Interview : Youthmovies
The Little Stalkers : We had to wait quite a long time for your debut album (Good Nature) to be released in March 2008, and now you’ve already got a new EP (Poly EP) out – how come ?
Al (guitar) : The album was actually finished quite a bit sooner than when it came out, for like six months I think.
Sam (trumpet) : More !
Al : We finished it in summer 2007 and then it didn’t came out until 8 months later. Around half a year. We spent a lot of time doing nothing, crying in our corner ... (laughs) It did feel good for it to come out in what seemed a succession of a ... yeah ... not actually a succession. It was songs that we only wrote in the studios, that we actually never played together.
Sam : Just because we wanted something very quickly, really.
TLS : Can you tell me more about the cover ?
Al : This artist does all these incredibly crude and crassy drawings.
Andrew (vocals, guitar) : I’m actually publishing his book. All of our artwork in the past have been quite calm, and nice. We just wanted something that was a bit more grabbing.
TLS : I read the Poly EP (1st week of November 2008) review in the NME, which was quite good. Do you think you need that kind of coverage, do you value magazines' opinions ?
Al : We don’t give a shit about it.
Andrew : We’re not a band that’s going to change the world. We’re not ever going to be popular. If magazines like us, then that’s cool, but that does not matter.
TLS : If you’re not here to change the world, what is Youthmovies here for ?
Andrew : Just like, play music with each other. It’s some stuff in our system that we need to get out. It’s just fun !
Al : I think we just reached the point where, after five years, we don’t really need anybody to keep on doing what we’re doing. We make music for ourselves as much as anybody else. That in itself is our reward. That is just a famous quote, is it, when the band says they like to play music for themselves, that the rest is a bonus ? (laughs) But that's true.
TLS : Really really true ?
Al : Yes ! You don’t want to exist in a void. Sure, you want to play in front of an audience. But you don’t make the music conscious of an audience.
Sam : A lot of bands do that.
Al : We almost started to do that at some point.
Andrew : Last year, we were becoming a bit more conscious of the power of being in front of an audience. And that’s pretty much exactly where being in a band stops being fun. The show stopped being as good because we weren’t relaxed. But now that we don’t care that much, it’s making the shows much more fun. It’s good to be in each other’s company again.
Sam : When we did the Foals’ tour, we would tail a set to rock the audience, and play all the most poppy ones – and we shouldn’t have done that. I think it probably made the tour a lot less fun.
TLS : What about the tour, then ? You toured Great Britain, Paris ... What about the rest of Europe ?
Andrew : We played in Amsterdam, and Belgium too. We only had a handful of dates, it’s been odd. Our record has never come out anywhere else. I think this next year – we’re not going to tour again for a year, and if we do, it will be outside of this country.
TLS : Are you willing to go in other countries ?
All : Oh yeah.
Sam : It is nice to tour Europe.
Andrew : We really need to take a break from touring here, but it would be exciting to get out of the country. And it looks like it’s happening.
TLS : You’re described as "elitists" and "difficult" to listen to – what do you think about it ?
Al : (laughs) I don’t think we’re elitists ... I can see what people think to be honest, but ... It’s just that we don’t have any directions. We just do the kind of things that we like. We’re not trying to impress anybody. When people label us as being pretentious, it just feels very funny to me, because I think we’re 5 of the least pretentious people that you could meet.
Andrew : (laughs) We’re pretty juvenile. You'd never ever have an intellectual conversation with us.
Sam : (laughs) It’s literally just cock and bull jokes. Non stop.
Andrew : (laughs) People certainly think that we’re a lot more clever than we are.
TLS : I read that you wouldn’t tour for a year also because now you’re not living close from each other anymore ...
Al : This is the key to carrying on. There was a time at the end of the Good Nature tour where it wasn’t any fun anymore. I don’t think any of us were really sure about what we were doing.
Andrew : I wanted to leave !
Al : We just took some time out, pretending like we wouldn’t do this anymore ... It takes changes to carry on with your life. So much has been on hold ! Your relationships with people, or your day to day life. Because it’s not like we’re making a living from this - we have to work for a living. We just needed to get on with our lives. Get a new job, moving to a new city ... It just makes all of it way easier and fun again.
TLS : How are you going to work on new material together then ?
Al : We want to write differently anyway. We don’t want to get together in a room and play, like we always have done. It means the record and the band will sound totally different.
TLS : Any ideas about how it is going to sound like ?
Andrew : We’re not interested in doing Good Nature II.
Al : I’m pretty bored of being in a technical-guitar band.
Andrew : I just don’t want to be repeating the same ideas ... With Good Nature, we went as far as we, as people, could go with.
TLS : Talking about the lyrics – what are your inspirations ? Are they going to change as well ?
Andrew : I don’t know ... I never really have things I’m going for. I just kind of sit down and write for a while, and then use them if I’m happy with them. Generally, the last thing I think about when we’re making the songs is the lyrics.
Al : Good Nature was the combination of everything that came before, and everything we did before was on that record ; and now, we can draw a line under it, and we can do anything at this point. We’re going to make a record and then, worry how to play it afterwards. We’ve never really done that before. The songs that are on the new EP ...
Sam : (laughs) We can’t play them !
Andrew : We try to get the sound-check earlier everyday so that we can practice. I’m excited about what happens next. I don’t think it’s going to be like anything else we’ve done.
Sam : I think we’re all pleased with Poly EP because it was done very fast, and that has never been done before. The way we worked was that some of us wrote songs, and then worked from in the studio ... and that’s how we want to write the next record.
Andrew : There are some songs in the new record that people in the band haven’t heard until the record has been mastered.
Al : What I really like, with Animal Collective, you never know with each records, which of those four people – it’s not always the same members of the band on the records, or even on tour.
Sam : It can be two of them only.
Al : That kind of idea appeals to me ...
TLS : You mentioned the fact that you’ve got other jobs, and side-projects ... Can you tell me more about it ?
Andrew : Plosives, Bins Are For Bombs, and that book publishing thing ... That’s pretty much it for me at the moment. I’ve been practicing last week with Yannis (Philippakis, from Foals) for Bins Are For Bombs. It’s good fun. We just want to be like a tribal version of The Shadows.
Sam : That sounds excellent ! (laughs)
Andrew : I’m taking my time with Plosives. The majority of it is just spoken words, and I think it’s pretty dodgy grounds. I recorded things and listened back to it, and I was like, errr ... And I moved on. I want it to be right.
TLS : Sam, what about Jonquil ?
Sam : It’s pretty fun to be in Jonquil. I feel more like I’m in two bands, doing two different things, they’re no side-project. We’re going to write a new record soon ... There’s always pretty exciting things happening with Jonquil : about five days ago we just got back from the tour in Portugal, which was really great.
TLS : Al ? Any other activities aside from your job at ATP ?
Al : I actually live with Ben from Fuck Buttons, and we thought about making music at home and not on tour. I reckon that’s going to happen.
TLS : What are you planning for Youthmovies for 2009 ?
Al : We’re going to start working on our next album when we get home. We’re planning on working on it until we think it’s finished. We’ll get the whole thing recorded. We’re not planning to tour here or play any shows here until this time next year. I think we’re pretty set on that. Unless we’re offered something that we can’t turn down, like playing with an exciting band. We have one more show in December with Foals in Oxford – it’s going to be a really lovely way to end the year. Good Nature is also coming out in Japan, and hopefully we got to go there next year. It’s also coming out, I think, in Europe and America as well. Basically, the plan is to make a new record and hopefully go to other countries and play it.
Andrew : Our goal is basically go to as much as countries as possible for free (laughs)
Al : We are also talking about making an album with Adam (Gnade, who supported them on tour).
TLS : What’s your musical highlight of the year so far ?
Al : There’s been a couple. I went to see this guy playing in a church a few weeks ago. He played a five and a half hours show. I got really high and just laid on the floor, listening to the organ in this church ... It was different from all the gigs I ever been to. And earlier in the year, where we were on tour with Foals, we played in Manchester, and we finished and I rushed straight off to see Neil Young with my dad. I’ve been waiting ten years to see Neil Young playing, and it was incredible.
Andrew : I discovered a singer songwriter from the 60’s called Judy Field. I think she released one album and went crazy or something. She was on the same label as Johnnie Mitchell. She’s really good. That’s really been my highlight : finding out something that’s been around for ages !
Sam : Great Eskimo Hoax. They played with Jonquil at the Academy in October. The sound was amazing and there was lots of people there getting into it ... All about it was great. It was just amazing.
TLS : It’s a bit early, but, do you have any resolutions for 2009 ?
Al : I’m quitting smoking at the end of this tour ! Which I’m not really looking forward to, but I’m set on it.
Sam : Practice trumpet more ...
Andrew : Be at home more.
Youthmovies is touring until December, before taking a break from the British scene : catch them while you can !
Tourdates available on www.myspace.com/youthmovies
CB.
