Simply Red: Guillemots

Gigwise got the chance to catch up with Guillemots in the comforts of Guillemots HQ, aka a converted synagogue in the depths of East London. A quick glance around the perimeters of the building resulted in the location of a seemingly defunct pinball machine, a large metal guillemot currently wearing singer Fyfe’s bowler hat, a small cupboard where some of the second album was apparently recorded and other such gems. Guitarist MC Lord Magrão is hanging around the place having woken up five minutes earlier, and drummer Greig’s taken the day off sick, so here’s what Fyfe and double bassist Arista had to say.

How did the live shows go this week?
Fyfe: “They were good. We were really out of practice – we hadn’t played live in ages so we did a lot of rehearsing.”
Arista: “We tried to do a lot of rehearsing… the amount of rehearsing we actually did was quite minimal, so I think they went quite well considering.”

The press release for ‘Red’ mentions “the sense of something not being quite right” – is that in general or is it specifically pinpointed to certain parts of life?
Fyfe: “It runs through the record. It’s quite ‘up’ sounding, but there is a feeling in quite a lot of the tracks of someone on the edge of a breakdown. I don’t think the world today’s the most happy-go-lucky time to be alive.”

Do you think you’ve changed as a band since the first album?
Fyfe: “Not hugely. We’ve been writing stuff together, improvising and making songs out of that from before we did gigs, so it was just an extension of things really. It seemed like the natural thing to do. Each of us has learnt when to keep our mouths shut and when to leave.”

So tell me about that advert on Myspace for a new singer…
Fyfe: “It’s sorted! It’s just for live. Here there’s just the four of us but live there’s always been something extra – before we had two saxophonists to fill out the sound a little bit, and one of them’s really busy at the moment but we’ve found a girl who plays saxophone.”

Did loads of people reply?
Fyfe: “Yeah, quite a few. We got to hear some mad stuff…”
(Arista starts cackling)

Would you like to expand on that?
(More laughter from Arista)
Fyfe: “Well, no-one seemed quite right.”
Arista: “It’s hard to have a new member in your band especially when you’re on a bus together.”

You met loads of people then?
Fyfe: “Well this is the thing. I was terrified of having an audition day, and it was getting to the point where we were going to get the best few and invite them to the studio, and then a friend of a friend turned up and…”
Arista: “She’s just perfect.”

So aside from all that, how do you feel about ‘Get Over It’ making Radio 1’s A-list?
Fyfe: “I’ve never understood that ethic of making music and being worried about being on the radio or having singles do well, but I don’t think that accessibility and integrity have to be mutually exclusive. With the single, we put loads of time in the mix making sure it sounded really alive and electric, overloading the drums, distortion everywhere, really pushing ourselves. That’s exactly the sort of thing going on Radio 1 daytime and it’s a really nice feeling when something like that happens.”

So, I read something interesting about Fyfe using a bat detector on the record. Anything else bizarre going on?
(At this point, Gigwise is shown the very bat detector used on ‘Big Dog’ on the album)
Fyfe: “Bits and pieces, bits and pieces. We’ve got really short attention spans so sometimes we need something better than a snare drum or a guitar. And it’s about amusing ourselves, I guess – when you’re making a record it’s quite funny recording a little bat to make a beat.”
Arista: “And there’s recorders on ‘Big Dog’ too… three or four of them.”

What with all the different instruments featuring on ‘Red’, do you think you’re meticulous?
(furious shaking of head by Fyfe ensues)
Arista: “It’s a random sort of meticulous.”
Fyfe: “The more interviews we do, the more we understand and find ways of explaining things. The record’s made up of loads of moments of spontaneity, but there’s days when you’re really struggling…” 

How do you get around it?
Fyfe: “You work through it. Some days, it’ll be four in the afternoon and you just go home. It doesn’t help when you’re not in the right mood but there’s other days when you wake up and instantly feel great. There’s not really any logic to it. But most of the good stuff comes about really quickly.”
Arista: “There’s moments we all agree on. Some days there’s three people who really hate a part and the next day they all like it, and the person who liked it doesn’t anymore. It’s difficult to trust when it’s actually any good.”