ROAMING EMPIRE
It might not be too Clever reckons Henry Northmore but Kasabian’s amalgam of Chemical beats and brutish rock is a force to be reckoned with.
‘The only pressure we felt was the pressure we put on ourselves by telling everyone in the studio we were going to make the next Dark Side of III(' i'l'ImHI.~ laughs guitarist Serge l’i/lorno on Kasabian‘s l'orthcoming second album. I-jmpire. It's a grand statement and certainly there‘s a l‘air amount ol tongue in check but it‘s these bold proclamations ol' true greatness that have helped Kasabian work their way into the public's heart. Kasabian rock. no matter what some po-l‘aced critics may have you believe. Once you have bathed in the light ol‘ their unreconstructed live shows you will become a believer. There’s nothing clever about ls'asabian. just an astonishing sell-belief and instantly inl‘ectious anthems. Sampling the lad rock ol‘ Oasis and mashing it together with the ly'sergic big beats ol‘ The (‘hemical Brothers. the swirling organs of The Stone Roses and the crunch ol~ .\"I'R.\Ii\"l'R-era Primal Scream. they have created a sw'aggering amalgam ol' dance beats and indie rock.
'l‘hey‘ve struck a chord with the people. with their echoes ol‘ Britpop and Madchester. No wonder it was the fastest selling gig at this year's T on the Fringe.
Named alter the getaway driver for the Manson Family. their eponymous 2004 debut was bristling with anthems like '(‘lub l5oot‘. ‘Processed Beats‘. “Reason is Treason‘ and 'l.Sl3'. And Empire is back to business as Usual tor the Leicester outlit.
‘lt's a tucking good record and w e're all very proud ol‘ it.‘ says Pi/lorno. ‘I think it sounds
56 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE to”: Add 3000
like Kasabian; it‘s got roots in places but it‘s got our tint on it now. In the same way The Stones came from blues and made Rolling Stones nuisic: I think we've taken l'rom many dil‘l'erent types of inusic and made it sound like ottr own.
"limpire' is definitely this album‘s ‘(‘lub l‘oot'. I think ‘Shoot the Runner” is the new ‘l’rocessed Beats. .‘
And he‘s right: both are hard. direct stompers. It's a more considered album. kicking off strongly. lirenetically. with ‘Apnoea‘ as a l'erocioUs centrepiece bel‘ore going on a more psychedelic trip while never losing its rock edge. It‘s the heartl‘elt slow
‘BRING ALL YOUR WEAPONS TO THE TABLE WHATEVER THEY MAY BE'
burner ‘British Legion‘. however. that may help secure their place as quality songwriters. l'ntisually' it is l’i/lorno who takes on the lead vocals rather than l'rontman Tom Meighan.
“It was never meant to go on the album. but I played it to Tom and he said “let‘s record that. it‘s tucking great." The lirst bit is about your Mrs and the next bit is about your best mates: it was the first time we’d written about the simple things that get you through lil‘e.‘
It's been a cra/y‘ couple ol‘ years on the Kasabian roadshow. They slayed T in the Park
not once but twice. toured the l'S with ()asis and they ‘re set to support the Rolling Stones lll liurope later this summer. 'l‘heir success must in part. be attributed to their sheer brass balls
‘We'rc inst a gang ol' outlaws man. pirates. In our lirst ever interview Tom said we're going to be the biggest band in Britain. ()bviously he‘s taking the piss slightly. but we cottltl do this tor the nevt St) years. I mean we could it we want to: we deserve to.’
Their inusic has undoubtedly tapped a nerve. ‘The songs are definitely structured in a way that dance inusic is. the drops and style ol beat.‘ says l’iI/orno. ‘l‘or a while rock lost lls dance origins. (loing back to /.eppelin. Bonham was a proper ja/I drummer. so was .‘vlitch Mitchell with .limi llendriv; they have this back beat and How. DJ Shadow massive. massive inl‘luence and I'd say Syd Barret and Bowie and how they can write pop tunes with a psychedelic edge that can take you to another vvorld.‘
In recent weeks they‘ve been hitting the headlines in the music press l‘or other reasons. as l‘ounding member. guitarist/keyboardist ('hris Karloll lelt the band. ‘We inst walked along dil‘lerent paths and bel'ore making the record we were too l'ar away l'rom each other] adds l’i//orno philosophically.
And it is l’il/orno that sums up the rock'n‘roll cichs that is the Kasabian livc experience so succinctly. ‘Just a cracking night man. bring all you're weapons to the table whatever they may be. and inst l’ucking have It with us. Scotland seems like our spiritual home: everyone just l‘ucking gets it man. Without wanting to sound like a hippy twat. it‘s a kinda spiritual thing.‘
T on the Fringe, Corn Exchange, 477 3500, 14 Aug, 7.30pm, SOLD OUT.