:\lit)llIL‘l' reference is Talking Heads. a
similarly loose-limbed. open—minded bunch of
individiialisis. l’arry jumps on the comparison. "l'hey are probably my favourite band ever.' he cries. A guest slot earlier this year supporting David Byrne ended tip with the band on stage in a fit of mutual appreciation with Byrne performing Talking Heads classics.
The experience of growing tip in North :\IIIL‘I'IL‘11 has been a constant source of material for outpourings from indie rock malcontents even in the years BM (Before Morrissey). l-‘nnt'ra/ contains a four song set. 'Xciglrbourhood r: #4‘. which paints a riotous picture of Butler‘s life in small town Texas.
‘WE'RE JUST LEARNING HOW TO DO THE WHOLE MUSIC BUSINESS THING'
where he was brought tip before trekking steadily north until he hit (‘anada's most easterly cultured outpost.
I’ll/1cm] was recorded over the space of eight months in lloielZ'l'ango studios. which is run by members of the band who were previously Montreal's most celebrated export. (iodspeed You! Black limperor. (her that period the six losi nine senior members of their immediate families. It seemed apposite to name the album I'iim'ra/ and dedicate the record to them.
Their music is wrapped in a strangely quaint sensibility. disconnected from the contemporary world. It would be fun to imagine Arcade liire. holed tip in a draugth warehouse. making this music. lightly dusted with cobwebs and blue with cold. l’arry laughs. but admits it’s not too far from the truth.
‘A friend of mines dad is a music producer and he said. “Those guys must have an amazing manager." and the weird thing is. we only got one a cotlple of months ago. The impression was that we were pulling all the right strings and had everything worked otit as a band —- this really strong image carved out and this aesthetic — but it’s really one step at a time.’
Montreal has been an incredibly fertile breeding ground for art and music for several
years now. something l’arry attributes some of
the energy of their recordings to. 'lt‘s a great place. There are a lot of awesome
people in the community and it‘s supportive of
the arts too. People can have a nice life without having a lot of money. Sttiff has been happening in the last six to eight months though every asshole journalist has wanted to write a piece about Montreal. the “next big thing" and I kind of think that ruins cities.‘
lioi' l’arry and his band mates there will be littleopportunity to find out jtist how things go. since they're still completing a 2-1 month tour.
‘We‘re just learning how to do the whole music business thing. When we ptit out the next record we‘ll have to make a plan.’
l-‘unma/ is an album filled with instinctive. magical moments. Such an unassuming band
could do with staying away from the plans for
a little while longer.
Arcade Fire support Franz Ferdinand at Princes Street Gardens, 0870 169 0100, 31 Aug. 6pm. SOLD OUT. Part of T on the Fringe; see our Offers page for ticket giveaways.
In the city
Carol Main explores the hidden delights in the week—long International Festival residency by BAMBERG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
hat do lidiiiburgh and Bamberg have
in coiiimon'.’ An old town l'nesco
world heritage site for a start. with brewing beer not far behind. Only one of these beautiful cities. however. has its own resident professional symphony orchestra. But lidinburgh need not worry too much as it is getting a loan of it through a week long residency that forms an orchestral backbone to this year‘s International l‘estival.
"I’hey came here two years ago.‘ explains lilli director Brian .Vchaster. ‘and that gave them a rise in their international i'eptitatioii.' With conductor Jonathan .\'ott. that reputation is growing. particularly through his astute programming of symphonic music from the great traditions of the orchestra's homeland paired with less familiar composers such as l.igeti and hug \‘y'idiiiann. "l‘hey combine some of the most popular pieces of music ever written with pieces from the leth and early leI centuries.‘ says .\'Ic.\laster. ‘What they have achieved in a short space of time really is extraordinary.‘
From the four purely orchestral programmes there is much to tempt. Mahler’s romantic and probably most popular 51/) .S'vni/ihmn' the slow movement is the “(WI/I in li'nii'i' theme used in Visconti's film is at the beginning of the week. while those who are prepared to wait for it can hear three symphonies in the final concert of the residency. Schubert’s /.yl and
81/1. The ('n/inis/u'il. Bruckner‘s last symphony. The 91/]. make tip the btilk of a three hour night which is completed by Jorg \‘y'idmann as soloist in Mozart‘s ('larinci ('ani'i'i'la and his own composition. Lia/jar ())'('/I(’.\I('I'. written in 2003.
At five and a half hours. the orchestra's concert performance of another epic piece from the (ierman tradition Wagner‘s Tristan and Isa/(Iv ~ will be by far the longest of the week. The line-up of singers for it. among them ('hristine Brewer. .lane Irwin and John Relyea. is i‘ivalled by the soloists for the orchestral concerts. .\le//o—soprano Alice (‘oote is given the harrowing lx'iiaim-mienliar/er by Mahler. which is followed by more music recognisable from the world of film l.igeti's ].(HII(III() used in Stanley Kubrick’s T/H’ Shining. The previous evening brings pianist Stephen llougli iii Rachmaninovk Rhapsody on a 'l'liwnv (if Paganini and organist Thomas 'I‘rotter for l.is/t‘s Pry/talc while l’ugm' an “(It'll is a stormei' of a week and is a feast of a festival in itself.
Usher Hall, 473 2000, 29 Aug-3 Sep. various times, 27.504335.
As; >4 ESt-i‘ .‘ 5» THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 99