Brett Anderson - Love Is Dead

After almost fifteen years on the music scene, britpop pioneer Brett Anderson returns for the first time as a solo artist. OndaRock tried to take stock of the situation with the London star.

Hello, Magda?

Good afternoon, Brett. How are you?

I'm doing very well, thank you. You know, here in London it's a gorgeous day and I've enjoyed all of it taking a long drive.

Is it a nice day in Milan too?

Actually, I can tell you it hasn't rained here for a couple of days: it's pouring down! But it hadn't rained a drop for months, so we're all happy about it.

Listen, Brett, these last few years have been very demanding for you: first the breakup of Suede, then Tears with Bernard Butler, and now your solo record.

…I don't think they've been particularly intense years: this is simply what happens when you make records. It's not really about change, but about trying to always do something different, and always in the best way possible.

I ended my experience with Suede because I didn't feel particularly inspired, and that was a feeling I needed, so Tears was born. Then I needed something very personal, and I recorded the solo album. Simple as that.

About your new record, I get the impression you're very proud of the first single. “Love Is Dead” is a very negative title…

It's about the sadness of existence, which makes you see everything in a dark light and ask yourself why anything happens in the world at all. There are so many sad things in the world, and I wanted to express that sadness through a song.

Do you think it represents the album well?

Yes, I think it represents it very well.

I also think I understood that you compared it to Suede's “Trash”, but I find the two songs so different…

Actually, I never compared “Trash” and “Love Is Dead” musically. Actually, I never compared “Trash” and “Love Is Dead” at all.

What I said was that roughly once a decade you manage to write a song that perfectly describes your feelings towards the world, and “Trash” was the last song, before “Love Is Dead”, that I could call perfect in that sense.

You also made a video for this single.

For “Love Is Dead”, yes. At first I wasn't very convinced: I didn't like the idea much and I thought nothing good would come of it, but it turned out well.

Your image has changed enormously: from androgynous sex symbol to your current image, which is very subdued and has absolutely nothing ambiguous about it. Can we simply consider this evolution a natural progression, or are there other, deeper reasons behind it?

…I really wouldn't know… What a horrible word “growth” is! I prefer “change” to “grow”, evolving as a person, and I think the music I make has a lot to do with who I am.

Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about Suede?

Not at all, go ahead.

There was a period when Suede were tremendously popular. How did you experience all that success, and how has your approach to your work changed since then?

I think nobody truly realises the success they're having at a given moment. You only realise ten years later that your life has changed drastically, but I wouldn't change a thing: I'm happy to have been part of the band, it was an absolutely thrilling time for me, but I didn't feel like carrying on when I had no inspiration whatsoever.

Now I'm very satisfied with the music I write and the control I have over my work. Writing for a band and writing for yourself are two completely different experiences.

In the '90s the British press loved pitting bands against each other that sometimes had nothing to do with one another: Suede, Pulp, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead. Did you have any relationship with these bands at the time?

Absolutely not, no relationship with any of these bands.

Didn’t it bother you that the entire press had nothing better to do than dream up these far-fetched rivalries?

The British press needs to sell newspapers, and the only way to sell newspapers is to stir up gossip, and the only way to stir up gossip is to make up stories.

That’s just how it works, it’s very simple.

Let’s move on to Tears. For a lot of people it came as a surprise that you and Bernard Butler started playing together again.

What do you mean?

Well, the rumours going around didn’t exactly suggest you were on great terms…

Nobody really knows the truth about what things were actually like between Bernard and me. Everything you read in the magazines was just gossip, all made-up stories.

That’s a brilliant answer, thank you. And what was it like working with him again?

I had a lot of fun working on that record, and I think we did a good job.

Can we consider Tears a closed chapter, or should we expect something more?

I still don’t know… Maybe I’ll make another solo record first, but I really don’t know yet.

You’ll be on tour in a few days.

Yes, it’s almost time.

In Italy, though, no dates have been set yet. Is the calendar still open? Can we hope for something?

I’d love to play in Italy: it’s always been a great experience for me there. I really hope so.

What has Brett Anderson been listening to lately?

Actually, I don't much care for music: I think it's absolutely overrated.

The only thing I've been listening to these days is the birdsong outside my window.

(27 March 2007)

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