- Tue, 2007-04-10 09:10
Alterkicks closed 2006 following support slots with Larrikin Love and The Automatic which saw the band gather a host of new fans. Debut single for B-Unique, On A Holiday, saw praise from NME for a “rollicking stomp”. The very end of the year saw Rocksound predict big things for the band as part of their Hot One Hundred for 2007, noting that “their wayward guitar pop has a way of getting inside your head”.
Having kicked off 2007 with a headline tour; a date on the NME Awards shows, and a new single, Good Luck, the band have started as they mean to go on. We caught up with Martin from Alterkicks to talk about the new single and album, touring with Larrikin Love and The Automatic, and the power of music.
“I Like Music because… it stops me from worrying.” Martin, Alterkicks.
ILM: Your debut album is due out soon. Can you tell us which track on the album you had the most fun laying down in the studio?
Martin: I guess a song called the Cannibal Hiking Disaster. That was really good, because it’s one of our favourite songs and we had a string quartet come in and play on it, so that was really good, Watching them play on top of that and just all come together, that was really good. The same string quartet played on Universal, Blur songs, they played on a couple of Blur albums and on Morrissey. So we thought it was really good, we were just honoured, we were chuffed. The guy composing it is in a band called The Durutti Column from the 70s, and he’s a top bloke.
ILM: Your new single, Good Luck is out now (released March 26 2007), can you give us your own personal description of the track and its whole vibe?
Martin: The track is kind of last year the band everything was going band, it was just like a really tough time, because we all gave up work to do the band and stuff and then we all had to go back to work and get jobs and everything was crap and I was fighting with my girlfriend loads and it was like hope, it’s like everything’s going to be all right, keep going, bit cheesy but there you go, that’s what it’s about. It’s about the power of music which can just make you feel so good. I wanted to write a song like that and it just came out, you know?
ILM: And you’re doing well it’s given you some good luck. I bet you’re all in a much better mood now than you were when you began writing it?
Martin: Yeah, and also, I can be quite pessimistic at time, so it’s also a rare moment of optimism, and that’s what it’s about too.
ILM: You’ve spent the past month touring the UK. How was it? Any highlights?
Martin: It was really good yeah. It was just good doing our own tour. We’ve never done our own headline tour, so that was just exciting in itself and we had some really good shows. Manchester was good because we were half way through the set and the power failed, so we did an acoustic set, and it came on near the end, and everyone thought we’d planned it but it was chance, and it was a good laugh and we enjoyed ourselves.
ILM: How were the NME awards shows?
Martin: We did one supporting Spinto Band, because Koko is an amazing venue like a theatre, and it was a big show as well so it was dead good, we were made up with that. It’s really good.
ILM: Last year you toured with Larrikin Love and The Automatic, any amusing anecdotes from those tours?
Martin: Yeah, Larrikin and us got on really well. It was mental; it was fun, really good. We bought them a remote control car as a present on the last day, so they were made up with that! So that was just getting ragged round the backstage area, it was really juvenile, we’re in our twenties but going on ten. It was fun. They’re both really good sets of lads, we got on with them dead well. You learn a lot from other bands as well. Both bands have been doing it for a while, and like doing a lot of tours, they’re both really good on stage, show men and that, and you can learn a lot from it.
ILM: Talking of learning. Your album has been recorded with Stephen Street. What did you learn from him?
Martin: He’s quite instinctive in a lot of ways. He keeps things really in order, so you’re going to do this and that, so it’s dead structured, and because it’s structured, you can be really instinctive because you’ve got a lot more time, so you don’t waste much time, so you can try things out, and if you’ve got an idea, he’s just up for trying it out. So I guess he keeps things really instinctive, and I really connect with that because that’s the way I write songs like that. I just start strumming the guitar and something will come out. I don’t like grafting over things, when probably I should do, but I like things to just happen and I was pleased to see he had the same idea I think.
ILM: Seeing how something grows organically?
Martin: Yeah.
ILM: Larrikin Love has done the first remix for any act on the second 7”. How did that come about?
Martin: Guillemots and a couple of other bands did a cover of one of their songs and they were saying they wanted to carry it on, and we just got on with them and really like their music, so we said, do you want to do that and they did it. It’s really different, different lyrics and stuff, so Ed’s come up with his own take on it. It’s really good.
ILM: Rocksound included you as part of their Hot 100 for 2007, how does that recognition and belief feel?
Martin: Yeah it’s good. It gives you confidence you know. Even when nobody is saying anything though, you’ve got to keep believing in what you do, in theory, but if you’re not getting any of that you can feel like “are we doing the right thing?” So, when people say this band are good, it, gives you confidence. But you can’t feed of it too much, because there are times you’ll get slated I reckon, it’s natural. Every band I’ve read a good review for, I’ve read a bad review for, so you’ve got to make sure you don’t feed off it too much and get a really big ego because you’ll be heading for a fall.
Getting talked about is only good because fans will find out about you, so that’s the only reason I like it really, because if you know you’ve got big article about you in a magazine it means people will check you out, which is what we want, it’s only a way of getting people to listen to our music.
ILM: You’ll be pleased to know at I Like Music we have a unique editorial policy whereby we don’t slate any band ever, because I like music that you might not like and vice versa, so who are we to diss a band or album that might be someone’s absolute favourite? We only write about music that is good, to someone.
Martin: That’s novel.
ILM: What’s your current favourite track to play live on tour?
Martin: We’ve got a song called My Downfall which I really like, it’s one of my favourite tracks that we’ve got. There’s loads of energy in it and it rocks like.
ILM: Can you describe the Alterkicks process of making music?
Martin: It’s normally I’ll play a set of chords and then a melody and then I’ll just mumble and eventually something will come out and I’ll try and hone it a bit with lyrics afterwards. So it’s always about how it sounds to me first, but lyrics are really important. But generally it’s the melody first and then, when I’ve got that. I’ll take it into the band and it becomes something else when everyone else writes their bits for it.
ILM: It must be a great feeling to create something that starts off just as a few chords and then, when all the parts come together and it’s all recorded and the finished product is there, that must be a bloody good feeling.
Martin: Yeah. I guess the best feeling is when you’ve just done it. Even before you get to the studio and you’ve practiced in rehearsals and you just know it’s going to be good, that’s probably the best feeling.
ILM: What are your plans for the summer?
Martin: Hopefully we’ll get to do some festivals. I think we’re doing one in September, but hopefully we’ll do more. If not, I reckon I’ll just go on holiday, get a cheap holiday from somewhere.
ILM: What track will you stick on to instantly cheer up?
Martin: It’s not dead cheery but it cheers me up because I love it so much, it’s Sounds of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel, that song and album is incredible. It’s just a master class of songwriting, so it’s something to aspire to.
ILM: Do you have any advice for other bands trying to make it?
Martin: Try and be yourself. Just keep practicing and try and be yourself. Don’t worry if not everyone is into it, because some people will like it. Try and please yourself first.
