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| Photo credit: Scarlet Page |
π’ π½π§πππ£:βItβs our seventh album, not counting compilations, and the second weβve recorded with Steve Forest. Itβs ten songs long, about 46 minutes and itβs very much sequenced like an old vinyl record β it definitely has a side A and side B. I guess itβs Placeboβs very personal take and exploration on the most written about subject in the history of popular song. For me, I kind of see it as a collection of ten short stories with a unifying theme that approaches the subject from ten different angles. It explores how love can be violent, brutal and disorientating, and how the absence of it can lead people to behave in quite extreme ways. It also deals with jealousy, obsession, heartbreak and how addiction can tear relationships apart. So, itβs an album about people and the way that they interact with each other β or fail to.β
π’ ππ©ππππ£: βItβs all killer, no filler. Itβs really hard to describe a record but I think it still sounds like Placebo. Itβs maybe heavier and more layered β more pop in places, darker in places, lighter in places. Personally, itβs the album I feel like Placebo should have made and it feels like the most complete body of work to me. So, itβs very hard to describe but itβs an exciting record.β
π’ ππ©ππ«π: βThere are a lot of avenues that have been explored. In the previous records loops and electronic stuff had been used but I think the way they are used in this record is quite unique although the piano is featured quite heavily on this record as well. I think this record, more than any other one, is really sonically diverse.β
π ππ‘π’πͺ π§πππ§ ππ©ππ₯π¬π’π‘π ππ¦ π§πππππ‘π πππ’π¨π§ ππππ§ π£π¨π‘π, ππ¨π§ ππ’ π¬π’π¨ π§πππ‘π π§πππ₯π ππ¦ π π₯ππ¦π¨π₯πππ‘ππ π’π βπ§ππ ππππ¨π β β π£ππ’π£ππ πππ§π¨ππππ¬ π¦ππ§π§ππ‘π ππ’πͺπ‘ ππ‘π πππ¦π§ππ‘ππ‘π π§π’ ππ‘ ππππ¨π ππ₯π’π πππππ‘π‘ππ‘π π§π’ ππ‘π? πͺππ¦ π§πππ§ ππ‘ π¬π’π¨π₯ π ππ‘π ππ§ πππ?
π’ ππ©ππ«π: βYeah, I think thatβs the other thing with having just ten songs, and having it all βkiller no fillerβ. We want people to, when they get to the end of it, push play again. And I totally agree; people are getting more into listening records as a whole. I mean the first day I bought Daft Punk I listened to the entire thing, and the same with the new Sigur Ros. So we can only hope that people do the same with this record. Weβre all happy with it and thatβs where it starts β if weβre excited about it and weβre happy about it then I think the songs will benefit from that, and the record as a whole will too.β
πͺπ’π¨ππ π¬π’π¨ π¦ππ¬ π§πππ§ π¬π’π¨π₯ π‘ππͺ π¦ππ‘πππ βπ§π’π’ π ππ‘π¬ ππ₯πππ‘ππ¦β ππ¦ ππ‘ ππ‘π§π-π¦π’ππππ π ππππ π£π₯π’π§ππ¦π§ π¦π’π‘π ππ‘ π πͺππ¬? ππ’ π¬π’π¨ π¨π¦π π¦π’ππππ π ππππ π¬π’π¨π₯π¦πππ©ππ¦?
π’ π½π§πππ£: βI wouldnβt say that Iβm anti it but I donβt use it β Iβve never felt the need or the desire to. The song was kind of inspired by a couple of thingsβ¦ some friends of mine that do use social media had said to me that theyβd stopped taking friend requests because they had too many, and that was a real novel idea to me because I donβt social network so I didnβt really understand. I started thinking about, βwell, how many friends do I have, how many real friends do I have? And how many imaginary friends do they have that they could have too many?β And it got me thinking about the nature of friendship and how itβs changed and it made me ask myself a few questions like, βare we better off, now that we live our lives in public and now that we communicate with each other through these social mediums? Is it a way of staying in touch with everybody or a way of not staying in touch with everybody?β We donβt have to call people up on the telephone anymore because you announce to the whole world what youβre doing. I wonder how has this changed the way people interact with each other and if itβs having a positive effect or a negative effect on our ability to connect with each other in the physical world, particularly when weβve become such slaves to our smartphones. Iβm as guilty as the next guy, I freak out if I donβt have it on but is it really healthy?β
π’ ππ©ππππ£: βI think musically that song is a bit of a celebration of our love of big anthemic eighties pop, like βTotal Eclipse of the Heartβ. We kind of went all out there musically for that track. And I think in terms of lyrical subject, it definitely touches upon the effect of technology and on the way that we interact. Itβs a phenomenon thatβs occurring right now and weβre just asking a few questions like, βis it actually bringing people closer together? Creating a lot of cyber friends β what does that actually mean? Does it mean that you have more friends or does it mean youβre creating some kind of virtual existence?ββ
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| Placdebo at Radio XFM (London, England), photographer unknown |
π’ π½π§πππ£: βIβve only really noticed this about myself recently but Iβve kind of fallen into a media blackout because I donβt own a TV, I donβt listen to the radio and I donβt really read the music press. So, the music that we create almost comes out of a vacuum. And because we make music with a lot of heavy guitars in it when I go home I have a tendency to listen to quite the opposite β so, a lot of instrumental music and language I donβt understand like Sigur Ros or instrumental piano music. Itβs a reaction against my day job I suppose. In terms of the lyrics, it wasnβt a conscious choice to write about what we ended up writing about but itβs through the actual process of writing and recording that you discover whatβs really going on in your mind because itβs an instinctual process. We hadnβt really decided that we were going to write about certain things but if you remain open following your instincts in that way then you kind of discover about half way or two thirds of the way through the process whatβs on your mind and what you really want to talk about. I suppose at this moment in time it was about relationships."
π’ ππ©ππππ£: βWhen we started making this record I personally was listening to music that didnβt have guitars. I found myself listening to piano music by artists such as Nils Frahm from Berlin or The Cinematic Orchestra. I had a penchant for sitting down at the piano stool quite a lot during this recording, and during the making of the record I sometimes feel like we all played within certain confines, which is challenging in itself because weβre not writing 25 minute symphonies, weβre writing 4 or 5 minute, quote on quote βpop songsβ. So I found myself listening to quite a lot of postmodern composers like Steve Reich, to try and clear the musical part of my brain and get a bit of distance and perspective on what weβre doing.β
π§πππ§ πππ‘π π’π π ππ‘ππ ππππ¦π§ π₯ππ£ππ§ππ§ππ’π‘ πππ§π¦ π¬π’π¨ ππ‘π§π’ π πππ₯π§πππ‘ πππππ¦π£πππ ππ’ππ¦π‘βπ§ ππ§?
π’ ππ©ππππ£: βYeah, and I think the track Begin the End, is a place where we havenβt really gone before rhythmically. Thereβs a groove thatβs there to the very end, thatβs quite hypnotic. So yeah, weβre exploring different avenues that we havenβt done before.β
π¬π’π¨βπ₯π π£πππ‘π‘ππ‘π π§π’ π§π’π¨π₯ ππ‘ πππππ πππ₯ β πͺπππ§ ππ’ π¬π’π¨ ππ’ π§π’ π¨π‘πͺππ‘π πͺπππ‘ π¬π’π¨βπ₯π π‘π’π§ π’π‘ π§ππ π₯π’ππ?
π’ π½π§πππ£: βThis is going to sound horribly clichΓ©d but I meditate and do yoga. Itβs been very useful for me in the last few years and is an interest of mine that has developed recently.
π’ ππ©ππ«π: βI spend a lot of time reading.β
π’ ππ©ππππ£: βTweeting (laughs).β
πͺππ§π π₯ππππ₯ππ¦ π§π’ π§ππ π π¨π¦ππ ππ‘ππ¨π¦π§π₯π¬, π¬π’π¨ π π¨π¦π§ πππ©π π¦πππ‘ π¦π’ π ππ‘π¬ ππππ‘πππ¦ π’π©ππ₯ π§ππ π¬πππ₯π¦ β πͺπππ§ ππ₯π π§ππ π π’π¦π§ π ππ₯πππ ππππππ₯ππ‘πππ¦ πππ§πͺπππ‘ π‘π’πͺ ππ‘π πͺπππ‘ π¬π’π¨ π¦π§ππ₯π§ππ? ππ₯π π§πππ¬ π£π’π¦ππ§ππ©π ππππ‘πππ¦?
π’ ππ©ππππ£: βTechnology has certainly changed a lot since our first record came out. I think weβre living through a technological revolution and itβs happening quicker than we even realise. Itβs very hard for us to imagine what life would be like without a mobile phone βtechnology has become a part of our everyday lives and weβre dependent on it. And the consumption of music has changed too. Itβs a bit like the Wild West out there, it still hasnβt really been harnessed, and with such a powerful tool thereβs going to be good sides and bad sides. Just because itβs out there and you can take it, and a lot of people do, doesnβt necessarily make it right. So, itβs a bit of a moral crusade, a moral battle that weβre fighting on a daily basis, and streaming services come into that. I still think itβs an unjust set up in terms of the artist.β
π’ π½π§πππ£: βPeople used to buy records β thatβs the major difference. We started making records before the internet took off so it was before file sharing, which has changed the music industry immeasurably. Thereβs been an absolute revolution in the technology for making music. Our first album was made completely without computers and it used to freak me out when we were editing one tape to another, and weβd actually get a razor out and cut it because once itβs cut you canβt go back. Whereas now thereβs always an undo button and you never lose anything and you can piece anything to anything. But that also opens up a whole wealth of possibilities, which is amazing. It needs to be said that no amount of technology is going to write a song for you or give your song soul so thankfully the human being is still necessary.β
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| Photo credit: Jean-Baptiste Quentin |
π’ ππ©ππ«π: βI think we all fell in love with the new Sigur Ros album, thatβs kind of topping our list for album of the year so far. Weβve played a few festivals with them before.β
π’ ππ©ππππ£: βYeah, it was kind of a transcendental experience and weβve had that with a few bands including Rammstein and The Flaming Lips. It truly is the power of live music; it can transport you to another place. The new Daft Punk album is also very good.β
πͺπ ππ¦π¦π’ππππ§π πππ₯π§πππ‘ ππ₯π§ππ¦π§π¦ πͺππ§π π πππ₯π§πππ‘ ππ’π’π β πͺππ¬ ππ¦ π§ππ ππ πππ π’π π πππ‘π π¦π’ ππ π£π’π₯π§ππ‘π§ π§π’ π§ππ π¦π¨ππππ¦π¦ π’π ππ§?
π’ ππ©ππππ£: βThe power of the image and the power of the moving image should not be underestimated. I think a lot of the time people look at the photos more than they read article. For us, we have to embrace the freedom of what being in a band means and not conform to the boundaries that society puts out β like what gender should wear what kind of clothes. In the early days we wore what we felt good in but I think when it comes to playing live there has to be a practical element to it. Weβve become slightly less cross-dressy over the years.β
ππ’ππ¦ ππ§ ππππ’πͺ π¬π’π¨ π§π’ πππ’π£π§ π πππ₯π§πππ‘ π₯π’ππ π’π‘ π¦π§πππ?
π’ π½π§πππ£: βI wouldnβt say it was a role β itβs not a persona. Itβs kind of accessing the flamboyant side of me, the exhibitionist, which needs satisfying. And Iβm very grateful for the fact it can be satisfied in a positive way so I donβt need to seek out situations in real life in order to satisfy the exhibitionist in me, itβs already taken care of.β
ππ‘π πͺπππ§ πππ’π¨π§ π£ππ₯ππ’π₯π ππ‘ππ πππππππππ§π¦ π’π©ππ₯ π§ππ π¬πππ₯π¦, ππ₯π π§πππ₯π ππ‘π¬ π§πππ§ π¦π§πππ π’π¨π§ ππ‘ π¬π’π¨π₯ π ππ‘π?
π’ ππ©ππ«π:: βCambodia was quite special.
π’ ππ©ππππ£: βYeah, we were invited to play in front of the Angkor Wat temple β we were one of the first bands to have done that and we felt really honoured. Itβs such a spiritual place and it was in aid of a charity to raise awareness for human trafficking, so everything about that gig was special. Weβd also love to play on top of the pyramids in Mexico β we wanted to do it last year for the end of the world but thereβs probably another end of the world coming up soon.β
πͺπππ§ ππ₯π π¬π’π¨ ππ¨π‘ππ₯π¬ ππ’π₯ ππ‘ ππππ?
π’ ππ©ππ«π: βAdventure.β
π’ ππ©ππππ£: βIβm hungry for inner peace.
π’ π½π§πππ£: βMore self-confidence. When you start off in this industry, in your early twenties, youβre brimming with bravado and self-confidence, and you really think you are the best thing since sliced bread. But no matter how much success you achieve, as you age, your confidence gets chipped away. I think because youβre continually re-evaluating yourself, and trying to prove to yourself and others that youβre still relevant. So Iβm just hungry for peace of mind in general. Deep down, Iβve always been a hippy at heart β it was just the drugs that made me think I was a punk (laughs).β
(Hunger, August 8th 2013)
Post by Silke
