The Motorcycle Boy Reigns
You Know You're Not Dead
As with the rest of the top 3, I managed to ask the band a few questions about their album, the year gone by, and what we can expect in 2011. Here's violinist Rory Sutherland with the answers...
Kowalskiy: What is your take on Let Me Come Home?
Rory: Let Me Come Home is an album we were all happy to make. It sounds strange to say that, but it opened doors and allowed us to experiment with what we do. You have to understand that we had been playing the songs from Until the Earth Begins to Part for about 3 years, so a clean slate allowed us to put to tape all the ideas that had been shelved in the interim. Purely as a result of touring constantly, we realized that our arrangements had become more concise, which is very obvious on Let Me Come Home, we wanted the songs to be immediate enough on the first listen to make you want to go back and hear the layers hidden beneath the surface. That's what I think is most important about Let Me Come Home, we learnt how to give the songs space.
Kowalskiy: What has 2010 been like for you?
Rory: 2010 has been a busy year for us both on stage and behind the scenes. We released our debut in June 2009 and had been touring it fairly constantly in the UK and mainland Europe. The most important step in the first couple of months of 2010 was to get over to America, and 4AD thought that SXSW would be the best introduction for us over there. Alongside preparations for that, we were constantly working on and developing the ideas of what became Let Me Come Home. Recording for this started straight after we returned from Texas so we were writing and developing songs in the midst of a very busy period of time. We were in studio with Tony (Doogan) for a month and then we were straight into festival season. Since then we've seen the release of Let Me Come Home and toured the UK in support of it. Sadly we lost two of our members, Gill and Arne, who left the band to pursue other ventures. We also gained a member, Craig Ross, who joined in August. In all honesty it's been a hectic 12 months, but we can't wait to get started on the year ahead!
Kowalskiy: What's been your highlight of 2010?
Rory: We've had so may highlights this year that it would be impossible to choose just one. I would say touring with The National was a unanimous highlight. They had previously asked us to play with them in 2009 at the Royal Festival Hall where they played a few sketches from High Violet. Having released the album and it taking off in the way it did, it was great to see them finally getting the recognition they deserved. Our Liquid Room show in the summer was an occasion we'll never forget, it was Gill and Arne's last show in the band and was probably the best show we've ever played. It was also a fitting transition between old and new because it was Craig's first official gig as a member. Personally however, covering violin duties in Efterklang was great fun for me, and also working on our album artwork with Vaughan (Oliver), who is personal hero of mine, was amazing!
Kowalskiy: What does 2011 have in store for you?
Rory: For the time being we are making preparations for our co-headline tour with Freelance Whales in February, and then we'll be off to the States again to start our own headline tour later in February and March. There will no doubt be much more happening this year with festivals and touring but as it stands, we're just concentrating on what we have in front of us.
Let Me Come Home can be bought from Amazon MP3, iTunes and all the other usual places. As Rory said, the band will be touring in February and March (all details here), with one or two Scottish gigs before then.
Upcoming Gigs
16th Jan - The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow (with The Burns Unit)
30th Jan - Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh (with Freelance Whales)
16th Jan - The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow (with The Burns Unit)
30th Jan - Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh (with Freelance Whales)
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