kurzweil-ICH: CHVRCHES

Im Rahmen der letzten Kurzreviews hatte ich euch das aktuelle CHVRCHES-Album Every Open Eye (Partnerlink) bereits näher gebracht, jetzt steht die Band selbst Rede und Antwort was die neue Platte und weitere Dinge der Musikwelt betrifft.

Lest, was vor allem Sängerin Lauren zu Dingen wie der Aufnahme-Atmosphäre in ihrer Heimat Glasgow, der von Fans erstellten Kunst oder auch dem Zeitpunkt, an dem es musikalisch „Klick!“ gemacht hat, erzählt.

Lauren: This time round, we knew CHVRCHES had an audience in a way we didn’t when we were writing Bones but focusing on that and worrying about what you are writing isn’t helpful to the creative process. It was important for us to give ourselves time to figure out what we wanted the album to be and focus on making the best album we could make and making ourselves feel happy creatively.

The music seems to be a little more „“stripped down“ and there is a strong focus on creating a certain atmosphere. Did you have goals in mind what the record should sound like as you went to the studio?

Lauren: We didn’t have a theme or concept in mind when we started writing but we did know that we wanted the production to feel more focused than it did on the first album and hopefully that’s what gives the album more of an assertive feel, musically. A song like Keep You On My Side has a verse that is just basically a bass pattern, drums and a vocal and that is a lot more specific and focussed than anything we did on the first album.

You once told in an interview that there is some sort of melancholy in the air and the work when you are recording in Glasgow. Are you going to record an album anywhere else in the future?

Lauren: It felt right for us to go back to Glasgow to record this album because we wanted a sense of normality whilst we were writing it, and for it to be just the three of us again. Who knows what the future holds but, for now, we’re happy with the fact that we write, record and produce everything we make.

How do you come up with who is singing a specific song? Does everyone sing the ones he/she has mainly written?

Lauren: We write all the songs together and who sings the vocal generally depends on what is best for the song in terms of the tone and timbre. I did so many different versions of songs like Under The Tide and High Enough To Carry You Over but my voice never fit as well as Martin’s did, and I like that we have those options within the band.

Instead of the first record, where fans could listen to most of the songs on YouTube before the release, now you happen to play „really new songs“ live. How does it feel and how did the fans receive them so far on tour?

Lauren: We wrote all of Every Open Eye before we played the songs at any shows. The album was already mastered by the time we played festivals this summer but it was really interesting, and reassuring, to see how people were responding to the songs based on nothing other than how the music made them feel so we’re really excited about going out on tour once people properly know the record.

You like to post drawings and other artistic imaginations of you as a band (for example a pixel version of yours on instagram) – is there a favourite one you happen to have?

Lauren: There have been so many good ones (and TERRIBLE ones), I couldn’t pick a favourite! I think it’s really lovely whenever fans take time out of their lives to send us things they have made, and it’s amazing if your music makes someone feel creative in another way. Plus I can’t draw at all so it’s always very impressive to me.

Lauren, you did study some „serious stuff“ (law and journalism) because you didn’t believe in the success of the whole „music thing“ in the beginning. When was the moment you realised, that you do not need a „normal“ job anymore?

Lauren: I don’t think I studied non-music subjects at university because I wanted to do “serious stuff” necessarily – I think a lot of musicians have more than one facet to their personality – but music was always something I loved; it just never seemed like a realistic thing to be my only goal so I also pursued day jobs I enjoyed. We were all working on other things when CHVRCHES started so we all kind of quit those jobs at the same time to focus on the band, around the time we went to SXSW in 2013.

We don’t have to talk about why and how you came up with the bandname – but are there still people (maybe even at your concerts) who expect some sort of christian pop or church-gospel?

Lauren: This has never happened to us, no. Sorry!

When The Bones of What You Believe breaks the one million-mark of sold records, you’ll get an tattoo, Martin. Do you already know what it’ll be and where you are going to place it?

Martin: Yes, it’s going to be on my left wrist and it will be the three Vs from the recover Ep artwork.

Always my last question as of the website being called LangweileDich.net (which means something like „BeBored.not“): What do you do when you feel bored?

Lauren: We don’t really get a lot of free time so I don’t feel like I am ever bored. When we have time off, I love to read or watch movies and TV shows.

Thanks for the interview.