More about: Do Nothing

The fantastic Nottingham number Do Nothing first burst onto the scene with an onslaught of heavy-hitting, post-punk singles, managing to gain themselves a loyal fanbase off the back of it. Now, a few years on from their first singles, the band are ready to release their heavily anticipated second EP, Glueland.

We belled frontman Chris Bailey to chat about EP 2, creative spaces, and getting the band back on the road.

Gigwise: Firstly mate how've you been?

Chris Bailey: How’ve I been? Ermmm, I’ve been good really, it would be easy to be not good, but because I'm lucky enough to live in a house with a studio in, I get to use that to keep busy. Without that I’d completely lose it.

GW: So, your new EP Glueland. Tell us about that...when did you write/record this and how quickly did it come about?

CB: It’s the second EP we’ve done in lockdown which is weird. The way our writing works is that we write it and they play it live and if it doesn't feel right live it just fades away. Recently though, with this one, we’ve been more in the studio; we’ve had a go doing some more intricate stuff which I really enjoy.

GW: Where does 'Glueland' come from?

CB: Glueland is sort of this feeling of things getting chewed up and spat out quite quickly, which I find quite funny. You know they used to make glue out of horses? As a fact that was kind of funny in a dark way to me, only funny in the way that it was really morbid and horrible, like if you told it to a kid who didn't know it it would seem outlandish: it's like being thrown around after being used up.

GW: Tell us about the album art. You've mentioned that you want this EP to feel like everything is taking place in the same space, and you've achieved this, but how did you go about it?

CB: Well there was a lot of stuff that we like to listen to that sounds quite comprehensive so trying to replicate this was always the aim. There's different ways to do that of course, some people try lyrically which we tried to do a little bit, but also we tried to achieve it through the production. We liked things to come from this similar place. We did it through the artwork: the idea of the name and the whole premise of Glueland came first and then we tried to get that into the artwork, and from there we tried to take this idea of that becoming obsolete and thread it through the EP lyrically and have it feel like there as a character there expressing all these things, and because it's an EP it feels like a short little trip into this character's world.

GW: So this world you've created is unique. Is it something you’d do again with an album perhaps or do you feel it’s suited to the format of an EP?

CB: Ermm, the thing with using characters is that I like the idea of it not having any specific character being too permanent. Like there's no Ziggy Stardust it's just an interesting way to get outside of yourself, I like switching back and forth talking from myself and then from an imagined perspective.

GW: So you’ve said that this EP was a chance for you to experiment with the absence of shows, so for me this music sounds very polished whilst still keeping that rugged charm. Was that intentional? 

CB: I’m glad that it comes across that way, with any sort of different musical direction, you do worry that you’re abandoning some of the things people originally liked you for. I guess that comes from the fact that we've been playing together for so long and we know the way that we work so hopefully anything we try will sound like us in a way, as we’re fortunate enough to have had enough time to develop.

When we've had all this time writing it would be crazy not to try anything new, if we get too comfortable then it's dead because we're just recycling things. It’s like constantly reposting the same letter. I think change and moving on a bit is how I feel comfortable. Trying to do things that I’m not great at, play to your strengths and investigate your weaknesses. It’s a roundabout way of seeing everything that you can try, and by the time an album comes around we'll have tried enough things to squeeze them all together.

GW: How do you create as a band then? How did you all decide on what direction to take it in?

CB: Because of this studio, the easiest way to do things is that I'll come up with a demo which I play to the guys and then we'll go from there and patch it together. I'm interested in trying it in different ways. I remember watching a Wilco documentary about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. When they make a song it goes through so many different elements and styles. Like quiet songs started out as loud and I became so interested in that style of songwriting, and having that space to fuck around with it a little bit.

GW: When people create albums they often put alternate versions of singles on the album, would this reworking be something you would do?

CB: I wouldn't want the album to be songs everyone has already heard and then just a few new songs, because, even though it's a perfectly viable way to do it because you're putting things you think are good and it represents you, but I think for us with the listeners we've got already, I think we feel they deserve something completely new, it wouldn't work for me in the way that I write if I were to take an old song that was already released and put it on an album. To me it would feel out of place, it wasn't made for this album it was made to accompany itself in its single format or off a previous EP. Hopefully it will be new material but that's not to say I don't use old material, I like the idea of cannibalising old songs, like things we didn't release in the past and re-use older material in that way.

GW: One of my favourite songs of the ep was ‘Rolex’. I particularly liked the early vocals and the guitar felt extremely Do Nothing but also very unique. Tell us about that tune, what inspired it, what was the production like?

CB: Erm, how did that one go? I think that one was a bit playful in a way, the making of that one. I'm very hard on myself sometimes writing-wise, and on that one we were trying to let loose. There's a lot of tension on the record so this was a break from the “bad vibes” if you will. I tried not to worry about it and just wrote something that felt right at the time, and the result was this angular and wonky track, it came off pretty naturally.

GW: What do you prefer, a more natural process of writing or do you like drilling down and changing everything constantly?

CB: I think for some people songs can get picked out of the air and they just sort of channel it, but that very rarely happens to me. Usually for me writing is a very horrible experience, and I think that's part of the product. There are certain records where the making of them was awful - like loads of arguments and such and I think you can hear that in the music and that weird tension. I'm not saying I'm trying to make it hard on myself to make the music seem full of tension, but for me it is just a very hard thing to write. I prefer the hard way because all the grind feels worth it, and you find the thing that finally makes sense of everything you've done so far. There's always a point - usually very late at night - where the common thread comes up and then you can create the whole song from there. If it was easier I don't think I'd enjoy it.

GW: ‘Uber Alles’ got played first by Steve Lamacq: what's it like having that kind of support base?

CB: He’s been really kind to us; 6 Music generally has been really kind. It’s a surprise but its very nice to have that kind of support. At the moment, for me playing live is when everything is rewarded, but now I don't have that. We cannot see the reaction, and that feels unfinished to me in a way. I like to write the song, release the song, play it live, and see the reaction. You can sit at home and read the numbers on Spotify - and believe me I have - but that can take its toll on you. Then you can really read into it, but you can't tell if people enjoy it until you are with them, so having the radio support at least shows us that someone enjoys us and our music. It’s nice because without any sort of response I'd really go crazy.

GW: Would you say that playing live again is the thing you're most excited to do then?

CB: Yeah, I think so. To play live and to do some sort of travelling again. We got very busy in terms of shows which we’ve never had before, but we got really busy and did so much and then that just stopped dead, so I'm eager to get back to that, but also, I am looking forward to making something else, I've been forced to be in that headspace so now that I'm in it in don't want to leave it.

GW: Where are you most excited to play?

CB: I always have a really good time in Scotland: we play Edinburgh and Glasgow and stuff and the gigs are always so good and the time spent around the gig is always really fun, I just like being there. I just love Edinburgh; it makes me feel safe. 

GW: I'm the same, I love Edinburgh!

CB: It’s like a fairytale town! A hilly city all bunched together, I feel like I can really explore it...I think it's the hills.

GW: I know exactly what you mean. So what's next, is it album time, more EP’s. What do you think?

CB: We haven officially announced anything yet, so everything up in the air and vague, but first I guess we want to play shows, to make up for lost shows. It reminds me that i'm in a band: when I sing in a studio I don't feel like I'm in a band, but playing live really feels like that, finding that rhythm again, and then we’ll see what comes next in terms of releases, but I am working very hard in the studio right now, that's all I'll say.

More about: Do Nothing