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Interview with Britt from Sydney Australia

(2 posts)

  1. Mj
    Mj
    (44 Posts)

    Different serve, same Spoon
    CRAIG MATHIESON
    April 29, 2010 - 7:53PM
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    IN A roundabout way, Britt Daniel does not believe in luck. The dapper frontman for Austin, Texas, mainstays Spoon has cut seven albums as part of the quartet — the latest of which was January’s outstanding Transference — and he sees the making of a record in a way that is both workmanlike and profound.

    ‘‘Usually, if the songs themselves are good enough — 10 or 11 with no real filler — then no matter what the songs are, they’ll work together as an album,’’ Daniel says.

    ‘‘Then you’ll have this thing that happens without direct intention, which is the way any good artwork occurs. So we work hard and ... when you work hard, you get what other people might call lucky.’’

    The idea of one thing being perceived as another — luck is actually hard work — is a recurring theme for Spoon. What one person might see as a relationship, another might consider the mere passing of time and a change of circumstances.

    As Daniel puts it on The Mystery Zone, an otherworldly venture from Transference: ‘‘How come it feels so familiar when you never been there?’’

    That line could be a motto for Spoon (songwriter Daniel on vocals and guitar, bassist Rob Pope, drummer Jim Eno and keyboardist Eric Harvey). There are recurring elements in their make-up — calmly parched percussion, crackling, cutting guitar sounds and nimble, expressive basslines — but they combine seamlessly to forge new outcomes. Each Spoon record is recognisably a Spoon record; each Spoon record is different.

    ‘‘I do like records where it’s all one mood and all one thing,’’ Daniel says. ‘‘I admire those records, like an early Cure record or Prince’s 1999, which is just cold dance music, or classic R&B from the Amy Winehouse record. But I also admire [The Beatles’] White Album, which is all over the place. That seems to be the right move for us.’’

    The idea of professionalism also floats around Spoon’s identity, not only in the way their visual aesthetic could often be described as ‘‘session musician circa 1962’’, but in the curtness with which crucial moments are treated in their songs. Sometimes you can hear Spoon’s music as a struggle between Daniel’s self-control and the emotion looking to overwhelm him. He takes listeners to the edge but doesn’t give himself over.

    For Transference, the group did sessions with producer Jon Brion (Fiona Apple, Kanye West) that weren’t used but he left his mark by telling Daniel his demos had a spirit not easily duplicated in the studio. Daniel remembered that when he and Eno took over production duties.

    ‘‘We had this track, Trouble Comes Running, that was recorded at rehearsal and we could never get the same energy,’’ he recalls.

    ‘‘Jim and I decided to leave it like that, even though it wouldn’t have the fidelity of the rest of the record. It sounded a little trashy but it’s right for the song, so from there on, we treated everything on a song-by-song basis.’’

    That approach amplifies the album’s diversity. The narrative in Written in Reverse runs backwards, while tracks such as I Saw the Light feature prominent segues that cut from one movement to the next. Time and place are mixed up on Transference, although Daniel also sees it for what it is.

    ‘‘We wanted to make different types of songs,’’ he declares calmly.

    Spoon play Melbourne's Billboard tonight and Groovin the Moo at Prince of Wales Showground, Bendigo, Victoria tomorrow.

    Source: theage.com.au

    LINK: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/different-serve-same-spoon-20100429-tw8h.html

    Posted 13 years ago #
  2. TastyPrawn
    TastyPrawn
    (87 Posts)

    Thanks for posting this! Great interview, clever title. (Though it would have been better if they called Britt "a dapper gent"-- I'm all for bringing that phrase back.)

    Posted 13 years ago #

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