Bdrmm

The day before the release of Bdrmm's "electronic" return, their third chapter "Microtonic", we chatted a bit with Joe Vickers to learn more about the themes addressed in the work, between dystopia and introspection, and above all about this new direction taken on a stylistic level, while waiting to see them again in Milan and Bologna and finally be able to hear the new songs live at the end of March.

Hi Joe! “Microtonic” comes out tomorrow and the new tour to support the album will start soon, how do you feel?
Yeah, really excited. Obviously, it's always a long build up between finishing recording an album and then actually getting to release it and people hearing the music and stuff. So it's great to finally actually have it out there. And I think the thing we all enjoy the most is playing the songs live. So yeah, it's really exciting to be going on the road with the new album and I've been able to show people the new songs.

In terms of sound you approached much more dance territories, what were the influences that inspired you during the composition of the album? Did you listen to any artists in particular?
I think we've all been listening to a lot more electronic music as a general, whether it's Four Tet, whether it's Radiohead. I mean, there are influences that we've always had for a lot of years: Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, those types of things have always been there. Ryan and Jordan, who do the majority of the compositions as well, have both developed their skills in terms of being able to create electronic music. Conor and I work a lot more differently. We kind of work from their demos and kind of build songs up. In terms of external influences, just a lot of stuff that's going on in the outside world: it is kind of reflecting like a lot of the terrible things that are going on in society, politically and just kind of day to day anxiety as well. So it's kind of trying to encompass a lot of themes in that and I hope that comes across. As well as that, I've just finished reading a book by Philip K. Dick, the one that inspired Blade Runner, “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?”, that a few weeks ago, and that's the kind of dystopian idea of a future of plays as a theme throughout the album as well.

The most representative track of this small evolution can be considered “John On The Ceiling”, written at the beginning of his career and completed much later, right?
Yeah, that's right.

The song also intrigued me for the themes it deals with, namely those of confusion and doubt, can you tell me about it?
It's obviously more of a Ryan thing in terms of the lyrics of the record. But I think dealing with a lot of those ongoing emotions and the doubts, kind of that we all have to work for on a day to day basis and working out what's the best way forward. I think a lot of that is kind of encapsulated in the lyrics of that song.

The album also features two collaborative tracks, “goit” with Syd Minsky-Sargeant by Working Men's Club and “In The Electric Field” with Olivesque by Nightbus. What was it like working with them?
They're both artists who obviously we respect massively. Syd from Working Men's Club, you know, their first album for me particularly was a really big influence. I loved that record and he's obviously gone on to produce great work since then. So just to have him feature on the record was a real honour for us, he's a really great guy. A lot of that was done via email, as a lot of things are nowadays. The actual recording of his vocal, we kind of sent him the track and he chucks my ideas about when he picked it up right away. The first thing he said was like: “That's exactly kind of what we're going for”. I think he gets the vibe of the album in his delivery and the lyrics on it really fit that opening track really well. Olivesque from Nightbus, we knew from touring last year. She's just a real cool, cool person and was great to hang about with. She was just seemed to fit exactly what we're looking for on that record. And again, her delivery, the spoken word vocal and then going into the epic chorus was so effortless, like she just nailed it with the first take. You know, her vocals are absolutely incredible. Lyrically, she kind of picks up on the themes of what we're trying to go for. So it was a great match.

Listening to “Clarkycat” I found some trip-hop references in the Massive Attack area and in the final coda something big beat in Chemical Brothers style. How was this track born?
This was a demo of Ryan's, which kind of, it didn't sound anything like the final version, really. It was, again, one of these occasions where a track was taken as a demo to the studio and then kind of pushed and pulled and taken in all different directions. I think the last two minutes of that track, that long outro that starts with that lovely synth that comes in is probably like one of the best bits of music we've ever created. And then the way the guitars and the bass come in, like we're all, we've just been kind of learning how to play it live because obviously we wrote it mostly in the studio. So then learning how to do it live has been like a really fun experience that we've all enjoyed doing. It's a bit of music, the outro of that, which we're all really proud of and kind of is very much in the direction that we want to go in. The people that you mentioned in terms of trip-hop and big beat are all people that we've listened to for a lot of years. So it's nice to kind of be able to use those influences in the studio and kind of push things in that direction.

As already said, one of the underlying themes of the album is that of dystopia applied to the reality we are experiencing. In “Snares”, for example, references emerge to a distorted time relating to the pandemic and the changes it contributed to in the lives of individuals. How has your life changed personally and as a musician since the pandemic?
In lots of ways. I think everyone's been affected, haven't they? Some more than others. Since that time, the world feels like a strangely different place. I guess the landscape politically, with stuff going on in America at the moment, stuff going on in Palestine and these things, I think were heavy on a lot of people. And as well for us, we had the Brexit thing, which I think was a few years before that, but was something that's kind of hung over this country as the major issues that have been ongoing for a long time. And then I think just on a personal level, just that social interaction that sometimes we can all struggle with and be overwhelmed by and kind of dealing with those things like on a day-to-day basis. I guess the interesting thing being in a band is that obviously we all have kind of separate lives as well. We're not in a stage where we earn loads of money and can't have a job. We all have to kind of balance these things. There's a lot of pressures, I think, as a musician at the moment to try and make enough money to survive and kind of live and be able to pay your rent at the same time. But equally, we're so lucky in that we get to go on tour, meet new people and do exciting things, visit new places and stuff. I don't think any of us would change it for a second. We feel very lucky at the same time, as well as it being quite a hardship to actually do it. We're just kind of sorting the tour at the moment and in a financial hole with it all. So it's just trying to keep going as best we can.

One of my favorite tracks from your new album is “Sat In The Heat”, I appreciate the growth course in relation to the lyrics. Is there a search for a way out at least through dreams in this song?
Yeah, I think it's lyrically maybe one of Ryan's best on the album. I know that when he wrote it he was visiting his girlfriend in Spain. And it's kind of a strange vibe, which I think kind of is throughout the whole album of sometimes this beautiful, uplifting music, which is contrasting with the lyrics, like you say, looking for escapism in it. And, you know, these dystopian themes that run throughout. So I think it's a nice contrast between that kind of beautiful music and then the dark themes that go alongside it.

What is your favorite track on “Microtonic” and why?
I think I've got two that stand out for me. I really like "Snares", which is the fourth track, which is kind of the spoken word and then really uplifting vocal. I think it's a real encapsulation of what we're trying to achieve at the moment. And it's all of us contributing our kind of best bits, bits to a record and all kind of being able to experiment and push ourselves as better as we can. And the last track, "The Noose", which I think some of Ryan's lyrics and vocals on it, you know, are some of my favourites that he's ever done. It really kind of ends the album well, and then it leads into this kind of ambient outro, which Jordan worked really hard on. And Alex Greaves as well, I have to say, was our producer, really supported the development of that. So they're the two that stand out for me, really.

Are there any bands or artists you would like to work with in the near future?
Oh, that's a good question. Yeah, I'm sure there are. I can't think of any off the top of my head. I mean, it depends kind of where we go in the future. Obviously, there's a lot of electronic artists and people who we'd love to get involved in, like remixing our tracks and stuff like that. We're very lucky as well that we've toured with some really interesting acts like Dive and Nightbus, and we've played gigs with Working Men's Club and people like that. And so it's been great collaborating on this album. And it's something that we definitely would look to do in future albums, because it's been great just to have other people's input and kind of suggestions. So, yeah, it's definitely something we're willing to, keen to explore, but I can't think of any specific names necessarily.

At the end of March you will return to Italy with two concerts in Bologna and Milan. With these new sounds what should we expect from your live shows?
It's a big change. Obviously, we're still playing a lot of the old tracks and what I assume are fan favourites as such from the first album and second album. But the tracks on the new one are a lot more electronic. There's times that we're all playing synths, going along a slightly Kraftwerk direction with it. Conor's doing a lot more like drum pad stuff and mixing live drums and things like that. So there's a lot of stuff going on. We're really excited to play that mix of the old tracks and that have got like the more the raw power of the live drum kit and the loud shoegaze guitars, but also being able to have the more introspective tracks and kind of have that dynamic of going between them both is quite exciting.

I think that's all. Thank you so much for your time Joe, good luck to you and the band with the release of “Microtonic”. See you at the end of March!
Thank you so much, bye!