Amplifier recently unleashed a new album on the world, Echo Street, to universal acclaim. Chris McGarel spoke to Sel from the band to find out more.
(((o))): Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for Echoes and Dust.
Sel: No problemo. Thanks for the support!
(((o))): Echo Street sees Amplifier moving forward, diversifying styles, yet drawing on its past by taking inspiration from jam sessions recorded in the 90's. How did this approach come about?
Sel: Well Echo Street came about in a very very short period of time. Between conception and being finished was only about a month. The turnaround was incredibly fast and all the songs were written in that period as all our other material is tied up in the Mystoria album which is coming next. In order to have any songs to put on an album I tried to remember back over the years to things that had remained undeveloped. The passage of time had stripped away all but the strongest and simplest ideas from my memory and the oldest and simplest of these were from the 90s and the most formative period of the band. This where almost all of Echo Street came from. As an aside - the first thing that existed for the album was the title - before there was a single note of music considered - so that worked out quite well I think... Anyway, I have all of the cassettes from the 90s still - all numbered and dated because I am anal. It was easy to find the ideas and supersize the record very quickly.
(((o))): Did any recorded material from those jams survive to the final mix or were they rerecorded or used more as inspirational jumping-off points for the Echo Street recording sessions?
Sel: Well most of the initial ideas were just jumping off points like you say. In most cases it was just some chords or just a vibe that served as the inspiration. That is enough for me to focus on it and hear the rest of the song and sketch out how it should go. Then we just went into the studio and had a play around working out the transitions between the sections and then that's it. It was pretty loose really. There were a few things I managed to lift off of the C90s. I liked that there was still the echo of the past remaining in the final album.
(((o))): The new album contains some instant classics in the mould of the Amplifier sound fans know and love - Extra Vehicular, The Wheel, among others - as well as some more mellow song-based tracks. Did you feel your writing gravitating naturally to new styles or were these a reaction to The Octopus?
Sel: Well - I definitely wanted the record to be completely different to The Octopus. That wasn't a problem because the way the album came together was so completely different to the way that The Octopus came together it was never gonna sound the same. Having said that, the next album Mystoria sounds completely different/to Echo Street and the song writing is different again... But always classic Amplifier...
(((o))): The band mailing list and online presence display a lot of character and humour beyond what most bands produce. Do you enjoy putting this informational material together?
Sel: To be honest. I really enjoy it. It causes us many hours of mirth...Our new series At Home With Magnum is proving particularly rich vein of pointless bibble to me. It does pretty much sum up what were like. If we didn't have a sense of humour - I can guarantee that we wouldn't still be going....
(((o))): Prior to the tour you announced, with typical mystery and humour, that this would be the farewell UK tour. Is this a real concern for the future of the band in its home territory or hyperbole to rally the troops?
Sel: Well - a bit of both. Essentially - it's a tough time. People are skint - There's too many bands playing all the time. If no-one comes to see us then we lose money and can't afford to tour. We live a hand to mouth existence. Last time we toured the UK we lost money. We can't afford to do that. In Europe if you are not playing in someone's town - they will think nothing of driving 50km to come and see you.
In the UK if you are not playing literally on someone's street they will not bother to come and see you. But we sell more albums in the UK than anywhere else. It is a disparity that we find very saddening.
Basically we wanted people to understand the simple nature of the conundrum. It wasn't a threat. It was just a fact. It was very interesting to see the different types of people's reaction to it. Some people were openly hostile - interestingly those were the people that had no actual emotional investment in the band - they had ever contacted us or bought anything from us (it's very easy for me to check!) so it made it easy for them to slag us off. The people that did have regular involvement with us - they cared a great deal - which goes to show how important social media and being an open party is for a band these days. Everyone in the industry was appalled that we were so frank and honest - and that pretty much sums them up for me. It’s all a fake show. But we are more interested in just being plain and ourselves - we think that that is a better policy in the long run.
The outcome: More people came - we didn't lose any money. A scrape by as opposed to a loss. All the boxes were green at the end of the tour. None were red. Live to fight another day. Sometimes that's enough! Europe will be much better though...
(((o))): The atmosphere at the London show in The Garage was electric. The possibility that this could be the last one ever seemed to focus the crowd. The band put it in an intense performance - definitely the best of the half dozen Amplfier shows I've seen. You seemed to relax half-way through and I got the sense you were enjoying the reception. How have those UK shows been overall and do you still feel a difference between shows in mainland Europe and homegrown audiences?
Sel: That was a great show - for sure - Our London shows are always amongst the best - and that's simply because there tends to be more people there. It's a simple fact that a band reacts better the more people are there. I love playing n the UK - I love playing to people who I can have a joke with and that they can understand what rubbish is being babbled on stage... European audiences are very variable - it changes from region to region. Some countries are more reserved than others. The southern countries are more fiery in national temperment. They tend to shout more and be more demonstrative than their more reserved Northern European counterparts. Its funny that - but you suss it out after a while...
(((o))): The first concert DVD, Live in Berlin, has just been released, recorded at Desertfest 2012. That's a set you selected to emphasise the heavier side of the band for what is ostensibly a stoner rock festival. How do you rate that experience and did the selection of tracks make you reevaluate the back catalogue in any way?
Sel: Well, the good thing about the Amplifier back catalogue is that there are a lot of different types of songs to choose from so we can cover most eventualities. We really enjoyed playing this show and it pretty much formed the core of our live set for the next 12 months. There are a lot of classic songs in there.
You know something is a classic because you never tire of playing it. I still get the same thrill playing our song Motorhead as I did the first time we played it.
(((o))): In recent years you've played Desertfest and High Voltage Festival. Do you enjoy playing to festival crowds who may not necessarily be fans of the band? Are you playing any festivals this year?
Sel: Amplifier LOVE playing at festivals. No gig is too big or too small. Both of those festivals that you mentioned are particularly great events because the emphasis is on music fans that go to discover new bands as well as the ones they already know. We love to win over new people. We are a live band at heart and have been plying our trade for a long time now – so it’s always going to be a kind of controlled super nova. The big stages are great, especially at night – they have lots of great production and the lights are tip top. We have several festival appearances over the summer – but we can’t announce them yet – because we are on tour. If that makes sense?
(((o))): Are there any plans being formulated for after the tour or are you solely concentrating on playing live and promoting Echo Street at the moment?
Sel: Yes – lots of things – principally we will be finishing the next album off ready for release next year.
It’s gonna be a very very busy summer. But there’s still a lot more to do on Echo Street. It is a deceptively long street…
