| Tracer AMC
Interview |
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 Tracer
AMC, Northern Ireland's best band? Well, if
they're not already then they soon will be. Its a rare
occurrence indeed to have a band this good from N.
Ireland, so go and support them at their live shows, buy
all their future releases and sit back and enjoy.
Check out the official Tracer site... http://listen.to/tracer
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Tracer AMC are: Jonny Ashe, Alex Donald,
Keith Winter
Describe
your music
Alex: If
you’ve listened to the music you should know what it
sounds like; if you haven’t listened to it - you
should. If you’re lazy and are looking for a quick
description.... "it’s noisy guitars, like sonic
youth, my bloody valentine, hirameka hi-fi, six by seven
- without any words"
Keith: Music that sets a mood. Post-modern
music representation of our generation. Soundscapes,
rhythms, melodies, climaxing into a frenzy of rage,
passion and controlled noise.
Jonny: Instrumental guitarry, people say
it’s a little Sonicy Youthy maybe, crossed with…
something a little more explicitly tuneful.
Where/when
did you meet and how long has the band been going?
Alex: I
met Jonny at school four and a half years ago but we only
started the band in the summer of ‘98 - then it was
just the two of us. Steve, our first proper drummer,
joined in December of ‘98 and was with us ‘till
the end of June when he returned home to South Africa.
Keith joined in September ‘99 but we had known him
for about a year (I think). Keith went to the same
primary school as Jonny and myself but was in the year
below us so we didn’t know each other.
Keith: Met through a number of gigs we
were all involved in, whether it was DJing (Alex and Jonny) or playing together in separate bands. Also
through Steve Ennis, the previous drummer who was a good
friend.
Who
or what music has been most influential in your sound?
Alex: I
can’t say any one band in particular but bands like
Sonic Youth, Slint, Ganger, Godspeed You Black Emperor!
as well as most of the other bands I’ve listened to
in the past few years. Probably more important was
going out and seeing bands play all the time and
realising that most of what we saw was rubbish and that
the bands which really stood out were bands like
Backwater, Urusei Yatsura, the Delgados, bands with ideas
and originality and I guess that’s something that we
wanted to have in our sound. At that time it didn’t
really matter that we weren’t tight or that we
couldn’t play very well or even that the songs were
not fully there but more that we had ideas and were
playing these ideas with feeling - it’s going to
take time for any band to develop and with us it was very
public but we’re now at the stage where I would hope
that both the songs and their delivery is much more
professional. However, at the same time we are aware that
we don’t want to become the kind of band that just
plays the songs and they are the same every time - note
perfect renditions of recorded versions; after all, the
best bands that you see play live are the ones who change
things round so you never know quite what’s going to
happen.
Keith: Smashing Pumpkins, U2, Delerious?, Radiohead, Just
Jinger, REM.
Jonny: Just people who push the noises
you can get from guitars. Without going over the top.
Graham Blur. Sonic Youth. Malcolm Arab Strap – I
think he’s a great guitarist. In a sparse beautiful
way. For me the idea for the sound initially came from a
conversation with a friend where we decided what our
perfect band might sound like – a little Sonik Tooth,
a little Mogwai (I’m not scared to mention the M
word), a lot of heart. Songs that make you go ooooooooh
and make your eyes go funny…and I know we aren’t
there just yet. But there are 3 people involved and we
all want to go in different directions. Obviously we get
a lot of Mogwai comparisons – and there is probably
a fairly clear line drawn to what they were trying to do
before CODY. But my songs come more from trying to sound
like something in my life than trying to emulate someone
else’s music.
How
does your music make you feel?
Alex:
Physically: Sometimes when I’m playing I get burns
and cuts on my wrists and arm - it’s really sore
when your wrist keeps rubbing against the body of the
guitar and by the time you’re finished playing there’s
a hole in your wrist/arm. Also, in venues with lights -
especially orange ones - it can get very warm and
after you’ve finished playing you don’t want to
pack anything up because you are so tired. Playing
your own music to people you don’t know and then
them liking it is really great - quite why people join
bands to play covers I don’t know.
Keith:
Passionate, excited, free...
Jonny: Hard to say. Music accentuates
your moods. You can listen to "happy" songs and
if they’re good songs and you’re feeling down
then they make you more miserable and vice-versa. For me
anyway. Some of the songs are (in my mind at least) about
very specific events, and they take me back to where I
was when I wrote them. But that’s a personal thing.
I think there is a melancholy feel to most of the music,
but melancholy in an uplifting way, if that makes sense.
It’s impossible to judge the worth other people
might find in something you’ve created yourself and
I hope that some other people feel something when they
listen to it. Otherwise there’s no point in coming
out of your bedroom, is there?
If
you could pick a producer for your first full album who
would it be and why?
Alex: It
would depend on the kind of sound that we wanted - if we
wanted to have a really trashy lo-fi sound then I guess
we would do it ourselves which would be really cool.
Producers like Steve Albini, Jim O’Rouke and Bob
Weston have done loads of bands that I really like and
artists like Tortiose and Fridge have a really good
outlook on the recording process - writing many
additional parts and then using the mixing as an
additional instrument, fading in and out tracks/sections
to create the final track. I guess that one of
the people who everyone seems to want to work with is
John Cale of the Velvet Underground and considering what
the band were doing at the time they were doing it he’s
kind of responsible for much of the music we have today.
Keith: Alex Donald, mixed by Flood.
Jonny: I know you want us to say Steve Albini. Too scary. Graham Coxon maybe, though he only
produced one record cos it was too stressful. And he
probably wouldn’t have a clue about what he was
doing. Happy accidents happen when you don’t know
what you’re doing.
Where
would you most like to play live?
Alex:
Right now we’d really like to be playing outside of
Northern Ireland; London, Glasgow and Edinburgh all seem
to have a really good music scene and some good venues.
Regardless of where we are playing I really just want to
get the chance to play with bands where there is an
appreciative audience in a venue with a good p.a. I
think it would also be really good to play in places
which are not normally associated with live music - a
museum or an art exhibition would be nice - really
different; a cleaner atmosphere.
Keith: Waterfront Hall, St. Paul’s
Cathedral.
Jonny: Anywhere where the people listen.
Perhaps that isn’t Belfast. Doesn’t really
matter. But friendly bouncer guys. And good sanitation.
That’s important.
What
band would you most like to tour with?
Alex: As
I said above, I really just want to play to appreciative
audiences but I guess I’d really like to play with
Low because as they are one of my favourite bands it
would be great to be able to see them every night - also,
when we are going home after gigs, the majority of the
time there is a Low record on the car CD player and so
playing with them would seem like our post gig music is
being played especially for us.
Keith: Snow Patrol, Ash, Smashing
Pumpkins.
Jonny: Just anyone who I’d love to
watch live every night. Delgados. Yatsura. Six by Seven.
Blur for the screaming kids. There’s a lot of bands
I’d love to play with. There’s a lot of bands I’d
be scared to play with cos I’m jealous of just how
good they are.
What
music do you currently find difficult to remove from your
stereo?
Alex:
Secret Name by Low - everyone should get or at least
listen to this record - Low are one of my favourite bands
and this has been in the stereo since I got it. Spiritualized
- Live at the Royal Albert Hall - really good versions of
much of the Ladies and Gentlemen... album. San
Lorenzo - Life Without Mountains and 3 Songs For Winter e.p’s.-
the album’s nearly ready so in the meantime I’m
listening to these e.p’s ‘till it arrives.
Everything by Hirameka Hi-Fi - new single coming soon -
yeah! Other things that I’ve been
listening to recently include... Papa M, Ganger, The
Gentle Waves, Tara Jane O’Neill, Tunic (right this
minute as I’m typing this) and loads of others that
I can’t quite remember.
Keith: John Rutter’s Cambridge Choir.
Jonny: The Hot Rock by Sleater-Kinney,
The Sky is Too High by Graham Coxon, The Things We Make
by Six by Seven, Hey Babe by Juliana Hatfield.
What's
your opinion of music in Northern Ireland right now?
Alex:
There are very few bands doing anything that is different
(or even good) but I think that this is due only to the
bands because recently Ski Bunny and Sound Culture have
been bringing over some really incredible bands such as
Billy Mahonie, Six by Seven, Trans Am, Salaryman, June of
44 (thanks to Mark for letting us support) and will soon
be bringing bands and artists such as Papa M, Lou Barlow,
Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Fly Pan Am, Sigur Ros and Yo
La Tengo and if local bands can’t gain anything from
seeing these bands then it looks like the ‘scene’
here is going to continue to have a few really great
bands and a hundred who are, to be completely honest,
terrible.
Keith: Good – lots of potential but
unfortunately not given enough attention. Tiler, Mushpuppies, Foam etc…
Jonny: Some great bands. Some of my
favourite bands. But no real infrastructure. Some good
people. Some bad people. It’s got to be the same
everywhere though.
Where
would you like to see yourselves and your music heading
within the next few years?
Alex:
Outside of Northern Ireland and hopefully the UK, playing
with great bands and trying to bring something new to
music.
Keith: Playing and communicating at gigs
around cities of Europe. More than music, or music with a
message. A CD in every teenager/adult’s living room
which is put on in times of stress and confusion to ease
the pain of life!
Jonny: I just want to be able to say yes,
this is really great music. No one else can touch this.
If
you weren't making music what would you be doing?
Alex:
Passing exams at uni and taking my athletics more
seriously.
Jonny: Watch a lot more TV. Frequent the niteklubs. Maybe do a little bit more work for my degree.
Find a hobby. Build model planes or something. Patchwork?
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Interviewed by
David Majors and Gordon Peppard
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