- Thu, 2011-05-26 12:14
Formed in Manchester in 1976, The Fall circle around their only constant member; Mark E. Smith. With over 28 studio albums to their name, not including live releases, the band have gained a strong cult following, despite mainstream success, for their take on post-punk abrasiveness drunk with the idiosyncrasies of Smith's cryptic lyrics.
Set to play a one off show at London's KOKO on Wednesday 1st June 2011, we were excited to recieve the rare opportunity to write a Q&A for Mark E. Smith. With so much to talk about, we were slightly daunted at the prospect of conversing with Mark via email, a medium not exactly famed for conveying emotional sincerity. Still, we sent off a long list of questions and waited with anticipation.
Needless to say, we weren't too suprised when we recieved a phonecall a few weeks later to say the Q&A would not be happening. 'Oh well. We thought. Worth a try.'
Then the next day, this arrived.
We found out it had been written up from a scanned image of Mark's handwritten answers. Naturally, we asked for a copy, which you can see above.
And incase for some reason you are unable to make it out...
ILM: What do you look forward to the most about playing your music live?
Mark E. Smith: New Material. Avoid a rotting home
ILM: In what ways has your song writing process changed and developed over the years? How do you approach song writing at the moment?
Mark E. Smith: It's cyclic, I'm writing too many words. The group help, they’re brutal.
ILM: Having witnessed the music industry develop over the years, what are your thoughts on the digital world and the relationship it currently has with music?
Mark E. Smith: The way groups just rolled over and accepted it is pathetic, young kids like The Fall though.
ILM: It's not often a band / artist has 28 studio albums to their name (plus live releases etc), an amazing achievement. Do you listen to your old recordings?
Mark E. Smith: Not really, don’t need to remind myself how shit Marshall Suite was.
