There are many influences that underpin the compositions that are on the debut album, 'Hammerhead'. Here are six artists/bands that played a big part in the sound, concept and construct:
Songs like ‘Strict Machine’, ‘Train’ and ‘Ride A White Horse’ challenge you to remain still – the electronic rhythmic quality is defiant and has an energy that makes you want to move. And yet, Alison and Will can take the genre downtempo with ‘Black Cherry’ and further with the likes of ‘Lovely head’ – harpsichord that transports you into a 1960’s TV espionage adventure; whisking you along the French riviera in a classic open top Alfa Romeo. Since 1999, Goldfrapp's musical style has changed. Their music has continued to innovate and surprise. Alison’s distinctive breathy, soft soprano and Will's multi-layered synthesiser and string arrangements have supported the progression of a blend of ambient, folk, and electronic sounds – glam/synth-pop/rock. A major influence on my compositions – but one that would have never been explored if it wasn’t for Andy’s off the cuff question that I picked up on late in 2016.
As a fan of John Lydon, the power of the track ‘Open Up’ introduced me to Leftfield in the mid-90’s. My taste was already a broad church and the album, Leftism, sounded the most complete body of work I’d heard in a very long while. The very essence of the album filled a gap in my listening that I didn’t know was missing – and it has been an album that has never been far from my reach ever since. Seeing them perform in 1995 was also something of a revelation. The stage set-up broke the traditional appearance of the band – i.e. drummer central with keyboards and guitars to the left or right and to the rear or side. I saw an unconventional stage set up and I was introduced to singers and musicians that were track specific. The performance to me was more inwardly reflective and about how best to express the heart and soul of the music – almost delivered irrespective of an audience being present. It was less about a ‘reproduction’ and more about immersing and engaging the audience in their experience.
Specifically, the first Tricky era (1988 to 1995) and Mezzanine. The songs that, for me, defined the band – a sound that influences me greatly. It’s true to say that Elisabeth Fraser almost made the list on her own because of singing ‘Teardrop’. During this period of creativity, the low vibrating bass lines, slow tick-tock beats and use of loops and samples add to the hypnotic tension in the music. When I’m in the studio, I find I’m referring to a track or part of a song from this era for a snippet of content in some way.
His influence on Cloudbase is less to do with his music (which of course is astounding). It is more to do with the admiration to continually evolve; break new ground; unwittingly create a path for others to follow. An artist in the truest sense of the word to the very end – a great inspiration.
Rolling Stone Magazine once described the story of Pink Floyd as, “the story of the themes that raised and obsessed and tore at the band for almost four decades. That is, it's a story of madness, alienation, absence, hubris and a self-willed grace. There's really nothing else quite like it in popular music”. I can’t really disagree with that – and the output helped define so many aspects of popular music. There is no way I can ever compare what we have been doing to that of four decades of Pink Floyd. But the influence is without doubt – progressive, experimental, collaborative, pop/rock, eclectic, psychedelic, blues based etc. Even when it came to producing the album, ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ influenced the output in its construct. As an album, Pink Floyd produced eight songs split equally into two groups of four (side A and side B) that work as individual songs in their own right; as a body of work as two pieces (about twenty minutes long each); as a whole (forty three minutes and nine seconds in length). When Hammerhead was in production, there were a number of occasions when the length of the tracks was queried and questioned. But the decision was taken not to compromise if they worked in isolation or as a body of work not exceeding what could be put on two sides of vinyl – like ‘Dark Side of the Moon’.
Steve Hillage (and System 7)
A career that spans working with Gong, Mike Oldfield, Simple Minds and Sham 69. In his own right, Steve influences this project from his solo work in the late 70’s – particularly, the guitar – and the ambient sound of System 7 since the 90’s. For the uninitiated, System 7 were formed in 1989, after Steve had spent a few years becoming immersed in the developments of electronica in the UK whilst working predominantly as a record producer for other artists. They (Steve and his long term partner, Miquette Giraudy) were one of the first electronica groups to play live. Over time, they have developed a live performance that is more developed than their releases with tougher beats and hypnotic live echo loops. Not only in the writing of the compositions have Steve and Miquette been an influence, the early rehearsals with Andy and Carl indicate that the live performance will be impacted by them too.
Of course, this is talking about the foundation of the compositions. Once I have this in place, it is over to Nikki to develop the composition into a song. We then work collaboratively to refine the songs to a conclusion. The album was then collated and refined further into a complete body of work. We hope you like it – and if you do, please share it!
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