I've never really been a massive fan of post-rock bands, it's never been through a lack of trying though. I own a couple of Mogwai albums and have seen them live on numerous occasions, whilst grown men weep I usually found my mind wandering. My short attention span usually needs vocals to hold my attention. This might come as a bit of a shock to those of you who realise how passionate I am about Scottish music, some of you might even be slightly appalled. That's what I get for exposing myself as a non-hipster.
It is for this reason that I am quite surprised how taken aback I was by Edinburgh post-rockers The Gothenburg Address. I was a bit behind some of my fellow Scottish bloggers and although I had seen their name being banded about a fair bit (mainly by Jim Ayetunes and the lovely Glasgow Podcart crew), I must admit that I hadn't given them a listen. It wasn't until their name cropped up in quite a few of the entries in the inaugural Scottish BAMS Awards (they came in at a very impressive #26), that I decided to give them a proper listen. I am glad that I can rely on my contemporaries not to let me down.
Coming from Scotland it is difficult not to compare The Gothenburg Address to the aforementioned Mogwai, but that's not all that's going with this band. There are also elements of early 90's grunge bands such as the Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana in there too. Their eponymous debut album is an absolute cracker, it's even made me reconsider giving Mogwai another go........
Would you care to introduce yourself?
yes indeed. hello. I am Luke Gareth Joyce, and my band is The Gothenburg Address from Edinburger.
How would you describe the music you make?
We are an instrumental band. After being in bands that relied on vocals, i decided i wanted to put together a band where we could push ourselves to the limits of musical story telling. I think my favorite descripton of our sound so far is from the Skinny who said we 'are a storm on a mountain and a cliff-top in the rain'. i like that :)
How did you come together as a band?
It was a template tale of myself looking for musicians to play my songs that i had been writing over the previous year. I met Rob through an Ad, he in turn was in a band with Jeansy and they were both looking for something new. Chris, who was a former bandmate of Jeansy when they played with Arab Strap & The Zephyrs, heard the tunes and immediately came onboard. 6 weeks later we played our first show in Glasgow.
What process goes into the way you write songs?
I had what could be termed as a musical breakdown a few years ago and completely turned my back on it. After a lengthly time out i started recording demos in my flat. These are the songs we're playing now. The others bring their own style to the songs and take the music to a whole new level.
Mike Garson (Smashing Pumpkins / David Bowie) played on your debut album, how did that come about?
I have a friend called Alex Boyd who is a photographic artist from the west coast. He has known Mike for some time and handed one of our songs over to him. With in a couple of days of recieving the track Mike had taken his engineers into a studio in LA and recorded the part. Being a die hard Pumpkins fan its something of a dream come true.
Lastly, what can we expect to see/hear from you in 2010?
2010 is going to be busy. We are in the final processes of booking some Euro shows, then theres the 2nd album which i hope will be hitting the shelves by the end of the year. i would like to put out some singles aswell so theres a constant stream of fresh material for our listeners. Gig goers will notice a substancial game raise in our live shows as we introduce some visuals that are being made up as we speak, and possibly a few other unexpected 'new arrivals'.
The Gothenburg Address - Its Not A Fjord But A Lake
(as recorded for Vic Galloway MP3)
The Gothenburg Address - Its Not A Fjord But A Lake
(album version, stream only)
If you fancy catching The Gothenburg Address playing live, then head along to the Mill in Edinburgh, this Thursday (18th) where they are playing the Elements. As it's at the Mill it's free, all you need to do to get a ticket head over to the Mill's site and register for a couple of tickets.
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