56 Friday, March 25, 2016 1SM MUSIC MEETS PET SHOP BOYS · The release of Electric in 2013 saw the...
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56 ............... Friday, March 25, 2016 1SM Watch video of Carr at: thescottishsun.co.uk NEW MUSIC By Jim Gellatly JONATHAN CARR WHERE: London/Lanarkshire FOR FANS OF: Tom Odell, James Bay, Bruno Mars JIM SAYS: Originally from New- arthill near Motherwell, 27-year- old Jonathan’s musical journey has taken him all over the world. At 17 he won a scholarship to the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. He learnt from some of the greats while at college, with the likes of James Taylor popping in to talk to the students. He also got the opportunity to work with John Mayer. Jonathan said: “The college chose some songwriters to play for him. He took a few of us into the studio and worked on our songs. “I was lucky enough to have him produce my song The Joke’s On Me and play guitar.” More recently Jonathan col- laborated on an anthem for Glasgow 2014. He explained: “I was asked by Glasgow City Council and UNCIEF to write a song for the Commonwealth Games to be sung by a choir from different local schools who collectively were called East 40. “I wrote it with Scott Hutchison, from Frightened Rabbit, and he brought in Fred- die Cowan from The Vaccines and Paul Thomson from Franz Ferdinand and we laid down the track together. It was a great experience. “We played it at Glasgow Green in front of tens of thou- sands of people the night of the opening ceremony.” Though based in London now, Jonathan’s teamed up with a Swedish label for the release of his debut album Porcelain Sky. Rocred Records came across him when he was playing in Gothenburg. They invited him back to play more gigs and then offered him a record deal. The album’s pretty much a trans-Atlantic affair. He said: “Brent Hebert from New York produced the album with Pedro Ferreira who has worked with Stereophonics, David Gray, and won Brit Awards for his work with The Darkness. “I used some amazing Lon- don session musicians for the rhythm section and guitar. “We had horns recorded in New York and Hammond Organ in Texas. The strings were arranged by Imagine Dragons’ keys player and were recorded by the Glasgow Philharmonia Orchestra.” The results are stunning. Highlights include the jazz- tinged The Joke’s On Me and the epic gospel-inspired Grace. Other standouts include Can’t Stop, while the first single Lost In The View is a perfect introduc- tion to Jonathan’s talent. He added: “There’s every- thing from soul to funk, pop and rock on the album.” Porcelain Sky is out now. He plays Òran Mór in Glasgow on April 30. MORE: jonathancarrmusic.com lJim presents a weekly show- case of New Music on Amazing Radio Sundays 2-4pm. amazin- gradio.com jimgellatly.com MUSIC MEETS PET SHOP BOYS sftw By JACQUI SWIFT “IT’S wrong to say the Pet Shop Boys have had a renaissance,” says Neil Tennant. He’s talking about the revival sparked by last album Electric, continuing with new album Super. “It’s not a comeback either. Or a return to form. Or anything like that. “If it is then we are always having renaissances as we’ve never been away,” he adds proudly referring to the duo’s fruitful 35-year career. “It’s been one long renaissance,” laughs Chris Lowe. “It’s one renais- sance after another, after another.” We’re sat in the boardroom of their record label in South London and the atmosphere is one of excitement as the pair have just been handed vinyl copies of forthcoming album Super. “Whoooo this is amazing,” coos Tennant. “I’m so pleased with it. Can we keep this?” he asks while Lowe happily tells some more news. “We have a pop-up shop. A POP UP SHOP! Can you believe it?” he declares in his northern drawl. “It’s going to be set up here in London and sell signed CDs and T-shirts and lots of things. It’s going to be Super,” he laughs. But then everything is super at the moment for the pair who have sold more than 50million records world- wide since meeting in an electronics shop on the King’s Road in 1981. They are even listed as the most successful duo in UK music history by The Guinness Book of Records and, unlike other bands started in the Eighties, the three-time Brit Award winners have gone the distance with- out any splits or huge fall-outs. The release of Electric in 2013 saw the Pet Shop Boys return to their dance roots and Super does the same. And whether it’s a renaissance or a revival, Electric gave Tennant, 61, and Lowe, 56, their highest chart position in a long time. It was No3 in the UK — their best since 1993’s Very. ‘We have become electronic purists’ “I’m afraid I said in an interview that we are making a trilogy with (producer) Stuart Price. So here we are at number two,” says Tennant. “With Electric we turned into electronic purists, as on all of our other albums we’ve had guitars, strings and backing vocals. And so with Electric and now Super, we’ve returned to what we thought we were going to be at the beginning, although we’ve never totally been that band.” Super was made over the course of a year in London, LA and Berlin. Tennant explains: “We only did eight gigs last year and concentrated on this album. We had 25 songs but all in different styles so we sat down with Stuart and went through them deciding which would work. “We had some harder and darker electronic ones we thought were too much and then some poppier ones which we thought were too poppy.” Super starts with Happiness, which Tennant describes as “An unusual track with a strong Seventies chorus. Although someone said it sounded country and western, but I can’t imag- ine Dolly Parton singing it, can you?” “We’ve always wanted to do a line- dancing video though”, adds Lowe. “We went to a line-dancing bar in Austin, Texas, on the last tour. I thought ‘This is really easy and I’ll pick this up in no time.’ Well, it wasn’t. It was really difficult. And too fast. There was no way I could follow it. I was turning and kicking the wrong way and at the wrong time.” Any writer who has interviewed the Pet Shop Boys will know the fun of watching Tennant and Lowe interact. While serious performing their music, when they chat, it’s like a double act. Tennant is the main talker, very serious with his long and drawn-out, slight Geordie accent whereas Lowe talks less but jumps in with a wry remark or a shriek. The Pop Kids is a nostalgic story of two university friends in London and their love of clubbing. “Telling every- one we knew that rock was overrated. We stayed out ’til late five nights a week and felt so chic.” I say it’s almost autobiographical. “But a decade out,” smiles Tennant. “It’s the early Nineties and based on the story of my friend who came to university in London, met this girl and went clubbing. “All of his fellow students called them The Pop Kids and I made all the rest up. We were going to call it The Club Kids and we have a longer version of it too called The Full Story, which has a Nineties break in the middle and a verse that brings their story up to date. “The girl is living in California and the guy who narrates it is now a journalist. I guess it is quite filmic.” “It’s like a film about London club- bing,” remarks Lowe. “A hit film.” “You could narrate it in your accent,” laughs Tennant. Lowe replies: “No we need Alan Bennett to do that. Or Peter Kay.” Super is a dance record but both Tennant and Lowe say that, despite the euphoria, there’s darkness to many of the songs. “There is darkness and light in the songs but it gets darker as it goes on.” One song, The Dictator Decides, started off as a satirical poem by Tennant about a leader who wants to pack it all in. “It was a whimsical idea of a dicta- tor like Kim Jong-un of North Korea or Assad in Syria and he’s inherited this job and thinks it’s rubbish because he would really like to go off in his private jet. He’d give it all up and there’d be democracy and every- one would be happier. “It was called The Sad Dictator and the words fitted perfectly over the music we were writing. Then Stuart put the North Korean army sample on it and it’s dramatic and powerful. It’s electronic and very beautiful.” Both agree it was a lot of fun making Super and working with Stuart Price. “He takes the music by the scruff of the neck,” says Tennant. “He has very good instincts for us. He knows our music like a fan. It’s very rare to meet someone who knows every song we’ve ever done.” “He’s fun to be around,” adds Lowe “It’s a joy to go into the studio with him. There’s lots of chatting and looking at YouTube.” Twenty-something is a song about being young in London today and comparing it to when Tennant and Lowe moved down from the north. “It is still a very exciting city but it’s very different to when I first moved here,” says Tennant. “Now it’s all about business and money.” Lowe adds: “I can get quite depressed around London, seeing all the places I used to go that have now gone. I was distraught when (music venue) the Astoria was pulled down. It’s like part of you is being pulled down as well.” Another song, Inner Sanctum, was inspired after Tennant and Lowe did a show in Las Vegas. Tennant says: We’ve always wanted to do a line dancing video ... EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Says CHRIS LOWE ‘I can get quite depressed around London...all the old places now gone’
Transcript of 56 Friday, March 25, 2016 1SM MUSIC MEETS PET SHOP BOYS · The release of Electric in 2013 saw the...
56 ............... Friday, March 25, 2016 1SM
Watch videoof Carr at:
thescottishsun.co.uk
NEWMUSICBy Jim Gellatly
JONATHAN CARRWHERE: London/LanarkshireFOR FANS OF: Tom Odell,James Bay, Bruno MarsJIM SAYS: Originally from New-arthill near Motherwell, 27-year-old Jonathan’s musical journeyhas taken him all over the world.
At 17 he won a scholarship tothe renowned Berklee Collegeof Music in Boston. He learntfrom some of the greats while atcollege, with the likes of JamesTaylor popping in to talk to thestudents.
He also got the opportunity towork with John Mayer. Jonathansaid: “The college chose somesongwriters to play for him. Hetook a few of us into the studioand worked on our songs.
“I was lucky enough to havehim produce my song TheJoke’s On Me and play guitar.”
More recently Jonathan col-laborated on an anthem forGlasgow 2014. He explained: “Iwas asked by Glasgow CityCouncil and UNCIEF to write asong for the CommonwealthGames to be sung by a choirfrom different local schools whocollectively were called East 40.
“I wrote it with ScottHutchison, from FrightenedRabbit, and he brought in Fred-die Cowan from The Vaccinesand Paul Thomson from FranzFerdinand and we laid down thetrack together. It was a greatexperience.
“We played it at GlasgowGreen in front of tens of thou-sands of people the night of theopening ceremony.”
Though based in London
now, Jonathan’s teamed up witha Swedish label for the releaseof his debut album PorcelainSky.
Rocred Records came acrosshim when he was playing inGothenburg. They invited himback to play more gigs and thenoffered him a record deal.
The album’s pretty much atrans-Atlantic affair.
He said: “Brent Hebert fromNew York produced the albumwith Pedro Ferreira who hasworked with Stereophonics,David Gray, and won Brit Awardsfor his work with The Darkness.
“I used some amazing Lon-don session musicians for therhythm section and guitar.
“We had horns recorded inNew York and Hammond Organin Texas. The strings werearranged by Imagine Dragons’keys player and were recordedby the Glasgow PhilharmoniaOrchestra.”
The results are stunning.Highlights include the jazz-tinged The Joke’s On Me andthe epic gospel-inspired Grace.
Other standouts include Can’tStop, while the first single LostIn The View is a perfect introduc-tion to Jonathan’s talent.
He added: “There’s every-thing from soul to funk, pop androck on the album.”
Porcelain Sky is out now. Heplays Òran Mór in Glasgow onApril 30.MORE: jonathancarrmusic.comlJim presents a weekly show-case of New Music on AmazingRadio Sundays 2-4pm. amazin-gradio.com jimgellatly.com
MUSIC MEETSPETSHOPBOYSss f t wBy JACQUI SWIFT
“IT’S wrong to say thePet Shop Boys havehad a renaissance,”says Neil Tennant.
He’s talking about the revivalsparked by last album Electric,continuing with new album Super.
“It’s not a comeback either. Or areturn to form. Or anything like that.
“If it is then we are always havingrenaissances as we’ve never beenaway,” he adds proudly referring tothe duo’s fruitful 35-year career.
“It’s been one long renaissance,”laughs Chris Lowe. “It’s one renais-sance after another, after another.”
We’re sat in the boardroom of theirrecord label in South London and theatmosphere is one of excitement asthe pair have just been handed vinylcopies of forthcoming album Super.
“Whoooo this is amazing,” coosTennant. “I’m so pleased with it. Canwe keep this?” he asks while Lowehappily tells some more news.
“We have a pop-up shop. A POPUP SHOP! Can you believe it?” hedeclares in his northern drawl.
“It’s going to be set up here inLondon and sell signed CDs andT-shirts and lots of things. It’s goingto be Super,” he laughs.
But then everything is super at themoment for the pair who have soldmore than 50million records world-wide since meeting in an electronicsshop on the King’s Road in 1981.
They are even listed as the mostsuccessful duo in UK music history byThe Guinness Book of Records and,unlike other bands started in theEighties, the three-time Brit Awardwinners have gone the distance with-out any splits or huge fall-outs.
The release of Electric in 2013 sawthe Pet Shop Boys return to theirdance roots and Super does the same.
And whether it’s a renaissance or arevival, Electric gave Tennant, 61, andLowe, 56, their highest chart positionin a long time. It was No3 in the UK— their best since 1993’s Very.
‘We have becomeelectronic purists’
“I’m afraid I said in an interviewthat we are making a trilogy with(producer) Stuart Price. So here weare at number two,” says Tennant.
“With Electric we turned intoelectronic purists, as on all of ourother albums we’ve had guitars,strings and backing vocals. And sowith Electric and now Super, we’vereturned to what we thought we weregoing to be at the beginning, althoughwe’ve never totally been that band.”
Super was made over the course ofa year in London, LA and Berlin.
Tennant explains: “We only dideight gigs last year and concentratedon this album. We had 25 songs butall in different styles so we sat downwith Stuart and went through themdeciding which would work.
“We had some harder and darkerelectronic ones we thought were toomuch and then some poppier oneswhich we thought were too poppy.”
Super starts with Happiness, whichTennant describes as “An unusualtrack with a strong Seventies chorus.Although someone said it soundedcountry and western, but I can’t imag-ine Dolly Parton singing it, can you?”
“We’ve always wanted to do a line-dancing video though”, adds Lowe.
“We went to a line-dancing bar inAustin, Texas, on the last tour. Ithought ‘This is really easy and I’llpick this up in no time.’ Well, itwasn’t. It was really difficult. And toofast. There was no way I could followit. I was turning and kicking thewrong way and at the wrong time.”
Any writer who has interviewed thePet Shop Boys will know the fun ofwatching Tennant and Lowe interact.While serious performing their music,when they chat, it’s like a double act.
Tennant is the main talker, veryserious with his long and drawn-out,slight Geordie accent whereas Lowetalks less but jumps in with a wryremark or a shriek.
The Pop Kids is a nostalgic story oftwo university friends in London andtheir love of clubbing. “Telling every-one we knew that rock was overrated.We stayed out ’til late five nights aweek and felt so chic.”
I say it’s almost autobiographical.
“But a decade out,” smiles Tennant.“It’s the early Nineties and based onthe story of my friend who came touniversity in London, met this girland went clubbing.
“All of his fellow students calledthem The Pop Kids and I made allthe rest up. We were going to call itThe Club Kids and we have a longerversion of it too called The Full Story,which has a Nineties break in themiddle and a verse that brings theirstory up to date.
“The girl is living in California andthe guy who narrates it is now ajournalist. I guess it is quite filmic.”
“It’s like a film about London club-bing,” remarks Lowe. “A hit film.”
“You could narrate it in youraccent,” laughs Tennant.
Lowe replies: “No we need AlanBennett to do that. Or Peter Kay.”
Super is a dance record but bothTennant and Lowe say that, despitethe euphoria, there’s darkness tomany of the songs.
“There is darkness and light in thesongs but it gets darker as it goes
on.” One song, The Dictator Decides,started off as a satirical poem byTennant about a leader who wants topack it all in.
“It was a whimsical idea of a dicta-tor like Kim Jong-un of North Koreaor Assad in Syria and he’s inheritedthis job and thinks it’s rubbishbecause he would really like to go offin his private jet. He’d give it all upand there’d be democracy and every-one would be happier.
“It was called The Sad Dictator andthe words fitted perfectly over themusic we were writing. Then Stuartput the North Korean army sampleon it and it’s dramatic and powerful.It’s electronic and very beautiful.”
Both agree it was a lot of funmaking Super and working with
Stuart Price. “He takes the music bythe scruff of the neck,” says Tennant.“He has very good instincts for us.He knows our music like a fan. It’svery rare to meet someone whoknows every song we’ve ever done.”
“He’s fun to be around,” adds Lowe“It’s a joy to go into the studio withhim. There’s lots of chatting andlooking at YouTube.”
Twenty-something is a song aboutbeing young in London today andcomparing it to when Tennant andLowe moved down from the north.
“It is still a very exciting city butit’s very different to when I firstmoved here,” says Tennant. “Now it’sall about business and money.”
Lowe adds: “I can get quitedepressed around London, seeing allthe places I used to go that have nowgone. I was distraught when (musicvenue) the Astoria was pulled down.It’s like part of you is being pulleddown as well.”
Another song, Inner Sanctum, wasinspired after Tennant and Lowe dida show in Las Vegas. Tennant says:
We’vealwayswantedtodoalinedancingvideo...
EXCLUSIVEINTERVIEW
SaysCHRISLOWE
‘I cangetquitedepressedaroundLondon...all theoldplacesnowgone’
