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The Clientele
 I
owe so much to Alasdair McLean. And it's a good thing that
he didn't know that while I put him my twelve little questions.
In that case he may have tried to appear terribly charming.
But even so, and while I discovered that on a desert island
we would bring almost the same things, I felt I got him in
what is probably the apex of his creative life. "The Violet
Hour" is a record of rare beauty, such that even the smallest
reservations expressed in my review have been erased. Sure,
there's still some things left unsaid between his words, as
between his notes. But the Pleasure that the Clientele are
so eager to dispense is not so much intense than it is lasting.
There are things about "The Violet Hour" that we (and him)
will understand even later.
And so, though unfinished, here's the course:
I don't know if you are a pop band. To me, you sound more
like the dusk of pop, beside being a "twilight-pop" band.
Did you decide to eliminate direct light and live through
reflections? Are you decadent beings?
There is a song by John Cale about a man who listens to the
radio and believes there is a far off 'radio land' where orchestras
continuously play and which we can only listen in to, never
find; he feels this land is his home and he's forever doomed
to search for it up and down the airwaves. I wanted the Clientele
to sound like that place, a world beamed in from somewhere
mysterious and far away in space or time. Somewhere that makes
the everyday seem mysterious to the listeners.
I wanted us to sound like this because it seemed natural to
me, like the next logical step for pop music to go in. I expected
us to have huge hits; In 1997 I wanted us to become a surreal
edge to the Britpop movement. I don't think it had anything
to do with decadence, although individually we may or may
not be decadent.
Whatever the Clientele are, you create strong states of
mind. Do you believe the credit for this goes to the two/three
studio tricks you use when recording?
No, because every band uses two or three studio tricks. I've
been lucky in that I've always had a very clear idea of what
I wanted to do with music and how to get it done, so maybe
our studio tricks are more carefully chosen or unusual.
What's the genesis of a Clientele song?
I need a few hours of quiet, a Spanish guitar, a Dictaphone,
sometimes also a hangover.
(out of the blue) Your favourite song on "The Violet Hour"
And that of the Clientele.
From the Violet Hour, 'When You and I Were Young' Out of the
entire Clientele catalogue, 'Monday's Rain'
 Are
there any "novelties" that distinguish this album from your
previous work? Was it easy having to record a long playing?
We recorded every Tuesday and Thursday night and every Saturday
afternoon for a year. Our studio was in the basement of a
house in Finsbury Park, London. It was not easy, I felt very
isolated and unconfident, and at times it seemed like it wouldn't
be finished at all.
But I think the Violet Hour ended up with a much more evocative
and varied sound than anything we've done before. In my opinion,
Suburban Light is an innocent, adolescent record, songs about
unrequited love and longing. The Violet Hour is sadder and
darker.
What's the origin of the Clientele's sound? Was it planned
from the start or is it a lucky alchemy of different elements
and chance events ?
When we first recorded we had 1 guitar amp, an 8 track portastudio
and 2 mics. With this spartan equipment, the only listenable
production we could create was the production you hear on
Suburban Light; quite distanced, autumnal, vintage-sounding.
It sounds like this because we had to use the reverb and compression
on the guitar amp rather than hi-tech digital effects.
But also poverty is the mother of invention: because we had
no decent equipment, we were very careful where we placed
the microphones and how things sounded before we put them
on tape. So the sound came equally out of chance and design.
What's the difference between a good and a bad song?
I think there's probably something good in any song. But really,
there's no good or bad, just interesting or uninteresting,
useful or useless.
Your music cannot be described as anything that does not
mention "Clientele" but it relies strongly on tradition. What's
your musical background? Are there any artists with which
you feel a strong link?
I learnt a little classical guitar when I was a kid. I grew
up listening to the Carpenters and the Beatles, but for me
a defining moment was hearing bands like Felt and the Loft
in the early 90s, just as they were splitting up and going
out of style. I also started listening to psychedelic bands
like Love and the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band at
this time. I think I've worn out my records from the 60s and
the 80s. Nowadays I love minimalism, some dub and some jazz.
 What's
your relation with music as an art? Do you perceive it as
a way to communicate with the present time or like an artificial
heaven?
I think music can trigger images and memories in peoples'
brains that are somehow beyond the power of words to express.
In a way, it's fascinating. Beyond that, I don't really think
about it because in my opinion music is instinctive.
How do you imagine your listeners? Where do you like to
think they listen to your music? With who? And why?
I have no idea who our listeners are. Some Americans boys
have told me they see our records as an aid to seducing young
ladies. Swedish people often seem to see something philosophical
in them, so they sit very still and listen to every lyric.
I never really imagine who is listening to us, but I'd like
to think that we might inspire future artists to create their
own world, unconcerned with success or fame, like Spacemen
3 and Felt inspired me when I was 16. Although, I have to
admit it does make me happy to think that people use our records
as an aid to romance!
The book, the record, the movie and the woman you would
bring with you on a desert island.
Book: Moby Dick
Record: Chopin Preludes and Nocturnes
Movie: The Producers
Woman: Elisabeth I
How do you feel when you lack the words, and the only possible
answer to strange questions put to you by e-mail is "fuck
off"? (i had better questions, but i wanted to be self-critical).
Ha ha, there has been no such question in this interview.
Alessandro
Links:
Clientele web site: www.theclientele.co.uk
Unofficial mailing list: www.missprint.org/lacewings
Clientele@indiepop.it: bands/clientele.htm
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