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Maximo Park, interview (English version)
[ Actualités ] - Posté le 18/08/2008 à 19h08 - [Permalien]
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By Amenina and Joseffeen
On 07/06/07 we met Archis (bass) and Lukas (keyboards) from Maximo Park just before the band's show in Bordeaux.
interview en français
Muzzart : The title of your new album is 'Our earthly pleasures' so we could expect joyful lyrics but when we listen to your songs, the happy moments always lead to disappointment. Isn't it a dark vision of happiness?
Archis : I think it is, yeah, I mean, there's a melancholic theme running through the lyrics but that's more real than having happy lyrics all the time and I don't think many people can be happy all the time. Melancholy makes the happy moments even better. It's a release almost.
Muzzart: Songs like 'Your urge' and 'Sandblasted and set free' sound a little more pop than what you usually do. Was it a deliberate choice?
Archis: Not really. We tried to write in different styles and 'Sandblasted' and 'Your urge' are kind of journey songs that we thought would suit the record and make it sound like a journey. Although they're quite different from the songs we did in the past, there's still a theme and a heavy guitar sound. 'Sandblasted' reminds me of 'Going missing' on the first album, the detuned guitar and ...
Lukas (arriving a bit late) : Bonjour!
Muzzart: Bonjour! We were talking about the pop sound of your new album...
Lukas : I think ... for us ... we write pop music. There are different ways of doing it. I think the first record is still pop music. It's probably more 'in your face', kind of plain energy, maybe a little more for dancing. The speed tends to be more constant and faster whereas on this record we tried to put more dynamics in. There are more heavy moments, softer and melancholy moments like in 'Karaoke plays' which has a sweet midlle height and 'Russian literature' is really dramatic, it's almost like a Queen song in parts. But for us, it's still pop music, it's still got melody. It's still three minute songs and the lyrics are still accessible and inclusive, very emotional but there's nothing too specific about them that means that people might not be able to understand them in five or ten years time. We try to make music that will last and obviously we don't want to make the first record again.
We try to show different influences on this record, more American rock bands that we used to listen to like Sonic Youth, Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins...
Archis : Nirvana...
Lukas : You can hear it in the guitars.
And you know we worked with Gil Norton who's produced The Foo Fighters and The Pixies...
Lukas
On 07/06/07 we met Archis (bass) and Lukas (keyboards) from Maximo Park just before the band's show in Bordeaux.
interview en français
Muzzart : The title of your new album is 'Our earthly pleasures' so we could expect joyful lyrics but when we listen to your songs, the happy moments always lead to disappointment. Isn't it a dark vision of happiness?
Archis : I think it is, yeah, I mean, there's a melancholic theme running through the lyrics but that's more real than having happy lyrics all the time and I don't think many people can be happy all the time. Melancholy makes the happy moments even better. It's a release almost.
Muzzart: Songs like 'Your urge' and 'Sandblasted and set free' sound a little more pop than what you usually do. Was it a deliberate choice?
Archis: Not really. We tried to write in different styles and 'Sandblasted' and 'Your urge' are kind of journey songs that we thought would suit the record and make it sound like a journey. Although they're quite different from the songs we did in the past, there's still a theme and a heavy guitar sound. 'Sandblasted' reminds me of 'Going missing' on the first album, the detuned guitar and ...
Lukas (arriving a bit late) : Bonjour!
Muzzart: Bonjour! We were talking about the pop sound of your new album...
Lukas : I think ... for us ... we write pop music. There are different ways of doing it. I think the first record is still pop music. It's probably more 'in your face', kind of plain energy, maybe a little more for dancing. The speed tends to be more constant and faster whereas on this record we tried to put more dynamics in. There are more heavy moments, softer and melancholy moments like in 'Karaoke plays' which has a sweet midlle height and 'Russian literature' is really dramatic, it's almost like a Queen song in parts. But for us, it's still pop music, it's still got melody. It's still three minute songs and the lyrics are still accessible and inclusive, very emotional but there's nothing too specific about them that means that people might not be able to understand them in five or ten years time. We try to make music that will last and obviously we don't want to make the first record again.
We try to show different influences on this record, more American rock bands that we used to listen to like Sonic Youth, Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins...
Archis : Nirvana...
Lukas : You can hear it in the guitars.
And you know we worked with Gil Norton who's produced The Foo Fighters and The Pixies...
Lukas
Muzzart : Was it very different to work with another producer?
Lukas: Oh yeah, it was different, I mean, even if we had worked with him on the first album it would have been different. On the first record, the songs were written without thinking about an album. They were written in Newcastle to play to our friends in gigs, we had jobs, the idea of making an album wasn't part of the deal. The second time round is very different, you know there's going to be an album and you're going to record it before you play it to anyone so you kind of rely a little bit more on your producer. As a writer as much as someone who's going to record the songs. There was a very important stage that didn't happen on the first record. We did what is called preproduction and Gil came up to Newcastle and we played through all the songs over and over and over again for two weeks...
Archis: to see if the structure was right...
Lukas : That's it, It's like a box and you want to test how solid the box is and you hit it everywhere and if it caves in or if it breaks you know there's a weak point there and you need to sort it out that's what happened to our songs over and over again: 'change this bit and change this bit, let's try this, let's try that!' For us that was a really new experience, really really hard work and when we went to the studio we were much more confident.
Muzzart: How long did it take you to record the album?
Archis : Rouhgly about six weeks.
Lukas: Nine weeks.
Archis : Nine weeks with breaks and tours.
Lukas: We didn't want to disappear, we tried to keep a balance of playing and recording. We didn't do it all in one, we did it in three bits over the summer. If it had been for nine weeks solid we would have lost interest.
Muzzart: You've become very famous in a short period of time, when did you realise that everything had changed for you?
Archis: We're still realising. We've not really been affected by fame, really, I mean, we're not famous
Lukas: In France, it's very early days for us. A lot of people don't know who we are. It's been two years since we've been in Bordeaux, that's a long time. We've been playing in other places in the world so we don't know how many people are going to be here tonight.
Muzzart: But in England your tous was sold out very quickly, what is easier for you after such a success?
Archis: Nothing. We thought things might get easier but things are harder. More people want to talk to us, more people...
Muzzart: annoying people... (laughing)
Lukas: (laughing) More people ask questions... but it's a great position to be in because we obvioulsy make music people like and think worth talking about. Lots of people are now asking us to play in different parts of the world, it feels like we're progressing. We're on a small label and we don't have the resources available to us that other bands do in terms of money and marketting. We basically record and play.
Archis
Lukas: Archis is running away from a man called Choppers (laughing)
Archis: who's going to kill me...but let's not talk about that...(laughing)
Muzzart: You're from Newcastle, what do you miss the most when you're on tour?
Archis: Just home comfort, seeing friends and going down to local. We've seen so many places now and as soon as you come off tour you have a day in and you're like 'you're home' and it sinks in and then you go back to usual things, you go out, you see friends, meet people you haven't seen for a while that's what I kind of miss and also sleeping in your own bed. Just simple things, watching TV, listening to your own cds. Because we've got a tour bus and everything is very organized, we're used to it now but these are all the little things you miss.
Lukas: It's a very structured life which is good sometimes because you know what you're gonna do, what time, when, people are driving you around but then you don't get to do what you wanna do when you wanna do it and the worst thing about touring is that you never get the time to write music properly, I mean, we write music all the time, little bits, and we try to piece them all together but when you're in your room, you're alone and you can spend all day doing what you wanna do. But after two or three days I want to go back on tour anyway! I'm bored (laughing).
Muzzart : What's the best show you've ever played?
Lukas: There are so many (laughing) but last night was pretty crazy, we played in Nantes. We played there a couple of years ago with Futureheads and Kaiser Chiefs as we did in Bordeaux. We weren't quite sure which crowd was gonna be there. There was a very young 'element' there, they were really excited. There were only thirty of them and the rest of the crowd was very static, older. But I think I've never seen so many people crowd surfing. They were getting on the stage, jumping off the stage, they were just disappearing onto the floor but they didn't care.
Muzzart (Amenina): We'll do our best tonight.
Archis: Yeah, I want to see it!(laughing)
Lukas: I would nor recommand it.
Muzzart (Joseffeen to Amenina) : You'll do it on your own...
Lukas: Solo crowd surfing, you need a friend.
Duncan and Tom
Lukas: Oh yeah, it was different, I mean, even if we had worked with him on the first album it would have been different. On the first record, the songs were written without thinking about an album. They were written in Newcastle to play to our friends in gigs, we had jobs, the idea of making an album wasn't part of the deal. The second time round is very different, you know there's going to be an album and you're going to record it before you play it to anyone so you kind of rely a little bit more on your producer. As a writer as much as someone who's going to record the songs. There was a very important stage that didn't happen on the first record. We did what is called preproduction and Gil came up to Newcastle and we played through all the songs over and over and over again for two weeks...
Archis: to see if the structure was right...
Lukas : That's it, It's like a box and you want to test how solid the box is and you hit it everywhere and if it caves in or if it breaks you know there's a weak point there and you need to sort it out that's what happened to our songs over and over again: 'change this bit and change this bit, let's try this, let's try that!' For us that was a really new experience, really really hard work and when we went to the studio we were much more confident.
Muzzart: How long did it take you to record the album?
Archis : Rouhgly about six weeks.
Lukas: Nine weeks.
Archis : Nine weeks with breaks and tours.
Lukas: We didn't want to disappear, we tried to keep a balance of playing and recording. We didn't do it all in one, we did it in three bits over the summer. If it had been for nine weeks solid we would have lost interest.
Muzzart: You've become very famous in a short period of time, when did you realise that everything had changed for you?
Archis: We're still realising. We've not really been affected by fame, really, I mean, we're not famous
Lukas: In France, it's very early days for us. A lot of people don't know who we are. It's been two years since we've been in Bordeaux, that's a long time. We've been playing in other places in the world so we don't know how many people are going to be here tonight.
Muzzart: But in England your tous was sold out very quickly, what is easier for you after such a success?
Archis: Nothing. We thought things might get easier but things are harder. More people want to talk to us, more people...
Muzzart: annoying people... (laughing)
Lukas: (laughing) More people ask questions... but it's a great position to be in because we obvioulsy make music people like and think worth talking about. Lots of people are now asking us to play in different parts of the world, it feels like we're progressing. We're on a small label and we don't have the resources available to us that other bands do in terms of money and marketting. We basically record and play.
Archis
Muzzart: Your tour is very long, are you running away from someone or something?
Lukas: Archis is running away from a man called Choppers (laughing)
Archis: who's going to kill me...but let's not talk about that...(laughing)
Muzzart: You're from Newcastle, what do you miss the most when you're on tour?
Archis: Just home comfort, seeing friends and going down to local. We've seen so many places now and as soon as you come off tour you have a day in and you're like 'you're home' and it sinks in and then you go back to usual things, you go out, you see friends, meet people you haven't seen for a while that's what I kind of miss and also sleeping in your own bed. Just simple things, watching TV, listening to your own cds. Because we've got a tour bus and everything is very organized, we're used to it now but these are all the little things you miss.
Lukas: It's a very structured life which is good sometimes because you know what you're gonna do, what time, when, people are driving you around but then you don't get to do what you wanna do when you wanna do it and the worst thing about touring is that you never get the time to write music properly, I mean, we write music all the time, little bits, and we try to piece them all together but when you're in your room, you're alone and you can spend all day doing what you wanna do. But after two or three days I want to go back on tour anyway! I'm bored (laughing).
Muzzart : What's the best show you've ever played?
Lukas: There are so many (laughing) but last night was pretty crazy, we played in Nantes. We played there a couple of years ago with Futureheads and Kaiser Chiefs as we did in Bordeaux. We weren't quite sure which crowd was gonna be there. There was a very young 'element' there, they were really excited. There were only thirty of them and the rest of the crowd was very static, older. But I think I've never seen so many people crowd surfing. They were getting on the stage, jumping off the stage, they were just disappearing onto the floor but they didn't care.
Muzzart (Amenina): We'll do our best tonight.
Archis: Yeah, I want to see it!(laughing)
Lukas: I would nor recommand it.
Muzzart (Joseffeen to Amenina) : You'll do it on your own...
Lukas: Solo crowd surfing, you need a friend.
Duncan and Tom
Muzzart: let's come back to the interview...Do you all have the same influences?
Archis: We all like various things, we come from different background but there are certain similarities, certain bands we all really like and there are influences and music we get introduced to by the rest of the band, it kind of keeps us fresh, things you might not listen to yourself but that you learn to appreciate. It's almost like an education on the road.
Muzzart: What are your common influences?
Archis: Possibly The Go-betweens, grunge rock, I like a bit of Faith No More as well
Lukas: Stuff we grew up with as teenagers. I think we all preferred American rock bands, none of us was really Brit pop fans. All those British bands were very backward looking to the 60's and it wasn't something we were interested in as teenagers and for us it was more interesting to listen to Pavement because of the warmer guitar sounds and they seemed to do more interesting things with the lyrics and the structures, the whole is very emotional. That's the kind of music we can live by and that we want to make.
Muzzart : How do you all work together?
Archis: Different ways really. Sometimes it's one guy has an idea, he puts it to the band, the band plays what they think fits the song, sometimes the song is written completely by one guy and then we play the song, other times we'll tinker with a song for...
Lukas: years!
Archis : years or months until we think we think it's at its best and it's a full band thing.
Lukas: there are examples on the new record like 'Parisian skies' which is a really old song of Archis' which we'd tinkered with for years and years and years...and it finally found its way on the album. 'Russian literature' is a song I wrote and I said : 'you do that! you do that! you do that!'
Archis: And it works! And also we like to play...
Lukas: Just to jam... it's something that we don't do a lot but it sounds good when we do.
Archis : We just had one yesterday. We did it on stage and it was wicked! That's another avenue we can explore. taking influence from more spatial music
Muzzart quizz:
Muzzart: What's the definition of a good song to you?
Lukas: If we all five like it it's probably good! That's basically the rule. Because we have very different tastes and appreciations, it has to pass these rigorous opinions of five people. We all discuss every song and have to convince all the others. We have to keep an open mind really.
We like melody, it has to be catchy and the second record shows that every part, the drums upwards, all have a melody, a hook, the snare in 'Books from boxes' just before the bridge is like pak too doo doo doo da doo... it's a really important moment, just the drums so that everybody involved on a melodic side. What we like is very up beat music and down beat lyrics so you get this contrast between melancholy and charged energy.
Archis: Euphoric melancholy. It's like 'Life can be bad but you move on you know'
Paul
Archis: We all like various things, we come from different background but there are certain similarities, certain bands we all really like and there are influences and music we get introduced to by the rest of the band, it kind of keeps us fresh, things you might not listen to yourself but that you learn to appreciate. It's almost like an education on the road.
Muzzart: What are your common influences?
Archis: Possibly The Go-betweens, grunge rock, I like a bit of Faith No More as well
Lukas: Stuff we grew up with as teenagers. I think we all preferred American rock bands, none of us was really Brit pop fans. All those British bands were very backward looking to the 60's and it wasn't something we were interested in as teenagers and for us it was more interesting to listen to Pavement because of the warmer guitar sounds and they seemed to do more interesting things with the lyrics and the structures, the whole is very emotional. That's the kind of music we can live by and that we want to make.
Muzzart : How do you all work together?
Archis: Different ways really. Sometimes it's one guy has an idea, he puts it to the band, the band plays what they think fits the song, sometimes the song is written completely by one guy and then we play the song, other times we'll tinker with a song for...
Lukas: years!
Archis : years or months until we think we think it's at its best and it's a full band thing.
Lukas: there are examples on the new record like 'Parisian skies' which is a really old song of Archis' which we'd tinkered with for years and years and years...and it finally found its way on the album. 'Russian literature' is a song I wrote and I said : 'you do that! you do that! you do that!'
Archis: And it works! And also we like to play...
Lukas: Just to jam... it's something that we don't do a lot but it sounds good when we do.
Archis : We just had one yesterday. We did it on stage and it was wicked! That's another avenue we can explore. taking influence from more spatial music
Muzzart quizz:
Muzzart: What's the definition of a good song to you?
Lukas: If we all five like it it's probably good! That's basically the rule. Because we have very different tastes and appreciations, it has to pass these rigorous opinions of five people. We all discuss every song and have to convince all the others. We have to keep an open mind really.
We like melody, it has to be catchy and the second record shows that every part, the drums upwards, all have a melody, a hook, the snare in 'Books from boxes' just before the bridge is like pak too doo doo doo da doo... it's a really important moment, just the drums so that everybody involved on a melodic side. What we like is very up beat music and down beat lyrics so you get this contrast between melancholy and charged energy.
Archis: Euphoric melancholy. It's like 'Life can be bad but you move on you know'
Paul
Muzzart: What's the first album you've ever bought?
Lukas: The first album I ever bought was 'The real thing' by Faith No More. I's the first record I bought myself and it still influences me to this day.
Archis: I can't remember the first record I bought but I remember the first one I was given, it was Simon and Garfunkel, 'Bridge over troubled water'
Muzzart: What's the most amazing thing that has happened to you?
Lukas: Playing with the Rolling Stones was quite exciting.
Archis: The Rolling Stones and also one of my first festival memory was Fuji Rock in 2005, we played on the main stage and it was misty and there were lots of green moutains, it felt like something from Lord of the Rings. It was very inspiring.
Muzzart: Can you say something in French?
Archis: Bien sûr! Nous parlons français!
Lukas: Je suis très désolé pour mon... being late?
Muzzart : retard
Lukas: retard
Archis: Il est en retard.
Muzzart: Vous êtes excusé.
Lukas: Merci!
Lukas: The first album I ever bought was 'The real thing' by Faith No More. I's the first record I bought myself and it still influences me to this day.
Archis: I can't remember the first record I bought but I remember the first one I was given, it was Simon and Garfunkel, 'Bridge over troubled water'
Muzzart: What's the most amazing thing that has happened to you?
Lukas: Playing with the Rolling Stones was quite exciting.
Archis: The Rolling Stones and also one of my first festival memory was Fuji Rock in 2005, we played on the main stage and it was misty and there were lots of green moutains, it felt like something from Lord of the Rings. It was very inspiring.
Muzzart: Can you say something in French?
Archis: Bien sûr! Nous parlons français!
Lukas: Je suis très désolé pour mon... being late?
Muzzart : retard
Lukas: retard
Archis: Il est en retard.
Muzzart: Vous êtes excusé.
Lukas: Merci!
We want to thank Lukas and Archis for kindly replying to our questions.
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