What Time Can Do - ein Gespräch mit Phil Wilson

Phil Wilson ist der wunderbarste englische Gentleman - das ist die wohl präzisestmögliche Bezeichnung für einen witzigen, enspannten und unaufdringlich entschieden wirkenden Herrn. Sein letztes Album hat er aufgenommen, bevor viele, die seine Konzerte heute sehen, überhaupt geboren waren, doch das bedeutet nicht, daß er ein gesetzter Erzählonkel wäre. Im Gegenteil: sein jugendlicher Enthusiasmus für alles, was mit Musizieren und Musikhören zusammenhängt, ist immer erkennbar, und Mr. Wilsons Bühnenpräsenz ist nachgerade unheimlicher Natur, wenn er mit ein paar Tönen wenigen kleinen Gesten die Mundwinkel nach oben zieht und das Publikum in Bewegung versetzt.

Seine alte Band The June Brides gilt für manche als die Speerspitze der C86-Szene, auch wenn sie selbst nicht auf dem legendär gewordenen Tape war. Der NME hatte zwar um einen Samplerbeitrag gebeten, doch man lehnte höflich ab, um nicht als Teil einer Bewegung zu gelten. Der Sampler wäre ohnehin fast schon zu spät für die June Brides gewesen, denn 1987 lösten sie sich auf. 20 Jahre später hatte Phil genug von der selbstauferlegten Schaffenspause und veröffentlicht mit neuer Band nach wenigen EPs diesen November auf Slumberland seine erste LP seit dem Split. Neben Phil und der neuen Rhythmussektion (Arash und Andy) sind auch zwei Weggefährten aus June-Brides-Tagen noch immer an Bord und verwalten die weniger üblichen Instrumente: Viola (Frank Sweney) und Trompete (Jon Hunter).

Das neue Album ist wunderbar, soviel sei verraten. Hören kann man dies, bevor ich den Maestro zu Worte kommen lasse, im Fanvideo zur Single "I Own It", deren B-Seite "What Time Can Do" den Kauf ebenfalls rechtfertigt - endlich mal wieder ein Song mit Melodica.

Bashful Dodger: Good Evening, Sir!

Phil Wilson: And hello to you, Henning! Lovely to be speaking to you again...

Q: You probably already gave the best interview to yourself for A Fog Of Ideas, but still there are some questions unanswered...of course. And it's a special time for you innit? Your first album in 23 years is coming out these days. Excited?

A: I am VERY excited! I never believed I would release another record after all those years away from music. And I was also a little bit scared. I thought I might not be able to write songs any more. Thanksfully, I was wrong!

Q: Speaking of the new album, what was different between its recording and the June Brides stuff?

A: Because studios had to be paid for, recording the June Brides was always done very quickly and quite cheaply. You can tell that by the way they sound! We recorded the new album in our drummer Andy's studio (which is basically a garage!) over several months. This gave us time to think more about how to play the songs, and time to work on adding layers of sounds to the songs.

Q: Are the new songs actually all new or do you have gazillions of songs from 23 years piled up at home?

A: The songs are all new, except for the tune "Small Town", which was written for the June Brides. It should have been our 5th single, but we split up before it was recorded. I thought it was too good a song to have only once been recorded for a radio session, so we did it again. All the rest of the songs were written in the last couple of years. I did not write any songs in my time away from music. I thought that there was no point in writing songs that would never be released, so I did not write any....

Q: From what I've heard of your new album, I have the impression it's definitely the unmistakable Phil Wilson songwriting while the sound is a lot warmer. Is that just today's recording technology? Or did you feel an ideological necessity do have a certain sound like you probably did in the eighties?

A: I can only write like Phil Wilson, Henning, much as I would like to be able write better! Just kidding. Yeah, the songs do sound like mine - which makes me proud! I somehow managed to create my own style. By chance rather than by design, I must add. I think the new recordings sound like a logical progression from the June Brides. Our last two singles ("No Place Called Home" and "This Town") were definitely aiming for a more sophisticated sound than the earlier, raw recordings. We are also a bit better at playing our instruments now, and more confident in trying for new sounds. So it all adds up to a slightly new sound - but one with links to my past, I believe....

Q: On their new abum, The Vaselines utter the phrase "The Eighties Were Shit". Would you agree?

A: Mostly, yes! I remember the terrible politics in the UK (Thatcher, miners strike etc.) and the dreadful chart music. Of course, there were still some wonderful records being released by the likes of the Go-Betweens, Feelies, TVPs and Chills - but an awful lot of rubbish...

Q: On the new album, you seem to focus more on poignant arrangements. Has your musical taste changed a lot in those years?

A: Not a great deal, really! I just got a bit better at translating my taste into sounds. I always wanted to sound more lush and sophisticated, just could not manage to do it!

Q: What was the last new record you really dug?

A: The last single and new album by the Sexual Objects were wonderful. As for new young bands, I really like the Summer Cats, A Fine Day For Sailing, The Tartans and The Honeyheads, of course!

Q: Oops, I wasn't fishing, but now I'm blushing... You're playing with a great band at the moment. While you played with Frank and John during the June Brides days, Arash and Andy are relatively new. How did you recruit them?

A: They came to me via the internet, so it is not all about porn and illegal downloading ;-) Arash lives close to me in a county called Devon. It is a beautiful place, but musically it's all about folk music and the blues down here. So Arash was searching on Myspace for anybody near him who might actually like indiepop, and he found me! He also found a small indie label called Pop Noise, and Andy Fonda was an artist recording for them under the name "Some Beans". I have never really understood why, but Andy agreed to play the drums for us!

Q: So it's just a coincidence they both start with an "A"?

A: Absolutely! But we have A, A, F, J and P. That makes for a very hard bunch of letters to make up a word!

Q: "Pop Song #32" from your new album is amazing. How did its title come up? And is there gonna be a 7" of it? Please?

A: Why, thank you! It is a slightly big-headed title! I wrote it and thought to myself, "Wow. You have written another great POP song!". So, I thought I should just call it the 32nd great pop song of mine ;-) I would love for it to be a single, but it is unlikely (unless the new album goes huge all over the world and we need another single. Which is VERY unlikely!).

Q: Apart from your own songs, have you recently been working with other artists?

A: Oh, thank you, Henning, for asking that! My band recently acted as backing band for a great singer-songwriter called Nick Halliwell, who releases records as "The Granite Shore". We made this single with him in Spring.

I think we may be recording more songs with Nick over the winter for a forthcoming Granite Shore album.

I also did a little bit of singing and acting for a rock opera about dinosaurs for Mark Hibbett. Honestly! Watch out for the album next year.

Q: How many cowboy shirts do you own?

A: 12, I think? Is that too many, Henning?! I can't help it. My Dad was a country singer and I LOVE those western shirts. I always liked the idea that when you are on stage you should make some effort to be a performer. That gives me a great excuse to buy the shirts :-)

Q: It's never too much, I guess: they look amazing and nobody has'em. I totally share the view one should be a performer while performing onstage...also visually. Even Kraftwerk do it. Or maybe especially Kraftwerk? They certainly created a style of their own. I don't observe much of that in bands today; my impression is that many groups are more obsessed with good-looking clothes than with style. Am I wrong to assume style and stage-presence once were way more important?

A: I'm sure that before punk rock it was more of a thing for performers to dress up for a stage show. But punk egalitarianism meant that audience and performers were supposed to be more connected, which is a good thing in many ways. But it did lead to a lot of bands making a statement by not wearing clothes that make a statement, if you know what I mean! But I like a band to actually look like a band when they are on stage - it adds a bit more of a feeling that you are witnessing an event when the band look different to the audience. Kraftwerk are a good example of that! Their suits look fairly ordinary, but when you have a whole band dresses that way, while making the music that they do, then that is clearly making a statement. Hence my country shirts! I also think that when people have paid money to see you, then it is your job to try to put on a performance for them. To stand there bored, just playing the songs, is an insult to the audience - it tells them that you do not care if they enjoy the concert or not, and I want an audience to enjoy what we do. I am not saying that you have to jump through hoops for them, but to share your passion for the music...

Q: Having mentioned Kraftwerk...you recorded a cover version of their Neon Lights, along with some other covers on your "Industrial Strength" EP. A more productive way to deal with a predilection for Industrial and electronic music than your tape loop experiments you mentioned in your self-interview?

A: I think so! When I was making music with tape loops (and hitting things with bits of metal!) it just sounded like my favourite noise bands (Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, Faust etc). And that felt a bit boring. I was more happy to show my love for the music by totally changing it...Does that make sense?!

Q: Listening to the songs, it certainly does! Mr. Wilson, thank you kindly for this interview!

A: Thank YOU for asking me!