TWENTY-SOMETHING : Catching up with Adrian Morris
2003 was quite a busy year for Vic Twenty's
Adrian Morris. A tour with Erasure, the Mute-sponsored
single 'Txt Msg' and a compilation appearance on the excellent RoboPop
album. Documentary Evidence's Mat Smith caught up with Adrian hard
at work on Vic's debut album to talk about all things electronic,
life without Angie, chewing the fat about synthesizers with Erasure's
Vince Clarke, and what's hidden behind those quirky onstage
podiums...
MAT SMITH : How's life without Piney [Gir, AKA
Angela Penhaligon]?
ADRIAN MORRIS : Well I'm in the studio recording
and writing again. Solitude for some is a harsh existence but it
has served me well.
MS : The live sets last year showcased what seemed
to be a whole raft of completed material - how much of this will
feature on the album?
AM : The majority of the songs I wrote a couple
years back. I fancied trying them out live for a few gigs but soon
found myself gig-ING (!) on a regular basis. The whole set up was
lo-fi you know - a bit like the sound. The tour bus was/is a suitcase
on wheels from Woolworths. In terms of material featuring on the
album, I hope to have a mixture of bright, dark, old and new. 'Ibiza
Mon Amour' and '8-bit Hit' will be on there mind.
MS : The gap between 'Txt Msg' and the album
seems to have felt quite long - was the single put out early to
capitalise on what seemed to be a really positive live reception?
AM : The single didn't seem to be out until we
had a break with the Erasure tour - but that's how distributors
work. Unless you have a good tour underway or lots of press, then
they can't get it into the shops.
MS : When's the album going to come out, and
do you have a working title?
AM : The album is called Music For Adverts
[Adrian originally provided me a title of How Art Thou Rocker].
I hope to have the album out in October. However, I am now looking
at the possibility of a single to promote it.
MS : 'Txt Msg' came out on CSU, Daniel Miller's
new label - how did that come about?
AM : Well, Angie [Penhaligon AKA Piney Gir] works
at the publishing company [Mute Song] and sorted out most of it.
I had no dealings with Daniel. I'm a fan of his music - I was actually
hassling Ange to get Larry Least to produce VT! I believe it was
Andrew King who runs Mute Song who wanted 'txt msg' on the single
though.
MS : When you appear live, the set-up looks quite
small - what are you hiding behind those podiums? Are you analogue
or digital?
AM : The live set up is confined to a Woolworths
trolley, so pretty small! The podiums hid my short fat legs. They
were just made for the Erasure tour by our v. talented friends.
I did hear a few comments from folk that it looked like we weren't
playing. Most annoying that because the one thing that pee-s me
off with nearly all electronic bands is the fact that you don't
hear any duff notes due to absolutely everything on tape. I can
assure you and anyone that sees VT live there are loads of duff
notes! Granted, there is a backing of drums and bass, but I actually
yearn to hear bum notes when I see a synth band. If anyone hears
a bum note at the Kraftwerk gigs this year, please let me know.
As for the synths - they're all analogue, by the way. None of this
virtual modelling stuff.
MS : I noticed that Piney seemed to be using
a Casio VL-Tone on stage. I bought one of those a few years ago
for a fiver in a charity shop. I think the calculator function is
particularly novel.
AM : Ah... the VL Tone of which you speak was my
v. first synth. Wrote my first song on that. I have this horrible
suspicion that it might be digital...
MS : I'm a massive Erasure fan and have been
for years. Vic Twenty as support was definitely the best yet. What
was touring with Erasure like?
AM : Why thank you ! It was understandably fantastic.
Going from playing pub, bar, pub to the all those big venues. It
was a dream come true. I'm a big fan of Vince's, so yep, it was
cool.
MS : Did you exchange kit ideas with Vince?
AM : I was I'm afraid a tad shy in going up to
chat, but after a while thought 'sod it' and had the odd chat about
the Silicon Teens, Mute etc. My synth was playing up at a gig in
Wolverhampton. I asked Vince for any ideas. He told me it was possible
to get replacement oscillators for my Moog but v. pricey. I thought
'Sheesh! If Vince finds it pricey then no way!'
MS : Some of the live material, and the material
I've heard so far reminds me of Speak & Spell by Depeche
Mode, mixed with a bit of modern techno -were Depeche and the early
80s synth bands a major influence?
AM : Apart from Vince, lot of my influences on
songwriting are actually subliminal. I was raised on the Chinn &
Chapman song book, so I must have taken on board a lot of pop sensibilities
at a young age. I can sometimes hear some OMD or John Foxx on the
darker tracks I write. My oft-quirky lyrics are probably down to
being a fan of Jona Lewie. Sonically though, it was Georgio Moroder
and a lot of the Disco stuff that brought the synthesizer to the
fore. I still rate 'Funky Town' by Lipps Inc as a great synthesizer
track. I think Daniel Miller, Eric Radcliffe, and John Fryer helped
bring electronic pop with harmonies and a tight fat bass drum to
the fore. Certainly influenced me, yeah.
MS : When I was a kid, I thought that music in
the future would be totally electronic. Instead that seems to be
shrinking back into the underground and rock seems to be making
a comeback, which I find a little disappointing. Where do you see
things going, and what should we be listening to right now?
AM : Well, 'electronic music' is still the predominant
force - it's just been bastardised and stripped down to become a
genre of sync-ing whole segments of pre-recorded tracks to a certain
BPM on a computer and putting a few squelchy samples of analog synth
over the top. Pretty lame if you ask me, but as far as song-based
sythesizer music goes, then it has been a niche area for some time.
If you're a new band playing a synth then you'll be compared to
Ladytron as they are the niche band right now. The playlisters can't
get their heads round a track that isn't kicking or is doom-laden
a la Coldplay or all the other bands like that. It's not the bands'
fault, but the playlist policy of radio. The best way to hear new
songs these days is to see a live band. The one album I'd recommend
to anyone - the best album I have heard from any band in many years
is "Lil Beethoven" by Sparks.
MS : '8-Bit Hit' got me thinking about my wasted
years in front of my first computer. I had an Amstrad CPC-464 as
a kid, but all of my mates had Spectrums. What was the best eighties
home computer?
AM : Atari - no question. You could make a film
about it.
MS : And finally, what's next?
AM : Am off to bed now - with a tune in my head!
|
