IDLES
e-mail interview with Rosey R*E*P*E*A*T
February 2017
"Politically charged and furious...bruising,
lacerating."
The Line Of Best Fit
IDLES met as a quintet at the death of the indie scene in Bristol
and began making visceral and sometimes unlistenable post-punk to a
growing crowd. They began with their own club night Batcave and practicing
religiously until they felt they had found their sound and their live
show; with that in check they have now completed their first album and
are savaged in hunger to play their music. They want to give themselves
and their art to the audience in a concise and violent way unrivalled
by their peers. They have no qualms in terrifying and entertaining in
the same breath. They celebrate their influences in a vitriolic and
belligerent sound that is both familiar and new. They are a nose-bleed
on the ears and they're here to show you they care.
IDLES have been promising to do great things for
some time now, and with their debut album Brutalism they
absolutely fulfil that promise, and a furious promise at that.
Politically charged, refreshingly confrontational and infectiously volatile,
IDLES are a band like no other. Bringing the unsettling reality of the
world we live in into their frantic assault on the senses, they are
a band that until now could only be truly understood by witnessing in
a live environment - but with Brutalism it surely feels
like they have captured the intensity of that live sound. Bottled up
here are the abrasive, memorable lyrics of Joseph Talbot delivered with
all of the spite and wry humour he puts across on the stage.
"Wilder than a very wild thing marked wild in the
wild shop in the middle of the wild wild wood. An IDLES live show is
not quite like anything that you have ever seen or heard. Its got all
the ingredients taken from rock n roll's rich history but the synthesis
is entirely their own. The wild men of Bristol" - Tom Robinson,
BBC6 music.
Given all this, Rosey R*E*P*E*AS*T thought it time to get Brutal with
IDLES.
Lucy: Your band have been quite quiet for the last few months. Are you looking
forward to playing gigs again?
Katie Jane Garside: I think I give very obtuse ans
IDLES who, what and why?
-Five manboys, chubby alt-punk post-punk flab, because it's beautiful.
Describe your sound to a deaf alien.
-The sound is of the fist and the heart.
Who are your heroes / heroines musical, artistic, political...?
-Otis Redding. Tony Benn, Dennis Skinner and Mhairi Black for popularising
and translating left wing politics in a commanding and concise manner.
I think Frida Kahlo is the epitome of balancing poetic expression and
honesty in artistic language, remaining fiercely individual.
I love the fact that your website reads like a manifesto dripping
of bile, anger and rebellion. R*E*P*E*A*T (our fanzine, label and promotions
muddle) has tried to push the same ethos over many years. Do you think
that art has the power to move people to action?
-Yes, in a way, it can be a vehicle for action. It can inspire. I think
the audience need to have a capacity to learn, or at least be open to
new ideas in order to move to action for art to inspire but yes art
is a key in moving forward.
Favourite slogans / quotes?
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Does it disappoint you that the angriest, most committed and political
popular music is currently not generally guitar based music?
-Not at all. I love all sorts of music. i grew up on hip hop, garage
and grime. I loved how the sound of grime became necessary again; that
need for urgency and anger and filth came straight back to younger audiences
because they were being lied to and grime just felt right. I just want
music to help people enjoy life through expression, so whatever works
is good for me. People in guitar music got too comfortable and flashy
after the indie boom just like hip hop did in 2000. Audiences get pissed
off when they're struggling to pay the bills and the people they turn
to are laughing in their face with a sponsorship deal and a sloppy album
fuelled by cocaine, next thing they're looking for something else relatable.
How important in your growth has the Bristol scene been, one which
I think you are heavily involved with?
-I think the Bristol scene has been key to our understanding of how
to work in general. Bristol has a very open music scene, that is to
say their are few generic boundaries and people are keen to support
each other, that lead us to having an attitude of working hard for ourselves
and others without competing for some bullshit title that doesn't exist.
Basically people just get on with it here.
I teach some basic guitar to young kids, but I always feel that imagination,
ideas and passion are more important than ability, especially than the
ability to play dull scales and wanky solos. Any tips as to how I can
inspire my guitar students with this belief? What's a good song to learn
early on?
-We are very much in line with your philosophy. i think the last thing
kids in art class should learn is drawing skills. The first thing they
should learn is to feel comfortable with their own voice and that they
will be heard when they express themselves. Obviously skill is vital
for articulation but the foundations of all arts is communication. If
you look at Picasso; he was technically a very skilled drawer but his
signature form was very free and expressive. His voice was very astute
and true to Picasso, so much so he became the most easily recognised
artist in the world, almost a brand. You could see his self-belief throughout
his career, even in press photos of him, he stood proud with his eyes
cutting straight through you. You can't improve as an artist without
self-belief as that gives you the confidence to know that you are worthy
of being heard and capable of improving by pushing yourself to a more
succinct "you".
When we started out we were all terrible but we had the passion and
drive in ourselves and each other to tell each other that we were shit
but capable of being better if we practiced three times a week. I wouldn't
know where to start with teaching kids music but a song they could learn
first is their own song, working together as a group to write something
completely original that they made, free of any "skills".
What sort of 'Welcome' would you give Trump?
-I'd welcome him with an open heart and mind. political progression
comes from dialogue.
Tell us a bit about what you mean by 'Recession Soul'.
-It was supposed to be a descriptive way of that often overseen comparison
between punk music and soul; they, to me, are very similar in feel.
They both carry so much human weight in their tone and sentiment that
I wanted to channel both with a new moniker that helped bridge the perspective
of two genres. Obviously it was more for my wanly ideals but I still
love the phrase.
Your lyrics are obviously important to you, but how important do
you think artwork is (on records, T shirts, posters, badges) for music
with a message? Any favourite inspirational artwork?
-I think it's vital for me, to believe in our own work, to have the
artwork and music tell the same story, that's why I do it almost all
myself. Having everything come from the same voice and paint the same
picture of a manifesto or outlook or theme, makes it so much easier
for the audience to believe the work you do. I am inspired by lots of
shit all the time.
Your début album Brutalism is out in March what did
you want to achieve with it when writing and recording it and how far
do you think you've achieved this?
-We wanted to achieve an album that we all loved playing and hearing.
We wanted it to capture our live sound and feeling as much as possible
and I think we achieved that. I can't speak for the other boys on how
much they love listening to it but I'm sure they enjoy it. We all certainly
fucking love playing it. The last time we played the album in full in
the practice room, we all embraced each other: like we needed to exalt
this mimes joy over what we've done and it was fucking magic. Our producer
Space or Paul Frazer did exactly what he promised and brought the live
sound to the album and we're all confident that it was as live as possible
without compromising quality; he's a genius, mind!
Who would you say 'Well Done' to, and who deserves a 'Slow Savage'?
-Well Done - Leave voters
-Slow savage - me.
Do you have any interest in the way The Manics have sought to mix
music and politics?
-The Holy Bible is amazing. I loved that album cover by Jenny Saville.
The Cuba gig was important but other than that I've not given them loads
of thought.
You have a massive tour coming up [see dates below] is playing
live an important part of your ethos (as it was for bands such as S*M*A*S*H)?
-It gives me a fucking hard-on playing live. we are a live band first
and foremost. We love recording, now but it's the best feeling in the
world playing live.
What can the good citizens of Cambridge expect from your show here
on March 6th?
- Fuck knows
How can people get hold of your music and why should they bother?
- Our album will be streamed live for a week before it's release 10th
March and after that we'll be selling it at gigs and on our website idlesband.com.
If they've got this far through the interview then I'm sure they should
be bothered pressing play online, it's much more interesting than me.
Finally, what's best chips or cream buns?
- Bucky.
IDLES start a national tour in March, stopping off
at The Portland in Cambridge on March 6th. We can only recommend that
you go along...
Buy tickets here
Thanks to IDLES for their time and to James Parrish
for sorting things out.