Interview: Smote
I was listening to a steady mix of industrial music, drone music and traditional folk. So as a result the album has ended up circling around all of those styles of music.
Songs From The Free House, the fifth and latest album from Smote, takes you on an otherworldly journey from start to finish, a journey that takes in folk, psych, drone, doom and ambient sounds on its way. On very vivid soundscapes, the tracks on Songs From The Free House conjure up so many feelings and the whole record is a trip from start to finish from harrowingly heavy to life affirming joy, the emotional pull is eclectic throughout. To celebrate the release of the album, Gavin Brown caught up with Daniel Foggin from Smote to get an insight into the album, folk tales and Smote’s live shows and festival appearances.
E&D: Your new album Songs From The Free House is out very soon. How excited are you to be bringing this album out?
Daniel: Yeah it’s nice to get this one out there. This is the first LP I’ve recorded in a professional studio, it was mostly practice room and home recordings up until this point. I worked with Sam Grant from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs at Blank Studios in Newcastle. It was a pleasure having Sam at the controls, there’s a lot more power and texture there that I have never been able to produce myself. So I hope that this album is a step in a new sonic direction for Smote, there’s less jamming, and a lot more deliberate composition than usual. That being said, it still is minimalist composition paired with maximalist delivery.
E&D: Can you tell us a bit about about working with Sam on the album?
Daniel: Sam knows his stuff! I essentially took him the demos and we went through everything aside from some synth and vocal takes. It was eye opening, up until this point I had used a maximum of 4 microphones on all of the previous records. I had also recorded all of the previous albums entirely on my own, so even just having someone to bounce off was huge. There were some special techniques which I’m reluctant to divulge for fear of intellectual property theft haha, for example there is piano on this record, even though it’s not necessarily something you can hear directly. Things like that, learning that everything in the recording doesn’t need to be at the forefront all the time. It sounds obvious, but it is a delicate process which everyone approaches differently, the intricate dance of balancing individual tracks so they work together with each other instead of everything becoming mud at the front.
E&D: What have been the biggest influences on the sound and the outlook of Songs From The Free House?
Daniel: I started making this record almost as soon as I finished A Grand Stream, which is an exhausting listen. I think A Grand Stream really takes a lot of commitment to get through, which is what I wanted at the time. But with Songs From The Free House I wanted to bypass that fatigue, yet still offer something immersive. At the time I was listening to a steady mix of industrial music, drone music and traditional folk. So as a result the album has ended up circling around all of those styles of music, taking bits and pieces from each wherever it feels necessary.
E&D: Did you want to explore the power of electronic music alongside the folk and drone sounds more on this record?
Daniel: Yeah, for sure, I love big amplifiers, the nice ones can shift so much air and are so full of texture. It’s the same with acoustic instruments, frequency modulation that comes through on bowed instruments is a beautiful thing. So it makes sense to explore the power that synthesisers can offer up too, there is of course more control over the frequencies and it’s possible to manipulate them in much more intricate and extreme ways. So yeah, it’s been nice doing most of the writing with synthesisers as a starting point and building around that. Synthesisers are still a fairly new territory for me too, so it was a good way to escape old habits that are easy to fall into with guitars, new tools facilitating new ideas.
E&D: What electronic records have been the most inspiring to you over the years?
Daniel: Although it’s not entirely electronic, Kali Malone – Cast of Mind has been on steady rotation for me for years. Pretty much all of Puce Mary’s back catalogue never gets old for me either. Aleksandra Zlyz – Tonarium Live is powerful stuff too.
E&D: Do you love having the freedom of using folk, drone and electronic sounds in your music?
Daniel: Yeah I don’t think too much about the specifics, it’s nice to pick out aspects from various styles of music so they can serve their necessary purpose. My theory knowledge is very basic, which is a blessing more than a curse for me. Particularly with folk music, I like to use the barebones aspects, because that’s all I know really. I’m more worried about the sonic quality and textures of an instrument’s sound, than the notes I can play on it, that is enough for me to work with. There is of course a lot of fun to be had when combining all of this stuff. Is it a synth or a blown out guitar? Is it a collection of tuned oscillators or an acoustic drone instrument? Who knows!
E&D: Can you tell us about the sublime song ‘The Linton Wyrm’ that features on the album and why you chose that as a subject for a song?
Daniel: That was a myth told to myself and Rob Law when we were working in the Scottish Borders. It is a classic tale of Wyrm terrorising the local town, said town is then saved by a travelling knight. The story explains that when the Wyrm is slain it retreats into its lair and collapses the hillside as it perishes, which is why the region has such interesting geographical features. There is also a plaque above a church that honours John De Somerville. Sommerville is the knight who defeated the Wyrm. It stuck with me, being told a story that is very clearly a myth, while still being able to see and touch the real world relics of the tale. That region feels special to me, I like the life. So naturally I spend a lot of my time reflecting on the life we briefly lived there, I still live only around 40 minutes drive away now. Funnily enough The Linton Wyrm is the first song I’ve written that had the vocal melody come first.
E&D: The Lambton Worm features a similar story, did you consider this at all given that it is set in the North East rather than the Scottish Borders?
Daniel: There is less documentation of the Linton Wyrm, I suppose the mystery that surrounded the Linton version led to me valuing it more.
E&D: Is folklore, particularly from the North East a big influence on the music of Smote?
Daniel: Yes and no. I do enjoy folklore, like many people do, but for me it is more about the general overarching atmosphere that comes with it. That is why, until now, I haven’t been up front about the themes and stories within the Smote records. Personally I don’t feel the need for too many specifics and details, I prefer the films and books that don’t offer a clear narrative for example. I also don’t want to force the listener to picture a specific story as they listen, it’s far more interesting to offer an experience that will allow someone to create their own narrative, or not if that’s what is preferred.
E&D: Sally Mason of the Smote live band land Ian Lynch from Lankum both feature on the album, can you tell us about working with them?
Daniel: Yeah, love those guys. I sent Sally the tracks that I thought needed some additional vocals kind of last minute, a hat in hand “No pressure” situation. Sally then sent me some whopping ten part harmonies, a one woman choir so to speak, with very little notice. It completely elevated the songs in my opinion! It was the same with Ian, I thought “Winne” needed a bit more of a kick at the end. Ian had played in the band for the Roadburn performance so I had heard Pipes as part of the music already, and again just like Sally, Ian sent over a harmony I would have never naturally gone to. I suppose it’s the folk background and having more knowledge of creating music that way. It brought a beautiful emotional edge to the final track of the album, until that point it had only had my classic caveman “play the riff again louder” treatment.
E&D: Are you looking forward to talking the songs from the new album into a live setting?
Daniel: Yeah, as I do this I am just home from rehearsals, the songs sound great with the band. It’s been a new way of playing, there is slightly less room for improvisation but more gratification and impact for sure.
E&D: Who will be playing live with you on the run?
Daniel: We’re a five piece for this one. Myself, Rob Law on drums, Callum Church on guitar, Sally Mason on Bass, and Laura Garcia on Viola and MS20. We’re all singing too which has been a fun learning curve.
E&D: How did your recent live collaboration with One Leg On Eye at the Supersonic festival go?
Daniel: That was good fun. It was originally supposed to just be a DJ set, it then turned into a drone set on the roof, then a collab with drums and bass involved on the roof, then a few days before the festival we got moved into the O2 haha. We loved it, there was a vague idea to stick to but for the most part it was improvised. Huge thanks to Lisa and the Supersonic team for allowing us to do that, we’re extremely lucky.
E&D: Will you work together again, both live or on record?
Daniel: Yeah definitely, Ian dips in and out of the live band when he can. I like to think that the band is always open to previous members to come and play when they want, there’s always a way. There’s been around 13 members come through so far and I hope to work with all of them again.
E&D: You brought out the live album Clyppan earlier in the year as well. How has that live comment been received?
Daniel: It was nice to be able to record that moment of the band’s existence. We’ve had a really good few years and are very lucky to be able to tour and play with so many special people, so it’s nice to have a record of that time. It’s also interesting to be able to hear how much the songs have changed over the years. Each member of the live band brings their own style to the music, we still change the older songs now when we want to. It’s more fun that way, both for us and the audience. I cannot credit the live band enough, all credit to them for the force of the live experience.
E&D: When Smote play live, do you have a freedom of where the songs will go on any given night?
Daniel: There are parameters to stick to, but we mostly work off of nods. So if we miss a nod it’s okay, we’ll get the next one, or maybe not, it depends on how we feel. We can stretch sections as we feel it out in the moment, it adds a phenomenal amount of lethargy to the experience,it also keeps it exciting for us. It can get ridiculous sometimes, but that is part of the joy, total absurdity. It would get boring playing the tracks exactly the same every night.
E&D: How was the experience of playing this years Roadburn festival in April?
Daniel: That was a big one for the bucket list. In addition to the core band we had Adam Ian Sykes (Pigsx7), Lise Ekelund (Flowers Must Die), Jon Perry (Gnod, Holy Scum) and Ian Lynch (Lankum, One Leg One Eye). We all got together the week before in Newcastle to rehearse, I hosted anyone that had to travel at my house. So even the lead up to the gig was a great experience. We were an 8 piece band on the night, which is hugely ambitious especially for a festival. It worked in the end, we all had a positive experience and I believe that crowd did too. Again I stress how lucky we are to have the opportunity to do what we do, thanks and love to everyone.
E&D: What other Smote gigs have been the most memorable for you so far?
Daniel: We played the basement of The Exhange in Bristol with two drummers very early on, that was great fun. There was Supernormal festival in 2024, we didn’t really know how late we were playing on the Saturday night, that was a big party, it is so nice to look out into a crowd of smiling dancing people. There are others that come to mind too, Punctum in Prague, any of the many Lubberfiend shows, and we LOVE Supersonic.
E&D: Who are your all time favourite artists from Newcastle?
Daniel: In no particular order; BONG, Richard Dawson, Khunnt, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Dawn Terry, Louse, Lacrima, Metgumberbone, Drunk in Hell, Apologies.
