Source: Galaxie Magazine
14th September 1999
by Daphne Vengadesan-Lee
Suede - Mark II
They may be pioneers of the Britpop scene, but Suede are still relatively unknown in Malaysia. Until now, that is… Suede is not the most popular band in Malaysia. Not by a long shot. Malaysian teenagers favours boy groups like Westlife & Backstreet Boys, while R&B music ( Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Babyface, etc) has a huge 20- and 30-something following. American (so-called) alternative rock bands , like Goo Goo Dolls & Matchbox 20 don’t do too badly either, but what about British bands ? (Me- Nope, Daphne’s not exaggerating, it’s sad innit ? )
Well, there a few ‘enlightened’ souls in our fair land to whom Brit pop is not just a scene, but the scene. They’re the ones who read Q magazine & quote it verbatim , who reminisce (albeit hazily) about Glastonbury, who trim their sideburns to match those of Liam Gallagher (Me- ahem, I have yet to see those sideburns ), who (although they deny it) build CD altars to their god, Thom Yorke.
Galaxie is included in their number, & we not only think Suede is responsible for some of the best music ever recorded, but would happily bear a whole brood of children by lead vocalist, Brett Anderson. (Me- Now,now, enough Daphne. Not that we don’t want Anderson juniors, but what about the Gilberts ….ooooops, sorry, heh,heh, erm…Oakeses -heh, it’s very tricky to put a plural on his surname, Osmans , Codlings & oh, what the heck , Butlers ! Ha ha ha ha ! Just kidding there ! I’m just trying to tell Daphne that the rest of the band really matters too. She’s always worshiping Anderson alone ! Ahem, sorry for the outburst)
Just in case you’re going “Suede who ?! Brett who ?!” (shame on you !), here are the band’s essentials in a nutshell. There are five of them, namely the lovely Anderson, 32, on vocals (Me- See, I told you so !) Simon Gilbert, 34 on drums, Richard Oakes , 23, on lead guitar, Mat Osman on bass & Neil Codling , 26 on keyboards. Oakes & Codling joined after the departure of Bernard Butler who, along with Anderson, people reckon was responsible for Suede’s best material to date- songs like The Drowners, Animal Nitrate & Metal Mickey, We Are The Pigs, The Wild Ones & Still Life from the band’s first two albums,
Suede (1993) & Dog Man Star ( 1994 ).
The 3rd album, Coming Up (1996), remains Suede’s most commercially successful release, thanks in part to striking videos for singles like Beautiful Ones, Saturday Night & Lazy. In 1997, Suede released Sci-Fi Lullabies , a collection of B-sides; & their fans welcomed the band’s 4th studio album , Head Music, early this year. (Me- but late in Malaysia). Head Music is the only second album which belongs completely to Suede’s present line-up, with Anderson handling most of the songwriting, & Oakes & Codling contributing a fair bit.
In recent concerts, the band have made it a point not to perform songs from the first two albums. This, Anderson explains, is so Codling & Oakes won’t feel like they’re just doing covers, as they well might if the band dwelt on material that its two youngest members had no hand in writing & recording.
Anderson recently spoke to Galaxie about the band’s first ever gig in Malaysia, as well as the new album, & yes, we were babbling idiots for some days prior to & after the 45 minute-long chat that took place over the phone. We are happy to report, though, that Anderson is a thoroughly nice chap, & we are more than ever convinced that every music-loving Malaysian should go out & buy all Suede’s albums.
Daphne : How likely are we to see Suede perform in Malaysia this year, Brett ?
Brett : You’re very likely. We’re performing in Malaysia in… I’ve got the dates in front of me somewhere (sound of paper being shuffled & Brett humming)…. I think….Kuala Lumpur, yeah ? Yes, 11th of October.
Daphne : That’s great. The last time you were down these parts was in 1997, & you performed in Singapore.
Brett : Uh-huh, that’s right. What happened is, like lots of British bands, we’d been to Japan & that was about it. It’s actually thanks to the Manics (Manic Street Preachers)- they went out to Thailand & we toured with them, they said “You’ve got to go there, you’re gonna love it.” And we had such a good time (in Singapore) that we thought, let’s just try some of these places.
Daphne : When you performed in Singapore, were there any restrictions, did you have any guidelines to follow ?
Brett : Well, it’s funny ’cause they asked for a copy of the lyrics, which I must admit we slightly doctored (laughs) & we had to sign a contract saying we weren’t gonna come & overthrow the government or anything. It was strange ’cause we got there & everyone said ” You’re gonna have to watch it ’cause the crowd’s gonna be very quiet, it’s quite a repressed society.” And it was absolute mayhem, my favourite gig we’ve ever done. The crowd was fantastic. I could have played for 10 hours & that’s one of the reasons we’re coming to Malaysia, as well as Indonesia, I think. And we’re going to try to Taiwan & maybe Korea. (Note- They didn’t go to Taiwan because of the recent earthquake; Indonesia because of the political unrest & Malaysia because of Codling’s poor health. Not sure about Korea)
Daphne : And if you were told not to perform cetain songs or to change the lyrics, would you mind ?
Brett : It would really depend. If it was cutting out some swearing or something like that, then it would be fine. If we were told you can’t sing this song about gay sex or gay love, or politically because it doesn’t fit in with what we believe, that would be a different matter. The way most of our songs are couched though, most of the things are pretty deep down, not too explicit.
Daphne : For the song Savoir Faire, you sing killing machine instead of f***ing machine. So did you do two versions ?
Brett : Uh-huh. I did two versions for Britain because it’s a song we’re thinking of releasing as a single. The sad thing is that a killling machine is supposed to be better (laughs). It’s very strange; it says be a fighter, not a lover.
Daphne : Tell us a bit about the whole writing process for Head Music. Did it differ a lot from the previous albums ?
Brett : We kinda changed a little bit when we did Coming Up, but that was still a pretty rigid, classic way of songwriting. Before, Bernard ( Butler ) would write some music & give it to me, & I probably wouldn’t change it much; I’d usually write a song for it- I’d write the melody & the words. And then Simon & Mat would just fill it in, really.
With this one, we’d start off with something really simple like a verse or a drum pattern or a bass line, or something, & after a couple of days we’d work it up into a song, & it was a very different way of working. The results aren’t probably all that different because the kind of music I like doesn’t particularly change, but we came at it from a very different angle. In Head Music, the rhythm tracks, the drum ‘n’ bass, are more important than they ever were because we started there. Instead of starting with a song & working down, we started with a feel & worked up.
Daphne : How did Elephant Man get on the album ? Was Neil allocated a track or did it just happen ?
(Me- This is not an Anderson album, get it ? Everbody is free to write their own songs! & Oh, Elephant Man happens to be a good song ,too. )
Brett : No, not at all. We’d actually pretty much finished , & (were) just sitting around one day & he played a riff I liked. It turned out there was a whole song that came with it & everyone just went nuts for it straightaway. So, after sitting here & going on about how we organically built songs between us, it was the opposite; he came in with a tape & we recorded it the next day. It’s a dead simple song.
Daphne : What sort of life do you have away from music ?
Brett : Quite an ordinary one really. A lot of our time is taken up with the band & the music, but what isn’t , is really as ordinary as possible.
Daphne : What sort of non-music stuff do you like to do ? Do you like to read ?
Brett : I’m not really a reader at all. It was always one of the things I really liked about being in a band- we always used to get called ” British literate rock band, intellectual whatever “, but in reality I went through a period of maybe 15 years where I never picked up a book. I don’t have a very good attention span, but just over the last year or so, I started reading again. The rest of the band are all voracious readers & they would say, you should really read this or that. I’ve just read L’Etranger by Camus.
Daphne : Was it heavy going ?
Brett : Not at all. I can’t handle heavy books & the band gave it to me during the making of the album ’cause I’d been talking about very simple music, about musicians who manage to convey themselves very simply, who didn’t need orchestras & symphonies & stuff. They know I am a big fan of George Orwell who writes in a very simple, almost journalistic way & they said, you should read this ( the Camus).I loved it, was absolutely knocked out by it because it was…I don’t know…there’s no fat on it…it’s just lean meat. I found it totally compelling & I normally don’t with books. I normally just switch off…wanna put a record on.
Daphne : What are you listening at the moment ?
Brett : Everything. I’ve got piles & piles of stuff. I recently just discovered the Beastie Boys, which is a really strange thing, ’cause I never liked them at all. I’m now working my way back from Ill Communication; everything they ever released, so it’s a huge pile.It’s funny how it happens occasionally that there can be a band that you never liked & then it suddenly clicks & it’s great. It’s like the Super Furry Animals- I hated everything I’d heard by them at first, but I’ve loved them since that track, Play It Cool. & I listened to a lot of British artistes halfway between dance & rock.
Daphne : What about American bands ? What do you think about alternative-rock bands like Nirvana & all the rest that came after ?
Brett : Well, Nirvana I like. They are one of those strange bands with special soul, but I don’t particularly like that kind of music. And especially not the people who came after who had the same clothes, same producers, but not the same style. I do really like pop music, though.
Daphne : Even blatantly pop like the Backstreet Boys ? Yeah, there are a couple of BSB songs that I really like. I mean, obviously there’s a lot of it that is utterly crap, but a lot of American grunge is crap too & a lot of British indie is totally crap as well.
Daphne : Name me one crap British indie band.
Brett : I wouldn’t bother. It’s not even worth worrying about. There’re enough crappy bands around without me trying to promote them.
Daphne : Will you be covering a Backstreet Boys song in Malaysia ?
Brett : Yes, we will. We weren’t going to, but I’m now going to tell everyone that you demanded it. We’ll give you a quick blast of (sings) Backstreet’s Back, Alright ! (Me- cute !)
Daphne : We’ve read that you already know what the next album will be like. Any previews ?
Brett : Umm…well, I knew what this one was gonna be like, but I was wrong…I know I’d like the next one to be very simple. And a lot more aggressive- I really enjoyed making stuff like Can’t Get Enough- & I’d like it to be very sleek & funkier really, almost like the next logical step on from this one, y’know ? We just toured with R.E.M. & you know that song , Everbody Hurts ? I heard it every night for 5 nights & I can’t get over with the fact how ridiculously simple it is. You know, I could teach you to play it on the guitar in less than 10 minutes, but it’s still a beautiful song, & that , to me, seems to be almost the goal…to make something that almost everyone could play. Nothing show offish about it, very simple, but at the same time, incredibly moving.
For some people, a song isn’t about a simple, beautiful melody. They’re like, “That song’s just 4 chords over & over.” Something like She’s In Fashion is 2 chords, which is something we’d never done before. I think when you make your first record, it’s impossible not to want to show off. From our first record, we all wanted to show off, most of my lyrics are virtually incomprehensible, I think, if you live outside London; they’re actually probably totally incomprehensible ( laughs ), but there comes a point when you’re no longer 23 & you’re not really interested in impressing people anymore. When you get older you just want to communicate with people.
Dapne : Would Suede exist without you ?
Brett : Great question…yeah…it probably would. It actually formed with Mat…he was already in the band when he met me & Simon had been in loads of bands. I think it would be very different, but I think it would exist because when we came along there was a big Suede-shaped hole in British music. I think perhaps if I hadn’t been part of Suede, someone else eould be Suede; perhaps 5 completely different people.
Dapne : You’ve got a loyal fan base in Asia, but you’re still not as commercially successful as Oasis or Blur. Any ideas why this is so ? Could it be those London lyrics ? I doubt it…but…no,it might be. Especially for the first couple of albums. I can never be sure how much of it is us & how much is the kind of industry of it. Like how we never do much in America; people say you’re too British & stuff like that, but I think the only reason is because we’re not on the radio & not on TV & that’s the end of that.
But for Asia,…I’m really not sure. It’s difficult to look at it from the outside because I don’t feel like there’s anything particularly British about us. But enough of people had said it to me for me to realize that it’s probably true. I don’t feel it at all. The things we sing about & the way we sound are perfectly natural to me, but then I’m English & I was brought up in England.
People tend to comment on the accent, but then Oasis & Blur sing in English accents too, so it can’t be it. Yeah. I don’t think I’ve got that strong an accent really. I’m not from London ( speaks in a Cockney accent ) I’m not a Cockney, am I ?
Daphne : Any solo projects in the future ?
Brett : No, not really. I knida enjoy being in a band. I like the feeling of it, & having 4 people with me all the time- you can march in a new city like an army. And I like having people around me who can tell me if I’m being a prick, & they’ve all been with me long enough to do that. Every now & then someone asks if I’d like to do a film score or whatever & I think that would be cool & then I think “Oh, but it could be doing a Suede song”. I guess I just don’t want to waste any time not doing Suede stuff.
Daphne : Do you think you’ll still be around, doing the same sort of thing in 20 years time ?
Brett : I don’t think I’ll be doing music. There’s a way of growing old gracefully & some people can do it & some people can’t. I look at someone like Brian Eno & the fact that he’s over, what- 45 ? 50 ?- is irrelevant because he’s managed to change & do stuff that he’s interested in. That’s entirely laudable. I’d love to be someone like that. On the other hand, there’s Van Morrison who keeps on releasing the same sort of albums . I have a problem with that.
Daphne : What about someone like David Bowie ?
Brett : I do admire him for not taking the easy way out, like the Rolling Stones. I like that Bowie’s quite prepared to stand up & be ridiculed & do a Tin Machine, or do a drum ‘n’ bass album just because he thinks it’s interesting, knowing full well that’s it likely to get panned. I think it’s cool especially when I look at his contemporaries who’ve just settled for this role that’s kind of grizzled elder statesmen, just going round & round in decreasing circles. I think it’s cool that he has almost a kinda teenage enthusiasm.
Daphne : He has spoken highly of Suede in interviews. And you are frequently compared to him, especially vocally & lyrically. So do you ever see yourself being the inspiration for a movie, like Bowie was for Velvet Goldmine ?
Brett : It’d be a pretty boring movie, I can tell you. I can’t really imagine it, but you never know till after, do you ? I’m sure when Bowie was living them, those years of his life seemed pretty normal. Perhaps in 20 years I’ll look back on the 90s & think “God, it was a crazy scene, man “. But I don’t think so. We’re a bit more normal than him. In the nicest possible way.
THE END
