Tindersticks - Noir pop for orchestra

With “Past Imperfect: The Best Of Tindersticks 92-21”, the English band celebrates thirty years of activity defined by sophisticated orchestral pop. Three decades that have seen plenty of evolution, within a trajectory nonetheless marked by an iron artistic consistency and intransigence. Their output has been consistently top-notch, often finding them working alongside director Claire Denis and an exceptional vocalist like the late Lhasa de Sela. We talk about all this in this exclusive chat with the band's leader, Stuart A. Staples.

Hi Stuart, thanks for this opportunity. You've just released “Past Imperfect: The Best Of Tindersticks 92-21”. Why did you decide to put out an anthology right now?

We're not a band that likes to look back, but the thirtieth anniversary couldn't be ignored. We felt it needed to be celebrated somehow.

Thirty years is a very long time for a band, especially for those formed from the '90s onward. You've always tried to stay consistent: is that what has kept you together? And at the same time, how do you feel your music has evolved over these years?

Every time you try to do something, you learn something that always carries over into the next project. I think that's especially true for those who take on the responsibility of arranging, recording and producing their own music. So there have been many small steps over these last thirty years, and a few genuine leaps forward. Looking back now, our starting point seems very far removed from where we are today. But a band is also simply the sum of the personalities that make it up, and we went through a major change in 2006: our original line-up came to an end, but we were lucky enough to find Dan McKinna and Earl Harvin, who brought their own style and energy to the band.

You wrote a new song (“Both Sides Of The Blade”) for a Claire Denis film (“Avec amour et acharnament”). What's the secret to this fruitful collaboration that's been going on for so long? And how has Claire Denis's cinema influenced your music?

I try not to question the secret! I feel really lucky to have the chance to collaborate with a great director who not only inspires me but also gives me room to experiment with ideas. I wouldn't say our relationship is harmonious, sometimes it's very difficult, but always useful. In our own strange way, we help each other out.

Speaking of one of Claire Denis's most interesting recent films, “High Life”, what was it like working with a film star like Robert Pattinson on the track “Willow”?

I wrote most of the music for “High Life” before it was shot. “Willow” was the song the main character was supposed to sing to his daughter as a kind of lullaby. Robert was very curious about the musical side of the film right from the start, and used the musical moments to get further into his character. So I asked him privately – away from the production's ears – if he wanted to try singing the song, and we met up in a studio in London. From the moment he started singing the first verse, I could tell he'd do just fine. I've worked with few actors so far, but I've always been struck by their determination to get things right and their attention to detail. I'm grateful to Robert for his willingness and generosity. With this recording, “Willow” made perfect sense at the end of the film.

The most recent Tindersticks studio album, “Distractions”, contains some of your darkest songs. You've said that these difficult times influenced their composition. Can you explain a bit more what you meant by that?

Before the pandemic, strange forms were taking shape in the studio. Sounds that, personally, I couldn't quite make sense of. Then, with the lockdown and the early end of the tour, we all fled home, and I was left alone with those sketches. At times I loved them, at others they drove me crazy. Then the rest of the band let themselves get drawn in too, and that's how "Distractions" was truly born. I played a lot of the bass parts, an instrument I particularly love.

In an interview you said that punk-rock was your guiding light. How did it shape your musical vision?

I was lucky enough to be 12 in 1977, and 15 in 1980. The music scene around me was so alive and accessible in those years. And punk gave people like me the awareness that we could try to make music, to write songs.

You were born in Nottingham and later moved to London: how did the settings and different cultures of these two cities shape your songs?

In a way, I feel like my life started when I moved to London at 25. During my time in Nottingham I was still immature, I still had to grow and learn. When I got to London, I formed a fairly clear idea of who I was and what I was looking for. Also, living in London and being away from my hometown gave my writing greater clarity of purpose, as well as new inspiration. I was the classic type caught between old loves and new fascinations. My eyes wide open to new experiences, but full of insecurities and guilt.

Generally speaking, where do you find the main inspiration for your lyrics?

Deep within myself.

With Tindersticks you started playing right in the middle of the britpop era, but you went looking for an orchestral, baroque kind of pop, very different from what was dominating Britain at the time. How did this choice to go against the grain come about?

I don't think it was really a conscious choice, actually. Songs, ideas try to tell you what they are, you just have to know how to listen to them. Try to bend them to your will and you'll run into trouble!

Among your songs, "Hey Lucinda" is one of my favourites, and I think Lhasa de Sela's feature contributed decisively to its charm. She was a magnificent artist - can you tell us something about her?

Thank you, first of all. Lhasa was everything you'd expect her to be: passionate, full of feeling, but also mischievous, curious and a lot of fun. We miss her every day. "Hey Lucinda" was the last song we recorded together with Lhasa, and I've always found it hard to write other duets since she passed away.

Another one of your songs that I particularly love is "Chocolate". As a performer, was it quite a challenge to take on a full spoken-word piece?

There's always been a spoken-word element in our music, ever since our second single "Marbles". I'm not quite sure where it comes from - maybe we listened to the Velvet Underground too much in our formative years! Some ideas need to be delivered in spoken form, to be completely free of rhyme and melody.

Will you be playing live any time soon? Will we get to see you here in Italy too?

Yes, we'll be touring this year. They'll be special shows with our extended musical family, who have given so much to our songs over these thirty years. Our violinist, whom we met in 1995, Terry Edwards, whom we convinced to play on our debut album, Gina Foster, who started singing for us on our 1999 album "Simple Pleasure". I hope we'll manage to come to Italy too, we'll try.

Is there also a new studio album on the horizon for Tindersticks?

I hope that this year the band can manage to spend some productive time together, and then we'll see what we're able to do going forward…

(April 3, 2022)

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