Interview with the Cinematics
[uncredited group shot via MySpace]
Releasing the band’s sophomore album, Love and Terror, earlier this month via The Orchard, singer Scott Rinning and guitarist Larry Reid of the Cinematics recently took a few moments to answer a few questions for us. The Glaswegian duo talked to us about their new album, the music that shaped their sound, and meeting Jeff Buckley’s Mom at SXSW.
Kip Gasparick: For those unfamiliar with the band, give us a brief introduction.
Scott Rinning: We’re from Scotland and we make big music. I’ve known Ross, our drummer, and Adam the bassist since we were very young children, and we played in bands together all through our teenage years, up in Dingwall, in the Highlands of Scotland. We met Larry much later, in Glasgow.
KG: If you had to sort through your record collection(s) and choose the five albums that shaped the band’s sound most which would you select?
Larry Reid: The others may well disagree, but I’d say… David Bowie/Low, Jesus and Mary Chain/Psychocandy, Stevie Wonder/Songs in the Key of Life, Bob Dylan/Blood on the Tracks and Radiohead/OK Computer.
KG: Tell us about your new album Love and Terror.
LR: We recorded it in stages, at various studios across Glasgow. The songs all grew out of demos that we made in a disused army-base in the West End, while we were waiting for the record company to sort out the contractual stuff. We’d used quite a lot of old borrowed synths in the song-writing process, recorded to tape, and we built the tracks around these recordings, redoing the drums, bass, guitars and vocals for the final recordings. There are no guest musicians on the album. If there was an extra instrument we wanted on any given track then one of us would have to just practice the part until we mastered it.
SR: It’s a genuine record of our times, about young men trying to hold on to their beliefs and their girlfriends in this world climate. This is a truly Cinematics record, in that everything we have been responsible for everything from the production to the artwork and the videos. This would not have been possible in the past, but with technology being less bulky and expensive we’ve been able to take complete control. Some bands have been producing their own records for a while now, but I can’t think of any bands who have taken complete control of the whole process like we have done here, and with the level of ambition that we have. I think other bands will very soon have to follow this trail we’ve blazed, and those too lazy to try will fall by the wayside. With the universal reach of the internet, and with the imminent collapse of the old record companies, who have stifled artistry since the birth of rock and roll itself, I believe we could be entering a golden age for music. That is, if music fans get over the novelty of illegal downloading, or if we find some other miracle way of paying the rent through music!
KG: I read that Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, Richard Hell) was supposed to produce the new album. Was that just a rumor or did things fall through with him?
LR: Mr. Gottehrer is the vice-president of our label. Yes, there was talk of him overseeing the album production, if we went to New York.
SR: The timing just didn’t work out. We’d have had to wait until he wrapped-up another project, and we really wanted to just press on with it in Glasgow.
LR: He’s produced some important records, and I’m sure he’d have done a stellar job on our album, but we’re very happy and proud to have pulled it off ourselves.
KG: This is the first album with Larry on board… did he change the writing and recording process any?
SR: Well, yes, insofar as I wrote most of the first album and we recorded it in a huge studio with a big-name producer, whereas this time round Larry wrote most of the album and then produced it in various small studios in Glasgow. I guess you could say that things have changed enormously, but we feel much happier being in complete control of our creative output, and I also think the results are much better for us having taken this approach.
KG: You were one of the bands The Orchard chose to keep on their roster after sifting through the TVT Records aftermath (the label filed bankruptcy). How has the label been to work with thus far? What is the label’s actual role in the grand scheme of things?
SR: They all seem like nice people, which is a rarity. We’re pretty restless, though, and very ambitious, so we’re bound to grow impatient with the cogs and wheels that have to turn at the business-end of things. They deal with PR companies, distributors and such-like, but we’re control-freaks and insist on having at least some say on most things.
KG: This question is the second part of the last question in a sense… how has dealing with the music industry changed the way you approach things?
LR: There haven’t been any big stand-offs yet. We chose the songs we wanted to record and we selected the tracks we wanted on the album. The label had a few thoughts on singles, videos and artwork, but ultimately we make the decisions and we wouldn’t have it any other way. You do learn very quickly that very few people in the music business can be trusted completely, but things seem to be working well right now.
KG: Your performance of Jeff Buckley’s “Grace” at SXSW in 2007 brought tears to his Mother’s eyes. Was it purely coincidental she was in the crowd, or had she been contacted by anyone to attend the performance? Have you seen her since?
SR: You could hear all of the performers from our stage throughout the main conference hall at SXSW, where Mrs. Buckley had a stall. It was pure chance, no one could have told anyone we were playing the song, as it was a last-minute decision made on stage. Nor had we any idea she was in earshot—if we had known then I certainly wouldn’t have played it. I guess it’s easy to be skeptical about these situations when you read about them in music magazines, but, for the record, it was a spur-of-the-moment tribute to a musician I have a lot of respect for, and that’s all.
KG: Are there any plans to tour the States in support of Love and Terror?
SR: Of course, yes. So far our time has been taken-up with European tours, but we’ll be Stateside before long. At the time of the first album’s release, there wasn’t a lot of planning, in terms of playing and promoting the album in different territories, and I think things suffered as a result. This time round we want to give each territory—the UK, Europe, the US, and Asia—the necessary time to make sure that we get the word out about our band and play as many shows to as many people as possible. America factors very heavily in our plans.
[Interview by guest contributor Kip Gasparick.]
The Cinematics “New Mexico” [MP3]
The Cinematics “Love and Terror” [MP3]
