Is there a track on the new record that you feel the most proud of? Is there something that you think sort of articulates the broader vision of the band?
Hmmm it’s hard to say really, it changes from day to day which is a good sign I think! I’m recently really into “See Unit”–this tune took a long time to settle into itself. We’re generally very communicative and lucid about how a song might develop, but this tune stumped us for a while. But I think where it ended up makes me feel proud of hanging in there with it. It was the same with “Bylaw 7.1” really, we had the first half sorted for a long time but didn’t know how to transition it away from this initially. But in terms of what articulates the band’s vision I’d say “Nannerth Ganol” going into “Canada Geese” really eloquently displays our vision. These two display the broad influences at hand and the shifting between expansive and intimate, desolation and hopefulness, power and vulnerability, the conflicting feelings towards the British landscape. Also sonically, I feel these two hone in on what we really try to achieve, something that feels like it’s soaring over you but then becomes as close and sensitive as if it were someone nervously performing to you in their dilapidated bedroom.
You are pulling from a lot of different musical languages. What grounds the band? Are there important reference points that everyone shares?
We always come back to certain artists that we all share as big influences. We are all big fans of the Krautrock artists of course, Can, Faust, Neu!, Harmonia, Kraftwerk. The blending of the industrial and the pastoral from these influences is still present in our music. We all listen to a lot of contemporary electronic and experimental music and go to a lot of gigs together. Donato Dozy’s Magda has been a favourite when we’ve been driving to Gigs. Marco Shuttle too, Dub Squad, Anja Lauvdal, Fridge, June 11, Slint of course, Deliluh, Bark Psychosis, Bill Callahan, John Fahey, Richard Dawson, Róis, Trá Pháidín—there are literally loads. Listening to music together is definitely a ritual for us that is integral to our friendship, we’re generally always on a pretty similar page when it comes to our references and tastes.
You once played a show inside of a crypt. Any other memorable live experiences?
We have had a few in truth! We had a very memorable show in Dusseldorf in this little anarchist collective tucked underneath a railway arch. From the outside you’d be hard pressed to tell it was a functioning space—it was in a pretty rough part of town and the exterior looked genuinely abandoned. We didn’t know we had any fans in Dusseldorf but managed to sell out the show, standing on this tiny stage inches away from some fairly imposing looking German men. It was wonderful though, it felt like a space that was genuinely vital for those who used it, there was a real warmth and sense of ironclad purpose to the venue’s role in the city, as if no one questioned the role that such music venues could hold for people. Rewire was fantastic too, just unbelievable levels of production and hospitality.
We also played an outdoor show in the mountains near Brescia in northern Italy which was memorable for the wrong reasons. Leo, our drummer, got seriously ill, with what we later discovered was Measles, and had to be rushed to hospital hours before the show. He managed to return in time but with the drip still in his arm and clearly struggling, the poor lad. Our van also broke down so it was just a bit of a shit show. The setting was gorgeous though.