Freddy – Thank – Unique Interview

Retroactive And Unique Interview With Freddy Of Thank, with the preliminary dialogue simply previous to the discharge of Thank’s new album, I Have A Bodily Physique That Can Be Harmed.

Two-Hour Lunch: An Interview With Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe, frontperson and raconteur.

LTW: Whats up, Freddy, I used to be questioning in the event you discovered it acceptable to retrofit inquiries to solutions in an interview, additionally, are you able to discuss a number of the band’s adjustments since your earlier album?

Freddy: Wednesday evening is our observe evening. So, in the course of the week, it’s a superb factor. Since Steve, our present drummer, since he’s joined, we’ve been, properly, he’s like a really, very pushed particular person, and earlier than that, we used to… Steve’s very, very pushed and previous to him becoming a member of the band, we have been fairly unfastened about rehearsing.
It was simply type of fairly advert hoc once we felt prefer it. However when Steve joined, he was like, we’ve acquired to select an evening of the week, and until there’s a selected purpose to not, we’re going to do this evening each week with out fail, and he’s been within the band about three years now, and we’ve caught to that fairly properly.
So, and I believe it’s in all probability made us a significantly better band. Undoubtedly, you don’t realise once you’re rehearsing that you just’re getting higher since you see incremental, isn’t it? You undoubtedly do. Oh yeah, you realize, you see bands with common musicians go off and tour for 2 years, and once they come again, they’re all superb.
However we actually didn’t do it on function. It simply, like rehearsal, I believe that’s the tightest you’ll ever be. It’s once you get again from a tour. I believe, when have been you recorded? Not this new album, however the seven-inch we did. As a stopgap between the 2 albums, we recorded that.
I’m fairly positive we acquired again from tour at, truthfully, like 2,3 A.M. the evening earlier than concerning that after which recorded it the next day. And it was fairly tight. I’ll simply say, in fact, it was such as you stated, how might you not be a lot tighter than like I used to be sleep after which straight into the studio?

LTW: All proper. So, Freddie, inform me in summary or normal phrases about your new album. Has it acquired many music titles nearly as good as the one?

Freddy: I believe that I believe there are some good music titles. Lots of people appear very enthralled by.

There’s a music on it known as Woke Frasier, which is the following single.

LTW: The Earlier single I did a evaluation, and I stated, I’m positive I stated Woke Frazier’s, maybe the perfect music title of the final 10 years.

Freddy: I knew somebody from Louder Than Struggle did, I believe I didn’t clock who it was.

LTW: Nicely, Woke Frazier, that’s good. It was initially, can the lyric stay as much as that title?

Freddy: I imply, you’ll discover out in it’s out per week right now, so that you’ll discover out, yeah, initially, that was, as I discussed earlier than, I’m taking part in bass in a band known as Solderer as properly.
However once we have been nonetheless looking for a reputation, I believe I instructed the title Woke Simpsons for that band, which the remainder of the blokes didn’t like. And so, what typically finally ends up taking place is that is sort of the enjoyment of getting a couple of undertaking.

LTW: Is that if one thing will get rejected by one, normally you possibly can persuade the opposite one to do one thing with it.

Freddy: So, it began as Woke Simpsons that developed into work for Solderer. It’s simply very foolish, however yeah, there’s a music on the album itself, it’s our second full-length album.
It’s our first one with Huge Scary Monsters, the label, which could be very thrilling, we recorded it in December final yr, we recorded it up in Scarborough, which is the place three of Thank met, me, Lewis and Cameron all went to College in Scarborough, and we really didn’t type this band till we’d all moved to Leeds, however we performed in different tasks and stuff collectively.
Yeah, it’s fairly a, it’s a wierd city. After I lived, there have been numerous good, like Hardcore gigs. That’s sort of what acquired me. What acquired me into Hardcore? I didn’t actually get it earlier than that, but it surely was the pub, excuse me. The pub proper by my home. The gigs within the basement have been so fabulous.
Sure, when you’ve seen just a few hardcore gigs within the basement of a pub, it’s tough to not get it, I believe, There’s no approach to disguise there’s there. Like I stated, the report was achieved in Scarborough. It’s the primary time now we have lived at a studio once we’ve recorded. So, it’s actually that the Studios the place we recorded has a flat above it.

We lived there for the recording of the album, um, and yeah, it was superb. I’d be eager to do extra of that sort of residential recording. It was a well-known one in Wales. There was a Mono Valley. I believe Rockfield is actually a stay-in, a studio as properly. I truthfully couldn’t let you know, you realize, so much, quite a lot of these.

There are only a few residential studios within the UK. Now, quite a lot of them are closed down, so I simply acquired Peter Gabriel’s place nonetheless open.

LTW: Uh oh, is that Actual World?

Freddy: Yeah, the astonishingly costly one. I consider it’s as a result of I’ve acquired a good friend who used to work there, he doesn’t anymore however uh I’m positive it’s a pleasant place, however you don’t wish to spend ten grand a day since you wish to simply report all of the songs in a single go.

LTW: You’ll simply be your watch going. No, yeah, that’ll do.

Freddy: Oh, completely. Now, I’ve heard some very fascinating tales concerning the Actual World Studio, however he couldn’t presumably keep on. Is there something I might share? There’s stuff like, apparently, throughout The recording, I believe it was Watch The Throne, however a number of the periods for that have been achieved at Actual World, and so they, so I’m informed they wished to remain on LA time.

However additionally they wished to, properly, the principle management room at Actual World is type of set down into the lake. So, you’ve sort of acquired just like the lake is nearly degree with the home windows. I haven’t really been in there, but it surely’s meant to be beautiful and like all this like lovely countryside surrounding it.
And Kanye West and Jay-Z wanted to remain on LA time, however additionally they wished to benefit from the beautiful views. So, I’m informed they paid further to have floodlights switched on outdoors to imitate daylight whereas they have been engaged on LA time in order that they may nonetheless benefit from the, uh, the views from the management room at Actual World.
Though they have been working, what, like eight hours, eight hours behind UK time. However in fact, why wouldn’t you do this? I imply, to be honest, if I used to be Kanye West or Jay-Z, I might in all probability ask for equally ridiculous issues.

LTW: Yeah, and in case you are paying ten grand a day or extra, I suppose you’re entitled to ask.

Freddy: I’d say so I’d say so and if they’ll’t afford it, who can? Beyonce’s husband. So yeah, I could have digressed just a little bit, but it surely’s the lengthy and wanting it with no complete bit.

LTW: All proper, let me ask one other. When it comes to the Development from the primary Album to the second. Together with the singles. What’s modified?

Freddy: Have we modified personnel? We have now, we needed to have some change in personnel. Has that made a distinction to the sound?

LTW: I don’t imply like an apparent distinction.

Freddy: I might say so. Steve, our present drummer, joined after we’d recorded the final album. However he joined earlier than we began touring it. So, it’s been fascinating. The entire touring of the primary album was with Steve on drums, however he didn’t really play on that album.
We’ve additionally Theo, who used to do quite a lot of the electronics, has left. He’s not within the stay band. He nonetheless contributed to the brand new album. However even nonetheless, as a result of he’s not a part of the stay band, he wasn’t actually concerned within the writing, he simply sort of did some overdubbed stuff after the actual fact.
So yeah, I’d say I imply Steve is a much more idiosyncratic drummer than Rob, who performed on the primary album. And I say that in a that I say that positively, I believe, Rob, what was actually good about Rob, was that particularly as a result of we recorded that album throughout Peak covid, which meant we couldn’t rehearse very a lot. and quite a lot of the writing was achieved remotely. I wrote extra of that album, quite a lot of that album was simply me writing by myself, and what was good about Rob is we have been capable of flip up, and he would simply sort of play precisely what you anticipated him to play.

And that was helpful for that album. Simply due to the best way we’re quick to work. Yeah, however Steve brings his personal. His sort of taking part in fashion, his personal sound, his personal creative imaginative and prescient of issues, In a approach that sort of pulls the songs in instructions that I don’t assume we’d have in any other case anticipated them to go.

LTW: Nicely, extra John Bonham than Ringo?

Freddy: Yeah, that’s in all probability a great way of placing it. He’s not a nasty drummer; he simply performs to what he’s informed, that’s it, and like Rob’s an excellent drummer. And he nonetheless performs in a few the tasks and is, in reality, in Carpet, and likewise shares a bass participant with us.
There are many incestuous bands within the scene, in order that’s an enormous change. Not solely have we acquired completely different personnel, but additionally, this was largely written within the room collectively. This was, you realize, largely written in our observe room and refined by means of gigs and rehearsals, whereas the final album that wasn’t there wasn’t even the scope to do any of that, simply due to the geopolitical scenario on the time.

So, it appears like It has the sort of enjoyable and the power of the sooner stuff we did, just like the couple of EPS we did earlier than the primary album. It feels prefer it has the enjoyable and the power of these. But in addition, the ambition possibly of the primary full size as a result of, you realize, we are attempting some actual sort of excessive idea stuff on that I don’t personally assume all of it landed I believe that’s partly as a result of we simply didn’t have the time or sources to plan it out or determine issues out or rehearse or experiment as a lot as we’d have favored. Whereas this time now we have had that. And we’ve additionally had, earlier than recording, we’d had two years of fairly relentless touring, which, you realize, made us a correct unit, you realize, Attain and fail. Spectacularly. Or not attain in any respect, particularly now when It was in all probability at all times the case right here.

LTW: Most likely a thousand albums have been launched per week again within the day. However we didn’t know that. What you learn within the music press was what there was. However now, you possibly can go on any web site, any music web site at any level, and yow will discover 20 albums or bands you’ve by no means heard of. Streaming’s solely constructive transfer.

Freddy: Yeah. One thing that I believe is fascinating is quite a lot of our writing course of includes recording band observe simply on a telephone. I’m going away and listening again and refining that. So, You understand, report quite a lot of our rehearsals on the telephone, go away, hear again, work out what was good, refine that, and it’s sort of trial and error and like consistently simply constructing on one thing. Earlier than, it was really easy to only report a jam session.

LTW: In fact, I’m very curious. How I simply can’t determine it out. It’s actually tough to think about how bands even wrote collectively. So, a tape deck is sensible, however even a pre-tape deck. Yeah. Did it’s a must to be good at notation and stuff? Or did you simply must have a extremely good reminiscence? In the event you watch any movie concerning the Beatles, there’s at all times a scene the place Paul and John are huddled over their two guitars close to a hearth someplace.

Freddy: Simply writing the identical music time and again, I suppose. It was much less democratic in these days. They didn’t collaborate a lot, possibly once you acquired into the studio, when it comes to writing the fundamentals. Yeah, you’re in all probability proper. How? And recordable tape. There’s that. Yeah, the decks have been usable because the 70s.

So, all these big bands from the 60s, Except you’re within the studio, they’d no approach round it, did they? They simply have to recollect. Possibly so. The development from the primary album to the second. Basically, it’s not only one composition directly, which is as a result of it’s extra democratic now.

LTW: Nevertheless it’s As a result of the musicianship’s modified that the Democracy of songwriting has modified. As a result of your drummer isn’t just, I’m, that is my guess, he’s not simply taking part in a beat that you just’ve written for him already. He’s doing his personal factor.

Freddy: Oh yeah, and he’s like a wildly ingenious drummer.

After which, even simply earlier than the primary album, I didn’t used to play guitar. I Used to only do vocals. After which, once we’re writing the primary album. I felt like I’d misplaced that sort of tactile connection to the music. So, I used to be like, proper, I’m gonna play guitar on this album, but it surely was nonetheless unclear. whether or not that might, I might nonetheless play guitar within the stay band or what, however I used to be like, I’m gonna play on the album simply in order that I’m extra related to this one as a complete.
Whereas now we’ve had it once more, two years earlier than recording this one, of touring with me taking part in guitar within the stay band, it’s a way more of a rock steadiness in that. We’ve now acquired two guitars, we’ve misplaced Theo, who was doing quite a lot of the sort of extra summary noise-making stuff.
In some methods, it’s far more like a straight-up rock band format. So, in these phrases, it’s prefer it’s virtually a three-way change.

LTW: And that you just’ve modified, given your self a unique instrumentation from the primary album to the second?

Freddy: Yeah, the best way the band writes and performs as a result of we had COVID has modified.

LTW: So yeah, you’ve grow to be, you’ve acquired now, a way more eclectic drummer. And your electronics man. I imply, if he’s not, if he’s nonetheless type of concerned, however not within the touring band.

Freddy: Yeah. And something, you’re proper. Nicely, touring is just not essentially going to contribute to it. So fascinating. Yeah, he ended up being extra of a session musician on the album. Not all people needs to tour, and the best way you assume it’s like, you’re a musician, you need to need all of it, however you perceive why.

Nicely, I believe with Theo, it was extra really that he, I believe one thing that’s essential for him is feeling a way of kinship or Group with the folks within the crowd. As we’ve gotten extra well-known and extra profitable, we’re taking part in to larger audiences. In order that both means we’re taking part in greater venues, or we’re taking part in the small, the identical small venues, however they’re a lot busier.

And I believe each of these, like both taking part in in an enormous venue or taking part in in a small venue that’s l overflowing, Theo simply discovered very annoying and likewise, he simply needs to play a gig to love 20 freaks in a basement. When he seems out into the group and appears like he’s, you realize, I don’t assume he’d thoughts me saying this, he’s fairly a bizarre man.

I believe going out into that for regular musicians, going out on stage and searching and feeling like he had nothing in widespread with 99 folks within the crowd, I believe it simply made him fairly unhappy, and he acquired to the purpose the place he was sort of dreading happening tour.

LTW: So, the Kurt, Cobain Paradox, You wish to be massive, however you don’t wish to play to a load of individuals that you just don’t know and also you’ve acquired little interest in. You’ve acquired nothing in widespread with them.

Freddy: I’m positive. Theo would love being in comparison with Kurt Cobain. You may make that the headline for this.
LTW: Are you continue to the principle songwriter?

Freddy: So, I wrote all of the lyrics, and I’d say the writing has sort of gone again to once we first began, The writing was fairly collaborative once we first began. However it could normally be both me or Lewis that does guitar. And since we’d carry the concept into the observe room after which it could be fleshed out as a band, however we’d have like a half-written submission.

And so, then, for no matter purpose, there’s a time frame the place Lewis simply had author’s block for fairly an prolonged interval. And the primary album was just about all me. However because of that, to be trustworthy, I believe. I don’t assume I ought to be left to my very own gadgets to that extent. So now, We’ve sort of acquired again to that, the place quite a lot of the preliminary concepts are both introduced in by Lewis or by me, so it’s in all probability extra of a fair break up on this report once more. However yeah, you realize, it’s again to being collaborative between the 4 of us as properly, like Steve, at all times as a drummer, at all times has fairly surprising approaches to the songs after which Cameron, the bass participant. I Would say 90 per cent of the time, if Lewis or I carry an concept into the observe room, it’s normally based mostly round, It’s normally a bassline that we herald. So a lot of our songs are bass-driven, and all the pieces else is sort of accoutrements.
However Cameron, I imply, he’s at all times been good at this, however as time’s gone on, Cameron has gotten higher and higher at developing with actually fascinating like change-ups, he’s actually good at, properly, we’ll herald a bassline after which Cameron will tweak it in a approach which utterly provides a complete new dimension to it.
He’s good at including identical to just a little turnaround possibly for the final verse or like shifting the emphasis barely, or yeah, he’s like acquired an actual knack for simply elevating one thing, so me and Louis nonetheless do many of the writing, but it surely wouldn’t be the identical if Cameron hadn’t elevated these components to such an extent.
And like with Steve, even identical to the tempo of issues, Steve likes to play quick. And so, I really feel like we’ve gotten total this album might be faster-paced than the primary one partly, simply because it’s very tough to reign in Stephen.

And that’s nice. Like, it’s I believe I’ve, I’m at all times, I’ve a extremely unhealthy behavior of at all times wanting all the pieces to be slower. And having somebody who ought to somebody, who actually received’t let me do that’s nice, and it provides the factor this type of nervous power and identical to, chaos.

LTW: And this type of sense of issues, teetering, teetering on the sting. You’re making me wish to see this.

Freddy: in about six weeks, I believe. Simply earlier than the album, two days after the album comes out, really the tenth of November, we’re taking part in right here, in Leeds, so it’s an unofficial Hometown album launch. I believe it’s official, to be trustworthy. We had tickets, however they haven’t gone on sale but, that’ll be within the subsequent few days,

LTW: Speaking of development. I imply, you’ve learn much more because the first album. You’ve grown, you’ve modified as an individual. Do you assume that your lyrics are essentially modified? Have you ever acquired extra empathy?

Freddy: Much less empathy, in all probability, I’m much less depressed than I used to be. I’m like, so I believe that there’s a bit much less self-loathing And the self-loathing that’s there is a little more self-aware. And there are some glimpses into positivity like Do It Badly. I might say it’s fairly an optimistic music.

Yeah, it’s approach much less depressed and moody. I suppose, as properly. Truthfully, the principle stuff that I’ve learn over the previous couple of years in between the 2 albums has been studying quite a lot of sci-fi, quite a lot of traditional sci-fi like Philip Okay Dick.
And I’ve at all times been an enormous Vonnegut fan. I’ve been possibly not as new, however yeah, I suppose there’s possibly I really feel like there’s a little bit of a Sci-Fi edge to the brand new report as properly and never simply within the lyrics however like in a number of the sounds.
A whole lot of the synth overdubs that Lewis has achieved. There’s quite a lot of bits that sound virtually like Blade Runner. The Blade Runner soundtrack. Nothing improper with that stuff. There are sort of some nods to Radiohead’s OK Laptop, the place they did the text-to-speech, like robotic voice stuff.
There are fairly just a few bits of robotic voice all through the album, sort of in that very same OK Laptop fashion.

LTW: What have you ever grow to be extra; they name it Krautrock. However I don’t like that title. I really like Motorik music.

Freddy: Yeah, I’d say, I believe we’ve at all times had a little bit of that, however Management, the opening observe on the album, it’s very a lot Krautrock. That’ll be my favorite. That’s an unofficial battle. Excessive 5, Krautrock, fantastic.

Yeah, it’s simply sort of all around the store. There’s a, there’s a music on there that’s me making an attempt to jot down a Tears for Fears observe. So, Yeah, all over, all over.

LTW: (seems bemused/confused..)

They’ve had an actual essential sort of reappraisal. I don’t know. I believe the primary two albums, specifically, are unreal. That’s the way you do, bizarre factor for me about someone who grew up within the 80s. It’s his music, and also you by no means know when he’s going to sound bizarre. It doesn’t sound such as you assume it sounds.

I’m simply typically away. I used to be like, is that this genuinely good music? Yeah. However yeah. It’s extremely good. Are you able to hearken to it? It doesn’t sound like a pop chart Center of the Highway band; it sounds leading edge. Most respectable early 80s music appears like God to me. I’ve acquired a little bit of an obsession with my Sarah, my associate, and simply quite a lot of my pals taking the mickey out of me for this. I get obsessive about albums, and never very often, not even as a result of I like them. I get obsessive about albums as a result of I like artists and since I wish to work out what different folks like about them.
So very often, I’ll get obsessive about an album, and I’ve, I’ve listened to it, possibly twice, and I’ll be like, it’s not doing it for me, however I’ll, I’ll have the sense that there’s one thing there that I wish to perceive. And now, possibly for months, I’ll be taking part in it on a regular basis simply to attempt to unlock it.

LTW: That’s fascinating. So, unlock it. And it’s the mechanism of the factor that takes you, not essentially the music itself? A type of deconstruction?

Freddy: Yeah, I simply assume typically I can do, I can simply sense that there’s one thing there, after which very often, just a few, like a few years later, it would all of a sudden click on for me.

So, like Lungfish, uh, 90s, like Dischord band. My good friend is an enormous fan of it, and I simply couldn’t get it and couldn’t get it. He used to at all times stick it on if we have been hanging out, and I had a section of every so often simply going again and revisiting it as a result of, yeah, I get obsessive about determining what another person is seeing in one thing.

So, I acquired into Songs For The Deaf when it got here out, and I might have been like, that’s like 2000? I believe possibly, like, 2002 2003? So, I might have been like 9 years previous. Wow. And it was one of many albums. I acquired actually into it after I first was moving into music, so I can’t deny that Songs For the Deaf has had a really formative affect on me.

LTW: I grew up listening to steel and solely actually diversified into Indie, fuck, I shouldn’t say this, however when it acquired good. Pixies, Throwing Muses, previous Husker Du and Minutemen data. However I might say that, I suppose.

Each era thinks its music is the perfect, and we arguably have a implausible scene in the meanwhile, which the Thank album might be part of, a brand new golden era of nice music; nevertheless we select to label it.

The Thank Album I Have A Bodily Physique That Can Be Harmed was launched on November eighth 2024, on Huge Scary Monsters Data

Thank’s Instagram | Fb | Bandcamp

All phrases by MK Bennett, yow will discover his writer’s archive right here plus his Twitter and Instagram

Photograph by Summer season Crane.