Trembling Blue Stars - The Shadow of an Unfulfilled Kiss

Bobby Wratten has been on the scene for almost two decades now, first with his The Field Mice, then with the Northern Picture Library, and finally with the Trembling Blue Stars, running through and shaping the indie-pop scene across the Channel like perhaps no one else. His vision of approaching music, entirely based on passion and far removed from market logic, has unfortunately helped relegate his various creations to a state of semi-obscurity. Yet perhaps this was also the main reason why, around The Field Mice, and now around Trembling Blue Stars, a cult following (in recent years even overseas) of devoted and fervent fans has grown up.

First of all, I'd like to know how things are going with your new Spanish label, Elefant. This is the second album to come out on them. Are you satisfied? How did they promote your previous album? And how do they plan to handle the new one?

I'm very happy with Elefant. First and foremost, what matters most in our relationship with them is always the music. In the end, that's all they care about. They're also a label that pays a lot of attention to the aesthetic side. A world in technicolor, beautifully designed! As for promotion, we have nothing to complain about. Since signing with Elefant we've had access to radio and press promotion like never before. You have to keep in mind that we're not the easiest band to promote; we don't play live, we don't like doing photo shoots, and we'd much rather let the music speak for us than talk about the music (he smiles, ed.).

Another area that's opened up to us thanks to Elefant is video. Apart from approving the initial idea and saying we don't want to appear in the videos, we're very happy to let the directors express their own artistic vision. The less involved we are, the happier we are.

For as long as Elefant is happy to have us on the label, and until they lose patience with us, I'll be happy for us. I think that, in the end, artistically we're in an enviable position. We have complete creative control and we don't have to do anything we don't want to do.

There are rumors, especially online, that this could be your last album. Is there any truth to that?

I've heard those rumors too. I think they came about because we no longer play live, and there's been some talk about the idea that we might only make one more record. But we never said that! In a way, every album could be the last one. I never look beyond the album I'm working on. I tend to use every single idea and treat it as if it were my last chance to make an album. I don't hold anything back. And then, once you're done, you feel a bit emptied out. As if there were nothing left to say. Also, the next EP (due out in autumn, ed.) closes with a track called “And Then Silence”, which was written in a state of wanting to disappear musically. But I got over it!

We started recording the new album exactly a year ago and we finished in October 2006. New ideas have surfaced since then. I just have to wait a bit for them. I have some ideas for another album, but that's something to talk about further down the line. But as long as Elefant is willing to let us record a new album, "The Last Holy Writer" won't be the last.

Do you believe there's still something worth writing music for?

That's a hard question to answer, and consequently, one worth asking!

Since I like to wait for ideas to arrive rather than force myself to write songs, I suppose that when it does happen, the songs might have some kind of value. Even if, perhaps, only to me, in the sense of something I want to explain, or a world I want to create, or a musical horizon I want to build so I can step into it for a while.

Lately, I've been writing songs for myself, at least at first. Then they get made and they no longer belong to me. If people find something in my songs, or get something out of them, I couldn't ask for more. But the starting point is always a kind of "I was there and this is what I thought." Which leads to asking the listener, "And you?" Or... "I have these feelings inside me that I need to somehow articulate to feel lighter... as if I'd reached a compromise with them." Sometimes I just want to create an appealing world. Something perfect. A world away from the world.

Has your way of making music changed over the years? Or do things more or less stay the same?

It's always the same. Even the most experimental things take shape on guitar. I fill in all the details in my head. Based on the words and chords, I imagine how the piece should sound. That's mainly down to two factors: first, it works for me; second, I don't have the right gear to do things any other way, so there has to be a good deal of imagination before I even step into the studio, in order to turn the ideas into reality.

Your new album is full of songs influenced by new wave of the '80s. It seems to me a conscious development of your music compared to the previous album (which also had a very "eighties" sound). Do you agree?

Well, that's the music I grew up with. The music you listen to when you're 13, 14, 15 years old really stays with you and becomes almost part of your DNA. So on one hand it comes to me absolutely naturally, while on the other there's a rational decision to reference certain things: a primitive drum machine, played through a guitar amp to summon the ghosts of early OMD, a guitar tuning that owes more than a passing nod to the Cure, circa 1981!

I like to hear these post-punk sounds blended with contemporary influences, so it doesn't just become a retro pastiche. I'm also influenced by the clicks and cuts and glitches of modern electronic music. Even though I have a deep love for the early '80s, my main concern is staying informed about what's happening now, even if that means being regularly disappointed!

What's the reasoning behind releasing two records (an album and an EP) so close together? And what criteria did you use to decide each one's tracklist? How did you decide which songs would go on the album and which on the EP?

Before we even started recording, I was very clear that the single shouldn't be on the album. I wanted to carry forward the idea of singles that have a reason to exist on their own terms, which was very common when I was a kid. We recorded 16 songs and treated them all the same way. There was no notion of a "B-side"; they all required the same care and attention. Then I set about putting together an album and an EP. I'm well aware that this is almost pointless in a world where people download single tracks online, but I live in hope that there are still fans out there who want to hear the album as it was conceived, from start to finish. We're old school! In any case, we decided that "Beautiful Blank" would be the single, so we left it off the album, and then I worked out a tracklist for the EP that could function as a record in its own right, and so those tracks wouldn't be included on the album either. Basically, it was all about putting together two records that worked. It was also a reaction against the habit of pulling single after single off an album, something I've always found unsatisfying. I really have no sense for business!

There will actually also be a 7-inch of "Beautiful Blank" featuring a different version of the track along with an alternative mix of "Say Goodbye To The Sea". While we were mixing it, there was a moment where it was so stripped-back and sounded amazing, and I wanted to capture that feeling. We're going into the studio next month to work on these tracks.

Last time we spoke you said you'd like to work with other producers, but this new album is also produced by Ian Catt. Do you think he's the only one who can help you find the sound you want for your songs?

I think it would really take a lot of time to cover, with a new producer, all the ground that Ian and I have already been over together. The relationship works so well... I write a song and Ian helps me turn my vision into reality. I don't think there's anything more to ask for, and besides, the more comfortable you are with someone, the easier it is to take risks or try something that might not work. And then I'm convinced that, vocally, Ian can tell me when I could do better.

I'd be really curious to see what someone else might do with our music, but I'm afraid it could end up less interesting than it is now, and I'd be scared to experiment because I'd feel inhibited. I think we might gain in freshness, but it might not be enough compared to what we could lose. In any case, Ian and I know we always have to introduce some new element to keep the music fresh regardless.

How was your involvement in the Future Conditional project? And the The Occasional Keepers album? Did you enjoy it? And did it influence you in any way?

On Future Conditional I was only the singer on a few tracks. I had no input into the writing or production of the songs. I learned the songs and sang them, which was completely new for me and was exactly why I did it.

The Occasional Keepers, on the other hand, was a project I was totally involved in. It came out of a series of emails exchanged between me and Caesar (one half of The Wake, ed.). We realized we shared a common passion for more minimal, experimental music, and from there came the chance to make an album together. Neither of us knew what the other was doing. I brought my five ideas, and Caesar and Carolyn (the other half of The Wake, ed.) brought theirs. I think it turned out to be a really successful experiment.

I tried to do things different from what I do with TBS, whether that meant instrumental pieces or experimenting with the way I wrote lyrics. It was very important that the approach be different. Also, doing everything in just nine days meant we were very focused on our goals and very minimal in terms of sound, which was perfect, since we wanted an album with a lot of "space". There was some influence on the new TBS album, since I've kept incorporating field recordings and less usual instruments for us ever since. A track like "Schnee, Gletscher, Glas" sounds very "Occasional Keepers" to me.

It seems to me that this album has some lighter moments (and the first two songs on the upcoming EP are maybe the most "pop" thing you've written in a long time), but the overall mood is still fairly resigned, hopeless, melancholic (even the gorgeous, upbeat "Idyllwild" has very nostalgic lyrics). And what's behind the constant references to religion ("Sacred Music" - "A Pale Blue Rosary" - "The Last Holy Writer"...)? Have you grown closer to spirituality as you've gotten older? Or is there some kind of metaphor at play?

Maybe it's just the sound of my voice, or the chords I use, but even the happiest songs seem, to a lot of people's ears, to have an undercurrent of melancholy. I could argue that on the new album there's just as much sadness as there is optimism. "November Starlings", "This Once Was An Island", "From A Pale Blue Rosary" aren't sad songs at all. Sure, things are balanced out by "Darker, Colder, Slower" and "The Coldest Sky", and others are a mix of both, like "A Statue To Wilde".

A song like "Idyllwild" is sad and nostalgic, but it's not my sadness or my nostalgia, it belongs to the two girls in the song. I don't always write songs in the first person. "The Tenth Of Always" isn't about me.

The religious theme is entirely incidental, really. For example, "Pale Blue Rosary" is just something representing the start of a relationship. An object found in the early days. "Sacred Music" is based on the idea of being carried away by sacred music, and by a train of thought that circles around the idea of wanting something more.

The album title, then, is a reference to Franz Kafka, described by John Updike as "The Last Holy Writer". The phrase struck me and became the album title. I realize that all these references put together, plus the fact that there are stained-glass cathedral windows on the cover, could lead to conclusions like that. But even with the cover, the fact that the image and the album title fit together so well was entirely coincidental. It just happened. A friend of ours had been photographing churches for us, well before the title was decided. We were just drawn to that imagery.

Is it just my impression, or have you given Beth (Arzy) more space than you used to? Is she more involved in the songwriting than in the past?

There's an unwritten rule in TBS that those are my songs, and so Beth isn't involved in the writing process. As for her greater vocal presence, I think she's now more confident singing lead on TBS records. On "Alive To Every Smile" the most I could ask of her was to sing no more than two lines by herself. Then on "The Seven Autumn Flowers" I asked her to sing two songs as lead vocalist and she agreed. And the experiment worked out perfectly. This time I pushed things further. I asked her to sing four songs and she agreed, on condition that not all four would end up on the album. It was easy to keep her happy, since one of the songs ("Beautiful Blank") was chosen for the single and so wouldn't have been on the album anyway.

I think the heart of the matter is that Beth no longer feels like the new kid on the block, and as a result she's happier singing lead.

Do you still find interesting music in the indie-pop world you've so often been associated with? Is there any band you like? I know you listen to a lot of reggae and dub, but that kind of music doesn't seem to influence you all that much.

Well, it depends how loosely you take the definition of indie pop. I buy a huge number of records that come out on independent labels, but as for indie-pop in the strict sense, I don't listen to much of that kind of music. And a lot of the artists I like, for instance Bright Eyes or Keren Ann, are on major labels, but they seem to me to have what you might call an "indie attitude". The same could be said of people like Jeff Tweedy. Along with Wilco, Bright Eyes and Keren Ann, my current favourites are: Laub, Hanne Hukkelberg, Colleen, Rhythm & Sound and Burial. I've fallen pretty hard for "Grab That Gun" by The Organ, which I think can genuinely be considered true indie.

Yes, it's true, I listen to a lot of reggae dub, dancehall and so on. It's one of my main interests, and about half of what I buy is reggae-related. And what you say about it not influencing me musically at all is also true. It's something I'm passionate about, but I don't feel the need to write reggae-related music. I'd be more tempted to follow the example of Rhythm & Sound, who found a fantastic marriage between what they do and reggae. This genre only influences me occasionally and in a very subtle way: sometimes a recording technique typical of dub, or the quality of the sound. To be honest, I'd be really curious to find out what a reggae producer could do with us. Beth recently met Dennis Bovell (one of the masters of British reggae, ed.), and even though it was just a brief moment, maybe we missed an opportunity there!

Looking back, are you satisfied with your musical output over the years? Is there an album or a song you particularly love?

I try not to look back. That would be the "kiss of death" for creativity! There have been some misjudgements. I think Northern Picture Library started off great, but I'd have preferred not to have made the last two EPs. The Field Mice are a bit like photos of a child growing up in public. That said, though, I think the Field Mice are pretty good (smiles). And, as for TBS, that's the period I'm proudest of, and that's why I keep going. I know that by often retreating at crucial moments, I've stopped the band from progressing; after our first tour of the States, while we were on Sub Pop, I basically went into hiding instead of going back to the States and doing another tour. We've lost a lot of opportunities because of me, but, in the end, all that matters is the music, and I think we've made some pretty good albums. To me the latest album is always better than the previous one, and I don't think we've ever made a bad album!

The overall impression, looking back though, is that I disappear every now and then, ruining whatever career opportunities we've slowly built up, but who cares!

Are you still convinced you won't play live again? Have there been requests to support the new album live?

We do get asked to play live, and sometimes the offers are really tempting. Not so much in financial terms, but more the chance to travel to new and interesting places.

But, having said that, we won't be playing live again. I've said it often already, and I'd never want to be the kind of person who says one thing and then does another. Obviously, if we were asked to open for Wilco on a tour of Japan, all my principles would go out the window (smiles).

What are your future plans?

At some point Caesar, Carolyn (The Wake) and I would like to start a new Occasional Keepers album. For now, that's just an idea. Then in the fall, as we've already mentioned, a 7-inch EP will also be coming out.

I'm also already thinking about a new TBS album. I know what I'd like to do, but it's all still in an embryonic stage, especially since "The Last Holy Writer" has just come out. I've also got a couple of new songs that could make a good single, but we don't have any plans to record them yet.

I'd like to apologize if some of the answers I've given you are too long and rambling, but the questions were often quite engaging (smiles).

(28/06/2007)

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