You don’t seem to go in for that, ‘no internet leaks of songs’ and ‘keep it all under wraps’ kind of approach. You’ve performed most of these songs live already, right?
AK Yeah. Denying that muxic ix an emlution ix juxt xtrange. l loy e the idea that thix e\o|ution can he cattght and documented on cell phonex at gigx round Scotland for the laxt year and a half. The xtlllgx ll;l\c L‘llllllgctl tll'tllllllctlll} :tl polltlx and I like that.
Have you ever been party to tall poppy syndrome, where people think you’re great until you’re successful?
BH l‘\e not xeen it htlt I‘m xttre it'x there. more in the muxic xcene. I'm xure \yhen you xee a contemporary get xuceexx you‘re thinking "Why them‘." and that'x underxtandahle. httt l guexx the rule ix don‘t he a toxxer and people \xon‘l think of you ax one. People in (iluxgtm hay e aluayx heen poxitiye. though. and it‘x xomething \\ e appreciate and tnakex ux glad that u e come hack and .xtill hang arottnd here.
You spent time with Girls Aloud producers Brian Higgins and Xenomania. Even though you didn’t get any recordings out of it was the experience insightful?
AK l \xax al\\ay.x kind of interexted to xee hon Xenomania \yorked. Their idea of writing in a tnodttlar \xay — xontetitnex you xketch doun ideax. record melodiex or improyixe ax \\ e xit
around on the xexxion. It'x not a comentional xly le they uxe. httt if there'x a ha} of xaying the way they \yrlte , . .
NM ('alculating. lnayhe .’
That’s the nature of it, though, they have a demographic to write to. I don’t think you’d sit down and say ‘Today we’re going to write down a jazz fusion song’. You just see what comes, no?
AK .\hxolute|_\. 'l‘hey ha\e a target and knoyy what they're \yriting for \yhereax \ye “rite and that'x the adxenture. 'I‘he xurprixe ix the reuard.
Have there ever been moments writing when you’ve gone ‘No, that’s too Franz Ferdinand’?
AK \t‘ull. tlL‘llllllL‘l}.
BH ’I‘hat \\;lx one of the hig thingx.
AK You lime to. (’ertain l'ulex \\ enl doun that \yeren‘t liked. .\'ick and I had a huge harney in front of Brian lligginx oycl' the whole high-hat xcoop drum heat [the xignature heat that held do“ it much of their dehut| ax daft ax it xoundx. . . NM \VL‘ \\ L‘l‘c .lll\l hol'etl Ill. lllillgx \ye lliltl done hefore and juxt thought ‘\\'e can't do that any more. it‘x too much.‘
AK When you hear your xound elxeyyhere. \yhen xtufl' hecomex uhiquitoux. then it‘x definitely little lo drop it.
That explains why the album is so adventurous rhythmically. It’s very dynamic and big.
AK 'I’hat uax really important to u.x. There are xo many recordx I lixlen to tum. that are thix huge harrage of cruxhed noixe haxed on a false idea that it makex the record xound louder. lt'x the \olutne on your fucking ,xtereo that doex that! When you do that you loxe the dy namicx.
It seemed comfortable though. Natural. PT I read xomething \tllllL‘\\'llCl‘C .xaying the alhum xounded forced. 'I‘hat‘x the moxt fun \y e'\ e ex er had making a record.
What do you like most about the record? BH .luxt the oyerall yihe. the feeling of the .xongx. PT I low the fact that it remindx tne of the IS monthx \\ e xpent making it. which were the hext timex I‘ve had in the hand.
NM I think it'x \ery enveloping and getx you like that. \Vat'm xoinehoyy. ’l‘hat‘x what I like. lt‘x dark. httt “arm. A dark hlanket.
How complex will it be to reproduce the finished album live?
NM \Ve‘ye played nearly all of them liye hut there'x xome \erxionx. like ‘l.ucid I)ream.x‘ \\ e‘\ e ney er played in that extended yerxion. I'l’he xong ht‘eakx down into a four minute analogue key hoard jam l.
BH \Ve \yon't try and reproduce it faithfully. \xe'll make thingx \york hext liye.
AK We hope to keep |'l.ucid l)reatn.x'| the way \ye recorded it. \xhich \\ ax li\e and improvised. Sometimex \\ hen handx get into electronica then eyet'ything ix juxl playing hack off the computer. it'x like '\\'hat‘x the fucking point of you guyx heing on xtage'." Surely the point of playing live ix the xpontaneity’.’ l'ndouhtedly there‘x going to he electronicx on xtage hut there hax to he the xcope. 'l‘hingx \\ ill e\o|\e.
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is out Mon 26 Jan. See review, page 61.
ALTERNATIVE ANTHEMS
Flower of Scotland has run its course as our national song, reckons Doug Johnstone. Time to unearth some possible replacements
For a country with such a fine musical heritage and tons of songwriting talent. Scotland has piss- poor candidates for a national anthem. “Flower of Scotland'. ‘Scotland the Brave' and ‘Highland Cathedral”? Really? Even worse. a poll to find an alternative last year elected Runrig’s 'Loch Lomond‘. followed by some Big Country guff and that horrible ‘Caledonia'. Surely we can do better? Surely we can muster an anthem to be proud of?
Here are some suggestions — some serious. some not so. A little bit of “Scotland's Shame' by Mogwai? OK. it's not exactly a terrace chant. but there's plenty of power in them chords. A similar downbeat sentiment can be found in Ballboy's excellent ‘I Hate Scotland‘. although the effect on the tourist market might not be that great.
A more positive message might be portrayed with Primal Scream's “Come Together’. Then again it only really makes sense on a mash of class As. so maybe not. Teenage Fanclub have long represented all that's good about Scotland but don‘t really have a standout anthem, although ‘Sparky‘s Dream' is cheery enough to do the trick at a push.
If epic grandiosity is needed. surely Snow Patrol’s ‘Run' comes into consideration. although Leona Lewis has kinda spoilt that now. and let '5 face it. the boys are really Irish anyway.
If sentiment doesn’t matter too much and a singalong is all that 's needed, then Franz Ferdinand's ‘Take Me Out' or The Fratellis' ‘Chelsea Dagger' are worth a punt. The latter is already sung at footy matches anyway.
But if you're looking for a serious. heartfelt option with plenty of verve and the everyman factor, can we really look beyond The Proclaimers' ‘I‘m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’? A wee re-jig of the lyrics to incorporate a self-deprecating sense of national identity and we'll all be walking 500 miles in the name of Scottish pride.
The image of Robert Burns on page 16 was created by Global Friends of Scotland Network to promote Burns Night. It can be seen by the National Museum of Scotland in The New Gallery’s Scotland: A Changing nation, which charts the last 100 years of Scottish history.
A collection of images and manuscripts of Burns can be seen at the National Library of Scotland as part of their Zig Zag exhibition which runs until 1 Feb, before touring around Scotland.
22 Jan—5 Feb 2009 TH! LIST 25