The Chemical Brothers
Interviewed for Riffin' by Webjockey Fashionboyz
Some Block Rockin Beats
The Chemical Brothers' Rifflist on Riffin.com: Some Block Rockin Beats
The Chemical Brothers are known for galvanizing crowds with their block rockin' beats. They are on tour now promoting their new release, "We Are the Night" from Astralwerks Records, with a show that delivers their signature synethesia of audio and visual sensory overload.
Riffin': This is your first tour in 5 years, and celebrates your 6th player. How would you say your sound has changed in that time?
Rowlands: Well, we never want to make the same record again. That would be too easy. We like to be surprised when unexpected things happen, and we start a song and see where it goes. If we set out with a formula for every track, then we would be bored.
In general, though, we are just finding different ways of being the Chemical Brothers. We haven't lost the heart and soul of what we do. You can listen to something we did 15 years ago and then something from our new album, and there is continuity. Not really an evolution so much as us just spiraling around and seeing what comes next.
Riffin': Your shows have a dizzying magnitude of visual effects. What can fans expect to see?
Rowlands: When we first started performing live, we were really influenced by the grainy footage of the Velvet Underground playing with strange images projected on them. So we had a friend project images using his 16MM into us as we performed. Now, years later, we still collaborate with the same person, FLATNOSEGEORGE, for our visuals. He has grown as a visual artist and we have matured as musicians, and this new tour is the best it has ever been. We really want the whole live, musical experience to be overwhelming, so there is a total sensory overload. The sounds and the sights totally blend together.
Riffin': What is the creative process that you go through when starting a new album?
Rowlands: We do lots of experimentation when we begin working on new songs. The studio environment still inspires a great deal of wonder in us. You walk in and see all the instruments, and you can't help but feel a real spirit of magical transformation about to happen.
There really is no set method to how we approach a new project. Some songs start out very traditionally, sitting with a guitar while watching TV, strumming out a few chords. Others are inspired by a great beat on a record we hear. And there are those that you have just been thinking about for a while, and they suddenly find a home. Regardless, there is still a sense of wonderment when a new song takes root.
Riffin': What first piqued your interest in becoming a musician?
Rowlands: From the age of 6, I first learned the guitar. When I was in secondary school, I used to play music with my mates during lunch. What I find so incredible about music is how it affects a change in how I feel. I can start a song, and by the time I finish it, I feel totally different. There is nothing else that makes me feel how I do when I play music. It is really magical to be a musician.
Riffin': Where do you see the future of electronic music going?
Rowlands: It's interesting to talk about the future of electronic music, because it is so strong everywhere in the world, but in America it still seems to only be popular with certain groups of people. We go to Europe and Japan, and you still hear electronic music on the radio. It is really part of just the overall breadth of music that people listen to. In America, while there has always been a strong demand for our music, but you can see that overall the electro culture is more fragmented and less unified than elsewhere in the world. But for us, we were headlining festivals in 2000, and we are lucky enough to still be doing so today.
Riffin': What's been one of the crazier moments of your tour so far?
Rowlands: We recently played in London's famous Trafalgar Square. This place has such historic significance. I mean, the victory of World War 2 was celebrated here, and years later we are given the honor of taking it over for a night. People really went crazy, and it was wild to see all the lasers scaling the buildings as we looked over the crowd.
|