- Thu, 2009-05-21 16:49
Two years after their acclaimed debut Colour It In, Brighton based indie troubadours The Maccabees released second album Wall Of Arms. Known as one of the hardest working british bands around, catching a few minutes with The Maccabees is an achievement in itself. With a huge summer tour and an abundance of festival dates, I Like Music caught up with Orlando and Hugo at the Camden Crawl 2009 for a quick chat about Wall Of Arms, making music and their summer plans.
"I Like Music because.... I just do. I've always liked music. It's just my thing." Hugo, The Maccabees
ILM: Colour It In was a huge success, what decisions did you make as a band when approaching Wall Of Arms?
Orlando: As far as we were concerned, the things that worked about the first album were that everything was constant, everything worked with each other and everything relied on each other to lift itself. We're in a band where musicality, or being a really really accomplished as a musician isn't the key thing.
ILM: So you looked to your inspirations?
Orlando: Yeah. The things that we see in Interpol, Arcade Fire and The National, bands that we really love, is that everything and everyone works for each other. There's no solos, there's no ego. That's why it works. We wanted to keep that, to keep the spirit. Plus, sonically, I think the new record has a richer sound. I hope so anyway.
ILM: What's The Maccabees process of making music?
Orlando: When we arrive in the studio, it is always collaborative. Whoever arrives with the skeleton of a song has to let their baby be taken apart, which is always the hard bit. Then we find ways of making it sound like us. We play things over a lot. It's quite a repetitive, drawn out process.
ILM: But rewarding...
Hugo: Absolutley. We felt like we really pushed ourselevs making this record. The whole of last year was a real strain on us. Which was important. It means that we've got a record that we are all proud of.
ILM: Are you enjoying playing the new tracks live?
Orlando: Yeah. Playing it live had given us such a buzz about playing. It has revitalised all of the songs.
ILM: You've got a lot of live dates coming up, what are you looking forward to about the tour?
Orlando: It'll be great. I think we're going to get to see lots of people that we haven't seen for a while, as they will be on the road at the same time as us. Which is always nice!
