Bridge Magazine - Part 1

PHOTOGRAPHS S_BUCKLEY; FEATUREFLASH; NORTHFOTO
What song makes you
instantly happy?
Sunchyme by dario G. it makes
me laugh and suddenly life
feels ridiculous.
What do you play when
you’re feeling blue?
frank Sinatra songs from his
capitol period, like Only the
Lonely and No One Cares.
it’s not very fashionable to
like Sinatra but nobody’s
ever done break-up songs
like him. he can take one
feeling and turn it into a
hundred different songs.
What songs most evoke
your years growing up?
there was a period in my
teens when i’d get home and
watch mtV2 for two hours
straight. all the songs from
that period, when Zane Lowe
presented a show called Gonzo,
really were the soundtrack to my
life. Stuff like the corals’ Dreaming of
You, the Vines’ Get Free, the Strokes’
Someday, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’
Maps… a lot of bands beginning with
“the” basically.
Most romantic song ever?
Send in the Clowns by Stephen
Sondheim is probably the most
romantic song, in as much as romance
generally equates to loss, confusion
and a stubborn refusal to do the right
thing. Sinatra, Judi dench and the
tiger Lillies all do incredible versions.
Which songs do you enjoy
performing to a big crowd?
i like playing slower, more emotional
songs to large groups and seeing how
everyone can get affected and feel
something together, tracks like Grim
Reefer and Lay Low.
And to a more intimate crowd?
the faster, more lairy songs are fun.
Stuff like Chevy Thunder and Twenty
Nothing. Sweaty and intense.
When did you realise Spector
was destined for big things?
ha ha, i still haven’t.
You’re often compared
to Jarvis Cocker and The
Killers. Are there any parallels
that you’d draw?
i guess people compare me to Jarvis
because i wear glasses, but he’s in a
different league as a songwriter and
frontman. the killers makes sense
because we’ve ripped them off quite
a lot, especially their Sam’s Town era.
i don’t know what i’d compare us to – i
guess we sound much like the bands
we listened to growing up. But now
we’ve exorcised a lot of those spirits
i don’t know how long that will last.
Are comparisons ever useful?
comparisons are the only way music
journalists can describe music, so
they’re helpful in as far as they allow
their readers to join the dots. i guess
it’s like trying to describe colours –
the easiest thing is to talk about them
in relation to other colours. though in
reality that’s not a description at all.
Proudest moment so far?
playing on Later with Jools Holland
and at coachella festival were the
absolute highlights, along with going
to Japan for Summer Sonic.
Who are you listening to now?
in terms of new stuff i’m listening to a
lot of Solange knowles, Blood orange,
Sky ferreira, kendrick Lamar and
tame impala. in terms of old stuff: Soft
cell, the art of noise, peter Gabriel,
fabio frizzi and Yes.
Rising stars to watch this year?
Swim deep, palma Violets and haim
obviously. plus Gabriel Bruce, Luls,
peace, Splashh, pale, Skaters and
Jaws – all great bands/artists that i’m
looking forward to hearing more from.
Favourite Spector lyric?
“we got so close that at times, you
know i’d confuse your thoughts for
mine” is one i like a lot at the moment.
Ultimate musical heroes?
nick cave, tom waits, Bryan ferry,
and frank Sinatra.
soUnD
BItEs
Cultural notes
with tim roupeLL, author of
BuSineSS Book “Bread and
Butter” and Sme mentor
I was fortunate to have a hippy older brother. A
large part of my life-long love of music has been
influenced by him. I once asked him who he rated
as the best guitarist and he immediately came
up with Irish blues guitarist, Rory Gallagher. My
first concert was seeing him, and I was hooked.
Some people should be better known. In the
early 1980s you’d hear Ry Cooder blasting out
of almost every bar. He later found fame with
the Buena Vista Social Club, but his earlier
albums Bop Till You Drop and Borderline are
brilliant. Check out his hairs-on-the-back-ofyour-neck
guitar playing on the song How Can
a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live.
The Stone Roses’ 1989 debut is one of the
few classic albums of recent times. When the
band were recording I am the Resurrection
they kept playing after the end of the song, and
the second half of the
final version is a
constant joy.
Not
everything
was better
in the old
days. There’s
plenty of brilliant
music being made
now. The buzz name
on everyone’s lips is Jake
Bugg. He’s only about 12 (well,
18 to be accurate) but has the most
amazing talent. Listen to his voice soar on Two
Fingers from his self-titled album.
Some songs creep up on you. All I Want and
Perfect World from Kodaline’s eponymous
debut EP are both lovely songs and worth
sticking with after their slow starts.
You can’t beat great, raw energy with a really
catchy chorus. Palma Violets is just the band
for this with their single Best of Friends.
For something different, try Public Service
Broadcasting. They take samples from old
public information films and mix them with
electronic music. It shouldn’t work, but it does.
Listen to Spitfire from their EP The War Room.
BRIdGE MAGAZINE 41