STACK Magazine April 2015 Issue 126

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082 APRIL 2015 JB Hi-Fi
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The new Prodigy album
The Day is My Enemy
was produced mainly at night.
"I was able to get more intensity
out of the sessions. Half the
world's asleep, weird shit
happens," Liam Howlett tells
STACK while on tour with
Future Music Festival. The new
album (originally called Halcyon
Jetfighter) was begun in 2012:
but five tracks in Howlett junked
it all and the band started again.
The fox that features on both
the album cover and in the clip
for the Nasty single is a talisman
of sorts. "He's a symbol of
the night, doing things on his
own terms." says Howlett. As
for the sound of the album,
he says "It's the most violent-
sounding record I've ever made
– a reaction to things that have
happened in the band – mainly
between me and Keith. It's our
job to write a rebel soundtrack;
that can only happen when
there's something to go against.
Electronic music has been
hijacked: there's got to be
some yin and yang: this
is the other end of it."
The Day is My Enemy is out
now on Cooking Vinyl/ Universal.
The Prodigy make a friend of the night
T he new album by The Very Best, Makes a King is truly an album
of global breadth. The Swedish/Malawian duo have fashioned
a truly modern release that is imbued with African influence,
certainly, but also draws on reggae, harmony singing, modern
pop and top of-the-line production. Johan Hugo says recording in
Malawi was central to the whole project. “We found a house five
hours drive from the capital (Lilongwe) in a village called M'dala
Chikowa. It was an amazing experience recording there, especially
because the community is half Christian, half Muslim. In a world often divided between the West and
the ‘other’ it was amazing to see people living in peace and harmony despite differences in religion
and culture.”The album also features Vampire Weekend's Chris Baio on the track Hear Me, while
Senegalese legend Baaba Maal is heard on Umasiye.
S onic Highways, the eight-part series created
and produced by Foo Fighters that documents
different facets of American music, and the
making of the Foo Fighters album of the same
name, is being released this month on DVD and
Blu-ray. Although the series took the band to
eight different cities to record a song in each, the
series overall is a look at the history of American
music. No matter your opinion of Dave Grohl or
the band’s music, his passion for music is on full
display throughout, as is his knowledge. It’s also
a personal journey at times: from his formative
years visiting Chicago and being exposed to
his cousin’s punk rock band – something that
changed his life completely – to the return to the
studio where he created the first Foo Fighters
album essentially solo, in the wake of Kurt
Cobain’s suicide and the end of Nirvana. But
what the show does best is illustrate the powerful
musical characteristics of each city and the impact
music has had in each town’s cultural history. In
Washington DC, Grohl delves into both DC punk
(talking to Fugazi’s Ian McKaye, Bad Brains, etc)
while also looking at the city’s Go-Go scene. In
Nashville, the band visit the Grand Ol’ Opry and
speak to Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, while
in New Orleans they visit the city’s legendary
Preservation Hall. Chicago spends time with Steve
Albini, as well as several blues
artists. The home entertainment
version features music with 5.1
audio, plus extended interviews
with Barack Obama, Ian MacKaye,
Dolly Parton and The Butthole
Surfers' Gibby Haynes.
continued
Q1/ You moved from New Zealand to
Melbourne in 2013. Are Aussies more receptive
to Kiwi acts than vice versa?
I went to Melbourne in 2012 and did a few shows
with Delaney [Davidson, with whom he's recorded
three albums) so I got a feel for the place. On my
second day in Melbourne, I got my first gig and ended
up doing around 250 the first year, so it was pretty
intense, but amazing. Australian audiences seem to
be a bit more receptive. You get the classic “fush and
chups” jokes, but they are used to New Zealand music
– there are a fair few New Zealanders in Melbourne.
Q2/ Your self-titled solo album was recorded
in Lyttleton (NZ). Did you ever consider
recording it here?
I thought about it. But Ben [Edwards, of Lyttelton
Records] is the only producer I have worked with and
for my first solo album I wanted to have a sense of
comfort. And I knew all the musicians, too. I talk about
touring a little bit on the album, that was a recurrent
theme. But it’s not really geographically-centred.
Q3/ One of the album’s standout tracks is a
cover of the long-lost Bob Carpenter classic
Silent Passage. Where did you come across
that? I first heard that song on Midlake’sLate Night
Tales. I always knew at some point I would have to
record it. Lost Without You is a Billy Fury song – I have
a soft spot for those big ‘60s R’n’B ballads. When I
Was a Young Girl is a traditional song, it's been done
by everyone – Nina Simone, even Feist. Sometimes,
singing from a female perspective, it's interesting to
change the gender – on this one I didn’t think it was
that important.
Q4/ You’ve now got your own band, the Yarra
Benders. How did that come about?
I did a two month residency at the Yarra Hotel,
which is owned by Mick Thomas [ex-Weddings Parties
and Anything}. He'd play bass, Gus Agars [ex-Tex
Perkins] would play drums, and Mark McCartney
would play guitar – I liked the sound of it. When I
started putting the album together, I realised it was
going to be a ‘band’ album, so I put one together.
Q5/ What are your plans for the rest of the year?
I'll be touring to promote the album, and going to
Canada to do some folk festivals. There's talk about
recording with Justin Townes Earle in Nashville; I've
toured with him a few times and he’s coming to play
at the Yarra Hotel – I actually live there! – so I'm
going to catch up with him then.
Marlon
Williams
Marlon Williams is out April
24 on Caroline/Universal. He tours
April 9-18.
Foo FIghters Sonic
highways at home
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