(((O))) : Under The Influence: Danny George Wilson (Danny & the Champions of the World)

Photo: Simon Weller

Peter Gabriel – So

Prior to You Are Not A Stranger Here we’d been known for our own take on ‘Roots’ influenced music, loads of Country, Soul and Heartland Rock influences but always trying to sing and write about ‘our’ lives and surroundings rather than an imagined world of highways and diners – someone else’s world. We’ve always had a really broad taste in music and records. Before The Champs I’d been in Grand Drive with my brother and I think we presented a broader set of influences along the way.

I had a vision for the new album and made a pretty exhaustive playlist of tracks, approaches and productions that I wanted us to reflect in the new recordings. Something more expansive, different sounds. . . something more sculpted. A different rhythmic approach, possibly a sparser more evocative sound. Daniel Lanois had long been a favourite and his collaboration on Peter Gabriel’s SO seemed to loom pretty large in our discussions. Amazing songs, fascinating production, space.

Myself and Tom Collison, our keyboard player, and producer of the album, began to talk about making ‘Big Music’. So represented the experimentation and ambition we were dreaming of exactly and hence is, without doubt, one of the biggest influences on the record. Wonderful, big, inspiring music.

Kate Bush – Hounds of Love

Hounds Of Love was a big influence not just in the sound and production (the use of Linn drum machine and Fairlight, fretless bass and synthesisers, different rhythms) but also the way that it’s essentially made of conceptual suites – touching on prog and art-rock in experimentation and ambition, yet resulting in this big joyous pop music. You can immerse yourself entirely in the concept or just let the melody and inventiveness move you in the moment.

We wanted to make something similarly compelling on different levels – big, moving, pop music but with something deeper to discover if you want to. We had to approach the album in an entirely different way than we were used to: not setting up all together in a room and pressing record and choosing a take but rather building up sculptured and massaged pieces – giving ourselves options at every point. A totally different approach for us but huge fun and, ultimately, hugely rewarding.

Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring

Have long wanted to make some music that reflected our love of Mark Hollis and Talk Talk. It’s not the easiest thing to do in a traditional ‘band’ arena. Totally sculpted, edited, considered, definitive and detailed – it takes the thing that most bands don’t have and that’s the luxury of time, be it studio time or just the time that life allows to completely immerse yourselves in the music and the songs to achieve that attention to detail.

Thanks to technology, and a hell of a lot of discussion, suspension of belief and patience, we were able to apply some of this to You Are Not A Stranger Here. There were multiple versions of the album recorded, scrapped, remade, remixed, deconstructed and reconstructed. The amazing thing about Mark Hollis and Talk Talk’s incredible body of work is that among all the experimentation and attention to detail, the soul, feel and emotion is left entirely un-diluted. This was a massive influence for us, equal to the music and production. Again, it’s ‘Big Music’, art pop with hidden and infinitely discoverable depths, but pop music nonetheless.

Roxy Music – Avalon

Avalon was possibly the most obvious marker for us. We wanted to make a grown-up, accessible progressive pop record that presented an ambitious move forward for us (both sonically and song wise) but that retained the character, melodicism and spirit that we hold dear: a record that also marked a move away from the roots-rock sound that we’d become known for. All sounds quite self important and self regarding but it means a lot to us and we wanted to follow our musical dreams and show that on a record – ’More Than This’ indeed.

Avalon represented a different approach for Roxy, and it seems relevant that we approached our album in an entirely different way too. Paul Lush, our guitarist, had long spoken about how big an influence Phil Manzanera has been on his playing, Tom Collison is a huge fan of the production approach, and I love those elements too, and the songs are incredible. It didn’t seem like something we couldn’t achieve.

All of our previous recordings naturally had a lot of rhythm guitars in the mix, this time we essentially took that away – the keyboard beds gave Paul’s guitar playing more space, the feeling of more time. Saxophone plays a big part too. Again, like the other albums mentioned, it’s the space and the detail that inspired in the studio – another art-pop record that you can completely immerse yourself in on many different levels. It’ll be interesting what comes next!

• Wed 12 Mar – Cardiff, Acapela Studio
• Thu 13 Mar – Oxford, Jericho Tavern
• Fri 14 Mar – Newport (Isle of Wight), Strings Bar & Venue
• Sat 15 Mar – Exeter, Phoenix
• Sun 16 Mar – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
• Tue 18 Mar – Nottingham, The Angel Microbrewery
• Wed 19 Mar – Manchester, Gulliver’s 
• Thu 20 Mar – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
• Fri 21 Mar – Glasgow, The Hug & Pint
• Sat 22 Mar –Newcastle, Gosforth Civic Theatre
• Sun 23 Mar – Birkenhead, Future Yard CIC
• Wed 26 Mar – Norwich, Arts Centre
• Thu 27 Mar – Guildford, Star Inn
• Fri 28 Mar – Bristol, Louisiana
• Sat 29 Mar – Brighton, Green Door Store
• Sun 30 Mar – Southsea, Wedgewood Rooms
• Fri 4 Apr –  Chelmsford, Social Club
• Sat 5 Apr – High Wycombe, The Ramblin’ Roots Revue
• 29-31 May – Euston Hall – Thetford, Red Rooster Festival 
• Sat 14 Jun –Oxsted – Hurst Community Centre

You Are Not A Stranger Here is available as Vinyl, CD and download and can be purchased here on Bandcamp.