Los Campesinos!
Los Camp! release their new record this coming Monday. We caught up with Gareth.
Los Campesinos! release their new record, 'We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed', this coming Monday (27th October). We caught up with Gareth to find out more about it.
Where are you at the moment and who are you with?
I am at home, alone in my living room. Well, my mother's living room I suppose. She should be home from work very soon.
'We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed' has a great packaging idea and the limited run is a real hark back to DIY ethics, what prompted you to do this rather than take the easy CD album option?
I don't think we've ever advocated easy options. Many bands, I think, often overlook packaging and the overall effect that a record can have. In my mind, each of the three main artifacts in the new box set compliments each other. The CD, DVD, and 'zine I think are all best appreciated when considered alongside eachother. Every thing we ever do, we do on our own terms. This is no exception.
How did you get all the interesting people to contribute to the booklet? Are they all friends?
Some friends, a couple of people that we wanted to be friends with so were bold enough to approach. Unanimously, everybody we approached was excited about the project, even if they couldn't find the time/inspiration to take part. We chose bands that always like to go the extra mile in their own work, be it Menomena with their always exciting packaging, Parenthetical Girls with their Xmas EPs or Xiu Xiu with their Polaroid project. They're all bands that make an effort and were pleased and excited to be part of it.
Have you played with any bands that have really inspired you or influenced the way you approach things?
The band we've toured with that's influenced me, personally, the most is no doubt Parenthetical Girls. We toured with them this Summer, just prior to recording 'WAB,WAD' and at the time I was really struggling for things I wanted to say in songs/questioning if there was anything worth saying and not enjoying myself. Watching them play live and spending time with them, talking and laughing and generally being around them made me start having fun again and, as clichéd as it sounds, provided me with some sort of inspiration.
Is the interest in Fanzines influenced by American Indie and the Riot Girrl culture?
Guess so. Though Uk bands like bis and Huggy Bear are as famed for their association with 'zines as any US indie band I think. It's a media that is really underused these days, I feel, and it's something I like to do to encourage band/'fan' interaction and help make everybody feel a part of something. In my ideal world, LC! fans would be a massive gang, intimidating and completely foreign to outiders. All with the same agenda and willingness to MAKE SHIT HAPPEN!
My mum's home now.
You use a lot of different sounds, are there any instruments that you would deem unacceptable (long Saxophone solos for instance!)?
I used to irrationally think Saxophones were one thing I hate, but then considered the fact I love Electrelane and Mika Miko for two. Kazoos are a bit too novelty.
Do you ever read your own reviews?
I read a lot of music press/websites/blogs so it's inevitable I come across a few, and I don't have the willpower to avoid looking at them. I like seeing how people react to the lyrics though, positive or negative. Plenty of stuff I see frustrates me though, which I guess is natural.
Tony Cascarino???!!! You are surely the only band to ever name check him and this includes all the Scottish bands who are fans of Glasgow Celtic! Why??
Probably because he was pretty shit at Celtic. He's one of my heroes. A footballer who was brave enough to leave the UK and was an absolute success, and a great figure of beauty and doom. His autobiography is one of my favourite books. I really recommend it.
Could you give an advice to younger musicians reading this interview?
GET OFF THE INTERNET! TAKE TO THE STREETS! DESTROY THE RIGHT WING! DO SOMETHING USEFUL!
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