Loud and Quiet presents Midnight Chats.
Hey everybody, welcome to episode fifty six of Midnight Chats. It's been a little while for me on doing these. I mean, we've just launched this seventh series of the podcast, having taken about a month or two off to record these ten we're going to do ten. This is number two of the ten. Last week we had Yannis from foals On Greg interviewed here. I thought it was extremely entertaining and very dry and very droll, and I enjoyed that in my interviews this week it's my turn. My
name is Stuart Stubbs. I am the editor of Loud and Quiet magazine and I host half of these podcasts. Greg Cochran does the better half. And yeah, it's been two months or so since I've done one, so feeling a little bit rusty, certainly on the intro part. But but yeah, what I mean, the big news for me, and I know you're interested, is that in the interim I have managed to fracture a vertebrate in my spine because I was hit by a motorbike whilst on my pushbike.
And although I am of course saying that purely for sympathy, it's also because it's it's mentioned in passing in this conversation, and but we don't talk about it, so that there's a there's a there's a moment when my body is referred to it's sounding sexy, isn't it. There's a point where my body is referred to as on the mend, and that is what Jason means. Jason, of course, is Jason Williams from Sleaford Mods, who is tonight's guest, and we've tagged this as Sleaford Mods. And Jason is only
half of that duo. Andrew Fern is the other member of the group, but Andrew doesn't really do much press. It is always Jason. Jason is the spokesperson and that's the way they like it. Jason's a very good talker, as you're about to hear. I met him a couple of years ago when they were about to release English Tapas, and we recorded this episode when they were just about to release Eton Alive eaton spelt as in the Posh School Eton. It's out now, go and check it out.
It's a great record. I'm guessing you know Sleaford Mods. Maybe you've come to this podcast for the first time, because it is a Sleaford Mods episode. If you don't know them, though, please do hunt them down. They've got around almost eleven records out there, some super early ones where Jason was doing it on his own, but the band really kind of clicked and took off when he teamed up with Andrew, who created all of the beats, and Jason is the poet, shall we say of the duo.
I'm not going to try and describe the sound of Sleaford Mods, because no I will. I'm going to it's rudimentary beats and Jason shouting a lot of the time, swearing quite badly about the state of society. So this was recorded just before Eating and Live came out, and I think from I don't keep up with things once they come out very well, but I think it's going well by all accounts, I think it's gone down very well. We gave it a very good review in Loud and
Quiet that reviews on our website. If you want to read it, it's a real deep dive. It's about fourteen hundred words into that record. I think it is a very well and review. So this is myself and Jason having a very informal conversation recorded at a little earlier this year. I hope you enjoy it. Please do subscribe if you are coming to us for the first time. We've got another eight of these in this series and
we've got some very good guests coming up. But for now, this is Jason Williamson from Sleaford Mods on Midnight Chats number sixty five. It would have been two years ago that we met.
It was about the same time.
Yeah, it was just before English taps. It was just about to come out and we met in that kind of the I guess that was like the indie cinema of Nottingham, right it was, yeah, the one that it is.
Yeah it is, yes, good cinema Broadway.
Yeah. Are you much of a film guy? Yes?
Uh yeah.
I love them, But I like trashy films, you know, crap films. Okay, I'm not a big artie film person, but I do. I do like a good artie film if it's if it's put in front of me, I will watch it, and generally they are really good. But I seek out cheap entertainment mostly or good horror. You know what I mean.
What's what's what constitutes a good like crappy trash film for.
You, anything with lots of guns in merciless violence, normally a dysfunctional detective. You know that kind of thing. You know, they're always good good fight scenes, uh, you know, really bad villains, sadistic villains and yeah, stuff like things films like Face Off, Face Off, fantastic.
Face Off comes Home because we had backster jury on the podcast like last year. Yeah, I don't know how we ended up talking about Face Off quite a.
Bit, okay, And is he a fan of it as well?
He is a f He was trying to get his son to watch it. He was like, sit down, this film's on TV. You're gonna love this.
I can't believe that.
His son, I think, is about fifty Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, And he was like, this is the ship's film ever, Dad, Yeah, because of course it is. If you just see it for the first time, now, it's no good at all.
No, it's it's terrible. It's aged terribly, I think, yeah, because it was on TV the other week and it has it's really aged badly. Nicholas Cage at times is a bit scary, but apart from that, it's pretty bad. Johnsh Rolt really bad.
Have you seen any good trash recently?
Good trash? I watched the new version of what is it? You know, The Deaf Wish with Bruce Willis as Charles Bronson.
Okay, it was okay, Bruce Willis is playing Charles Bonson. Yeah, okay. Have you seen the Tom Hardy one?
No, which, what's that?
Just called Bronson?
I think, oh that's brilliant. Yeah yeah, yeah, that's Tom Hardy. But Bronson's the actual the prison guy, isn't it. Yes, yeah, I'm talking about the famous uh you know, you've not seen it Deaf Wish with Charles Bronson in You've not seen it? That's the seventies thing where you know, his wife gets murdered by some intruders. Okay, he goes around, you know, basically takes the law into his own house, goes out at night shooting villains.
And they made it with Bruce Willis.
Yeah, okay, and it's not actually that bad, to be honest. I mean, Bruce Willis is playing his kind of die hard character.
In a bloodstained fair.
Yeah, you know when he shoots the bullet, that expression on his face like it's like, oh here we go. But yeah, but Bronson with the thing in is brilliant.
So two years ago we met there and kind of straight after that, English Tappers came out and then my memory from around that time is watching you on TV at Glastonbury when Lord Buckethead introduced you, which was quite an inspired thing to come out. And how did that come about? Was that your idea?
He asked us. On the way down there, we got a text message from I think it was from his Manager's.
Got a manager.
Yeah, I got an email from his manager asking if he could come on, and we said yeah, I thought it was quite funny. We didn't think it was quite funny. And he turned up and he's all right, that's really really thank you for let me do this, and he went out and just commanded the stage. I thought it was quite good. Yeah, it was quite funny.
I suppose we probably should explain to anyone listening maybe from overseas, Lord Buckethead. There's a guy who ran against Prime Minister to resume constituency to try and win her seat in the election two years ago. And he wears a bucket on his head dress like a space mode. He's kind of like a budget Darfader, isn't he.
Yeah, basically.
But he was very funny and for a short time around that time he was quite a star, like an internet star here, wasn't he. Yeah? Yeah, And then he did that and that was kind of a bit of a thing that kind of people were like talking about that a lot.
Yeah.
Yeah, in the music world especially.
It was the pictures of him that stood there with Uriza May and everyone. It was just the absolute absurdity of it.
Yeah, and he was he dabbed, He got about they when they said his like vote cow, which was sixty people. Yeah, yeah, I remember he dabbed. And there was a great shot of Teresa May with him stood in the background. I think it was while she was giving her kind of winning acceptance, and behind her there was Lord Bucket. There was a guy dressed as Elmo as well.
Yeah there was, Yeah, but he no one.
Gave him a looking because the guy next, the guy with a bucket on his head, became the star. I guess it was more it was.
More funnier, I think, yeah.
Yeah, it's during moments like that when I am really proud to be British. The British sense of humor really really it really does something, isn't it.
We just made the idea of politics so absurd. And it just when I saw that and the way Tresmay was just stood there trying to be polite, and I just thought, this is it. It's just so absurd. This is our country. This is the system. You know, the system allows this, you know what I mean, it can't stop this. You know.
How was that Glastonbury show? From what you remember, you played You're on the park stage.
I think, yeah, I didn't enjoy it much. It was all right. I mean there were more people there than the last time we played, but last time we played was better. I think I'm not sure if the performance was great. Were you in the tent before, yes, And I was really nervous this time around. I don't know why, because we've done tons of gigs running up to it, so I was, you know, we were well oiled, but I just halfway through the gig, I lost it. I didn't feel connected to it. I didn't think it was
and I started thinking that I'm not enjoying this. You know. I think we carried it off. It was all right, Yeah, I just on TV. I just didn't think. I just didn't enjoy the rest of it. To be honest, but saying that, you know, we got a good response, and you know that's the name of the game, isn't it.
You know, yeah, exactly. It was great. I think it was great to be watching that at home on TV. Yeah, it was just great in and of itself. I think, you know, just to see sleeferd Mods on the BBC, Yeah, and introduced by a man with a bucket on his heage, Yeah yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Then going on to do your thing was quite you know those things when they happen on TV, you kind of feel like you're this little thing is infiltrating the wider world a bit. Yeah.
Yeah, definitely dream come true. Really, you know, everyone wants to play at Glass, be on the TV with it, and to not only play there, but to play in front of a big crowd. You know, it's a dream come true. But you know the reality of these things is, you know, sometimes you just don't enjoy it, or it doesn't it doesn't turn out to be the thing that you thought it would be.
Is Glastonbury good to do as a as a performer, as an artist.
Yeah it is, Yeah, it is, because it's essential really, because it's you know, it's kind of the only festival. Well, it's not the only festival that films it, but if you do Glastonbury then you're going to be on TV. You're on the BBC, you know. So it's just as good as getting on Jewels Olen really, and everyone wants to try and get on Jewels Olen because it's the only TV you know. Have you done that? Yes?
Yeh.
So and they won't let us back on because they only let you go on once really, unless of course you're a massive big name yeah or hugely popular you know or whatever. So so yeah, there's only that, and then there's the soccer. Am I think they.
Oh yeah, have you done that?
No, because we're not in football, And I don't know if you have to have some connection to football, but I.
Think you probably have to. Yeah, you know, probably too.
Yeah.
Did you see Richard Ashcraft on it last year?
Oh? It was pretty bad?
Wondering it It was bad, but it wasn't It wasn't as bad as him on BBC Breakfast.
Oh that was really bad.
That was I was showing a friend of mine that at Christmas. He hadn't seen it. He's a big he was a big fan of the Verve back in the day. Yeah, he had to ask me to stop showing him.
Yeah.
Yeah, it was destroying his childhood hero.
You know. Yeah, it was really bad. I mean yeah, I mean because he was kind of laid down, wasn't he? And yeah, I'm a rock star and all this, and I don't know, you know, I thought, well, if he wants to be like that, let him be like that. But I think overall it wasn't good. It didn't look good. I don't know if you looked just to look a bit desperate in it, and well, I don't know if desperate is the right word. It just looked crap.
That's the that's the best way to describe it. Yeah, I think that's right. When you go on like Jewels, do they have any issue with your lyrical content the language of your song?
They know, well, they sort of said, look you I said, you know, we said we want to do Job Seeker, and the single at the time, which was no One's Bothered and there was no swearing in no One's bothered, so that was fine. A Job Seeker had loads of it in. But we wanted to do Job Seeker and they said yes, which surprised us. But we had to do it after the is It the Watershed and the nine o'clock thing, so we had to do it after that,
which we did and it went down a storm. You know, it's a real and he put it in his top ten of all time favorite bands on there, which I thought was quite something.
Maybe you will get invite it back, do know, be nice? You are probably one of the few bands that can go on that show in it and be safe that Jewels won't do some boogie woogie piano over your music.
No, I don't think he would.
I mean I couldn't imagine that collaboration.
No, I mean he probably I probably think I'm going to try this because it might be a challenge, but I don't know. I can't see that happening, to be honest.
Yeah. One thing I always think about those kind of big TV performances, whether it's Glastonbury or Jewels anything, is do you notice like the power of them, like in the sense of once you did Glastonbury, did you do you notice how many people start, you know, following your social channels or streaming your music records? Is there like a noticeable spike there is?
I mean back then it was Twitter, I mean Instagram was still in its early stages, right, But Twitter back then you just noticed and obviously on Facebook as well, but yeah, mainly Twitter, it kind of lit up, especially as it was in the top five of the most watch right or something. We were just below is it del Alama? It's just fantastic and then it was us So so yeah, you do notice the difference.
Yeah, looking back, how how did English Tapas go for you? It looked like it went very well.
It was good. It was the best album today, you know, sales wise and reach sh it. Yeah, we really did well with it. You know, it was a popular album and you know, we were worried that it will get criticized. I mean I thought it was strong, but it went down well with critically as well.
You know, I remember saying that like at the time, like you weren't sure how it was going to go because you were fully prepared to accept that key markets had been would be well that's the peak.
Yeah, it's interesting to say that.
It's interesting. Yeah, you're like, well that's we've kind of done that now, so where wh where is there to go?
You know, well it turned out wrong, didn't that? You know what I mean? English tap has became a commercial breakthrough almost whereas I thought before Key Markis and Dividing Exit were breakthroughs, but perhaps breakthroughs in the sense of awareness, you know, growing awareness. But I think in English Tap has but brought us into a whole new arena, you know what I mean.
And how then do you feel about the forthcoming record Eating Alive Again?
I'd say the same thing. I'm going to say the same thing that perhaps we've reached a peak, but I.
Don't know you've improved wrong before now I have, thank.
You, it's still growing, you know, and I think, I don't know. I worry that because we've left Rough Trade in the infrastructure, that perhaps this album won't get seen by as many people. But you know, I think we've got a campaign up to scratch really in the UK and to a certain degree in Europe, although Rough Trade were great with the local radio stations and stuff. And I'm not sure if we've managed to infiltrate those ends
of the branches, you know. But but yeah, I'm hoping it will, you know, maintain our position and you know we were allowed to carry on doing it, you know what I mean. Yeah, I don't want it to drop because I don't think it should. The record's really strong. It's still it's still up there, you know what I mean. There's not a lot that can match it in my opinion. Still, so so yeah, there's no reason why we can't hang around for a while longer.
Yeah, yeah, sure so And as you say, you've left rough trade, Yes, set up on your own huh. And the label it's got a great name, Extreme Eating. Yeah, where did that? Where did that come from?
Well, it's just a private joke for me and Andrew, you know, we we had We was on flying somewhere one day and just talking about you know at night where you can't be bothered to fix on it to eat and you're right, you just go to the fridge with a spoon and just get some a spoon of marmite or a spoon of tomatoes. It was like extreme in it, like extream eating, isn't it. And we were just laughing about that. So that's where that came from.
It's a great name, yeah it is. Have you got have you got a logo a company label logo?
Yes we have. And it's just a teaspoon with whatever condoment on top of it, you know.
Ok. So, so yeah, so with extreme eating and you enjoying that. Are you enjoying the We spoke about a little bit before, just before we started recording, but having a label you and Andrew just doing everything, Yeah, that's the that's the thing.
Yeah, to a certain degree, we got just we're working with Cargo Record and they're doing the distribution and they've been brilliant. Alongside that, we unfortunately party company with our manager. So at the minute, my wife Claire is overlooking that side of things. Obviously we've bought in all the pr and marketing and stuff through Clear and Yes, so between all of those people, the you know, the campaign's going.
You know, you don't see you forget how the reason why labels are so prominent on the landscape, you know, is because they have got that there the infrastructure, and they've got the the connections and the know how. And then this is how you you know, you pedal up interesting albums, you know what I mean. We're not a buzz band anymore, so you know, you have to to a certain degree your take your music to people. People don't necessarily come to you anymore, you know what I mean.
But at the same time, I suppose sleep and mods have got this fan base that is from the outside, at least looking in, it looks really dedicated and big, pretty big, like you know, you play big shows, play like the Roundhouse. Yeah, and there's something in that now. I think with you guys that you can imagine that they're going to buy your record, Like, regardless of who's releasing it, they're going to know they're going to come and see your show. They know, they follow channels and
all that stuff. So I don't see. I think it's going to work. I've got a good feeling.
Yeah, I think it will. You know, I definitely did. I didn't a few, you know, a month ago, but we now. I feel really confident about it. And it's been a learning curve for all of us, as you know. And I know it sounds probably to people listening like just a bit shut up, but this is our it is you know, in professional bands, it's like when you get to a point you work hard to get your band to a certain level, and you know, there's no reason why we shouldn't stay at that level. The music's
not crap. You know, we haven't turned into wankers. There is no reason why we shouldn't. So I'm not going to let that drop, you know what I mean, No way had.
A question on extreme eating generally speaking to you. I say this as we're eating sweet potato fries, so it kind of answers my question. Are you a healthy eater?
Yeah? Sort of. I mean I still eat red meat, still eat chips, fried stuff, but I don't drink or take drugs anymore so, and I exercise every day.
Yeah, you go to the gym, right, Yeah, so I joined a gym last year despite this figure that you see sat beside you.
Well, it's one that's on the men, which is important.
That's true. Yeah. Yeah, I'm injured, but I'm struggling to get into gym. We've got. There's a really kind of box stand a gym next to our office, and it's really cheap. It's like nineteen quid a month. And I joined maybe this time last year, and I was trying to get into it. But I think my problem is I don't know what the fuck I'm doing in there. No one's told me what any of the stuff does? You know? And I feel I might need some of that. I don't know how many times to do a rep.
I don't know any of it.
I think, what have I got personal trainer? Okay, I know it's quite expensive, but you know, when the band took off, I had a bit more money, so I was able to it might be worth trying to do that. I think you're looking at probably fifty quid an hour, probably forty quid an hour. But what you learn is invaluable, you know, I'll show you how to use things. Two or three, four sessions with one in your way, I reckon.
I had one for like a year, and then after that I just broke away and then did my own thing.
So do you go to the gym every day most days?
Yeah, if the kids aren't, if it's not too much cashle yeah, you know, if the kids are at home and they are sort of you know, it's too much for clear on our own. Sometimes it would be too much for me on my own, you know. So so you don't tend to go on days like that, but generally, yeah, try and go every day.
You kind of need to be as healthy as you can when you're not touring, because when you're touring it's really easy to be unhealthy. I imagine.
Yeah, I'm proper sort of military on tour, just gig back to the hotel gym the next day if there's one in town.
All right, So he's stay in shape. Yeah, on the road.
I don't go mad because obviously the gig takes a lot out of you. But obviously without drinking, not doing drugs anymore, it's that weights off your shoulders, you know what I mean. You haven't got a hangover, you focus, you know what I mean. It's still very tired. I mean, I'm nearly fifty, you know what I mean. But then again, when I was twenty. It takes it out of you, you know. But I find that if I stick to that, I'm fine. But I'm obviously conscious that you've got to
communicate with people and see people. Yeah, but you know, if you can balance it, you're all right.
I remember when we when we last met, someone came over whilst maybe whilst we were leaving, whilst we were going to do photos, just some just some guy. He didn't know you, but you just wanted to stay hi. You recognized him, and we were talking about, you know, people recognizing you and spotting you more, especially back home because of your songs and what you're singing. Do you
find that people want to moan to you. The reason I say this I was listening to a podcast with Stuart Lee the other day and he was saying how a cabby was like slagging off John Bishop to him, presumably because you know, Stuart Lee's got this whole thing about like he slags off all those comedians, including John Bishop.
But so he thought it was totally fine to slag John vishuall and surely got quite annoyed with this cabby and was actually sticking up for really sticking up for John and Bishop and be like, how dare you how dare you have a guy you don't know John Bishop? He's actually really good. But this guy had seen this persona on stage, you know, and thought, I know what I can talk to him about, which he will. You know, we can start up a conversation. Is I hate John Bishop?
I know he does. So we're bond over this. Do you have a similar thing. Yeah.
Back in the day before give up boos and everything, people would yeah, you know, ship in it when I was out for three days mate, proper. You know, Now it's like nobody's you don't get that much. You get the old work thing. Sometimes we're like job ship mate, Yeah, I don't know if I'm gonna I'm gonna stick it to the bosh, you know, all right, okay, cool, yeah, yeah, yeah, good for you mate.
Not too much, okay, they don't tend to People don't have this kind of misconceived idea of of the person you are through your music.
Sometimes not too much though, because I don't think I do anywhere. I don't bring over any kind of you know, character, I suppose interviews. Yeah, he's just normal.
Yeah, because there are some people like I imagine, like Liam Gallagher who get it all the time. Yeah, you know, like people see Liam Gallagher and if they're a fan, they think I'm going to talk to Liam Gallagher about the Beatles, yeah, or what you know, yeah, or the cliche things that you think he would like.
And yeah, you don't really know him, do you, Liam Gallagher, You're still a bit of an enigma.
And have you ever met him?
No? No, Yeah, I can imagine people going to May acting or Laddie.
Yeah, yeah, he obviously.
Is like that.
But yeah, if not, it's a very method performance.
Oh god, yeah, you get drawn and quarter oh hello. Yeah, but no, not too many, you know. If anything, people are quite respectful and love your music mate, and and yes, so elo to Andrew for you know, I think people feel a closeness to it, the ones that like it anyway. Yeah, yeah, and that definitely comes through when people meet you.
Do you still get much hit on Twitter?
Oh? God?
Yeah, that's where that's where everyone is. Yes, still stick in the stick in the boot in.
Instagram is bad for it as well, but not as bad as Twitter.
Are you?
Yeah?
Instagram is kind of a much friendlier kind of social platform.
Is you still get them? Leaving Snyder comments on the Okay, the.
Twitter thing's funny, isn't it. Like I wonder where that's going. I wonder if, like people are, if if the sane world will just dessert Twitter eventually and it'll just be I think, of course it will left her in.
Yeah. I think it's lasted longer than my Space, hasn't it. But I think, you know, Instagram is now the is considered be the thing in you know, if you're promoting yourself, then Instagram's the one really. But you know what I find on Twitter is middle aged people that are not willing to let go of Twitter, you know, and they form all kinds of you know, you can't get a
group thing on Twitter like you can on WhatsApp. But you'll find that various people will have the usual people commenting on stuff that they post, and there'll be the usual people that come in on discussions, you know, and the usual people that support them in whatever views they've got. They'll all collectively attack somebody that don't like, you know.
So do you recognize certain people? It's this person again, he's got a problem with X, Y and Z. No, you don't have known trolls. I guess they would be, wouldn't they.
Yeah, the known trolls, there's probably one or two, but they come back every four or five months. If they're really bad, I just block them because I can't be asked with it. Ye, But you'll get occasionally. If you don't, I don't reply to them anymore. Try not to anyway. But the ones you don't reply to will come back occasional, and just keep trying the weirs, you know what.
I mean, because they want the response.
Rise, you know, because that's all they've got. And oh god, yeah, some terrible ones, terrible ones where people were just like, you need to seriously think about it yourself here, mate, I mean, I used to troll people back in the day before. See if we got big and Twitter was great for It's like I can directly insult you. I don't like you, I don't like your music. But you know, some of them are like dark you know what I mean,
It's like dark thoughts beliefs. Obviously, the whole Brexit thing political situation, the divide between the leave and the remainer and what that, what that has brought on, you know, particularly with a lot of Leave voters who were you know, you know, I don't mean to generalize here, and I'm sorry if anyone's listening to devote Leave that is reasonably you know, well well adjusted. But some of it, most of them are just fucking idiots. They come on, they're like, mate,
what you're doing. Beliefs are just all over the place. So yeah, yeah, it's it's a it's a haven for it's a cess pit for it.
Are you pretty thick skinned generally speaking?
No, I've tried to get a thick skin. I remember trolling the guy out of Franz Ferdinand, the singer and when was this like long, this was just as we were coming up Divide an Exit had been released actually, and I remember trolling the guy at were I just written somewhere and I went, you know, it was about you know, a song or something. I went, what would you know about music or something? And he just totally cut me down. He came straight back at me because
I actually like your music. What are you you know it? Basically just cut me down and said, look, you need to get a thicker skin if you're going to do this, because this is going to get worse for you. You know, your music's really good.
I was like, oh, cheers, how are you with reviews? Then?
Yeah, I do worry about them. I know that the album's really strong, so that'll be fine. The creativity part of it's intact, But that doesn't matter in this game, does it, because somebody might just have a slant on it, just take a slant on it because they don't like the band, they don't like me. I mean, I've had something in the past where people have blatantly rubbished something that you know, it's not worth it doesn't deserve rubbishing, and just I suspect to try and push themselves along,
you know. But but yeah, you do worry about bad reviews because they do speak volumes to the onlooker as well, because people are fickle, you know what I mean, people will digest something, so yeah, but you know, what can you do?
Yeah, it's kind of about your control, isn't it in terms of like the thing of people coming up to you and talking to you in the street and saying hi and whatnot, and also the kind of crap that people might give you online. Is that On the new album, there's the track when You Come up to Me, Yeah, which is about that, right.
No, it's about solitary. It's about this. It's about how I perceive existence in the country at the minute to be even more intensely separated from each other. You know, people are you know, people seem to be there's quite a lot of distance between people, even between people that are supposedly close. You know. I've started to notice this, and it kind of talks about that kind of thing.
How the effects of these policies is from the Conservatives have slowly, you know, degenerated the contact between people because people are you know, quite busy worrying about themselves, worrying about what's going to happen post March, and just the pressures that are on top of people, not only in a professional sense, but also in an unskilled sense because there's just nothing about you know, so it it caught me. It struck me that this was quite a prevalent thing.
And also, you know, people coming into your personal space that you trying to open. Making sense here that you that you know and will accept into your personal space, but most of the time you don't want any when anyone near you. You know, it talks about this feeling of you know, a four isolation almost as well, you know, if that makes sense.
And you're properly singing on that track as yeah, and in fire War as well, he sing yeah, it's good.
Yeah, thank you, thank you, thank you. I used to sing before, but obviously Sleaford took off and I was obsessed with the ranting thing and blah blah blah. But I started listening to more eighties soul, Luther Van Ross and Charelle Shaka Khan and just getting into not purpose he wanted to sing, but when Andrew would send certain songs over, it was just, oh, this is this is really melodic. Yeah, so I wanted to try and do
something like that and also lock it. Why not, you know, I thought it was quite good to try and merge some eighties soul. Yeah, although it doesn't sound like that, I don't think on the album. I mean that's the way I'll try to approach it, try to merge that with what we do.
You know, what was the and for Eating a Life? Did you have like a kind of goal for it? How did you approach making.
It one in a goal? Really? Just we started recording again in January last year and that resulted in the EP that we did on Rough Trade Sleep for Mods EP YEP, and then from that, Andrew after about two or three months, sent me through so started sending me more stuff, and that stuff made up the album. But what we did with both the EP and this album is I'd get him to send me stuff through and I will work on it at home, and I would wait until I've had a really firm idea for it.
Instead of just getting say a short melody for this or that and then going in the studio and improvising the rest, I'd really work on them, you know. And that's I suppose that's where the singer came in a lot, because I just felt like I had time to experiment and you know, time to think about the songs. Didn't necessarily consciously want to push it forwards. It just happened sort of naturally, but obviously at the same time I was aware that, you know, I don't want to repeat myself,
you know what I mean? Vocally Anyway, and Andrew's music was common, it was getting more confident, it was stronger. This compared to English tap, I think the music and this is a lot tougher.
Yeah, it's more dimension it feels like it's really it's really progressed. Like the beats. There's a lot more going on in some of them on like like bab Spiders and subtraction. Subtraction's got like extra elements that weren't there before. Yeah, it has got a different feel, like the whole record I think got a different feel. Yeah, it's really great. How is Andrew doing. Is he still living on a narrow boat?
No, he left the narrowboat sold all and he was in a relationship. Relationship finished, and he took time out too, you know, just to take stock, I think. And he moved back to his parents' house in Saxelby in Lincoln So I think that partly helped the the change in the texture of the music. You know what I mean in the you know, in what he did, because it just seemed to be a lot more alert the music when he sent it through, it was like whoall you know? And so it made me want to do different things
to it. Do you know what I mean?
And what's your plan going into like your shows? Because what I've always liked is the sleeper Board's kind of experiment of seeing how far you can push the setup that you've got and not wanting to like fuck with that, and so if we can, it's two of us. I remember you're saying before that you you've not even wanted to have a backdrop behind you once you got to level where people were like do you want to have your name written in big letters? You're like, no, don't want that.
It takes away from it because we had it at a festival in Leeds and it just I just thought it made us merged is into everything else. And I'm not saying that, you know, oh we're just you know, you are just you lowly creatures and majestic band. I'm not saying that, but I just don't. I just don't like it, you know, I don't think you need it. Some bands need it, and it works for other bands, you know what I mean, But I don't think it works for us. I just think it looks a little bit.
Everyone's at it with a backdrop, everyone's at the kind of black backdrop with the white letters as well, and it just didn't want it. I don't think it. I don't think we need it.
You know about some pyrotechnics glitter cannon.
Well, we are thinking, funny, we're thinking about getting a lighting thing going.
Okay, right, I know what you mean. Though. I like the fact that I like the fact that that when you play the Roundhouse, for example, you're still playing it as if you were playing upstairs the pub.
Yea.
That there's something to that. There's something that.
Forces you to look at what's actually going on as opposed to what is alluding to going on. And I think that's why we like it. It's suit some music I think to have it like that. But yeah, we are perhaps thinking about a lighting idea which could work, you know what I mean. I'm all for ideas as this goes on, because you never know stuff that you would do, stuff that you would No, I'm not into that, you know, could work, But as regards getting anybody else
in with us. No getting another producer, no, you know, a backdrop, Nope, but you know, little things like lighting and that it could work.
Another thing that's happened since English tabers came out was you've played When Stadium. Yeah, with you know, along those lines of how does your show quote unquote unquote translate on a bigger stage? I mean, Wembley Stadium is as big a stage as there's ever going to be ever for anyone. How was it? How was how was that experience of going and playing Wembley.
I was brilliant and we thought we had it nailed until we walked on stage and it was just I mean Wembley Stadium. Wow. Yeah, it was a massive stage and I think there was about seven thousand people watching us. It was. It was quite something. I was nervous, really was nervous, but it worked.
It.
Yeah, we went down okay, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
I was quite really quite proud of that and obviously supporting one of the best English bands ever in my opinion. Anyway, you know, just brilliant and it was the original lineup as well, and it's just fantastic.
On your tour, that's that's coming up. You're playing my home town on South End on Sea. Oh really have you been before?
I don't know. I don't think I have.
You're in for a absolute tree. Really, it's you're doing some really interesting like towns like down there. I like looking at I like what like when when bands I follow like put out that tour dates. I like to see the regional dates. Yeah, like, because they're always the better ones to go to if you can, you know, be in London, you know, you get We.
Thought that because we don't really sell places out once you get past thirteen hundred. It's a slow escalation in ticket sales for us, you know what I mean with places like London. You know, two thousand and three thousand we could get away with if we just did one gig, but generally what we found on these tours was anything
two thousand we were struggling to sell out. So we just sort of sold this, let's just go back play what we did three or four years ago, and you know, take it around the country and go back to some of these smaller places again, you know, because it'll be a laugh and and we thought it would be something that we could tie in with the departure from the EU in the sense of just seeing how it was, you know what I mean?
Yeah, yeah, because the odd tour. Will you'll be mid tour, won't you when when it happens? When it happens on the twenty ninth? Yeah, what is your Do you know what your date is on the twenty nine? I don't know. I think so there might have voted leave. I think I think they were. I think I think it was maybe fifty forty leave small sixty forty even, I think. But I think you'll have a good show there. It's quite a good it's a venue on the seafront, Yeah, and it's it's a good size.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean I'm not expecting any grief at all. And I don't think for one minute the country is going to just explode, you know what I mean, just not We're just going to get on with it like we get on with anything, and just moan about it when you go out into a smaller thing, because we're quite perceived as a quite a big band now, I think it'd be quite special to go out to smaller places
and people think will really appreciate it. They appreciated it before three years ago, you know, So that's a buzz, and we're going to go around all record shops doing signings and meet and gets, you know what I mean, instelling the old usual playloads of rough trade in stores to try and you know, charge every make sure everybody buys an album to get in so it ups the
chart placement, which is good. You know, I really would like a top ten this time, but I can't see it happening, to be honest, because of because we haven't done that much of that kind of thing for it, you know. But yeah, it should be good, you know, And I like to I like gig in, you know, because it just moves the performance on and the amount of shows that we've got by the end of that, or the performance would have moved on a bit, it would. I will. We will be well oiled for the festival season,
you know. And you know I love all that you know going on there and bang bang bang. You know, it's it's great.
I know you listen to a lot of new music, yeah a lot of the time. Have you had anything recently that's worth mentioning? Tipping me about.
Viagra boys, I think that you know a lot of people are starting to become aware of them, but not normally my thing because guitar stuff I'm not, but it works. You know, they really I've got something.
They look like they mean it.
You know, I'm not just talking about the booze or the drugs. They just look like it's them, you know, because a lot of bands today, especially in this country, you know, without mentioning names, just do not look like they're attached to what they're trying to do, you know, and it's you know, it's a bit. It's not disheartening, but it just puts me off checking out, you know,
white band with guitars, you know what I mean. But apart from that, Drill really and what else my obsession with eighties soul, I go, I go back in, I come out of Drill and go back into it because it's so intense and dark, you can only have small periods on it. But those small periods are really you know, you really do get a lot from it, a real beneficial Aside from that one else, been listening to Drake a lot.
Just I went to see Drake at the two. It was hilarious. It was so good and entertaining, but so naff because it was it was when he released the Views. It was the last time, and it was it was like seeing a red coat, like he was like the
way he was whipping the crowd up. Because also everyone was there, like everyone was like in awe of him, men and women everywhere and they were cheer anything, you know, And he came out with our union Jack Drake round him and considering, like, you know, considering that record is so clearly about Toronto, like on the sleeve he sat
on top of it, on your or whatever. And he comes out, He's like, hey, London, when I wrote this album, I was thinking of oh you guys, and everyone's like, yeah, no one there go No, No, you weren't know you weren't you definitely weren't. You definitely weren't think about us. But people were just so and you know, but he's a he was an absolute master at pacing it. And that sounds a really nerdy wanky, but he basically had this.
It was just him and it the DJ really yeah yeah, and he had some like guests came out, like gigs came out and section boys came out and stuff. But he he he would play you know, a lot of his tracks, he would play twenty seconds like a sample and then they'd just scrap it move on to some of that's really frustrating because there was like some of the tunes, some of the big tunes, you'd be like, I want to hear this song, and it just kind of just cut it. He hardly played any song all
the way through. Yeah, it was just about it was this kind of weird but the pace of it was so quick because you couldn't really keep up, and he was really good at knowing when a song was dying, when it wasn't going very well, and it'd start like having this mock argument with his DJ, and his DJ was kind of like his stooge. He's going, what you're doing? You can't be playing this. We were in London right now. Everyone would scream because he just said London and it's great.
It's like it was really entertaining.
I mean, the people have said that he's a bit, you know, when we played in Cando, they were like, Drake, he's fake, he's not gangster, and blah blah blah. But you kind of know that, but you forgive him because he's he's so good at what he does.
Yeah, some of these songs are brilliant.
I'm sure it's not then, right? So is it? Does he? I don't know, because he delivers them so perfectly, even if you didn't write them, so what you deliver them so spot.
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