Gimme
You might have heard of The Capes, a UK group comprised of a couple hipsters just trying to make it in the cutthroat music biz. Below is a bit of their story that came out in an interview conducted by myself and Richard Gladman, synth/guitar/organ/backup vocals/acting manager.
1. I’m sure that as a musician you hear people trying to put your sound into their own words all the time. How would you illustrate you type of music you’re making?
Rupert (Cresswell – Bass)’s artwork for various releases (UK singles “Regional Heats”, “Tightly Wound” and “Laptop Parade”) sum us up visually perfectly.
2. Your battle with your former record label, Hard Soul Records, was that a big hill to cross? Has the situation improved somewhat with [your new label] Fabtone Records?
It put us back by a year at least. Even now the future of the band is a little uncertain as Kris (Barratt – vocals / guitar) is living in the US now and the rest of us are spread across the south of England. Without a functioning label it’s a bit difficult to hook up! We did have a full itinerary for 2006 from Hard Soul (touring, recording) so it was immaterial where anyone was living, as we wouldn’t be at home anyway, but without any of that going on we’re stuck in different places. However, having time to contemplate and work on new material at a leisurely pace has been good.
Fabtone in Japan got in touch out of the blue and asked to release the album in Japan, and understandably we didn’t have a problem with that. They seem to have promoted the album well and a copy of the album with Japanese all over the artwork is a good one for the grandkids.
3. You’ve been compared to The Beatles, The La’s, and other classic acts. How does that feel?
Sometimes I don’t get the comparison at all so I just feel baffled. Some people mentioned Bonzo Dog Do Da Band, which isn’t a bad thing – Vivian Stanshall was an amazing performer – but it just doesn’t make any sense! To be compared to The Beatles isn’t bad either but it means nothing to me. On the other hand I do get annoyed when people compare us to bands I don’t like– a few people have mentioned Oasis in reviews that really wound me up (I don’t like Oasis very much...)
4. Did you aspire to write something that sounds like Brit-poppy kind of album with “Hello” or were you trying for something else?
Not at all. In fact it quite surprised us how it came out like it did. If anything, when we started recording the album I thought it might turn out more a mix between Super Furry Animals and Olivia Tremor Control. We have a lot of American influences (Guided By Voices, Pavement, Elephant 6 bands) and I think we all pretty much assumed that our sound was placed somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic but I guess the album is a product of our rather white-middle-class-English backgrounds! Simple as that really.
I tried to veer us into Bowie / Eno ‘Low’ territory with lots of multi-tracked synths and wanted to experiment more, but I didn’t get enough time or they didn’t make the cut. However, I did manage to sneak some ‘ambient’ at the back end of the album.
If I had my way it would have been a very different album – I would have tamed the guitars and a dropped a few tracks that ended up on it. But hind sight is a beautiful thing and we thought we were doing the right thing at the time so I can’t complain.
5. What inside and outside the music world has really inspired you in your album?
It’s difficult to say – there’s so many influences. The album is a culmination of about three or four years of songwriting so there’s been many bands / scenes / trends that have come and gone and left their mark.
We only play Fender guitars by and large (and 70’s ones at that) and the way they sound really dictated a lot of how the album sounded. That goes for vintage synths and keyboards too – Moogs, Farfisas, Vox Continentals and 70s and 80s Roland synths – they sound distinct and if we’d used all modern synths and Gibson guitars through Marshall stacks for instance the album would be massively different.
6. How well received do you think the album has been in the States i.e. what do you think the reaction of Americans is compared to listenersacross the pond?
The album seems to have hit a chord with Americans – It’s very English, which at the time was popular what with bands like Bloc Party paving the way for other English bands, but I still think it rocks quite hard, which Americans seem to have an affinity for.
Playing to American audiences was interesting because in certain rural backwaters in states such at Kansas and Alabama the sight of an English five-piece band must have been pretty exotic! These towns where we thought we’d get chased out by tobacco-chewing, pitchfork-touting backwoodsmen were infact some of the most hospitable - they were really curious about us and eager to talk to us. We got asked to play a small college in deepest darkest Menonite country in Kansas, where we were in fact the first rock band – yet alone and English band – to ever play the college in its 150 years of existence! They were seriously starved of fun and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
The Capes never really took off over here at all – English audiences probably think we’re too American. The English music scene is very fickle and trend-led. We wouldn’t fit what the NME want to push at the moment, and we’re too old! The music scene is paradoxically ageist and classist, triumphing working class teenagers over middle-class twenty or thirty somethings, who are, in fact, the majority of people making music and employed in the industry in my experience. Everything is sown up in deals and synergies with various companies, there’s no surprise when bands like the Artic Monkeys rise to the top of the charts – their record company has basically invested to get them there. I’d heard a lot of inside talk about them via our producer a good year before they released their first single, the “industry” or whoever their record company was had decided that they were going to be the next big thing... It’s very hard to fight that kind of industry muscle, but then again I don’t crave huge amounts of money or fame, so releasing self-funded 7” singles and downloads suits me fine.
7. Would you be able to describe a main theme for all of your songs so far as the lyrics and attitude as a group?
I don’t think there’s an overriding theme or attitude. Certainly there’s never been a Capes manifesto. Most of Kris lyrics are about situations he’s experienced or people he has met, or sometimes they mean absolutely nothing at all.
8. What are you working on now?
Personally I’ve been trying to write songs that are off on a different tangent to ‘Hello’ – I’m fusing Dub, Krautrock and ambient although maintaining my pop sensibilities. Sounds disgusting on paper I know but that’s the whole point. Who knows if they’ll end up on a Capes’ record or something else? I have a name for a side project (Tigrepapier) so it might be put out on that. Kris and I have always wanted to be rather elusive and issue random 7” records under different names and change line-ups. With the Internet and affordable home recording gear it’s a lot easier to be self sufficient and put out tunes on your own without a record company behind you.
The sound is some strong pop-influenced power post-punk with indie and synth infusions. Pick up The Capes’ “Hello” off of Fabtone Records today.
1. I’m sure that as a musician you hear people trying to put your sound into their own words all the time. How would you illustrate you type of music you’re making?
Rupert (Cresswell – Bass)’s artwork for various releases (UK singles “Regional Heats”, “Tightly Wound” and “Laptop Parade”) sum us up visually perfectly.
2. Your battle with your former record label, Hard Soul Records, was that a big hill to cross? Has the situation improved somewhat with [your new label] Fabtone Records?
It put us back by a year at least. Even now the future of the band is a little uncertain as Kris (Barratt – vocals / guitar) is living in the US now and the rest of us are spread across the south of England. Without a functioning label it’s a bit difficult to hook up! We did have a full itinerary for 2006 from Hard Soul (touring, recording) so it was immaterial where anyone was living, as we wouldn’t be at home anyway, but without any of that going on we’re stuck in different places. However, having time to contemplate and work on new material at a leisurely pace has been good.
Fabtone in Japan got in touch out of the blue and asked to release the album in Japan, and understandably we didn’t have a problem with that. They seem to have promoted the album well and a copy of the album with Japanese all over the artwork is a good one for the grandkids.
3. You’ve been compared to The Beatles, The La’s, and other classic acts. How does that feel?
Sometimes I don’t get the comparison at all so I just feel baffled. Some people mentioned Bonzo Dog Do Da Band, which isn’t a bad thing – Vivian Stanshall was an amazing performer – but it just doesn’t make any sense! To be compared to The Beatles isn’t bad either but it means nothing to me. On the other hand I do get annoyed when people compare us to bands I don’t like– a few people have mentioned Oasis in reviews that really wound me up (I don’t like Oasis very much...)
4. Did you aspire to write something that sounds like Brit-poppy kind of album with “Hello” or were you trying for something else?
Not at all. In fact it quite surprised us how it came out like it did. If anything, when we started recording the album I thought it might turn out more a mix between Super Furry Animals and Olivia Tremor Control. We have a lot of American influences (Guided By Voices, Pavement, Elephant 6 bands) and I think we all pretty much assumed that our sound was placed somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic but I guess the album is a product of our rather white-middle-class-English backgrounds! Simple as that really.
I tried to veer us into Bowie / Eno ‘Low’ territory with lots of multi-tracked synths and wanted to experiment more, but I didn’t get enough time or they didn’t make the cut. However, I did manage to sneak some ‘ambient’ at the back end of the album.
If I had my way it would have been a very different album – I would have tamed the guitars and a dropped a few tracks that ended up on it. But hind sight is a beautiful thing and we thought we were doing the right thing at the time so I can’t complain.
5. What inside and outside the music world has really inspired you in your album?
It’s difficult to say – there’s so many influences. The album is a culmination of about three or four years of songwriting so there’s been many bands / scenes / trends that have come and gone and left their mark.
We only play Fender guitars by and large (and 70’s ones at that) and the way they sound really dictated a lot of how the album sounded. That goes for vintage synths and keyboards too – Moogs, Farfisas, Vox Continentals and 70s and 80s Roland synths – they sound distinct and if we’d used all modern synths and Gibson guitars through Marshall stacks for instance the album would be massively different.
6. How well received do you think the album has been in the States i.e. what do you think the reaction of Americans is compared to listenersacross the pond?
The album seems to have hit a chord with Americans – It’s very English, which at the time was popular what with bands like Bloc Party paving the way for other English bands, but I still think it rocks quite hard, which Americans seem to have an affinity for.
Playing to American audiences was interesting because in certain rural backwaters in states such at Kansas and Alabama the sight of an English five-piece band must have been pretty exotic! These towns where we thought we’d get chased out by tobacco-chewing, pitchfork-touting backwoodsmen were infact some of the most hospitable - they were really curious about us and eager to talk to us. We got asked to play a small college in deepest darkest Menonite country in Kansas, where we were in fact the first rock band – yet alone and English band – to ever play the college in its 150 years of existence! They were seriously starved of fun and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
The Capes never really took off over here at all – English audiences probably think we’re too American. The English music scene is very fickle and trend-led. We wouldn’t fit what the NME want to push at the moment, and we’re too old! The music scene is paradoxically ageist and classist, triumphing working class teenagers over middle-class twenty or thirty somethings, who are, in fact, the majority of people making music and employed in the industry in my experience. Everything is sown up in deals and synergies with various companies, there’s no surprise when bands like the Artic Monkeys rise to the top of the charts – their record company has basically invested to get them there. I’d heard a lot of inside talk about them via our producer a good year before they released their first single, the “industry” or whoever their record company was had decided that they were going to be the next big thing... It’s very hard to fight that kind of industry muscle, but then again I don’t crave huge amounts of money or fame, so releasing self-funded 7” singles and downloads suits me fine.
7. Would you be able to describe a main theme for all of your songs so far as the lyrics and attitude as a group?
I don’t think there’s an overriding theme or attitude. Certainly there’s never been a Capes manifesto. Most of Kris lyrics are about situations he’s experienced or people he has met, or sometimes they mean absolutely nothing at all.
8. What are you working on now?
Personally I’ve been trying to write songs that are off on a different tangent to ‘Hello’ – I’m fusing Dub, Krautrock and ambient although maintaining my pop sensibilities. Sounds disgusting on paper I know but that’s the whole point. Who knows if they’ll end up on a Capes’ record or something else? I have a name for a side project (Tigrepapier) so it might be put out on that. Kris and I have always wanted to be rather elusive and issue random 7” records under different names and change line-ups. With the Internet and affordable home recording gear it’s a lot easier to be self sufficient and put out tunes on your own without a record company behind you.
The sound is some strong pop-influenced power post-punk with indie and synth infusions. Pick up The Capes’ “Hello” off of Fabtone Records today.
posted by Kit "Blanche Deveraux" @ 4:04 PM
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