Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.68 03/10)
excerpts from an interview with Gregory Spawton (Guitar, Keyboards, Bass, Vocals)
We have evolved a way of working over the last few years which suits us well and we didn't depart too far from that process for "The Underfall Yard". However, one or two things were different – the use of a brass band meant that we needed to collaborate with someone who could arrange the brass parts for us. And bringing Dave Gregory onboard meant that we had a lead guitarist for the first time, so that meant we wanted to create opportunities for him to contribute to the songs. I do think there will be more of a change to the way we work next time as our new singer David Longdon will be closely involved from the very start of the creative process.
Can you tell a little bit about the concept and the lyrical contents of the album?
The last two albums were both concept albums, but I didn't want to be completely tied to one story this time, so I wrote the album around a number of different musical and lyrical ideas. However, there are quite a few common threads which run through the album. The songs all show a strong connection to the English landscape and history and share a kind of autumnal atmosphere. Many of the songs are inspired by historical events such as the Winchester Diver and the title track. Others have a personal side to them.
While you were more experimental with “The difference machine” you've returned to a more song based approach on “The Underfall Yard”. Was this something that evolved while recording the album or did you had this idea right from the start?
"The Difference Machine" is certainly a more experimental, perhaps difficult album than "The Underfall Yard", but we didn't make a conscious decision to make a more song-orientated recording this time around. We never really know how an album will sound until it's finished – we don't really think too much about the direction we want to take, we just write and see what comes out. The song has always been the most important thing for us, so it may be that "The Difference Machine" was a one-off.
Did the change of your singer from Sean Filkins David Longdon affect your music?
His impact has been very significant. David is a very gifted and musical singer with immense range. He is also an excellent story-teller, he really inhabits the songs. I didn't have any concerns about him being able to handle anything I threw at him, so I was able to write with considerable variety and with confidence that things would work. Some of the material is very challenging for a vocalist, with odd time signatures and a wide dynamic range. He took it all in his stride.
Was David Longdon your first choice or did you also try out other singers and how did you finally found him?
We weren't necessarily looking to change vocalists as Sean had done some excellent work on Gathering Speed and The Difference Machine. However, we got a call from our sound-engineer, Rob Aubrey, who asked us to go into the studio and listen to a vocalist he'd just recorded, as he thought he'd be a perfect fit for us. We went in to the studio and found that David had sung two songs for the then unreleased Martin Orford album, The Old Road, so we had a listen to those and were hugely impressed. We contacted David and got to know him a bit and I think David sounded us out by checking with Martin. We tried David out on a couple of songs and knew that it would greatly strengthen the band if we asked him to join, so we made the decision to replace Sean. It's not something I enjoyed doing, but I'm ambitious for Big Big Train and want to work with people who can help take the band to the highest level we can reach.
How do you decide which guest musicians should take part on your albums?
We describe Nick as our permanent guest drummer now, and we wouldn't want to do anything without him, including live shows. His playing has become a big part of our sound. We'd been thinking about asking Dave Gregory to play for us for a long time as we are huge fans of his work with XTC who have long been one of our favourite bands. However, we were too shy to ask, really. Then, when we were talking to David we found out that he was a close friend of Dave's so we plucked up the courage. Now he's onboard he's also become an important part of the band and had a big influence on the way The Underfall Yard turned out. He will feature very significantly in the new songs I'm writing. As for the other guests, it really depends on what we need for particular songs. For the title track of The Underfall Yard, I had a section which needed some fast playing. Jem was always in my mind as I think he's simply the best and most interesting keyboard player working in and around the prog genre at the moment. And Francis was also at the top of our wish-list as I spent a lot of time in my youth following It Bites around the country and was a big fan of his playing. I was also aware that he hadn't played anything in his fast legato style since the It Bites days, so I was keen to try to get him to work in that way again. I love his solo stuff, but I do miss his early technical style of playing.
Did you had the chance to record with all the musicians that took part on the album personally or did you also have to use file exchange?
We always work in the studio with Nick as we have found that that is the best way to develop the drum parts. We'll have a certain idea of how the drums may sound and will put guide bass parts down but Nick will take things to a different level and sometimes in a completely different direction. As for the other musicians, we have the choice of how to do it. Dave and Jem live close enough to come into the studio, but it makes more sense for them to have the time to think about their parts and work them up in their own studios rather than come on in and rely on inspiration whilst the clock is ticking and money is being spent on studio time. Francis was different. He was several thousand miles away so there was no choice there and that had to be done at a distance. As for the brass, that was an ensemble session so they needed to come in to the studio together.
Who had the idea for using all the acoustic instruments, like cello, cornet, tuba, trombone and who did the arrangements?
I was in Bath a couple of years ago and, by chance, heard a brass band playing some adagio pieces. It was a beautiful sound and something that seemed to me to be uniquely English which fitted in with the themes of the album. I knew then that we had to have a brass band on The Underfall Yard. I wrote the tunes for the brass bits but didn't know how to arrange for brass so we called in a chap called Dave Desmond who plays for the Band of the Coldstream Guards. We asked him to arrange the parts in the style of a northern colliery band and he came back with beautiful arrangements and also brought in the other musicians who are also from military bands.
How do you keep the right balance of not sounding too overproduced or overloaded, while using a lot of different instruments?
That's a very interesting question. Sometimes, when you strip things down they sound better and bigger than when you put a lot of parts in. However, I like to write music that repays repeated listening and I'm very keen on getting plenty of detail in there, so you need to get the balance right. Because we work in an organic way with pieces evolving over time, it is tempting to put too much in. There are bits of The Difference Machine where we treated the sounds and created a lot of different textures where it would be difficult to replicate it in a live setting, so some things just won't transfer that easily. To be honest, there are some sounds on The Difference Machine, particularly on Salt Water, that I would have no idea how to recreate.
What’s more important for you in your music: atmosphere and melody or complex arrangements and virtuosity?
We are definitely more about songs, melodies and atmospheres, so I would have to say the first of those. Complexity and performance are there if the songs need them, rarely for their own sake. To my mind, the songs need those things a fair bit though, so there is plenty of playing to enjoy as well.
Kristian Selm © Progressive Newsletter 2010