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It’s been three years since indie veterans The Cooper Temple Clause released previous long-player ‘Kick Up the Fire and Let the Flames Break Loose’. It’s quite a while to have done a disappearing act in the world of music, but a lot has happened in those wilderness years. They’ve changed record companies and lost a bassist to a certain band called Dirty Pretty Things, but now they’re back with and evolved sound and their third long player ‘Make This Your Own’.
But not before they found themselves entangled in the saga revolving around former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko at the tail end of last year. The spy, of course, died of radioactive poisoning from polonium-210 in late November. Coopers frontman Ben Gautrey and guitarist Dan Fisher were on a British Airways flight where traces of the radioactive substance were subsequently found. It was something that put the
“Well, I’d be lying if I’d said concern wasn’t one of the emotions I felt. Dan phoned up BA and they told him in a very blunt manner that if he hadn’t been feeling sick he was alright,” Ben tells us. “Neither of us have been sick yet, or felt like being sick so fingers crossed we’ll still be here tomorrow”.
Thankfully they are. All this aside, there are more positive things to talk about, like the imminent release of their new album. Work on the impressive ‘Make This Your Own’ (released on January 22) started in 2004 with Chris Hughes formerly of Adam and the Ants fame, at the helm. Dan admits that the process was a long and difficult one.
“Right from the start Chris said he wanted to challenge us as songwriters. All the demos that we’d spent a few months recording were stripped down to just an acoustic guitar and a vocal and worked on the songs on a basic and stripped down level. It was something we’d never done before and it was quite a challenge for us. At times it was very tricky and it didn’t come naturally to us, but we certainly learnt from it,” he explains.
“Towards the end we recorded a track called Head which was a very late contender. We recorded that with a guy called Dave McCracken who’s worked with Depeche Mode and Ian Brown. We took all the lessons we’ve learnt over that process and applied it to this track Head and we finished it in three days. I think we’ve become far better at the craft of song writing because of it, but at times it was very difficult”.
The delay was also due to a falling out with former label BMG, who the band signed with in back in 2000, before the big merger with Sony. They’re now signed to Sanctuary imprint Sequel. “The most important thing for any band is to have a really close, strong relationship with your label, and the people you’re working with and we didn’t have that with BMG,” says Ben.
“We just weren’t talking to each other and that doesn’t bode well when you’re trying to make an album together. At that time they were creating a new imprint called Columbia with new acts and we didn’t really feel a part of that with the other bands on the roster. I’m sure they felt a bit uneasy about us because we weren’t willing to be stylized or be presented in a certain image that a major record company wants. It was probably best for both parties I imagine that we were able to leave and go and work with the people at Sequel who are very creative, passionate and who we just get on with”.
Following the completion of the album, bassist Didz Hammond left the band to join Carl Barat’s new band, Dirty Pretty Things. The split was amicable, and that as a five-piece they are now stronger than ever.
“When he first left, we’d pretty much finished recording the album, so it didn’t particularly alter the direction of the album, but live obviously we had to change because for a while and we had to decide if we were going to get another person in, or were we going to go on as a five? Then we did a short tour of Italy, Switzerland and Austria with just the five of us to see if whether we could do it and the results were fantastic,” recalls Dan. “Right from the first gig we nailed it. I think it’s made us a much stronger, direct focused live band. Everyone’s had to raise their game, everyone’s had to take on new parts and new instruments and generally become a lot better at what they do. It’s really focused everyone and pulled us all together”.
But were they ever close to splitting up? “No, that was never considered,” states Ben emphatically. “We’re just so behind these songs and so focused on this album that splitting up was never a consideration. It was never on our minds because we knew we were on to a really good thing. Didz left, but it didn’t affect us, it only made us stronger”.
Adding to their ever increasing workload, keyboardist Tom Bellamy will also be doing some remixing for hyperactive emo rockers The Automatic. “Tom is a very keen re-mixer and he’s been going through our album and remixing most of the tracks. Ideally he wants to get an album together where he’s remixed every track on our album,” explains Ben. “The Automatic got in touch, apparently they’re fans of ours, and they asked us to remix Raoul for them so Tom’s getting onto that as soon as he’s got a spare minute”. Dan adds: “That ‘Raoul’ single was fantastic. We haven’t heard the album as such but that single was very impressive. We’re looking forward to hearing what Tom can do with it.”
Remixes for other bands aside, early 2007 sees The Cooper Temple Clause release an accomplished work that solidifies their revered status in the indie-rock fraternity. The waiting game is over.
