photo credit: Kudo (check out other work by him by clicking here)
The sound of a chapter in Editors' live history being written and closed.
This is their show at the Corona Capital Fest in Mexico from October 2011. It was recorded on the day by Carnage who has very kindly given me a green light to share it here. Huge thanks to you for that. The files are being shared in their original FLAC format, in accordance with the taper's wishes.
What is most memorable about this gig is that it would be the last time that Editors Mk 1 shared a stage together. In the 5 months that followed, for all we knew as fans things were positive and the band had begun working on E4. However, in April of 2012 Chris was asked to leave the group, bringing the formative years of the band to an abrupt close. In June of that year the second lineup would make its debut at the Birmingham HMV Institute. Heavy stuff. How about a quick trivia break?
Mr Urbanowicz had a hand in the production of Airship's debut album Stuck in This Ocean. Who was the vocalist/guitarist in Airship? Mr Elliott Williams, who along with Justin Lockey would be one of the two new crew members stepping into Editors. Airship's album was released on PIAS recordings at the beginning of September 2011, a month before this show happened and when Editors were still on Kitchenware Records (RIP). When Chris was gone and Sony decided they didn't want to hear anything else from the band, where did they end up landing.........PIAS recordings. The universe can be infinitely huge or surprisingly local, depending on your point of view.
What is most memorable about this gig is that it would be the last time that Editors Mk 1 shared a stage together. In the 5 months that followed, for all we knew as fans things were positive and the band had begun working on E4. However, in April of 2012 Chris was asked to leave the group, bringing the formative years of the band to an abrupt close. In June of that year the second lineup would make its debut at the Birmingham HMV Institute. Heavy stuff. How about a quick trivia break?
Mr Urbanowicz had a hand in the production of Airship's debut album Stuck in This Ocean. Who was the vocalist/guitarist in Airship? Mr Elliott Williams, who along with Justin Lockey would be one of the two new crew members stepping into Editors. Airship's album was released on PIAS recordings at the beginning of September 2011, a month before this show happened and when Editors were still on Kitchenware Records (RIP). When Chris was gone and Sony decided they didn't want to hear anything else from the band, where did they end up landing.........PIAS recordings. The universe can be infinitely huge or surprisingly local, depending on your point of view.
This show at the Corona Festival in Mexico saw the band play a very festival friendly set, making sure to include all the big numbers like Bullets and Munich (although the tuning on the guitar during Smokers is a little bit out towards the end, shall we say). Sitting pretty at number 5 is a contentious little beauty. This is the version of Two Hearted Spider that was written with Mr Urbanowicz's input, and it's markedly different to the final TWOYL take. Along with Last Day and The Sting, this is one of a trilogy of songs that, viewed in hindsight and with what's followed, seem to be strong indicators of the band being pulled in diametrically opposite directions. Only Last Day survived intact to the point of release, with other two tracks being radically different in their eventual finished state. The run through of Two Hearted Spider is introduced as "A work in progress" by Mr Smith, suggesting that even here it wasn't finalised.
There's a moment at around 3 minutes and 15 seconds that always gives me a shiver when I listen to it, and it produces the same effect in all the available recordings. It's really just Tom just repeating "Hey" four times but he tries out some different notes when he sings it here. Plus, there's that mechanical nature of the drum and bass underpinning the whole thing with Chris' guitar over the top. It feels like that's where the song peaks. Weirdly, they may be different arrangements but if you listen to the TWOYL recording, that version seems to hit its high point again when Tom is just singing "Me" four times (from the "breaks me" line).
What's fascinating about this point in the band's history is we know for certain about Chris' involvement with 2HS and The Sting, but from interviews given since then we know that other TWOYL tracks were also being tinkered with. They had already been working on Formaldehyde for two years at this point without success, and Tom has stated that What is This Thing Called Love was Chris' favourite song from TWOYL. How did they sound with him as a contributor and what direction would they eventually have taken if he'd remained? All that we do know for certain is that the E4 album sessions with Chris were ultimately abandoned, leading Ed to refer to them as simply one word; failure.
This is your chance to hear what would be Chris' final show as an Editor. I still miss hearing him play, but luckily I live in an age where digital technology means I can always go back and hear him do his thing anytime I'm in the mood. As well as the gig there's some chat which I believe also has the distinction of being the last time they sat as a group and gave an interview. I'm all about existential realities here at the Archive. Enjoy the music ;)
Corona Capital Festival, Mexico City - 15th October 2011
01.-Camera - download here
02.-Bones - download here
03.-AEHAS - download here
04.-Bullets - download here
05.-Two Hearted Spider - download here
06.-Racing Rats - download here
07.-ERM=BD - download here
08.-NSBTW (Tom Solo) - download here
09.-Smokers - download here
10.-Munich - download here
11.-Bricks And Mortar - download here
12.-Papillon - download here
All in a zip - download here
This is what I beieve to be the last interview with all 4 members of Editors in their original lineup, and on reflection there are times when they look like the most unhappy men on Earth. That is apart from Russell, who manages to keep a big old smile on his face for most of the proceedings. When it was first aired online it was in two parts, but I've joined them into one for a smoother viewing experience. There's a nugget of information in here that is a total shock, when they're asked about possible producers for E4. Given the name of the man that Chris drops, and his history at the mixing desk, I can only imagine what that record would have sounded like had the idea actually materialised. Enjoy the chat ;)
stream it here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
