Column: Gordon Raphael #12, March 2003
By: Gordon Raphael
2003 SPRING EQUINOX - I am writing this from Mallorca, the unique and magical island in the Mediterranean, from the town of Maria De Salut where I am once again privileged to be the guest of one of my favorite bands on Earth - Satellites.
I am here, from London, to witness a one-off show by the band in a huge, modern theatre in a town called Arte; an epic, avant-garde event for the island, there will be 24 songs - with an intermission in between - lighting-effects, and slide/film-projections, conducted in a fashion that has never been done here. As I have written previously describing the utter joys of their music, I shall just suffice to say that after being lucky enough to see them in concert 10 times - in New York, London and on tour in the UK, Mallorca, and main-land Spain opening for PJ Harvey - that they remain a consistently powerful live-act. Today's performance will mark a blend of all their recorded material to date - inclusive of aspects from their two records, 'The Box', and 'Our Very Bright Darkness' (which I recorded in my NYC studio, Transporterraum), plus a series of songs we produced in 2001 for our own sheer wonderment - and new tracks, as debuted at a dress-rehearsal last night. A memorable day to be had.
In fact, it's not just me that travelled over to reach this peaceful, tropical island - my friend and co-conspirator, and tycoon-runner of the rockfeedback empire, Toby L has also come along for the ride, as he has also in some of my busy London life of the moment... Well, after recording thirty bands last year and partying every night at Filthy McNasties (which has now been forced to close for highly suspicious reasons...), I decided, during a deliriously over-tired and visionary state whilst visiting my home-towns of New York and Seattle for Christmas, that I would blaze a different path for 2003, and try to achieve a different set of goals.
2001 was an emergence for me from the constant struggle of the 'seen it all' attitude of the American music-industry; by working with The Strokes, we both arose from the same basement-studio to go from an energetic obscurity towards a large (in their case) and small spot of recognition, and opportunity in the world's vision. The first time they came to record with me, The Strokes had just performed for fifty humans in the tiny and lovely Luna Lounge. Seven months later, I looked behind from my little chair as we were working on 'New York City Cops' to see writers from the world's top media-publications, Rough Trade's supersleuth James Endeacott and senior-staff members of RCA Records. I was rather excited and overjoyed that the crazy/crispy sound we were developing to present to those amazing songs was being absorbed and eagerly listened to by these representatives and channels for the world's ears.
Soon after those sessions, during which incidentally I had done a demo for a group called Longwave amidst a morning before Julian and co. had turned up for work, I went to Mallorca to record those seven aforementioned Satellites tracks, and run sound for their performances at festivals in Spain. Around the period, I then got a call from The Psychedelic Furs' Richard Butler, asking me to join his band as keyboardist, guitarist and backing vocalist for a delightful US/Canada tour. I was on their bus for the remaining month of that year, playing concerts in the largest venues to the best audiences I've played to so far in my career, bitten hard by the bug of returning to being a live-performer, free of the safety-net inherent in the studio recording, with its multiple attempts to 'get things right', and staring at the omnipresent TV-screen of Logic Audio married to Pro-Tools.
In 2002, I moved to London after meeting The Libertines and became fast friends. They took me out and introduced me to the clubs and players that would become my circles of close allies and provide me with enough production-projects to make my head spin for one year. Dozens of bands later, and after meeting and partying with more incredible people than I can count as remembering fully, I arrived at a set of priorities for this year coming that I shall now elaborate on... Some of the music I recorded in '02 was so life-changing and over-whelmingly great, I've decided to start a record-label in order to help these bands along into the minds and hearts of this planet's citizens. So, in January, Shoplifter Records was born, with the intention of promoting such groups in the vein of Miss Machine, Regina Spektor, Satellites (Mallorca), Kill Kenada and other such strange musical creatures, even inclusive of a certain Gordon Raphael's new band.
Our first release for the label will be 'All American Girl' by Miss Machine, complete with its controversial, raw-in-the-flesh video. This comes out April 7th in the UK, having already received great press and Xfm airplay (the latter radio-station also kindly airing my 'Hi-Jack' show recently, where I was able to infest British airwaves for an hour with my favorite music - inclusive of Bauhaus, Devo, the Banshees, The Strokes, and some new surprises), and the band will be playing a single-launch at the London Barfly on Saturday 29th March, in addition to a tour with The Buzzcocks in April... We at Shoplifter couldn't be more delighted... (By the way - a big shout-out to MM's bassist Alex - a rockin' girl with killer stage-presence, who Toby L tells me is the most talented bassist he's ever seen).
Last week in London also, a miracle arrived in town. Ms Regina Spektor came from the Bronx, New York to complete her album with me and perform two shows for listeners that were annihilated and reborn (in the most wondrous way possible) as hardcore fans. She played a very long string of songs - an hour's worth, to be precise - at the 12 Bar Club, her first UK performance ever. Rather than losing the concentration of her observers, instead, the applause and love returned to her grew and grew with every passing number. Her huge smile and disarmingly genuine personality onstage mesmerised us all, and each song was like a gift or treat, being completely original in its style or content. This piano-playing/singing and drumstick-bashing genius is so on her own direction, creating a vividly fresh new world in each song, and one in which we are thrilled to be allowed to visit.
I got many astonishing, grateful text-messages from my personal friends that saw the show; 'Regina has come to wet the dry, she is pure unpackaged freedom,' wrote Blair from El Hula. 'I can't believe how incredibly inspired I am after her,' added industry-riser Gemma. Her second show at the packed Kashmir Klub, was similarly successful, where she performed two short sets to a soon-smitten set of recipients. After the performance, converts would approach and hug her, looking deep into her eyes with genuine gratitude and appreciation, purchasing her CD's. This instant close bond with her fans is quite a contrast to the detached coolness and idol-worshipping from afar feeling that most rock performers generate from their listeners. Later on in her final night in the city, on the way to a trip home via Roy L's magic car, another vehicle pulled up and ran down the window, two people gushing their praise over Spektor's performance, requesting to buy music; a veritable, drive-buy/by record purchase then occurred.
For the four days prior to the R. Spektor shows, she had been in the Garden Studios with me creating dreamlike renditions of 'Us' and 'Somedays' with the 4x4 string-section (violin, viola, cello) and in a piece of true cross-Atlantic collaborating, Kill Kenada - the astonishing fast/loud, young band from the UK's south coast - became her band for the abrasive and furious tune called 'Punky (Your Honor)'. This was the first thing she'd ever sung with a full, live, incendiary rock 'n' roll band, and the results..? Oh just you wait! We plan to release a four/five-track, limited-edition EP of her work in England around June, featuring rare tracks old and new - and then bring out her third album proper later this summer, which I have co-produced with Alan Bezozi, a New York musician and man of golden ears, who introduced me to Regina during Christmas, for which I shall be eternally happy.
And at last... The final bit of propaganda I wish to disperse to you, my cheerful readers, is how excited I am to have received over 150 responses to my recent music-press ad looking for musicians to join my own, freakin' rock band. I was seeking players interested in pushing into 'the beyond'. So far I have been auditioning performers in my new Limehouse rehearsal studio. Dusting off my Stratocaster and Les Paul, and making space for my Hammond C-3 that arrives next week, I plan to become a recluse (again) practicing and practicing 'til I can go onstage and showcase some songs to the best of my ability. Looking forward to all that, and - 'til next time - I bid you farewell, and world peace soon.
P.S. It's sold out already I understand, but if you can somehow bribe your way in, check out this site and mine's club-night, The Basement, this week at London's Highbury Buffalo Bar, which occurs on Thursday (27th March)... The Libertines play live alongside special guests and DJ's; it's gonna be a good one.