In the space of merely an EP comprising of only three tracks Nottingham’s Alright The Captain have rattled the cage enough to have earned your undivided attention with their meandering instrumentalism.
In the space of merely an EP comprising of only three tracks Nottingham’s Alright The Captainhave rattled the cage enough to have earned your undivided attention with their meandering instrumentalism. 2010 seems set to be a year that will unravel lofty heights for them with a new split EP with Beyond This Point Are Monstersout and a full length debut album in the anything but distant future. Drop-D caught up with the three-piece before the Dublin show of their recent Irish tour.
This run across our island has been the guys’ fourth time over. ‘It’s been really good, especially when you get down south. Belfast was cool and down south’s been really good. Limerick’s been the best so far’, remarks guitarist Marty Toner, about the packed show which rather luckily happened to be on during RAG week. ‘We didn’t even know it was RAG week until we got down there. It was so busy, by the end of the night they had to turn a hundred people away. It was mayhem! People were ripping stuff off the walls.’ Yes, it’s that time of year again where the frenzied RAG weeks commence and getting a large crowd is a guarantee and ATC were more than happy to have them.
The five date tour seems to have reaped many a positive vibe despite bunging themselves and mates CHRIKinto a knackered van complete with a dodgy petrol tank that can’t take more than €40 at a time.
The conversation though soon finds itself trawling through to the band’s formation. Alright The Captain may now be a three-piece but in their two year history they’ve been fashioned down from originally being a quintet. Ash West-Mullen, the band’s drummer, informs ‘we’ve had a few different drummers and it’s only been until about seven months ago that our last drummer called it a day. Since that transition to a three-piece this band’s only been on the go about seven months, really.’ Bassist Todd Wood is then quick to chime in: ‘Ash used to play guitar but he swapped to drums. Seven months ago was the real start of the band for me, if I’m honest.
When asked whether being an instrumental band was always the aim, all three guys are rather quick to say yes. So, it seems that music void of vocals was the logical step for them. ‘We could never agree on lyrics, there were lots of arguments about how we don’t like each other’s vocals. We just had some creative differences about lyrics. I’m not opposed to having them in there’, explains Todd of the stylistic decision.
But with this line up only existing a scant seven months, the verve of Alright The Captain only truly began recently, which has made them more productive, dropping their first official release, the EP 123 last year. Marty is quick to add that their attentiveness to each other is key to their output. ‘The three of us know each other really well, with all the drummers it was always us three and someone else’ he says. Marty is also keen to point out that any of their previous recordings were never sent out to magazines or sites like now. But that would soon change – ‘once we got 123 out it was like, we have something that we want people to hear.’
This year will have ATC release their impending debut full length album, the follow up to 123 and their current split EP with the aforementioned Beyond This Point Are Monsters. 123 was a rather short but pleasing debut EP which easily weaved complex and almost math-like melodies and arrangements across only three tracks each clocking in at no more than four minutes each. Although these songs will be re-appearing on the as yet untitled record because as Ash puts it ‘they’ve matured a lot’, they won’t be massively reworked or reshaped when the time comes to record.
‘We start recording in March. So, fingers crossed it will be out in July or early August’ avows Marty when asked of the album’s recording and release. The process will take place with Tim Waterfield of Field Recordsin his mobile studio, with whom the band has worked with before. Field Records will also be releasing it – ‘It’s all as DIY as the rest of the other stuff we’ve done. I think our whole attitude is pretty DIY’ states Ash.
Marty informs us that all the songs are written; just waiting to be recorded, those words of course brings the chat on to what we can expect from this next batch of material. ‘The songs are getting a bit meatier and heavier’, that said, Todd is quick to add: ‘I think it’s similar but we’ve just expanded on the structure of the songs.’
‘There has been a lot more thinking about writing. We used to just go in and bang stuff out and jam on it, then agree on it. Now it’s got to the point where we need to be thinking about what’s happening next.’
Ash meanwhile completes the band’s sentiment by adding: ‘we haven’t consciously tried to do anything’. A united nod can then be noted by Marty and Todd, as the latter comments, ‘we just whittle down the ideas by arguing about them! We write all together. Nobody writes it, comes in and we play to it.’
While these fresh tunes may be new they’ll become well seasoned on the live stage – ‘on this whole tour we’ve been playing the album basically, warming up for recording.’ Todd continues: ‘we’ve got six new tracks, which we’ve had since November. It’s also the first time we’ve spent a couple of months just practicing and writing music.’
The band have been on plenty of lengthy jaunts of touring and never had as much time to focus on new material as they’d have preferred, alludes Marty on the topic of the new tracks. ‘Last year we did about a 180 shows and it was always the same setting. It got to that point where because we did so many, we started getting offered shows.’ Ash then chips in quickly, ‘we had the shows but not the material to play them. But if anything it’s a testament to Marty, being our manager. He’s constantly pushing it.’ Oddly, a bemused look falls on Todd’s face – ‘He’s the manager? That sounds official now.’
It seems that for so long Marty had always been responsible for booking shows. The idea of keeping all the promotion work within the band has apparently paid dividends with Alright The Captain gaining some notable support slots like that with Japanese post rock veterans, Monoand the Italy’s finest experimental jazz outfit Zu.
Ash, without aversion, assents: ‘I think we get a good momentum behind us being such a self promoting band. We were getting these gigs supporting names we were chuffed about but not so chuffed about lacking the material. It sounds really lame but it is currency, you can say you’ve played with these bands and people will take notice. Those support slots are like clawing your way up the food chain in a sense.’
Then in an almost dream like trance Marty adds, still thinking of their new material, ‘man, if we could rewind and do those gigs with Mono or Zu now, it would be great.’
When asked if whether those high profile gigs will make for some valuable contacts in the future, the tone becomes somewhat dull as Ash explains how it probably won’t. ‘It’s very rarely to do with the bands. You go through a booking agent and then there are so many bands out there. You’re either in the right place at the right time or you’re speaking to the right person.’ Continuing, Marty has little to say of the current scene in their hometown of Nottingham, ‘it’s died out. About a year and a half ago there were a load of instrumental bands but they’ve just disappeared. There is us now and You Slut!’
Upon the mentioning of You Slut!’s eloquent name, Ash declares his admiration for the band recently reformed after a two year hiatus and whom ATC will be playing with soon. ‘You Slut! have been a massive inspiration for me personally. They’ve gone places and yeah, they’re an instrumental band but they don’t play it like anyone else. They’re taking instrumental music to a slightly more exciting place. And we’re really chuffed that they’ve asked us to play with them on their first show in two years. I think that’s a great acknowledgement of what you’ve done with your band.’
Throughout the chat the three have had mostly nice things to say about playing in Ireland and a few uncaring words about their native England. Their biggest problem with some cities is the lack of local scenes with bands that really support each other. For instance, as Ash puts it: ‘Sheffield is supposed to have some kind of a scene. But we’ve never seen any of it! So, we’re just not getting the people turning up. But we still do it. It’s depressing doing several dates in a row back home and you can guarantee that four out of five of those shows will be to a man and his dog.’
‘It’s all you can do, just keep going back and going back and hopefully next time there’ll be more people’ Marty states. ‘The only bad show we’ve done on this tour was in Derry and it just seems that people over here are much more in the mood for going out.’
Whereas it’s nice to hear someone extolling the high-spirited joviality of the Irish, the guys soon refer to two Belgian shows they have booked for the summer and the possibility of more European dates. They’ll be making the trek for one show with another mates’ band Kasper Rosa. ‘They’re doing the first show in Antwerp with us. A lot of places there close down during the festival season so we’re kind of going at the wrong time.’ Todd: ‘I’m just up for the travelling anyway. If I can do it with the band then it’ll be more fun.’
Often, the slog of touring can be quite detrimental to a band but Alright The Captain seem to revel in it despite some disheartening moments. But those are to be expected and this tour has been slightly easier for them with regards to their transport and bands in similar positions. ‘We’re mobile with our own van. We’ve had more time to soak in all the places. At the moment we’ve got a lot of things to work towards and those will get bigger and bigger’, begins Ash. ‘Just before we came out on tour we heard that a band we really love called Blakfishhad split up and they’d been a formidable presence in the British music scene, at this level. They split up mid tour in Europe with Biffy Clyro! So, we’re sitting here thinking “well, what else did you want?” That’s what everyone is working towards, some sort of notoriety.’
Then, on that note, the somewhat formal end of this chat comes to an end as the lads roll up some smokes and first support act, Friend? take to the stage. The night’s venue, The Twisted Pepper, provides for a strange gig. All three bands on the bill are plagued with cruel and disastrous sound problems. It certainly doesn’t help that The Twisted Pepper have invoked an inexplicably ridiculous 10.30 curfew on bands, resulting in Alright The Captain’s ‘headlining set’ compromising of only four tracks, some of which are those heavily discussed new songs which indicate that Alright The Captain’s approaching debut album is something you should most definitely explore.
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In the space of merely an EP comprising of only three tracks Nottingham’s Alright The Captain have rattled the cage enough to have earned your undivided attention with their meandering instrumentalism. 2010 seems set to be a year that will unravel lofty heights for them with a new split EP with Beyond This Point Are Monsters out and a full length debut album in the anything but distant future. Drop-D caught up with the three-piece before the Dublin show of their recent Irish tour.
you can download our 123.EP free from http://www.alrightthecaptain.bandcamp.com