ELM Presents kicks off in May with a show at Glasgow’s 13th Note. Headlining will be Scots post-rockers Fram, whose debut This is How We Live Now was one of 2008′s best kept secrets. We talked to frontman Scot van den Akker about all things music:
ELM Presents – we’re excited; how are you feeling about it?
We’re very excited. It’s an honour to headline the first ELM event. We don’t play live too often and we were delighted to be asked. We have been rehearsing a lot and working really hard and hopefully we can play a bit more in 2010.
What got you started in music and who are your influences?
I was around 14 or 15 and a group of us were into music and decided to start a band. Everyone wanted to be lead guitarist so I bought a bass and this got me straight in. The fact I also had an amp helped as did the fact I taped the notes on the neck so I knew what to do when someone shouted “C to D”.
I can’t remember not loving music. In the house my Dad loved classical and choral and my Mum loved rock n roll…a bit of a mix! First album I bought myself was Kings Of The Wild Frontier….what does that say about me? I’m not sure! We only have one drummer, no make-up and no starter pistols. Yet.
First albums that stopped me in my tracks were Document by REM, Marquee Moon by Television and Horses by Patti Smith. Before that I like all sorts of stuff as most kids do…..my sister’s tapes of Japan, Roxy Music, Yazoo etc, the charts, ‘rock’ such as U2 etc.
As a bassist my bedrocks were Mike Mills and Bruce Foxton. As a singer….well, let’s just say my delivery is unique to me.
In songwriting terms I am influenced by nature and a lot of the lyrics and moods are filtered through ideas of remote parts of the world and of existence. Exploration of the uncharted world as metaphor for exploration of the soul – clumsy and very 6th Form but it seems to suit me.
What’s the best aspect of live performance?
Playing with the band; the unique feeling of sharing the moment with other musicians. Life is often a fairly routine affair and playing live is something so out of the ordinary. I feel really lucky that through a series of events I can stand up and sing my own songs in front of people…with a sh** hot band behind me. It is something few people do or even try and it is liberating.
What’s your favourite gig played so far?
Many years ago a line-up of the band played a great gig in The Tron….I loved the headliners The Bathers, we were well treated, had a backstage area, a rider and dry ice! Living the dream…..
How important do you feel art is in reflecting society?
A question I haven’t fully considered. Damn you. Where are the questions re favourite colours? Most genuine art reflects the person creating it and their interaction with the world: upbringing, schooling, politics, sexuality etc. It is very subjective. It may have no easy ‘way in’ as it has its own code. Most pieces which deal with objective matters and are designed to be ‘of the moment’ may not be art at all therefore; perhaps they are more studied….not cynical but not art either.
Art v Commerce – Is it possible to be hugely successful and hugely respected at the same time? What’s most important?
Probably not, which is sad. At some stage all musicians and artists have to pay the bills if they decide to become professionals and this means pandering to their audience. It is inevitable unless the artist/performer is such a genius that an audience comes to them on their own terms. This can happen and is special but it’s also rare.
Working away at the rock-face of your own muse – revisiting the well again and again, driven to understand the messages you receive – this more often leads to a passionate but small following!
I suppose importance is relative to the individual – what do they want? Money, yachts, to get laid etc or do they feel driven to produce art even if they die penniless? I doubt Keane are kept up at night worrying about their reviews.
What do you think of the current UK music scene?
I’m probably too old to pay much attention! The electro-pop revival is quite funny…an endless production line of pretty blondes singing what sounds like Yazoo B sides.
There is no indie music scene such as I knew it…the world was smaller then and less fragmented. You released a 7” single, got in NME, played on John Peel and then split up and became estate agents and bin men.
The desire for fame wasn’t really present and the smaller acts and labels and hadn’t all been bought over yet – more and more we see every sound, look and scene co-opted for a revival but without passion and energy.
But things re-invent themselves and always have…I am sure in 1960 people bemoaned how poor music had become since the heyday of the mid 1950s. The internet was to drive up opportunities for scenes but results are hard to gauge…is music any better because there is more of it?
The best music exists at the margins, as always, and finds an audience….UK is well served by Uncut and others who have opened the door for bands such as Midlake, My Morning Jacket etc…lots of excellent young bands who are bigger here than in America. British music has never really floated my boat….since I first discovered music I found a cynicism, attitude and knowing element I didn’t like. So many of my CDs are from all points of the compass but very few bands I love are British.
Who are the most overrated and underrated artists in music?
Underrated: Mark Hollis, The Go Betweens, The Triffids, Mark Eitzel, Mark Mulcahy…so many sadly. My MP3 is full of bands who ended up less well known than their music deserved.
Overrated: most of them…especially the ones that want it so badly.
What do you plan for the rest of 2010?
As a band more gigs; more recording, more song-writing……more and better.
At home, domestic bliss and watching my daughter destroy our house.
Finally, we always ask this; you have one bullet and immunity from prosecution – who’s getting it?
Mmm. I suppose the correct response is ‘no-one I’m a pacifist’ but I’m not and so I will try and answer more honestly! I often have irrational hatreds but killing someone is a big step; my hatreds are more low key…..Pol Pot was evil but Ant and/or Dec are simply irritating. They don’t deserve to die….just torture.
I had thought about Simon Cowell but he is simply milking the cash-cow – he didn’t create it. He did not ruin music he simply captured the zeitgeist perfectly. Music as a commodity. Not worth a bullet.
I suppose I would try and break into a record mogul’s office and threaten him with gun and bullet: “Ten album deal or I’ll shoot….I’m not bluffing.”
ELM Presents takes place at the 13th Note on Thursday 6th May. Be there or we’ll kick your f*cking heads in. Word.
Filed under: General Stuff, gigs Tagged: | alt.rock, elm presents, Fram, Gigs in Glasgow, gigs in scotland, hey mickey by toni basil, Live music, music, post-rock
