yourGigs (yG): So you guys worked with producer Nick Launey, that must have been amazing.
Paul Smith (PS): It was, yeah, we've been lucky each time we've made a record we've had three fantastic producers and three good blokes and Nick Launey was just what we needed for this new record. He's worked with so many incredible people. We knew that he brought a real liveliness to the sonic landscape, it all stacks up. So when we first got in the studio we were thinking, "This guy really wants to work with us? He's worked with so many big names." He is so enthusiastic about what you're doing it was a real collaborative process, he encouraged us to use more synths and he also recorded the drums and bass live. I think it is a very spritely record; there is a real spring in its step. He also looks at the dark side of things so what you get is a real interesting record that pulls in many different directions.
yG: What do you think he brought to the table that other producers might not have? How is he different?
PS: Well he's got both experience and spontaneity, his arsenal as a producer is that he will bring out a little bit of spontaneous spirit where it's needed. He also just gets on with it, you know; we had loads of different stuff recorded for the album that we just didn't use, it was just there and he would sort of pick those things up when he was mixing - he knows what sounds he can get. On this record we wanted someone who could help us be a bit more adventurous in our sound and that's exactly what he did.
yG: It sounds like you trusted him implicitly.
PS: Well you've got to I think. On each record you have to work with somebody you respect and you think, "Right, this person has done some great things", and you have an initial conversation with them and after the conversation with Nick, after he was explaining his ideas for the album, he was saying all the right things. He was saying what we were thinking, and that to me is the key.
yG: Did you find that this time around, the writing process was different to your previous albums?
PS: It did differ. We started off trying to make the record in the same way as the other two and it wasn't working. I think some days we would be trying to perfect a drum sound when we could have been writing another song, or make another song better. Other days I would be trying to be in Sonic Youth [Laughs] while the rest of the band were trying to be in Maximo Park [Laughs]. Everybody had their own spin on it, and when five people have got their own spin on a record you're in trouble. We were all really open with each other which we hadn't been before, you know because we are all mates and you don't want to offend your mates by going, "Oh, I don't like what you're singing on that bit" or "What the hell are you doing with that guitar?" [Laughs].
yG: Were there any tantrums in the studio?
PS: Oh yeah, the funny thing is although we try and take everything with a pinch of salt but you're so serious about everything in the studio, it's like that Metallica film. [Laughs].
yG: Oh god no, I hope it wasn't that bad.
PS: [Laughs]. Ah no, it wasn't that bad. There were no therapists in the studio, but you know you do get really serious about it because it's all you've got. The music that we all make is a massive part of my life. I'm so focused on it that it's hard to give up your opinion and I think making this album was a real learning process on collaborating with people; I think the songs became a lot more collaborative towards the end, you know you can't just do your own thing when you're in a collective. The music that we made in the end was bigger than all of us. I think that's the case with being in a band - as long as you're thinking like that it becomes a lot easier. We just found the process really easy. It has been a real turning point for the band.
yG: Who has inspired you musically throughout your life?
PS: When I was young we used to listen to the Beatles in the car and that was my introduction to music as well as Neil Young and R.E.M. When I was in my teens I would listen to The Smiths and Joy Division. Then I got into hip hop and the Wu-Tang Clan and later into more electronic stuff like Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada. It's amazing now to be on the Warp label that put those records out. I also listen to a lot of instrumental stuff. Two of my favourite singer songwriters are Bonnie Prince Billy and Bill Callahan/Smog, the lyricism and the mood that's created just blows me away. And of course The Go-Betweens, I have to mention them.
yG: So you're a fan of American poet Frank O'Hara, are you planning on using any of his poems as lyrics in the future?
PS: I suppose I would find that disrespectful to him, because I don't think he would have liked our music [Laughs]. I think that anybody who sits down with our lyrics would hopefully see some Frank O'Hara in there ... He's been sort of a guide for me in terms of what I write about. What I appreciate about his work is that sort of everyday quality the pop culture and slang coming into this elaborate structure. It's very conversational. It's the magic of the everyday. If you can freeze-frame moments and put it into words: that's what O'Hara taught me. You have to have your own voice but one that still chimes in with a universal factor. I would like people to hear my lyrics and feel some sort of empathy towards me.
yG: So when are you guys coming back to Australia?
PS: Well hopefully either the end of this year or early next year. We are just trying to figure it out, maybe if someone were to ask us to come down and do a festival there... There are a lot of cool festivals that we would love to have a crack at, but if not we'll come and play. We will definitely make it happen.
Alex Hahn
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