This is the same style of show that Russell took part in back in 2015 for In Dream, and you can listen to that one by following this link. I'm pretty sure this was recorded before the band took to the stage at Stimmen Festival in Lörrach, Germany on the 27th July 2018. It aired last week on Radio Dreyeckland and the broadcast contained quite a large amount of VI OLENCE being played between the chat. Those bits have been removed for all the reasons I've reiterated over the years. If I have any kind of purpose here, it's not to short-change the band by giving their stuff away for free.
Having followed Editors and other groups for a long time, I've found that there's a superficiality to the majority of most album campaign press encounters. A little bit of fluff questioning, a plug for the record/surface level discussion on the mechanics its construction and then off you go to the next engagement. This is not a superficial interview. The more you hear Mr Lockey talking it becomes clearer just how much time he spends thinking about the world. We already know that his brain has a 6th gear which appears to be engaged at all times, allowing him to be creative in multiple disciplines like photography, music, screenwriting and film. At a guess, I reckon it's probably a tricky thing to switch off and a companion that you dread may leave one day.
I also like that Justin has firm opinions on some of the big topics of the day and doesn't tiptoe around them, which is often how dealings where your public image is being represented are supposed to go. It's all about the importance of giving everyone a portrayal of your best self, which might not be an entirely accurate representation of who you really are. This also often means avoiding potentially controversial subjects or at least giving a pat answer. Not here. There are parts of this interview that Christopher Hitchens would have loved if he'd still been with us.
One problem with the interview is the same issue that often comes up when you talk to anyone in Editors other than Tom; the motivations and meanings behind the lyrics. I don't imagine that the rest of the group all sit around and have book club style discussions about Tom's words, so all that's left is conjecture and speculation and goodness knows, we've all probably been wrong when we've tried that in the past. Who can forget the revelation that Munich wasn't all about the fragility of the human condition, but more about the fact that Tom was experiencing a hangover the morning he wrote it? Other than that, this is 20 minutes well spent experiencing the world viewed from the perspective of the man who created the Hallelujah Death Riff (c). Enjoy ;)
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
