Well hello there, Mr Willes. Good to see you ;)
September, was far from boring.
In typically cryptic style Editors' twitter page took time to mark an anniversary on September 3rd, but it wasn't this year's most obvious one. Their second album An End Has a Start turned 10 in June, but there was no fanfare and none of the overt (if slightly uneasy) acknowledgment like that given to The Back Room on its birthday in 2015. This time it was all about marking the decade that passed since the release of... An End Has a Start (the single). Not the lead track Smokers or its album of origin (far too obvious), but the second standalone track released from it. Contrary Editors weirdness.
Speaking of cryptic weirdness, Ed undertook some kind of photography project that lasted for five days in September before stopping completely and, once again, triggered my obsessed fan synapses. Was this some kind of code for the new record? Was he giving away song titles? Oddly, pictures 4 and 5 could be Bird of Prey and The Boxer respectively, but then that was from albums they've already done. What the hell did this all mean? Then the more rational part of my brain reminded me that the Instagram accounts set up by the band were not done exclusively to communicate with fans, and that they actually have regular lives away from all of this madness. It's entirely possible that it was nothing connected with Editors at all...
...but what if it was?
There were some photos posted from inside Monnow Studio in Wales of the band putting more work into E6, as well as a few Instagram Story videos from Elliott that looked like they'd been shot Blair Witch style on some crappy VHS camcorder. There was 2 minutes of footage featuring Elliott playing some processed guitar that had the effect of him hitting notes inside a tornado, such was the volume. It's peculiar because I always associate him with the more electronic aspects of the band's sound, but watching this made me recall the guitar walls created Slowdive and MBV. Does this mean that E6 will be more guitar-heavy but with those traditional instruments being recorded in non-conventional ways? That they're really going to take the experimental spirit of ITLAOTE and In Dream and explore it with guitars over synths?
I don't know if this is a remarkable piece of serendipity or a calculated move by the band, but they've been recording in the same studio that Oasis used for Definitely Maybe, a band often cited in interviews as a big influence. If you look at the cover of Supersonic you can see the wheel in the background that's been appearing on their own Instagram snaps:-
I don't know if this is a remarkable piece of serendipity or a calculated move by the band, but they've been recording in the same studio that Oasis used for Definitely Maybe, a band often cited in interviews as a big influence. If you look at the cover of Supersonic you can see the wheel in the background that's been appearing on their own Instagram snaps:-
This month was all abut dropping the final curtain on the summer festival tour and the In Dream campaign as a whole. It may also have been the end of Mr Smith's onstage climbing adventures. They played Beyond the Tracks at Birmingham, and then the charity gig for Studio Brussel's Music for Life appeal. All was going well until Marching Orders, where Tom's piano stool moved unexpectedly when he stepped on it. His glorious ascension quickly became a victim of gravity, and unruly furniture, leaving him on the floor and writhing in agony. The sound of the band playing did an excellent cover job of eliminating the howls and yelps he was no doubt making, but it became apparent that he'd done some damage to either his arm or his shoulder. The gig was cut short after they returned to play Papillon, and if you look at the promotional photo taken just afterwards you can clearly see him nursing his injured limb:-
The outcome was that he didn't snap any bones, and I have to say I'm amazed. I've seen some serious falls in my life and this was one that should have at the very least dislocated his shoulder, or maybe broken a wrist. Nope. We were reliably informed that by our man-in-the-know that he's OK:-
It was a strange way to end what has been a very long campaign for In Dream.
They followed their last gig of 2017 with a teaser trailer from the 6th Editor, Mr Rahi Rezvani that seemed to suggest some live dates were in the offing. Not only that, we got to hear a snippet of a studio recording of Hallelujah (So Low), which sounds like it possesses all kinds of sleazy, dangerously bad audio intentions. I will refer you back to the above mention of An End Has a Start, because there's some elements of history being repeated. When I saw Rahi's film and heard the music I was overwhelmed by a feeling that I'd been here before, that this was somehow familiar to me and for a few days I couldn't shake it off or figure out why. The answer came when I was shopping. Maybe it was the awesome power of Quorn Chicken Nuggets but something in the vegetarian section of my local supermarket brought it back to me, and then I had to rush home and confirm the theory.
They followed their last gig of 2017 with a teaser trailer from the 6th Editor, Mr Rahi Rezvani that seemed to suggest some live dates were in the offing. Not only that, we got to hear a snippet of a studio recording of Hallelujah (So Low), which sounds like it possesses all kinds of sleazy, dangerously bad audio intentions. I will refer you back to the above mention of An End Has a Start, because there's some elements of history being repeated. When I saw Rahi's film and heard the music I was overwhelmed by a feeling that I'd been here before, that this was somehow familiar to me and for a few days I couldn't shake it off or figure out why. The answer came when I was shopping. Maybe it was the awesome power of Quorn Chicken Nuggets but something in the vegetarian section of my local supermarket brought it back to me, and then I had to rush home and confirm the theory.
A decade ago, they did something very similar prior to An End Has a Start coming out. A clip of the band in the studio was posted online (I think it was on their myspace profile) with the date of the album's release, with a soundtrack that none of us had heard but were dying to get to know better. It was the final studio take of Bones, which was a live favourite that had been bootlegged and spread relentlessly among the fans. This was the splinter in the brain that wasn't giving me any peace.
This time around it looks far more sexy thanks to the increased production values and the wonderfully cinematic eye of Mr Rezvani, but the circumstances are almost identical. You can check out that AEHAS teaser using this link and make your own mind up as to whether or not I'm reading way too much into this.
Rahi's teaser video was shortly followed by news of a March/April 2018 tour and almost immediately some of the dates began selling out, which is both good and bad. I wouldn't want them to burn themselves out because they are known for working until they get ill (we're all looking at you, Mr Smith), but then the Festival mini campaign has generated so much momentum that it would seem foolish not to capitalise on it while they're still riding that wave of European love.
Finally, there was a period of intense glee here at Lemming Acres when another member of the band decided to start micro-documenting their travels. After instant communication with folks anywhere in the world, this is my second favourite thing about social media. Elliott not only posted videos, but also some time-stamped photographs of a recent band trip to Amsterdam which detailed his journey from the back of a car in the dark hours of the morning, through the airport and finally to his destination. This came in addition to Justin's continuing airport documents, which have now become associated with that pleasantly giddy feeling that something in Editors' world is happening. Those of us grounded by circumstance thank you both for allowing us to vicariously tag along on your trips.
They visited Rahi's studio but it's unclear if this was a video shoot, a photo shoot or a general kicking-around-some-ideas session. What we can safely deduce is that something is happening, we just don't know what. All of this post-Music for Life activity made me consider that I may have been viewing the current state of affairs all wrong. It felt like the band were actually going to be going away until March of next year. However, all the evidence we have indicates that they are in every sense of the word a "working band". They haven't stopped. Just because they're off the road doesn't mean that they are inactive, and it seems like they're still grinding regardless of how quiet it is out here in the world. As I alluded to previously I just hope they don't overdo this, and that they allow themselves some time to be civilians and do some living. After the In Dream campaign, they've earned it.
For now, here's everything mentioned above and much more besides in Editors' Instagram collection for September 2017. In keeping with tradition, it's my duty to inform you all that Dream Dark as Your Heaven still resides in mute limbo, and that the Virgin Radio interview with Tom we were promised still hasn't shown up. Hopefully a hefty download will ease your gloom, but not too much. You are an Editors fan after all. Enjoy ;)
download here
Complete 2016 collection
And if you want to view Editors' previous adventures on the interwebs, check out the links below:-
January 2017 - download here
February 2017 - download here
March 2017 - download here
April 2017 - download here
May 2017 - download here
June 2017 - download here
July 2017 - download here
August 2017 - download here
September 2017 - download here
October 2017 - download here
November 2017 - download here
June 2017 - download here
July 2017 - download here
August 2017 - download here
September 2017 - download here
October 2017 - download here
November 2017 - download here
Complete 2015 Collection
Complete 2016 collection
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
