First of all, on behalf of POPLACARA I thank you for giving us the opportunity of this interview, to talk about experiences and experiences and everything that comes with your new single.
You’re very welcome!
First, I would like to know, how did The Wedding Present become, something so representative of music in England? I understand that they make good music, but personally, how did they get their music placed?
I think it’s probably because The Wedding Present is a unique group. We have never operated in the same way as other bands. We have always been obsessed with controlling our own destiny and have worked hard at creating an original sound. Finally, we set a high standard of song writing very early on which I think, over the years, we have, hopefully, maintained!
Without a doubt, music is the most important thing for you because you have many years working for it, how is your music kept present?
I’m a big fan of pop culture in general and pop music in particular and so I find myself continually inspired, I guess. I’m constantly intrigued... not just by other bands, but also by film, TV, books, comics...
Since its inception, the band has undergone many changes with the integration and separation of members; do you think that has affected the band at some point? And how did they manage to maintain their prestige?
It has definitely affected the band, yes. I’ve always deliberately allowed the sound of The Wedding Present to be shaped by whoever happens to be in the group at the time. Let’s face it... there have been some extremely talented people passing through the ranks over the years so I’d be stupid not to!
With the possible exception of George Best and Bizarro, I think all the albums The Wedding Present have released almost sound like different groups made them. And in many ways they are! The only thing that really connects them all is my voice and guitar playing. I’m really proud of that. I’m glad we’re not one of those bands that makes the same record over and over again.
His performances have been fantastic and his music allows him to keep his followers firm in the preference towards you and now I see that many of his followers are also young, what differences do you find between your veteran followers to the present ones?
I think the new, younger, followers are sometimes daunted by the sheer size of the back catalogue! 280 songs, or something... if you include Cinerama. Even more if you include the cover versions that we have recorded over the years. On the other hand, the veteran followers have grown up with me and accepted the changes... and I see them as old friends.
Tell me about your new album, do you offer your followers something different, classic or what would you call it as a group?
Going, Going... is totally different to all the previous Wedding Present albums. To begin with, it’s a double LP. Working with 20 tracks afforded me more time and space... and that was necessary because I had an idea for a concept. The album is based on a road trip across the U.S.A. All the tracks are named after locations on a journey, from Kittery in Maine to Santa Monica in California, which goes through twenty states. We also made short films in each of the states to accompany the music. And the lyrics are connected, too... they tell the story of a relationship. There are also sub-themes running throughout the words, music and films... and references to previous Wedding Present records, too. It was quite an involved project!
Do you plan to tour with your new content?
Yes, we are touring North America in April, supported by Colleen Green – I’m really looking forward to that. And then we’re also planning to return to Australia and New Zealand in July. And we have some festivals to play in Europe, including Primavera Sound 2017.
2017 also sees the thirtieth anniversary of the release of George Best and so we’ve arranged concerts where we’ll be playing that album live... for the last time ever! I’ve also just finished mixing a re-recording of George Best that we did with Steve Albini. I’m hoping to release that in May.
And what can we expect from The Wedding Present in this new segment of your career?
We’ve just finished recording a new EP called Home Internationals for a label called El Segell Del Primavera – it’s associated with the Primavera Sound festival and they will release it for Record Store Day this year.
I’m also continuing work on my autobiographical comic book series Tales From The Wedding Presentand working on my annual festival At The Edge Of The Sea. So I’d say it’s going to be a busy year... but then they always are!
David Gedge.
