read: shoveling during the second biggest snowfall ever recorded in Washington). The band have no idea of this particular reason for my great affection for their music. Interestingly, it became clear Sunday night that I, along with the aforementioned second row of fans at the Trocadero, were going to use Delphic to soundtrack quite a workout.
I should probably mention that despite it being autumn on the East Coast already, the inside of the Trocadero was hot. Steamy. Boiling. By the time Delphic started their second song, the synthtastic “Doubt”, the shirt of lead singer/bassist James Cook was already soaking wet with sweat. He seemed unperturbed by this, singing his heart out on tunes like “Red Lights,” complete with requisite red lighting and concluding with a monster synth outro – just what you’d expect from three English boys who are self-described “synthesizer geeks.” Keyboards/synths man Rick Boardman surprised me, singing his backing vocals with so much enthusiasm, I was floored. He sings in a higher register than Cook and frankly, you haven’t heard sexier high-pitched male vocals in a dance song since the Bee Gees days. “Halcyon,” the song that cemented my love for the band (used somewhat freakily for a UK mobile phone advert, I can’t be the only one who thinks James Cook singing “give me something I can believe in” has absolutely nothing to do with mobile phones), was fantastic, with guitarist Matt Cocksedge ripping his now famous guitar solo.
Even though it appeared that myself and one other guy next to me (clutching a Delphic press clipping from NME, no less) were the only people in the whole club to even know who they were and what they sounded like, by the time the set closer “Counterpoint”, with the swells of its guitar and synth and Cook’s upbeat yet sad lyrics of “but you don’t come back around / it seems to me that we will never be” and his emphatic declaration that “nothing’s wrong / nothing’s wrong with today,“ everyone was already on their side, pumping their fists in the air. See, Delphic may write songs about love and heartbreak like other bands, but they write and play them in a way you will force you to take notice, because you won’t be able to keep still. This is music that makes you want to dance.
Delphic Set List
Clarion Call
Doubt
Red Lights
This Momentary
Halcyon
Counterpoint
The way things are going for the Temper Trap, I think they could very well be playing stadiums in the near future. They have the swagger, they have the confidence, and they certainly have devoted fans. In Washington, maybe a quarter of the attendees show up before or around doors and the rest amble in at the appointed set time for the headliner. Not so with Sunday’s Temper Trap show. I have never in my life seen such a long line outside a venue before doors, going for what seemed like miles down Arch Street. Thanks to two wonderful openers, the Trocadero crowd was drenched in perspiration and ready for the headliner.
All too predictably, “Sweet Disposition,” the song on the “500 Days of Summer” soundtrack that made the Temper Trap a household name in America, got the loudest crowd reaction. But my buddies and I in second row standing had a good time pogo-ing to “Fader,” “Love Lost,” and even “Down River,” the latter with its unusually plodding verses but endearing, shoutable chorus of “Down river! Down river!” and odd spoken lyrics from bassist Jonathan Aherne. I think a lot of people went to this show knowing nothing but “Sweet Disposition” and maybe “Fader,” but they all came away with a feeling of euphoria, seeing a band close to or at its peak in performance terms. Dougy Mandagi grinned through the entire set, later reaching out to the crowd at the end to shake as many hands as he could.
The light show for their final song, “Science of Fear,” was a war between strobes and blue spotlights. This is the level of light show Muse uses on tour. So it’s not a far stretch of the imagination to imagine envision the Temper Trap playing Madison Square Garden or the Meadowlands sometime soon. They won’t be playing clubs for much longer. Watch this space.
The Temper Trap Set List
introduction
Rest
Fader
Fools
Down River
Love Lost
Soldier On
Sweet Disposition
Resurrection
Drumming Song
//
Rabbit Hole
Science of Fear
Tour Dates (dates with all three bands except those noted)
Sept 29 – House of Blues / Boston
Sept 30 – Wellmont / Montclair, NJ
Oct 01 – Terminal 5 / New York City
Oct 02 – Le National / Montreal
Oct 03 – Capital Music Hall / Ottawa
Oct 05 – Phoenix / Toronto
Oct 07 – Newport Music Hall / Columbus
Oct 08 – DC9 / Washington, DC^
Oct 09 – Austin City Limits / Austin*
Oct 09 – MOTR Club / Cincinnati%
Oct 11 – St. Andrews / Detroit
Oct 12 – Metro / Chicago
Oct 13 – Turner Hall / Milwaukee
Oct 14 – First Avenue / Minneapolis
Oct 18 – Crocodile / Seattle%
Oct 19 – Woods / Portland%
Oct 21 – Popscene / San Francisco&
Oct 22 – Fox / Pomona, CA
Oct 23 – Club Nokia / Los Angeles
^ Delphic only
* the Temper Trap only (festival appearance)
% the Hundred in the Hands only
& Delphic and the Hundred in the Hands only
LCD Soundsystem have been on the summer festival touring circuit for a while now, making notable appearances as a headliner of London’s Wireless Festival on July 3 and Chicago’s Pitchfork Festival on July 17. Now they have announced they will be going out on the road back in the U.S. again this September and October. They will be touring with current darlings of the blogosphere Sleigh Bells and London’s Hot Chip.
And good news for those of you left biting your nails after James Murphy‘s pronouncement earlier this year to Rolling Stone that This is Happening released in May might be LCD’s last album. According to an article in online British rock and pop culture magazine the Quietus, Murphy suggests the band might still record singles but will likely no longer tour professionally. All the more reason to catch them on this tour. I myself saw them at Roskilde Festival in July; they put on a really fun show.
Tour Dates
Sept 23 – Wellmont Theatre / Montclair, NJ
Sept 24 – Philadelphia Naval Cruise Terminal / Philadelphia*
Sept 25 – Virgin Mobile Fest @ Merriweather Post Pavilion / Columbia, MD
Sept 27 – Memorial Auditorium / Burlington, VT*
Sept 28 – Orpheum / Boston*
Oct 01 – Hamilton College / Clinton, NY*
Oct 02 – Charlottesville Pavilion / Charlottesville, VA
Oct 04 – Tabernacle / Atlanta*
Oct 05 – Hard Rock Live / Orlando*
Oct 06 – Fillmore / Miami*
Oct 08 – Verizon Amphitheater / Houston*
Oct 09 – Austin City Limits Festival / Austin
Oct 13 – RIMAC Arena / San Diego^
Oct 15 – Hollywood Bowl / Los Angeles*^
Oct 16 – Complex / Salt Lake City^
Oct 19 – Fillmore Auditorium / Denver^
Oct 22 – Eagles Ballroom / Milwaukee^
Oct 23 – Roy Wilkins / St. Paul^
* with Sleigh Bells
^ with Hot Chip
The band – lead singer/bassist James Cook, guitaristMatt Cocksedge, and multi-instrumentalist Rick Boardman – recently played shows in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in June prior to the American album release date. But there are rumors the English trio will return to America for shows in October. I just saw these guys last week at Roskilde Festival and they’re definitely ones to watch. Check out the promo video for “Halcyon” below.
To keep this site up and running, we reserve the sidebar for ads. In that case, put your ad here.
All that's needed is for you to fill out this lovely form.
All media content contained within PopWreckoning is meant to enhance reader appreciation for the art and medium. Please support artists you discover here by purchasing albums, attending shows and buying merch.
Contact us should you wish for certain media to be removed from PopWreckoning.
Concert Calendar
Nov 23, 2011
HaHa Tonka @ Recordbar, Kansas City MO
Nov 25, 2011
Thee Oh Sees @ The Granada, Lawrence KS
One of the most exciting bands of the moment, Pendulum, are touring in North America right now. The Australian/British drum and bass and electronic band are playing a series of shows as support for Linkin Park, as well as headlining some of their largest shows of their own on our continent to date. I had an opportunity to ask Gareth McGrillen, bassist and co-founder of the group, some questions during a rare moment of free time while they’re on the road. He tells me how the band’s move from Australia to Britain was pivotal to their success, about their crazy fans that “destroy each other,” and how Immersion, their latest album just released this week in the U.S., differs from their two previous albums. Read on.
