The Cooper Temple Clause - London, UK - Autumn 2006
By: Matt Tomiak
Odd to think of them such in a capacity, but Reading's premier gonzo electro-rock quintet The Cooper Temple Clause could, these days, reasonably be described as Elder Statesmen. Roaring out of Berkshire in the wake of the post-White Stripes/Strokes invasion of summer 2001, they've notched up two well-received studio albums (2002's 'See This Through And Leave' and the following year's 'Kick Up The Fire And Let The Flames Break Loose') in addition to a string of chart-bothering singles before flamboyantly- coiffured bassist Didz Hammond decamped to ex-Libertine Carl Barat's Dirty Pretty Things. It's been all quiet on the CTC front of late, but a new single, 'Homo Sapiens' is out later this month in lieu of a third album, 'Make This Your Own'.
Today, we are in the esteemed company of the nattily dressed, well-spoken frontman Ben Gautrey: a copy of 'The Guardian' under one arm and an umbrella under the other. So Ben- veritable granddaddies of UK rock now, aren't you...?
'Er, that has been bandied about in a few interviews...and then you sort of scratch your head, because you're 26 years old! I suppose we were very lucky that we got signed when we were 20, and whereas other bands maybe have time to hone their songwriting in private before getting noticed, we sort of did it in public.'
So, this new LP of yours- is it a sort of logical progression in a kind of trilogy, or a case of wiping the slate completely clean?
'We wanted to make sure it was another leap forward. The second album I felt was a lot darker, almost paranoid. This album is just as eclectic as the other two in terms of styles: We had this insatiable appetite to try and write different music to everyone else. There's one of our most delicate songs on there called 'Take Comfort', recorded in half a day and was going to be a B-side, but turned out to be one of those songs that was so strong that we thought it had to be on the album. Then we've got songs on the other side of the coin like 'Home Sapiens' which are a lot heavier. So it was important for us to keep progressing. All of our favourite bands- Bowie, The Beatles, Radiohead, Kraftwerk- would always try and get a new niche, and try and push themselves as artists and musicians. They wouldn't settle for something that they'd already done. On this album we've really tried to do that. Both in terms of- like I've mentioned, the songwriting- but also Dan (Fisher, guitar) and Tom (Bellamy, guitar/synths) sing a few songs on this album, so there's three frontmen now I guess, and its' really opened up the band even more. It's a very much a collective now in the truest sense of the word.'
A cursory glance across the top of the UK album charts at the time of writing reveals a distinctly indie hue. Sure, Lemar and The Pussycat Dolls are up there, but the top 20 also includes The Fratellis, Razorlight, Kasabian, The Killers, The Kooks, The Zutons and Muse. Is this a more rock-friendly environment we now find ourselves in than at the time when the Coopers emerged half a decade ago?
'When we first came out there weren't that many bands really- just a lot of...' (Ben spits this next phrase out with quite tangible distaste ) acoustic acts... it was very dire! When we released 'Kick Up The Fire...', guitar music started to get a bit more prominent, I guess. The Strokes and The White Stripes were out, the whole 'garage rock explosion'. We didn't feel any link or any particular...liking of it, but it exposed more and more kids to guitar music which is great and in the three years since we've been away that's escalated even more.'
The band headlined the Virgin Mobile Social Stage at this year's V festival, despite a three year gap from 'Kick Up The Fire's...' unveiling. Did the boys feel any particular pressure, given the lengthy amount of time they'd been out of the public eye?
'There wasn't much pressure as it wasn't that big a stage, perhaps just the right size- it did feel incredibly intimate. We had been doing various clutches of shows before hand, as losing a member and becoming a five piece is almost like starting again. So some of the older material we had to re-learn, play different instruments. We really enjoyed it, it was nice to be playing a festival again. Well, apart from the fact it rained an unbelievable amount in Stafford and we were prisoners on our own bus!'
Throughout October 2006 -weather permitting- the Coopers embark upon a cross-UK slog that incorporates some of Britain's less immediately obvious rock outposts; Lincoln, Carlisle and Shrewsbury among them. Are the lads looking forward to this? An opportunity to get back to basics and recapture old vibe, perchance?
'I think there's definitely a bit of that in it. Some people have said that's a fault of ours, that we don't chase the limelight' he muses. 'And ultimately, that's why we ended up leaving our last label. We didn't want to make all these compromises in terms of meeting stylists, and having a particular 'direction', just being another product off the conveyer belt. Certainly, when we first started out, we wanted to let people go and judge us for themselves, and I think we have gone back to that school of though, playing some places we've never done before, and smaller venues than perhaps we're used to. We're also doing a bigger tour in the new year, but this one felt right to kind of give people who've supported us on our website a chance to hear the new material first, and try and get that affinity back with our supporters.'
And to conclude: what are your hopes for 'Make This Your Own' and the last part of 2006?
'I guess it's taken a long, long time to finally complete this album, so we're all really excited about letting people hear it and getting feedback. In November and December, after this tour, we're going back into the studio- it might seem a bit strange, given that we're just finished an album, but for numerous reasons this album took a long time. When Didz left it sort of gave us a new lease of life- and we've definitely been functioning a lot better as a five piece, now we've got a lot more focus. So we've got a bit of spare time, try and write some new songs.'
A pause- and reflection that it might be time for The Cooper Temple Clause to have a breather. 'And then Christmas!'
Artists in this article: The Cooper Temple Clause