Music, Style & Culture
| Print : Web : Radio : Mobile

Graham Coxon

We managed to get some words out of the UK's greatest guitarist ever (© us) before the release of album 'Happiness In Magazines'.

Posted 1st March 2006, 4:37pm in Interviews, by Stephen Ackroyd
Graham Coxon Graham's single 'Freakin' Out' reached #37 in the charts - apparently the highest a 7" only single has got since the heydays of vinyl in the late 1970s. His album 'Happiness in Magazines' will be one of, if not the album of the year, and it would be fair to say he's one of the greatest guitarists this country has ever produced. We managed to get a few words out of him.

Freakin' Out went down really well, does that take some of the pressure off you when it comes to the album?
The pressure off? I don't ever take the pressure off myself. Even if there is none I still feel it. I guess it's part of having self deprecating sort of mind and a maniacal appetite for inspiration and the need to feel moved everyday. However sure I am of my moves I always see them in too many different ways to know if theyre the right ones..

'Happiness in Magazines' sounds a lot more complete than some of the earlier solo albums. Are you likely to carry on like this after this release or go back to the simpler stuff?
I think this music is some of the simplest i've made. perhaps you're confusing lots of maracas with being sophisticated. I do think theres a consistency in it though that may have been lacking in earlier stuff. still learning.

What made you decide to work with Stephen Street again?
He's focused, clean and an old pal. I wanted to work a lot on my vocal performances and I couldnt think of anyone else i could "let go" in front of.

Are you planning to do any of the festivals this summer on top of the tour?
I love festivals and I wanna do lots.

What's it like being the focal point on stage, compared to being the guitarist?
Half of me loves the attention and half of me feels like it might crumble under the strain. I am half egoist and half self doubting dunce... So long as I pretend to be somewhere in between I get by.

Some of the new stuff sounds a lot more upbeat. Is that a result of just being a solo artist now?
Partly, my life is more relaxed and more fulfilling in many ways. There's still alot of sadness on the record.. perhaps some of the saddest songs i've made are on it. I guess for me the subject matter shifted. i am still just as damning about all things love as I ever have been, though with this record I feel theres more romanticism mixed with that. Not so bitter perhaps.

Some of the lyrics in Freakin' Out seem to be having a swipe at a few of the new bands around at the moment, and a lot of the influences for the new album seem to come from a lot of 70's stuff. What were you listening to when making the album?
I love the 60s and 70s for music. The late 70s was when I was glued to the radio on Sunday night. That stuff excited me and filled my head. It's natural to me to make the music i loved as a kid. Freakin Out is a little swipe at cool bands. When i was writing the songs i was so eager to get on and record it that it would drive me mad to hear people doing it on the radio.

Do you think you might ever work with any members of Blur on their own, if not as a group again, or are you happy to work as a solo artist now?
I'm happy like this. I doubt I will work with any of them. I dont think our tastes ever really corresponded so it doesn't seem worth the struggle.

What do you think about the situation the Electric Ballroom finds itself in with the London Underground? Is it just a reflection of how Camden is changing over time?
The ballroom willl be saved. London Underground is daft to expand a tube station to cater for people who are visiting Camden to enjoy what they will be destroying.

What do you think would have happened if you hadn't left Blur when you did? Would this album ever have happened?
I was told I wasn't needed in the studio after recording for a total of 7 days so the album would have happened whether i were there or not. If I hadn't taken their obvious hint that they didnt want me in the band I'm sure I would still be sitting at home wondering what was going on.

Do you ever feel like not doing everything yourself and record, and setting up a band of your own to record with as well as play live?
Yes but I doubt I will in the near future.
Click like to get the latest music news, hottest tracks and more via Facebook.

Comments