Backstage at their gig in Münster on the 24th March 2018, here's Mr Williams and Mr Lockey being questioned by Radio Q. There's always the danger that if you follow the band as closely as a lot of us do, and therefore exist on a steady diet of their promotional Q&A sessions, you'll have heard a lot of what's being said before. It's unavoidable, because there are only so much inquisitive miles you can cover in an allotted time. Luckily for us the interviewer here has some good questions, meaning that some of the responses are new. I love the reply to the "What would you say to the fans who are missing the more rock sounds?"
Tough. Get over yourselves. We don't really make music for fans.
Although at first it sounds a little belligerent, maybe even militant there's a reason to feel good about that answer. It confirms the impression that's always been there that this band are always heading towards their own destination, and they're not really up for taking any kind of direction from the people that buy their music. It would be a disaster anyway if they did because everybody believes they know what they want, that it's absolutely positively the right thing to do but it's rarely the same as other people. Plus, trying to deliberately fashion a record that you think your fans would like is the first, lethal step into the world of total artistic bankruptcy and banality. Music made by a committee of thousands would be a confusing, unfocused hot mess. Also, the very thing that got a lot of us into this band in the first place was discovering the material they released before anyone knew them and there wans't any fan expectation, when they were simply following their muse and putting out what excited them as artists. It's comforting to know that this is continuing even this far into Editors' existence. Good on them.
I would offer a gentle but totally respectful correction to one of the answers given here. They're asked why No Sound but the Wind was included on the standard version of the album, instead of one of the two bonus tracks from the deluxe edition. The reply is that aside from Tom's original demo that needed up on the Twilight soundtrack and the Werchter 2010 performance, there's never been a full band recording of the song. That is true but there was, however, a studio take featuring all four Editors in the first lineup of the band that came out on the Unedited Box set they put out in 2011. It was a big step in the evolution of NSBTW because they'd played it live during 2008.
I've said this before at the Archive but there's an old saying that great art is never completed, just abandoned. I do have the feeling that No Sound but the Wind will fall into that category, and it would be a shock if even after it found a final home on VI OLENCE, there's still a lingering unhappiness with something about it within the band.
I was also hugely disappointed to hear that part of their pre-gig ritual doesn't involve sacrificing goats or dancing anti-clockwise around a fire. I'm actually quite shocked. All these years I was so, so sure.
I should point out that the little bit of audio sync drifting out toward the very end of the video is inherent in the source material. Nothing to do with me, guv. Enjoy the chatter ;)
I should point out that the little bit of audio sync drifting out toward the very end of the video is inherent in the source material. Nothing to do with me, guv. Enjoy the chatter ;)
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
