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| Interview
With Athlete - 10th October 2007 |
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Thom caught up with Tim Wanstall from Athlete at
Southampton Guildhall during the bands headline
tour across the UK to talk about the bands current
album and summer 2008 festivals.
So
what have you been up to today, thus far? Because
I know you didn't play anywhere last night...
No we didn't, we had a day off yesterday, so we
were home in London. So, it's been quite nice,
we got to wake up at home, instead of just sleeping
on this (we were on the tour bus) overnight and
travelling from gig to gig. It's quite nice to
go home and then literally just travelled down
at lunchtime today.
How's
the tour been going so far?
It's been brilliant. Yeah it's been amazing. It's
been almost a full two years since we've done
a tour in the UK at this kind of level, so, you
know, after that amount of time, playing to a
couple of thousand people a night again, you know,
we've done quite a lot of little one-offs, we
did a load around the record coming out, in little
bars, and places that gigs aren't usually in.
And they were kinda like free ones, for people
who queued up and bought the record. Three-hundred
people per night and you know it was wicked, like
it's a totally different vibe, but doing it with
a couple of thousand people and going to town
with the lights and stuff, it's pretty special.
So yeah, it's nice to be doing it.
And
you're off to the US next month...
Yeah we're doing just a real quick main city tour.
We're just doing like, New York, Toronto, Vancouver,
LA, Chicago, yeah, literally five or six gigs
just to get the ball rolling there, and then after
Christmas we'll go back and do more of a full
on five week trip.
Have
you toured much over there before?
Well we've done a reasonable amount. The last
record we spend three or four months there, not
all of it was touring, some of it was like going
round doing really rubbish things like, you know,
they're really into their 'meet and greet' sort
of thing, you know. It's a completely different
kind of way that things work, so, often before
you even go in to do a radio session at XFM, you
might go in first to meet the staff and have lunch
with them, and do a session in their boardroom,
but not one that goes out on air, you know, so
we spent a month doing stuff like that. Probably
did spend about three months touring though, yeah.
Your
support tonight, who have been with you for a few
gigs, are Loney, Dear.
Yeah Loney, Dear are the main support. We had
Fonda 500 for like, the first couple of gigs,
who we've had, you know, they've done the odd
gig, you know they're from Hull and they've all
got jobs but they're on this little label, and
they've been doing their thing for years, and
it's always been good fun so we've always had
them for one offs, so they did the first couple
because it kinda worked out for them. And then
this band Loney, Dear, they're from Sweden. I
don't think many people have heard of them here
at all.
I've
heard of them.
Ah well there you go, you're one of the lucky
few.
Are
you fans of theirs or was it the label that brought
you together?
Well we found out about them because their record
in this country is put out on Regal, which is
related to Parlophone where we put out first little
EP out. So, yeah friends at the record company
were just like "yeah we're putting this out,"
so we gave it a listen and it's just a great vibe.
It's kind of, erm, I don't know, like live, the
songs are almost stronger, you know, and they've
got a couple of tunes that are almost like, lost
Beach Boys numbers. It's not throwback, but there's
something quite timeless about it, I think, and
you hear a tune and you think you've heard it
in a great moment in a film, but actually you're
just hearing it for the first time tonight. But
you're humming it for the rest of the day, and
yeah they're brilliant.
The
new album, are you happy with it?
Yeah ecstatic, totally. I think in some senses
it's erm, it's the most "us" thing that
we've done so far. Just because nobody else has
been involved in it. And you'd certainly expect
we'd be none other than proud, because every little
decision along the way was, you know, the four
of us making our call, because we weren't working
with anyone else.
It's
a very different sound to the other albums, what
influenced you to change?
Making it ourselves, affected how it was going
to sound. I think it's erm, certainly compared
to Tourist, it's a much messier record, in terms
of, the recording isn't quite as pristine. You
can hear people walking around the room and chairs
squeaking, and you know it's not perfect recording.
This is the first time we've recorded ourselves,
but I think as a result of that, it's erm, I think
it's more lively. Tourist was a beautiful sounding
record, but this one, you can tell a bit more,
it's played by real people sitting in a room together,
it's not perfect. And, I think another thing that
meant the sound changed was that there wasn't,
well, on the last record, we had "Wires"
right at the beginning, and as a song, to a certain
extent, it dictated the tone of the record a little
bit, because, from "Wires" to "You
Got The Style" is such a big jump, I don't
think this record as bigger jump as the last one
was from the first one. Whereas this time, there
was never one song where we were like "that's
the sound of the record." So right up until
the last session I don't think any of us knew
what kind of record it was going to be, we were
just having fun, and I think that comes across.
There was a certain playfulness to the first record,
which I think a lot of people found charming,
and I think that was because we were having a
lot of fun making it and hanging out together.
I think this record is a lot more upbeat, certainly
not as moody as the last one, and I think that
playful vibe is coming back across a little bit,
in some of the electronic flourishes, and some
of the twists and turns.
You
built your own studio for the new album. As well
as the good points you mentioned, were there any
bad points about doing it all yourself?
It means it's taken us longer over all, to get
a record out, erm, because, we were probably pretty
much ready to start writing tunes and we didn't
have a home to go to. So we didn't start, you
know, we were working on things at home but we
couldn't sit down and play together. I think that,
aligned with, building the new studio, finding
a new one, because we moved out of the old one
as there wasn't room for all our gear, it probably
means it's taken us six months longer, than if
we'd just stayed where we were, and paid someone
and just gone into a studio somewhere else. That
said, we're kind of up and running now, so I'm
guessing we'll probably stick with it for the
next one. So yeah, probably just means it took
longer because of the steeper learning curve,
you know, we weren't worried about producing the
record, because to a certain extent we've always
produced our own records because we've always
made demos and gone into studios knowing what
the finished thing was going to sound like, but
the physical mechanics of getting it into the
computer was slightly more worrying. But it seems
to have come out alright.
How
do you feel about the mixed reactions and responses
to the new album? Some are saying they're a bit
disappointed, and some are saying it's just a massive
sidestep.
Ultimately it doesn't bother me hugely because
we've done something we're very very proud of.
I think it's a harder record to get your head
around, than certainly the last one, probably
the first one, because it's not as... I think
we definitely enjoy like, our melodic, poppy kind
of hooks, but I don't think its, you know, the
first record was obviously very very cheery, you
know, very 'arms around your mates after the rugby
match, sing-along with your pint' kinda vibes,
and we've always wanted to keep something of that
in our sound, always wanted our tunes to have
that. So I think they have across all three records,
but I think on the last one, because it was about
a band being away from home, getting used to touring,
and the struggle of keeping family life going,
and dealing with what happened as Vehicles and
Animals took off. And it means it's a record where
the lyrics have got quite a lot of relational
sort of vibes to them, so I think instantly it's
a lot easier to tap in, because even if you're
not in a band touring round the world, everyone
knows what it's like to have a sense of missing
and longing. So on this one I mean obviously musically,
we want to push our playing, and I think our playing
on this record is much better than on any of the
other two, and then lyrically, you know, we weren't
interested in, well, nobody needs to hear us wallowing
again about being stuck on a tour bus for half
our lives. So again that moved on and it meant
that we looked outside of ourselves a little bit,
and so I think the result in a good way, Joel's
lyrics are a lot more poetic, but there aren't
so many songs that could have that universal 'Dawson's
Creek' love thing going on. Quite frankly I think
that's a really good thing, but it makes it harder
work to get your head around straight away. But
in the long run, for me, that's because it's a
better record. So we've got every belief that
when it's given it's time and when it's run its
course, in a similar way to how Vehicles and Animals
was a very slow burner, you know I think this
is one of those records where every single, people
will hear a different side to what we're doing,
and fall in love with it that way, that's fine
by me.
Considering
these reactions, it still got to number 5, you must
be pleased with that.
Absolutely, yeah. Both of the last records now,
going into the top five. Yeah it's amazing when
you kind of think, for us, we've been doing it
for that many years, and even to make a third
record is a huge deal these days, you know, for
most bands it really is downhill from the first
one, but I feel for us it's a nice pat on the
back because we've worked hard and toured hard,
and the fact we've got a third record still going
in at the top five, and it's life's only just
begun. We're just about to take the second single
to radio, and there's four or five crackers on
there. Yeah, it's really exciting. Still playing
to thousands of people per night and internationally
there's signs of things coming together a bit
more than they have done so far, so, yeah lots
of things to look forward to.
Is
Beyond The Neighbourhood your favourite of the three
albums?
For me right now, it's our best record, because
obviously we're in the middle of it, and it represents
where we're at right now. But in terms of, I think,
favourites can also have associated memories,
so, because we're still in the middle of it, in
another sense, Vehicles and Animals would be my
favourite, because it's the one that I'm most
nostalgic about now, because looking back, the
things that were happening to us and the experience
of going from a dirty little basement to getting
signed, you know, really really special times.
And it's really hard to detach those kinds of
sentiments from, you know, that record is really
really special. Because of the life that went
with it, which is my life. So I couldn't choose
between them in that sense, at this moment in
time, but in terms of trying to look at it critically,
and the quality of the song writing and stuff,
yeah, I'm in love with this one right now.
Do
you have a particular favourite song?
*after a gargantuan pause.*
I don't know, it would be a hard call. I certainly
think "The Outsiders" and "Westside"
would certainly be up there, near the top of my,
I don't know if they're my two favourites, but
they're probably the first two that come to mind.
Yeah for me, "The Outsiders" is really,
one of, if not the best thing we've done so far,
and I love it to pieces. And then "Westside"
was really the tune that we got our record deal
off the back of, most of what's on the record
is actually the demo that we sent to record companies,
erm, and I never tire of playing that one live.
So they'd be my two, at the moment.
Given
the personal significance of "Wires,"
especially to Joel, did it mean a lot when it won
the "best contemporary song" award.
Yeah well it meant a huge deal that it won it,
because erm, you know, it was really one of the
big songs of that year, and the Ivan Novello award,
from a musicians point of view, is not only the
most prestigious award, but some say it's the
only one that they seriously take note of, and
would all consistently bother turning up to the
ceremony for. It's a very internal thing, it's
not, I mean people are beginning to hear about
it now, but to date it's not something that you've
seen televised. You know, it doesn't sell anyone
any extra records winning it, erm, you don't see
stands in Virgin of "The Ivan Novello nominations,"
but you get it for everything else. So from that
point of view, it was a huge well done, and it
felt particularly satisfying because, you know,
this week we went to the Q awards, because "Hurricane"
was nominated for best track, but by all accounts,
the fact that people didn't nominate "Wires"
for best track in the year that it was out, is
kind of baffling by all accounts. So it was lovely
that at the end of it all, the one that people
say really counts, wasn't really worried about
the core factors, and was happy just to say "well
a good song, is a good song."
Are
any of your other songs about such key moments,
as it were, because "Wires" is about Joel's
new-born child.
Yeah, well, I wouldn't want to name them, there
were a lot of tunes on the last record, because
of it's nature, you know, keeping our personal
stuff going as well as being in a band, so there's
definitely a lot of strikingly personal stories
on that one. Again, the first record, everyone
knows, is very much rooted in our little community,
our friendship circle at the time that we were
writing it. So, you know, a lot of them are kind
of genuine experiences. But you know, maybe not
to full on. And then with this record, there's
erm, "It's Not Your Fault" carries a
story that is very close to home, but, I don't
know whether that's something I can talk about.
Were
you disappointed with the placement of "Hurricane"
at number 31?
Not really actually. Well, one reason is, apart
from "Wires" we've never been a band
that have had that good single placings, you know
I think it was about our joint third best single
anyway, and erm, you know, most of them tend to
end up between about number 41 and 43, so it's
pretty good going really. And you know we said
all along that we're really fiercely committed
to albums, you know we're more interested in selling
them and touring, than we are in singles. And
we try to make a bit of an effort to put weird
b-sides on and do things because we know that
from a fan's point of view, if you're hardcore,
then collecting those little things is special,
but, erm, we're not gonna prostitute ourselves
to get five places higher up the singles chart.
I'd rather sell a few extra copies of the album.
And the other reason is, it's a bit weird now
with the whole download thing, I mean we made
the track available for download two weeks before
it came out physically, and most people unless
they;re huge artists tend to do it only a week
before, some of them just wait til the week. And
I think if we'd have played it more carefully
then we could have possibly had more sales in
one week and then it would have charted higher,
but you know, currently it's sold 20,000 copies
as a single, which, is actually a lot more than
probably everything apart from "Wires"
so far. So in that sense, it's actually done really
well as a track, but because of the way they're
spread out over a few weeks, it ended up being
at number 31.
Do
you think your fluctuating chart positions have
a lot to do with radio airplay?
Quite possibly. Yeah. I mean "Wires"
was very unusual because it was such a phenomenally
big song, you know, it was the most played in
the country for pretty much a full month, I think
it got knocked off the top at one point by Eminem
and then knocked Eminem off the top and stayed
up there for a couple of weeks, you know so it
was such an unbelievably massively played song
that it couldn't really fail to have been a big
hit in terms of charting in the top 5, and then
beyond that I don't really know. It got played
quite a lot on the radio, so I dunno, I think
"Hurricane" still ended up spending
a couple of weeks in the top 10 most played songs
in the country, so I think by all accounts, it
says more about the kind of people who like our
music, which is, they like to buy albums over
singles, with the exception of "Wires"
and maybe "Hurricane" to a certain extent.
So
you've been recording all Summer, you didn't attend
any festivals, but now the album's out do you reckon
next Summer you'll hit a few?
Yeah definitely Yeah, do whatever we can really.
It was a hard call to make this year because we
didn't know when the record was going to come
out. Originally we were aiming to get it out before
the Summer, but it would have been silly to have
a record out before the Summer and not been at
the festivals, but the festivals books January,
February, early March time so you need to know
then, what your plot is, and we couldn't say for
sure, so it made more sense to not put the word
out that we were doing them, and save ourselves
for next Summer. So yeah, definitely, we're looking
forward to a Summer of doing every one we can
get our hands on.
Happy
days.
Totally.
Well
I think that's about it, thanks a lot.
No worries, thanks for coming down.
Interview By Thom
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| Band
Members |
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Joel Pott (guitar, vocals)
Carey Willetts (bass)
Tim Wanstall (keyboards)
Stephen Roberts (drums) |
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| Latest
Releases |
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Athlete - Beyond The Neighbourhood
Release Date - 3rd September 2007
1.In Between 2 States
2. Hurricane
3. Tokyo
4. Airport Disco
5. It's Not Your Fault
6. The Outsiders
7. Flying Over Bus Stops
8. Second Hand Stores
9. In The Library
10. Best Not To think About It
11. This Is What I Sound Like |
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Related Links |
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