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By: Richard Collins
Hey Colossus need no introduction. Paul and Jon checked in with our man Richard Collins to have a chat, mainly about the new record In Black and Gold, which is due out on Rocket Recordings in February.
(((o))): How you guys doing?
Paul: Very well, thank you.
(((o))): The announcement about In Black and Gold coming out on Rocket Recordings was a bit of shock, I associate them with mellower bands and more traditional psych bands than Hey Colossus. How did it come about?
Jon: They pleaded and begged until we finally relented. The prettiest girls on the block (laughs). Nah… They expressed an interest. We started recording. They were into it. Then we all shook hands.
It doesn’t feel like a shock to be working with them on this new album. Psychedelic is such a loose term for music in 2014. To me, it means an ever-changing experience that shifts and mutates from one form to another. It is not a fixed notion.
(((o))): You guys have gone in a new direction on this record, it’s spacey… more chilled and the last track even feels quite tragic and sad. It’s like you’ve taken an even bigger step than you took for Cuckoo Live Life Like Cuckoo and you would not believe you are the same band that released the brutal RRR a few years ago. What’s driving this change in direction?
Paul: I always feel like we’re refining our sound each time. I’ve personally taken more of an interest in the mechanics of words and the phrasing and placement of them to create narratives. It’s been good to have more of a focus on the clarity of each individual player, and how they have to react in that environment. We’ve moved away from relying on the feedback and noise filling in the gaps. Not that there’s even the remotest problem with that!
(((o))): So many blokes have been in Hey Colossus over the years, is the number of new bodies something which keeps you sounding so fresh?
Jon: It has had an effect on the band for sure. We are not the same today as we were when I joined in 2010. We weren’t the same in 2010 as the band I saw play some of their first shows in 2003.
People come and people go.
Things change as a consequence.
Fundamental truths.
(((o))): Is there a member of Hey Colossus who has a vision for each album? Or do you all contribute equally?
Paul: It always comes from different angles but Jon’s really come to the fore with his guitar playing and writing on this one. He’s an absolute pleasure to work with.
(((o))): Hey Colossus have been going a whopping 10 years and must have seen it all. How do you think the underground rock scene is in this country nowadays? Do you hear new bands that excite and inspire you?
Jon: 11 years I believe… Yeah, you can see and hear a lot in such duration. I have been through phases of feeling jaded but I’ve shaken myself out of that.
“Underground” music seems to be in rude health in the U.K. at the moment. A broad spectrum. The finely crafted records may tend to come from veteran performers like ourselves but the essential energy and flash can only come from the youth.
Kids rise up!
(((o))): You guys are always touring the UK and Europe. Give us some hilarious tour stories!
Paul: Turkish police raiding a gig on the top floor of a four-story marble building in Istanbul a few years back was a strange and bizarre evening. It was the last night of operation for an art gallery situated there and we were given free reign to basically destroy the place. Police weren’t too happy but we walked away smiling as always. It’s never us.
(((o))): Two of you live in Somerset, the rest live inside and just outside London, how on God’s bollock do you keep the band going?
Jon: It’s strange as up to 3 months can elapse without us all being together but thanks to the Internet, the world has become a smaller place. It goes like this… Rehearsals, recording, some of us mixing, art stuff happening, tour date booking, more rehearsals, show time.
With 6 of us in the band, it involves millions of emails regarding mixes, Pantone numbers, availability, Ferry or Eurostar debates and many more subjects far to mundane to discuss here.
It’s like a feedback loop in an existentialist nightmare.
Forever…
(((o))): Who is the best band you have ever shared the stage with?
Paul: That would be the Peter Brotzmann trio on a stormy night in Nantes, at a huge ex council office. Keith Fullerton Whitman was on the bill too. Both excellent. Though, that was on floor level. No stages. And low ceilings. Just as it should be.
(((o))): Name 3 bands which the Hey Colossus think fucking rock…
Jon: Workin’ Man Noise Unit, The Wharves, Mob Rules = 3 bands.
But equally “fucking rock” – Art of Burning Water, Grey Hairs, Perspex Flesh, The Lowest Form, Good Throb, Pheromoans.
Less rock, but equally good – Richard Dawson.
(((o))): If Hey Colossus was an animal, what would it be?
Paul: A Louis Wain cat, definitely.
(((o))): Apart from the new album, what are your plans for next year?
Jon: We will be appearing UFO-like in front of dazed locals up and down the U.K. in February and March to promote the new album. Then we will put the finishing touches on to the follow up to In Black and Gold, which we are eager to release within the year but that’s not entirely our decision.
Hopefully some festivals and back into mainland Europe again. Basically the same as each year gone before but more so.
We will be releasing a split 12″ with Australian doomstones Hotel Wrecking City Traders on Wild Animals Records in Melbourne.
We also have a split 7″ with White Manna as part of the God Unknown singles club.
The vibe is good.
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Hey Colossus will play the inaugural Sonic Mass all weekender at Bannerman’s Bar in Edinburgh on Friday February 20th. This event is co-promoted by Pisschrist Promotions and Echoes and Dust. More info on the Facebook event page and tickets are available through here.
