BOON Magazine interview ~アルバム情報

ブライトンのカルチャー情報紙BOONによるインタビュー。

先月ブライトンに来た時に取材したようなので、最も新しい内容だと思われます。

クエスチョンマークだらけで、インタビュアーが前のめりになってるのが可笑しい。

http://www.boon-magazine.co.uk/temples/

 

 アルバムは12曲入り!!

えーと、自分が知ってる曲は・・・

Sun Structures

Prisms

Sand Dance

Test Of Time

The Golden Throne 

Ankh

Colours To Life

Move With The Seasons

The Guesser

Jewel Of Mine Eye

Keep In The Dark

Shelter song    ・・・12曲じゃん!笑

 

以下インタビュー部分

James and Tom, you started off recording together last year. Whose idea was it to do that? What made you two want to record music together?

I think it was both our idea. We were sharing lots of records, and showed each other some demos that we’d just written around the same time. We had a strong idea of how we wanted the music to sound, so we ended up spending every day experimenting in James’ studio seeing where we could take those songs, and Temples was born.

You initially laid down four demos and put them up on Youtube, were you shocked at the levels of support and positive feedback?

The band started off as just that, a recording project, so we had little expectation as to what people would think. We just wanted to share what we had recorded at home, so we invented this imagined EP, with a cover, a title and tried to create an atmosphere to it. It became a real band the first time we got into a rehearsal room with Adam and Sam.

What were those first taster tracks about? Can you run through them and tell us a bit about them and why you wrote them in the first place?

They were just the first four ideas that we had that seemed to fit with what we wanted to achieve with Temples. Shelter Song was the first song we wrote together, we wanted that song to be all encompassing in terms of how we wanted Temples to sound. We recorded them in the space of about two weeks.

How was growing up in Kettering? Was it more difficult to become musicians and pursue a career in a town not exceptionally noted for its music pedigree?

Kettering is a small market town in the Midlands, it’s not really near any city to rely on creatively or culturally, so in that respect what goes on here is quite unique. We’ve all lived in different cities growing up, but the coincidence we all happened to move back to our hometown is the reason Temples formed. London is only an hour away, but it’s removed enough to feel like a completely different world.

Why do it? Why become musicians? What inspires you to do it over another career?

I think it’s that instinct to create something, to want to leave something behind of some value. Music was our first outlet growing up and it’s never really left us.

At what point did you realise that you needed to turn into a band and take on two new members?

About a week or so after we uploaded songs onto the internet. People immediately asked us to play some shows, I think at that point we realised how exciting it’d be to play those songs live and we haven’t stopped since.

We read that in an interview you two were in ‘rival’ bands, how then did you come to end up in a band together?

Kettering is a really small town, so naturally theres a competitive edge in it’s small music scene. We’ve all been friends for years and know each other from playing shows together in bands. It just as well that none of us were in other bands when we decided to form Temples.

How do you as a band go about producing a new track? What is the process involved, who writes the lyrics etc? Does it come as something natural or do you have to really hone your skills and work hard?

It’s something that we always try and work together on. There’s rarely a set process in how the songs are written. One thing that stays the same is that we take an idea into the studio immediately. We’ll record a drum beat or guitar sound and start building on it straight away. It’s really easy to do, because our studio is this little box room in James’ house. Having no money has been a really important factor in how the songs have formed. We’ve been left to our own devices to record, and when you’ve gone through a couple of years of having no money to record, you end up learning a thing or two about how to do it.

You have written and produced your own music so far in “The Box Room”, what are the differences between recording in a domestic room such as a bedroom compared to a studio? Does recording like this present limitations? Advantages?

It’s allowed us to do everything you’d otherwise be constrained with. Things like money, time, space aren’t ever an issue if you’re not paying for studio time. I guess most bands wouldn’t dare take a drum beat or a melody into the studio, because you’re up against the clock. With recording ourselves you’re given complete freedom to be creative.

Do you think your success through your recordings is down to this DIY approach? Has it sculpted your sound?

It’s for us where everything started, so it’s gone on to determine everything that we do. We’re as much fans of producers as we are of songwriters and bands, so it’s something that we really have a passion with, and see it as much of an art as the song itself.

You have worked with Claudius Mittendorfer, how was that? What did he do and what did you learn?

Claudius is an alchemist in the studio, we’ve been working with him on mixes for our album. We’ll send him over everything we’ve recorded and he has this way of embellishing and transcending the production. It’s a dark art.

You have been described as bringing back psychedelia and sixties/seventies style music, are people’s interpretations of your sound accurate? Do you like such descriptions from journalists and bloggers?

We’re influenced by music from the 21st Century as much as the 60s or 70s. We love all the tinny, ratty rattles as much as full range synthesis and fidelity that’d never be possible in decades past. I think maybe our songwriting might have a more traditional sense.

How did your sound come about? What it something that naturally occurred?

Nothing was ever calculated, we’d just be experimenting with sounds in the studio. Never afraid to try the wrong thing, put sounds in the red. The drum sound was the first thing we got together.

What music did you all listen to when growing up and who influences your style and sound today?

We all listened to 60s pop music, that British sensibility in songwriting, it’s something that’s really stuck with us. A lot of soundscapes, things like ‘Discreet Music’ by Brian Eno, The Pink Floyd album ‘More’, King Crimson – artists that were great songwriters of pop, but then destroy all recognised forms of sound and structure.

You have been compared to Tame Impala, been cited by Noel Gallagher and Johnny Marr, what is it like receiving such positive comments and comparisons?

It’s nice if people recognise what we do, Johnny Marr is a sorcerer on 12-string guitar.

You are signed to Heavenly records. We hear Jeff Barrett took a liking to you and your sound, can you tell us precisely how everything fell into place and how you got your record deal?

I think Jeff heard Shelter Song as soon as we put it online and wanted to release it as a single. We immediately said yes, and haven’t looked back once. We saw it as Heavenly are one of the only record labels at the moment actually getting involved properly with new music. They have such a great roster of new bands and it’s amazing to be a part of that.

Tell us why you are called Temples? Is it to do with the connotations of peace, tranquility, spirituality? Does that then reflect your musical direction if so?

It was inspired by a Francesco Hayez painting, you can see on our Youtube. We wanted our music to soundtrack what was happening in that painting.

What has it been like supporting the likes of Suede and The Vaccines? Did you ever imagine you would be doing such a thing a year ago?

It’s all been very surreal. We haven’t stopped gigging since the start of 2013, and we’d never thought we’d play shows of that size. We always prefer more intimate shows, playing in front of thousands of people who aren’t your fans is a challenge for any band.

What do you think of the current state of the music industry? Good? Bad? Who else is doing a fantastic job and whose work do you love?

I think it’s a great time for live music at the moment, there’s a real emphasis on experiencing bands live, maybe because its something you can’t download. Toy, Goat, Bo Ningen, Telegram are all great new bands to see live.

The psychedelic scene has become increasingly popular lately. Why do you think that is? Do fellow bands within the genre support one another?

I think it’s a little like an international family. It’s great how well things like Liverpool Psych Fest are taking off, I think they’ve started doing some around Europe too. What ever reason it’s popular its great that people can go and see so many great band live.

You have been doing a lot of gigs recently, what has been your favourite venue so far and why?

We toured with our friends Telegram last month and our final show with them was in Bristol at a place called the Thekla, which is on a boat. It had the best atmosphere.

Describe Temples in five amazingly diverse words for us that sums you guys up.

Transcendental British Melismatic Happy Chappy

Tell us about your awesome fashion style. Has it given Temples an individual look? Was that deliberate or something that just happened naturally?

We just like to wear whatever we’ve just bought, and sometimes we don’t buy any new clothes for months.

Big hair or big coats? DECIDE.

Big coats.

Looking into the future, what can we now expect from Temples? You have said that you have enough songs for an album, is this going to be ready soon? Any secret snippets of information you can divulge to us at BOON?

The album is finished, mixed, cut and sequenced, 12 songs. We’re really excited show everyone what we’ve created.

Thank you Temples for answering our questions. We have loved every minute of it. Hope you did too.