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First On: Spector

First On

"Our music speaks for itself."

Posted 20th October 2011, 10:42am in First On, by Harriet Jennings


We catch up with Spector's front man Frederick Macpherson ahead of their performance at the Shacklewell Arms this evening.

Hello. Who are you and what role do you play in the band?
I'm Frederick Macpherson and the role I play is vocalist and general songwriter for the group Spector. 

Are you intentionally named after the eversofamous record producer of the same name?
Not really, I just like the way the word sounds and the computer game Deus Ex, which was designed by the genius Warren Spector. I wanted a two syllable name and I think it has a ring to it. 

If so, what made you decide to borrow his moniker and how are you planning on living up to it?
I don't think we're planning on living up to anything...we'd never live it down.

There's five of you so what happens when you have to pair up for things like on rollercoasters?
You're right, five isn't divisible by two but it does come in useful for chalking up pentagrams and splitting up tenners at the roulette table.

What made you choose a snooker club for your single launch?
It's a place that's close to my heart. I've had experiences there that have inspired the songs for our record so it seemed like an interesting idea to go and perform the songs in that space. It was emotional. Also I prefer to play in places that aren't music venues. The usual club circuit doesn't have much atmosphere or romance to it. I'd like to do book a tour of hotel bars, casinos, snooker clubs and end of the pier theatres.

Is there an album on the cards?
Yes, first half of 2011.

Where can people see you next?
We're touring the UK at the moment with a London show at the Shacklewell Arms coming up. Then supporting Cut Copy and Tom Vek after that which I'm looking forward to.

What can we expect from your live show?
About seven, maybe eight songs written by the group Spector performed by the group Spector. We don't have any merch or lights yet so that's about it.

In which format did you last purchase music?
I'm actually one of the few people I know who still buys CD's. I like to have a digitised music collection that I can also browse physically I guess. Recently bands like SCUM and Big Deal have been giving CD versions of their albums away free with the LP which is an amazing idea. In those cases I buy the record. If it's an artist I know personally or respect massively I try and spend as much money on the physical product as possible.

How should people listen to your single?
I'm not sure. I can't say vinyl - I haven't actually listened to either 7" yet. The iTunes versions are the definitive ones I guess... we accidentally uploaded our last video with the music in mono, so probably best not to trust our youtube account.

Finally, what's the most important thing that everyone should know about you?
Listen to our music, it speaks for itself.

Spector play Shacklewell Arms, London, tonight (Thursday 20th October).
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