Available next is Editors performing as part of M.V. Sessions on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show back in September of 2009. I have audio of the entire broadcast as well as video of the band recording Papillon.
First, some obligatory context setting. This was 2009, and In This Light... was not yet officially released. To the music purchasing public, Editors were a guitar band, making authentic guitar music that had been aged in wooden vats to preserve its authenticity. 6 strings, 6 strings, 4 strings, vocals and some drums. Everybody knew their place and everybody knew where they stood. Then a short while after this recording, Editors' third album would become a retail reality. Soon, they would be viewed as suspicious missionaries arriving on the island (from somewhere dark), bringing with them the dubious gospel of the freedoms and joys to be had from electronic experimentation. The locals would dissolve into factions containing those who approved and were excited to see what was next, and those who felt horribly betrayed that their artists had detoured from the strict pathways of convention.
This session with Zane Lowe features Editors playing two new songs at the time, as well as a one-off version of track by The National, a band with whom Editors established some very strong ties with in their early years. Whenever I hear this radio broadcast I always feel like Abel is the kind of song that Editors would have written before or around the time of the Back Room, which is why it's such a perfect counterbalance here to Papillon and Bricks and Mortar, both of which signified a more thoughtful and risk taking angle to their creativity. This is where we're from, this is where we're at.
The interviews between the music are brief but informative and funny, particularly when the band are asked anything vaguely specific about their instruments and especially if they'd ever consider supporting U2. Chris plays it ambiguously, but you know instinctively where his heart is on that matter. Enjoy the music ;)
Full Broadcast - stream it here
MP3s
Papillon - download here
Abel (The National cover) - download here
Bricks and Mortar - download here
Bonus Material - Papillon (Video)
stream it here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
