Classix - Italy

I always wondered, what exactly does your band name symbolize? Does it even have a meaning?

If anything,  I was trying to think of something that gave absolutely NO hint of what was inside the box.  I wouldn’t want to tie myself into a genre for ever, that’s for sure.

You're in the music business since many years. How much has changed your approach during this time ?

I look back on when we released our first album (with Vulgar Unicorn) back in the mid 1990s I think it was?  Well, back then it was impossible to record to a decent level unless you hired a commercial studio.  Neil (my partner in Vulgar Unicorn) and I worked all hours doing horrible jobs (I worked in a call centre calling people who were behind with their phone bills) in order to save for a 4-week studio session.  That was a huge constraint – we didn’t have the luxury of spending 20 weeks on a bongo solo.  But in many ways, it also made it very exciting and definitely gave us a lot of energy and focus.  We either got the album finished or it was extra shifts down the call center!  As the years passed, technology became affordable and we soon had a decent studio of our own.  The trouble was, we got bogged down with the technology.  This hit us hard for the third Vulgar Unicorn album.  Now, I am relieved to report that technology is our friend.  It’s been a hard slog though.

What are your main reference points as far as music is concerned?

I’m always listening to modern music as my reference (and from any genre0.  But having said that, I keep one eye on the 1970s. I don’t know why, it maybe misplaced nostalgia but I have always wondered what it must have been like to live through the 70s. So much invention, boundless experimentation amid technology moving forward at light speed.  Some of my favourite albums from a ‘hi-fi reference’ point of view come from the early seventies.  Listen to America, Led Zeppelin or early Supertramp (Crime of the Century era) and they sound amazing to this day.  5 years earlier, stereo drums were a breakthrough!  Then the 1980s happened…

What albums inspired your interest in production and songwriting?

During my teens (the 80s and early 90s) I spent most of my time listening to 70s music.  I remember amassing a large record collection – Floyd, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Supertramp, America, Camel, Colin Bluntstone, Al Stewart, Anthony Philips, Steve Hackett – I could go on and on.  Contemporary artists?  Hmmm, Deus, Beck (when he’s not doing his ironic pop), Radiohead, Elbow, Queen of the Stone Age to name but a few.  But I don’t consciously think about production and songwriting although I’d be a fool to assume I don’t take it with me.

How would you describe your sound to someone who never heard you before?

You know, even after nearly 10 years of The Pineapple Thief I find that question almost impossible to answer.  I think it depends who I’m talking to.  Lets assume I’m talking to someone who knows a thing or 2 about music? I’d say: ‘rock, with progressive influences focusing on melody’.  Blimey, even writing it now I feel like a pretentious idiot describing myself like that.

Which you would say that it is the difference between Vulgar Unicorn and Pineapple Thief? What does it allow you to express each one of those projects?

VU was very much the brainchild of Neil Randall.  I was the guitarist who contributed to songwriting but never the lyrics.  In retrospect, that’s why I tried TPT.  As much as VU was a hugely enjoyable, learning experience I was desperate to do something more personal.  In fact, the songs on my albums couldn’t get any more personal if I tried (although I try to leave a level of intrigue in the lyrics).  I won’t even try to explain the contradiction of singing my songs to a venue full of strangers…

What are the main differences between this album and 'What We Have Sown’?

‘WWHS’ was written over the course of 8 weeks specifically to satisfy my contractual obligations with Cyclops, the label I was with for the first 6 TPT albums.  I owed them more than some kind of ‘Bruce chanting for 74 minutes’ album.  So, I finished some old songs I had lying around my studio and filled the remainder of the album up with the 27-minute title track.  I did the whole thing in 8 weeks so I didn’t really have time to think about it.  The new album, in my opinion, is vastly superior in terms of production and songwriting.

Can you see Pineapple Thief changing their sound a little?

Definitely.  The next album is going to be dirtier, edgier and broader.  I’m also going to hire the services of an orchestra.  But at the end of the day, I need to be able to play the songs live without relying on backing tracks.  The live sound is now just as important as the studio.

What can you tell me about the recording process? Did you notice any differences about the way of working and producing?

The process is very streamlined now.  I can translate an idea in my head to the finished article 10 times quicker than I could 5 years ago.  I don’t tend to fiddle around with ideas for so long anymore.  If a song doesn’t come together quickly, it goes in the ‘crap’ folder and I write a new one.  When I look back on my catalogue, the best songs are the ones that popped out of the machine effortlessly.

Did you experience with new sounds?

Yes, all the time.  Although with Tightly Unwound I focused on getting a natural band sound with organic instrumentation – traditional band setup plus strings.  In between albums I like to experiment with my studio toys.  That’s what I’m doing now, looking at what kind of sounds and production techniques I can utilise of the next one.

I think 'My Debt To You'  is totally huge. What’s the meaning of this song?

Ah, of all my songs that’s probably the easiest one to explain.  It’s a simple sentiment about all the people who have died to make the wonderful world we live in today.  I cannot begin to imagine what living through the front line of war is like but either way; I owe these people a massive debt.  I actually wrote that song after watching the final episode of the ‘world at war’.  Never forget.  I don’t normally write about such literal subjects and I do run the risk of sounding sanctimonious, but I think I got away with it this time.

Could you tell us something about the lyrics of the album, is there a general concept running through every song?

The concept of everything being ‘tightly interwoven’ is the general concept.  I don’t like to give too much away as I know a lot of people take their own meanings from my songs because generally, the lyrics are fairly abstract.  But in a nutshell, it’s about love/hate, birth/death, light/shade.  I know, that covers just about everything in life….

What do you think about the prog scene ?

Recently I’ve been listening to acts who are restoring my faith in the progressive movement.  I loved most of what the 70s had to offer but couldn’t stand the neo-prog of the 80s and 90s.  Now, seeing how many fans bands like Porcupine Tree and Opeth have garnered is truly inspiring.

What do you think Pineapple Thief have to offer that most bands in the genre don't?

That’s a tricky one to answer without sounding arrogant!  To be really honest, I’d say emotion and melody without losing the sense of songwriting and progression.  Or to put it another way, contemporary progressive rock with songs but without the widdly widdly.

Could we define as new prog bands like Pineapple Thief, RPWL, Demians and Frost ?

I think so, although we don’t venture too far into the metal/hard rock arena.  But those bands are examples of a real, credible renaissance in the progressive movement.  I haven’t heard Demians though, they are on Inside Out right?  I’ll check them out..

What should we expect in terms of sound from the future ?

I’m not sure.  I’m currently assessing where I’m going to go next.  As I said earlier, it’s going to get darker, edgier and dirtier.  That doesn’t mean an album of heavy guitars, but I can definitely see myself pushing the production away from the hi-fi mainstream.

What kind of role does religion play for you and for your art?

That’s a good question.  It plays a huge role, even though I do not believe in any prescribed religion.  The notion that we will all expire one day is a tragedy isn’t it?  How on earth can we rationalise our lives with that one, huge gotcha?  Religion, philosophy, art?  Well, I think I’ve managed to find a stoic path without the need to fall back on some divine purpose or promise of eternal life.

Have you ever thought to get in your hands the secret for the perfect melodies ?

Ha, yeah!  Do you have the manual?  I have no idea what makes those simple melodies become so perfect.  A series of notes.  Put them in the right order and in the right time and it creates something transcendent.

Do read reviews about your music and does that have any influence over your creative process?

I do, but I try not to.  With every new album I always tell myself to steer clear as I don’t want reviews to influence me.  I think if I let them influence me, there are so many contradictory statements about me out there that I’d probably spontaneously combust.

Is there going to be a video from the album?

Yeah, I’ve just heard from the guys at Kscope that Lasse Hoile is doing a video for us for the single edit of ‘Shoot First’.  I’m really excited about that.  How spoilt do I feel!