Hej The Magic Numbers!

En skulle kunna säga att det var lite tyst kring det brittiska bandet The Magic Numbers sen senaste skivan (typ fyra år), men så i somras kom äntligen ett nytt album. På tisdag kan duse dom på Pustervikoch Djungeltrumman passade på att snacka lite låttexter och toalettbås med ett av de två syskonparen: Romeo och Michel Stodart.

2014-10-27 14:41 2014-10-27 14:41
Publicerad Senast uppdaterad

Tell me a little bit about your recent album Alias!

Romeo: – Well first things first – it's a classic! The title Alias refers to the fact that there are many facets to the same person, we're different people in different surroundings and I wanted the album artwork to reflect with the snapshots in time of passport photographs. Lyrically a lot of the songs are about coming to terms with oneself and the mistakes one makes, everyone's searching for something, some defined contentment or fulfilment, and it doesn't really exist.

A classic, does that mean it's your best one so far?

Romeo: – This is definitely my favorite album that we've ever made as it's managed to capture the energy from our live shows that I feel the others didn't quite do. It's not a raw live sounding record as it has beautiful orchestrations and details within the sound but it feels youthful and has real conviction in the performances and is direct in the message, very honest. I also think the atmosphere of this record is probably a lot darker in mood than previous records but still sounds like us. Songs like Roy Orbison, Thought I Wasn't Ready and Shot In The Dark are some of the best I've ever written in my opinion.

Do you have a The Magic Numbers persona or are you the same?

Romeo: – I'd like to think it's the same person but I do have to conjure up someone with tonnes more confidence when it comes to anything to do with The Magic Numbers, I'm not an extrovert in the slightest so it is strange to be out there essentially wanting to be loved, saying pay attention to me.

Michele: – When I've got that bass strapped on to me, a different side of myself comes out, I like her, she's good fun.

Some of your texts feels quite melancholic, do you agree with that?

Romeo: – Yes, there's definitely a sadness there. It's probably because I chose to write when I'm at my most melancholy or reflective. If I'm having a good time I've usually got a drink in my hand rather than a guitar. I'm drawn to that feeling of loss within I suppose, the unsettling nature of feeling incomplete. I don't know if everyone has that, I presume we do, but it's that place where it feels like you're staring into a void of your own doing. A yearning for something or someone, desire to constantly feel something real. If you've ever experienced an unrequited love then there's no greater place to draw inspiration from also.

You've sometimes been labelled as happy hippies, would you re-label yourself i you could?

Romeo: – What people think of me is none of my business. Everyone's misunderstood to some degree, as long as they feel something from the music we create then that's what is important. Some people feel happy listening to sad songs, I do. It's comforting. Whereas some people find Leonard Cohen or Morrissey depressing.

Is it annoying in anyway?

Michele: – I have to be honest I really don't believe in labels and putting people into these tiny boxes that the media and most of the general public rely on so much these days. I do hate this happy hippy bullshit that we have been tainted with as it's so not who we are. We are dead serious about the music we create and put a lot of time and love into our albums, every element of it in fact, but because we smile and enjoy what we do everyone thinks this but we are who we are and our fans know that.

What would you like to write on the wall of a toilet booth?

Romeo: – I wouldn't write anything to be honest. I also believe if you're in a band and you write your name on the venue's dressing room walls in which you play, nothing will happen for you – you'll remain there, don't do it!

Hanna Rasmuson

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