Tripwires - The future of shoegaze

After the wonderful debut album, “Spacehopper“, we tried to dig a little deeper into what lies behind the Reading band's approach. The result is an amused interview that shows the Tripwires in a more playful light than one might expect after listening to them - not too cerebral about their sonic references, and much more focused on the songs themselves. We talked about them and their relationship with contemporary shoegazers, as well as with the great masters of the past. We joked about the similarities with Radiohead and Placebo and uncovered a few intriguing aesthetic curiosities. We talked about the music industry and the independent scene, illegal downloading, Spotify and criticism, and were left with a note of hope.

Hi guys. Congratulations on your wonderful debut record. It can't be easy to get noticed playing music like yours in today's Britain. How did you manage it? How did a band like Tripwires and an album like “Spacehopper” come about?

We met in our hometown, Reading, and we've always played together. “Spacehopper” was the first set of songs that actually seemed to work as an album. After several demos, last year we managed to record the album with Nicolas Vernhes, at his studio in Brooklyn.

The album is full of references to the cosmos. From the title itself, “Spacehopper”, right through to the cover full of celestial bodies. Is there something specific that ties you to the universe, or is it simple admiration for the infinite?

We love Carl Sagan (laughs). The whole concept of the universe is so mind-blowing, and it's always fascinated us, which is why we drew themes and imagery from space. Joe studied the cosmos at university, so when we can't watch Carl Sagan, he's our man.

Several different genres seem to surface in your music, yet nothing feels truly fixed. Even shoegaze itself doesn't seem to be the backbone of your sound but just one element among others. How would you describe your music, keeping it as concise as possible?

It's a question we get asked a lot, and it's not easy to answer. All things considered, we're fine being identified as an “alternative rock” band. It's interesting to see how, broadly speaking, people interpret our style. We've often been called a shoegaze band, and I can certainly say that's only part of our sound.

The shoegaze revival (let's call it that, to keep things simple) has brought to light many really interesting bands, like S.C.U.M. or TOY, which in some ways sound a lot like you. What's different about you?

I think the fact that we all come from the south of England has led to certain similarities developing between these bands. Almost like the garage bands that came out of San Francisco. But as soon as you listen to them individually, you pick up on their peculiarities and characteristics. That said, one obvious difference between us and a band like Toy is that they're a lot better known than we are (laughs).

In many songs (“Plasticine”, “A Feedback Loop Of Laughter”, “Love Me Sinister”, “Paint”, “Under A Gelatine Moon”) there are countless electronic touches with a retro charm that seem to recall the hypnagogic pop that Keenan, in the pages of The Wire, defined as “pop music refracted through the memory of a memory”. Is this a nostalgic choice, a compositional one, or just a desire to make the sound cooler?

A lot of our favourite music makes us nostalgic, it's a really powerful feeling. That said, we've never consciously set out to sound like a specific era or period, that's simply not how we approach making music. That's not to say we're against the part of our sound that draws on the past, but ultimately we believe in songwriting; a great song is a great song, regardless of when it was written.

Is the comparison with Placebo limited only to the vocals? Is there anything else about Molko's band that inspired you?

I can understand why people think the vocals sound like Placebo's at times. But we were never big Placebo fans; some of us were, as teenagers. Maybe that somehow contributed to the angst you can find in our music. Maybe, maybe not (laughs).

Another couple of bands you seem to pay tribute to on the album are Dinosaur Jr and, above all, My Bloody Valentine. Are they the greatest and most influential shoegaze band of all time?

Probably, yes.

Another thing that really struck me is your choice of cover colours. Is it a coincidence that you use the same (or almost the same) pink used on the cover of “Loveless”? Is it a coincidence that on the cover of “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming” by dream-pop and shoegaze band M83 it looks like you're seeing the inside of the very same house depicted in “Spacehopper”? Is it a coincidence that so many shoegaze bands use that neon pink colour?

I have to say, it's a coincidence. When we set up the lights in the house, all we had was some coloured acetate to cover the lamps. There was no real decision about which colours we should use, we didn't even know what would happen once we covered them. We just knew it could make for a cool photo of the place where we were writing the album.

Some of the most fascinating tracks are the ones where folk blends with dream-pop and shoegaze atmospheres. How important is the folk element in your music? What was your main source of inspiration in that respect?

Even though I personally don't think our sound is close to any of these, we love people like Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, Elliott Smith, Cat Power. I think, almost naturally, these people have influenced our approach on the slower, more minimal songs (he's literally talking about sparser songs, ed.).

On “Shimmer” it almost felt like you were paying homage to Nirvana. Was that intentional, or is my ear playing tricks on me?

No, honestly. That song gets compared to Radiohead a lot (laughs, ed.). When that song came about, we decided to embrace its pop nature and kept it very simple (loud/quiet/loud/quiet etc). We spent our teenage years listening to Nirvana and they were masters at that, so maybe it crept in unconsciously.

Listening to your debut album, quite a few influences, artistic references and similarities come to mind. It's not a revolutionary or particularly original sound either. And yet everything sounds so perfect. Perhaps this excessive obsession with “newness” on the part of critics can distract from the pure beauty of the music?

Thanks for the kind words. Maybe! Honestly we can't wait to make another album. I think it's normal to compare a band's first album to other people. It's a way of making sense of it. Even what we've already put together for our second album feels really good, and it's ultimately part of a certain identity of who we are. Sometimes it takes several albums for people to understand a band's identity, there need to be more records to compare in order to grasp it.

What's your relationship with music criticism?

All things considered, we've been happy with the reviews we've gotten. The album was well reviewed by NME, Q, DIY etc. But you have to remind yourself that a review comes from a single person who wrote it, so you can't take it too seriously, even if it makes for an interesting read.

At this point illegal downloading has pretty much lost its reason to exist, given the massive availability of quick, immediate and useful listening tools, from Spotify to Soundcloud, from YouTube to Reverbnation. What's your take on this?

The universality of Spotify is nice, but I still feel people always want to own something, even if that means doing it illegally. Our album was available to download a few weeks before its official release, and we were still impressed by how many people were interested in sharing and downloading it. As music lovers ourselves, we've always believed that fans of our music would still buy the vinyl. We all buy vinyl, but we've also downloaded music illegally. Even if it takes a while, I think music-focused social networks will keep growing and the urge to own something will fade in favour of just having an account to listen to music with.

When will we get to see you play in Italy? And what kind of show should we expect? Are you restrained like shoegazers or fierce like rockers?

We really hope so! That's something we'd genuinely love to do. Our goal at shows is to be like a hairdryer in your face - take in the air however you like.

Bye, and hopefully see you soon, maybe in Italy.

We hope to meet up in Italy sooner or later.

Ride the wave of great music

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