"I don't really have as much time to go to gigs as I did before, cos I'm busy now with the family and the label, but I certainly haven't seen that much of the old spirit there. I don't know whether it's just me, but I don't think I've ever seen the music industry in as bad a state as it is at the minute."
See? Hate, as the title track on the fourth album by Scotpop svengalis the Delgados asserts, is indeed all around. Why, it's even affected their previously unjadeable singing guitarist Emma Pollock, escaping for the day from her cohorts and fellow label bosses Alun Woodward (more vox'n'axe), Paul Savage (drums) and Stewart Henderson (bass). Still, PlayLouder's not about to let itself by taken in by her charming take on music c.2002, if only because we've probably heard more great records this year than in any one we can remember...
"Whereabouts?"
All over the place. In the clubs, in the charts, at gigs, you name it.
"Maybe there is, but from the point of view of the industry there's just not the opportunity to get stuff out there that there was. Melody Maker's gone, Steve Lamacq's going... but that's the great thing about the internet. That's where DIY culture's really going on now, and it's great! Honestly, see since I got broadband? I don't even watch television anymore..."
Ah, now that's more like it. After all, when the band first showed up, touting their buzzsaw Sonic Youthisms, there was a naive charm and enthusiasm to them that captured enough hearts to make them at least a sizeable critical concern, to say nothing of being bona fide darlings of John Peel, and it's that kind of excitement that still burns through Emma now...
"The internet now is the way the underground was seven or eight years ago. It's only going to get bigger and bigger as well. That's the thing about us finally having our own website - search engines these days are registering how often you update it, how many hits you're getting, and all these things affect where you are in the pecking order. The Delgados site only went up about a week or so ago; it's the first time we've ever had our own site. In a way, signing to Mantra's actually allowed us to think of the Delgados as an entity in its own right for the first time, whereas before we'd've been thinking about Chemikal Underground at the same time."
Ah yes, the great escape. After seven years of almost exclusively releasing their own record, as well as acclaimed albums from the likes of Arab Strap, Cha Cha Cohen and, most famously, Mogwai, the Delgados have finally handed the reins of their new album out-of-house. Why?
"Circumstances. Our label's not got that much cash at the minute, to be honest, and we didn't want to put too much pressure on this record. We didn't think it'd be fair on all the other bands, coming along and shoving them all aside just to get a Delgados album out, so we though OK, much fairer to let somebody else bring this out and give everyone a bit more freedom. The more potential this album has, really, the higher the risk, so we wanted to make sure it could get the best push possible. It allowed us to record the record in a way we wanted to as well."
Must've been handy. As we recall, the recording of 'Hate''s widely-adored predecessor was nothing short of a living nightmare until Dave Fridmann got involved, at which point things got...well, strange but at least fruitful. Presumably it was all a lot easier this time round.
"It was, actually, aye. We came off 'The Great Eastern' feeling quite pleased about it, really quite surprised at the mechanisms of the whole thing, but also by the whole press reaction to it, with people finally starting to accept us as more than just some wee band from Galsgow that happened to come out the same time as everybody else. Now I think we're a bit more established, and the challenge with this album is trying to maintain it, cos things are so changeable. We can't be so sure as to say that we'll do as well as we did the last time, but at least we've had the opportunity to focus on other things..."
Haven't they just. In the gap between 'Hate' and '...Eastern' Alun became a dad again, Stewart got himself hitched, and Paul and Emma had their first child, an event that could well have had rather an unexpected impact on the future of both the band and Emma herself, as she explains.
"It was a very uncertain period. We were recording the album during my pregnancy, and just after I had Ben I had what was quite possibly one of the worst months of my entire life - I actually came down with post-natal depression. It was horrific - I don't want to belittle it, but I didn't actually think that I could play again, I lost that much confidence. The thought of getting out of bed every morning was bad enough. I had to kind of psyche myself up to get back in the studio, though, which must have been about a month and a half down the road..."
By which time not only had the recovery begun (Emma's thankfully over it now, readers, before you ask) but the album was presumably about finished anyway, right?
"The vocals weren't 'cos I couldn't sing when I was pregnant, I just couldn't do it! In many ways, though, I'm really pleased with the way the album's worked out, 'cos I felt like I had a real point to prove with this one."
Indeed. But it's a point that's going to need proving several times over before the year's out, what with a series of high-profile gigs to be played pre-Christmas. Given that the album itself was only finished a few months back, have they had the chance to play any gigs at all since then?
"Yes. Just the one gig, though, in Barcelona. That was a funny weekend... we'd been recording and realised stuff wasn't quite right, so Alun and Paul had had to fly out to America for two or three days to get things done, but because they had so little time they'd ended up working through the night, which meant that when they were done they had to get a plane to London and then straight to Barcelona for the gig... they were ragin', they were absolutely shattered! And then, we'd been rehearsing a lot of the new ones, but then we were told to do a short set, so we've never actually managed to play any of the new stuff live yet!"
Ooh, get you etc. Honestly, folks, they were never this flash before. Still, whatever excesses they do have tend to be strictly part of the job. and not in the Liamishly rock'n'roll way either. Like taking on extra musicians, as they did for 'The Great Eastern' dates and as they'll have to do again. 'Hate''s a pretty rich-sounding record - how's it actually going to work live?
"I think it'll work quite well. A lot of it's stored on keyboards anyway, so it's a question of hitting the right buttons, and we'll have the same band that we had for 'The Great Eastern', and the people we've got playing with us are all fantastic musicians - well, they have to be, really, there's that many of them on stage. It's one of the biggest problems with strings - when you're on stage with that set-up, all you can hear is bass and drums."
Which doesn't mean, of course, that they've suddenly gone drum'n'bass on us. Instead, 'Hate' follows the familiar lushness of their most recent offerings but, we must admit, it came as something of a shock the first time we sat down and listened to it with the lyric sheet. Considering it sounds like it should be full of loveliness it's a bit, er, dark, isn't it?
"That's it, though - the music's kind of joyful, very celebratory almost. I think the main diference this time round is that the songs definitely have a beginning, a middle, and an end - it's hard to talk about without coming out with shite cliches like the word "journey", but I think every song does have that certain... dynamic about it. The great thing about music is that it always keeps you waiting, whether you realise it or not, and then when you do resolve it can be the most amazing thing. But I think 'Hate' is a progression, although obviously there are instrumental similarities. Yes, there is a lot of negative content, but I think we all like the contrast. Part of my thinking behind it was that even when you're really suffering you can still get a glimpse of something worthwhile, and Alun tends to work out a lot of the situations in his life in the songs too. There are a lot of things in the world right now, though, that are a worry, and I don't just mean this age either, cos every age has its own problems. I think a lot of people now are so concerned with their own success - not that I'm saying I don't agree with everything about that; I mean, of course, I'm guilty of it myself, having the label - that they don't ever seem to really enjoy anything. I don't think I could enjoy things if I thought I was causing people misery, though. What would be the point in having one of the highest paid jobs ever if you knew you didn't like your working day? Depends on your makeup, I suppose."
Suppose it does. No cause for alarm, though; the fruits of the Delgados' working days might be riper than before, but there's no sign at all of them causing anything remotely resembling misery. Doesn't mean they wouldn't love your company, though...
Iain Moffat
The album 'Hate' is now available on Mantra Recordings. The Delgados play a pair of headline dates at Leicester Arts Centre on 11 November and London's ICA on the 12th before setting off on tour with Doves, calling in at Newcastle Northumbria University (18 November), Glasgow Barrowlands (19/20), Sheffield Octagon (21), Liverpool University (23), Leeds University (24), Birmingham Academy (25), Bristol Academy (27), Southampton Guildhall (28), Exeter University (29), Norwich UEA (December 1), London Brixton Academy (2/3), Cambridge Corn Exchange (5), Cardiff University (6), and finally Manchester Apollo (7/8).
