When Tim Burgess isn’t out offering his experience and knowledge to young bands and judging things like the JD Sets, He’s a member of a band whom have been around for almost the entirety of my life. The 20th anniversary of their first album is coming up, I was 6 when they released the first album and Tim has kindly taken some time out to answer some questions for Goldenplec about The Charlatans. Here’s how it went down.
Kevin: The new album, Who We Touch is out at the beginning of next month,what can people expect from your eleventh studio album?
Tim: it has very much a band feeling in this record which I personally was very happy about, the songs on the last album (You Cross My Path) were very suited to an electronic sound and I think seeing as we are now quite well known for changing our sound record to record, these songs suited a band sound!
Kevin: The way an album is promoted these days has changed an awful lot since you first started putting out records, is that something you guys take an interest in or do you leave that to the PR/management people?
Tim: Well I like to talk to people, and post on facebook, twitter, MySpace etc
People contact me a lot for interviews and collaborations on Facebook, MySpace to me is like an extension of a great record shop, a great way to find new interesting bands
Kevin: Just looking at your discography it’s be more or less an album every two years stretching back to 1990. Do you have a two-year rule when it comes to recording or is that just how it’s worked out?
Tim: Just how it worked out really!!!
Kevin: How do you feel the Charlatans have evolved over the lifespan of the band, both in terms of the sound and the way you work together?
Tim: every album we work together differently, together/separate in two’s/three’s all together the sound comes from the ideas we have in our heads..we have evolved and grown and pulled it apart and glued it all back together.
Kevin: What’s it like when you come across young bands who may have been in nappies when you were starting out, do you act like wise sages or grumpy old men?
Tim: Wise sages and big kids …well usually anyway! Though There could be a couple of grumps in the band
Kevin: Arguably, in the nineties, the Charlatans never quite hit the levels of popularity that was sometimes predicted for them, in terms of the longevity of the band do you see that as something of a blessing in disguise that you never became ‘Oasis-big’?
Tim: I have no idea what was predicted for us ? probably all pub talk we were untouchable though tellin’ stories, us and us only, and the charlatans are such great albums
And live
No one is better than us live
Kevin: How has it been working out with Tim now based in L.A? There must have taken some adapting to, having a transatlantic band…
Tim: It takes some organizing but it make no difference it is inspiring to be that free tim is awesome (this is tim doing the interview btw)
Kevin: You’re facing into quite an intensive tour schedule, is the touring still enjoyable or just a necessary evil?
Tim: After being in the studio it is really exciting to go out and talk about what you have done and to go out and play the new material.
Kevin: Shaun Ryder is supporting you on the UK tour, have you had much contact with Shaun or the Happy Mondays in the past? There’ll presumably be a couple of interesting nights out with Shaun during the tour…
Tim: Shaun is a fun guy I am sure but I am always too busy to go out
Kevin : 21 years and 11 albums in, there’s obviously been plenty of highlights, do any particular moments stand out?
Tim: I Really enjoy the more recent things we do cos they are easiest to remember and also the past seems to have a fuzzy glow around it…. the past is very deceptive in its appearance.
Recording the first album during world cup 90 with Chris Nagle (engineer for Joy Division, New Order, Minny Pops , Discharge ) would be a highlight and the fact it went to number 1 makes it even more of an achievement, it gave hope to new bands and labels everywhere we were a street band on an indie label going to number 1 just didn’t happen…
Kevin: And is there anything you know now that you wish you wish you knew back at the start of all of this?
Tim: The Business……… but then we wouldn’t have been the same guys who wrote “The Only One I Know” so hey!!
Kevin: Musically within the lifetime of the band what records by other musicians have really struck a chord with you guys, or is there too many to name?
Tim: Too many but Blue Monday by New Order is a great one Surfer Girl by The Beach Boys is another
Thanks a million to Tim Burgess for taking the time out to answer our questions. Their new album “Who We Touch” is out on September 3rd 2010, below is the track listing, definitely check it out, we will
Tim also did an interview over at Swear I’m Not Paul
Who We Touch – Tracklisting
- “Oh! Vanity” – 3:57
- “Bad Days” – 3:28
- “Mis-Takes” – 3:25
- “The Misbegotten” – 4:13
- “A Day for Letting Go” – 2:52
- “You Cross My Path” – 4:05
- “Missing Beats (of a Generation)” – 3:38
- “My Name is Despair” – 4:19
- “Bird Reprise” – 2:38
- “This is the End” – 4:28