ELECTROGARDEN FEATURES

   

CURRENT FEATURED ARTIST
THE NINE | BNI | ESH | GANYMEDE | ABOD
MESH | RECOIL | ULTRAVOX | CAMOUFLAGE | RED FLAG | GARY NUMAN
DE/VISION | CAUSE AND EFFECT | IRIS | BERLIN | VENUS HUM

FEATURED ARTIST

THE NINE

        Few bands in the Electronic genre can fit the bill as both, experienced stage performers and accomplished musicians all at the same time.  In fact, The Nine has become both.  After touring with the likes of Gary Numan, and on their second full-length album release, Dreamland, released on A Different Drum, these guys are a serious contender for the band that may one day push the scene into mainstream.  The Nine skillfully combine real musical attributes  along with synthesizers, guitars, and memorable vocals to create a modern sound well-worth all of the great reviews that the band has received, and we at the Electrogarden Network rate these guys a must have in your collection.  We spoke to Geoff and the gang to try and get some more insight into the band . . .

EN: Hi guys. Lets start out with the who's who in the current lineup and what are the main roles in band?
Ian - I wish to be known as - 'Ian Davies', In the studio - master of lyrics, occasional top line composer, drinker of weak coffee. Live - Dream keyboard player (makes it look like nothings happening), 'high' backing vocals, admirer of those in front of him.
Geoff - Friends call me 'Geoff' among other things, In the studio - control freak, gadget freak and lover of all things with knobs and sliders. I currently have a fascination with anything that has those funky new blue L.E.D's on it. Responsible for all technical dealings with some song writing thrown in for good measure. Drinking too much 'strong', black coffee. Oh yeh, I forgot to mention that I am the main vocalist, lover of Mac's, writer of emails, negotiator of deals and spender of money, chief coordinator/ass kicker. Live - Frontman/singer, mover, wearer of large boots, ex wearer of sun glasses, loved by all those in front of me !?
Neil - I'm Neil and I wield the axe.

EN: Putting some perspective on the history of the band, what can you tell us about GLASSHOUSE. What was that like? How did that effort dissolve into The Nine? Musically, what was carried over from that project into where you are now?
Geoff - GLASSHOUSE was interesting, it was a starting point for what has become The Nine. We learnt quite a bit through experiences we had along the way but it never succeeded as a band. Musically it was quite dated. People say that The Nine has certain retro elements but Glasshouse was too retro to succeed at the time. Admittedly at the time we did have our heads stuck too much into 80's music and that's one lesson we've learnt. The Nine was a chance to break away from that and get our inspiration from a wider variety of sources. We were young then, we're older now and a bit wiser but none of us have grey hair yet.

EN: What was it like to do the tour with G.Numan? That gig must have opened some doors? Was that little piece of "rock & roll" what you expected? What was the largest venue?
Ian - It was a fantastic experience to be associated with Mr G. Numan. To be able to play to large numbers of people in great venues, the best of which I thought was Manchester Apollo, because that is where I used to go to see bands as a kid, so to play there was a great achievement. 
Geoff - Yeah, we had a lot of fun and made a lot of friends, a lot of whom follow The Nine. I learnt how to stay up late and drink a lot and never to eat a curry before performing on stage. Gary has a great attitude towards his support bands and made sure we were looked after. It was good to experience how a tour should be run. We always got a sound check and that's something a lot of bands don't get these days! The audiences were always responsive. I never once felt that we weren't welcome although someone did throw 20 pence at us and another time it was a rubber penis. All good experiences but they never led to anything for the band, except I think I got a few quid for the rubber penis. Ian had a bad experience with a shower and nearly drowned himself. We found the entire contents of someone's hotel room propping itself up against our room door, a nice surprise at 6:30 in the morning....Aaah, all those memories.... I sometimes think it would be nice to do it again but as The Nine.

EN: And not to leave any stone unturned . . . Who are your influences? I mean musically and for the vocals, who do you think inspires your work?
Ian - Usual crew, Numan, Dep Mode, etc. however, there are many inspiring bands coming through on the smaller independent labels that are exciting to listen to. For lyrical inspiration we rely on each other and try to not look at others to provide us with content. We write about whatever comes into our heads. There is no pre plan to write about this or that.
Geoff - I get my inspiration from various sources. I don't like to restrict myself to a certain niche of influences. That's where we went wrong with Glasshouse and now I am totally paranoid about listening to too much 80's stuff. I like the punchiness and energy of some of today's electronic music and that's the stuff that I find inspiring. I tend to look at music from a technical point of view and would buy a track because I like a certain sound or the drum programming, stuff that I can learn and incorporate into our music.
Neil - There are a lot of things that inspire me - from heavy guitar music to bizarre pop songs on the radio to irritating adverts on the TV. I guess it's just anything that sticks in my head for long enough, really. 

EN: What do you guys do when you are not gigging and writing? Professions outside of the music?
Ian - Currently work within training design for large corporations in and around London.
Geoff - Currently being made redundant from my Lab Technician's job at Nortel Networks. A chance for me to spend more time on my music career :) Every cloud has a silver lining!
Neil - When not playing the banjo I entertain myself by collecting moss and rare types of seaweed. I also take care of my pet lemming (who is called "Lemmy") and we regularly promenade down to the local drinking establishments together. Don't worry - he doesn't get drunk. 

Centurion: You are currently getting released through ADD (A Different Drum) in the US. How did you hook up with them?
Geoff - I was working with Glen Wisbey of Blue October fame, remixing tracks for Mark of Faith Assembly fame. Glen originally met Mark in London somewhere. I sent Todd some demo tracks for his entertainment, which he liked and offered us a deal. That's the abbreviated version. The full version contains tales of lies, deceit, anger and tears - not really.

EN: Looking at the CMJ reports, I see that you are getting some radio plays in the colleges around the US. Are you/ADD doing anything to promote radio plays in the US or UK?

Ian - Buggered if I know what ADD are doing - Geoff you may know more about that.

Geoff - Yes, the reason it is getting some college radio play and showing up in CMJ 
reports is because ADD serviced the album to college radio DJ's about 8 
weeks ago (approx. 160 different stations). That's what ADD has done to try 
and promote the album through public radio. Unfortunately radio stations in the UK are not interested in giving unknown bands airplay. If it's not in the top 10 or backed up by some mass promotional campaign it may as well not exist. The UK really sucks when it comes to that sort of thing. We've decided to ignore that aspect of promotion and use less political routes, like gigging, websites, mail outs, magazines and stuff.

EN: From the angle of extending the fan base, do you think that playing live is more important than getting tracks exposure on the radio in today's scene?
Geoff - Yes, like I said, it's one of the main activities that we can use for promotion. We are building up a good reputation and following 
through playing various large festivals here in the UK.
Ian - I think that it is very important to play live, so long as the venue and timing is right. I don't believe that continuous gigging is a positive aspect. I'd rather play a few select gigs which will, hopefully, draw a larger more committed audience. To play in front of a large audience is a tremendous feeling. The exposure on airplay is great so long as the product is easily available if the listener wants to follow up. this is where good promotion and PR is crucial to the success of any band.
Neil - They are both equally good media. With a gig (whether it's yours or someone else's) you get to meet a lot of really cool people, and that's really good because it's always nice to meet the bands that you listen to. On the other hand, radio is always good because potentially you can reach a much wider audience that a gig alone would not be able to cover. 

EN: If you had to pick one of your tracks to get some mainstram attention or commercial radio airplay, which one would you pick? Why?
Ian - My Fallacy or Poison - both are mysterious, yet identifiable to the listener. We have received a lot of feedback from people regarding these tracks. they are also great to play live (and very well received).
Geoff - I have to agree with Ian there. I too enjoy those tracks. 'I Won't' is another fave. So, you got three instead of one, ok, 'My Fallacy' it is. Should have been a single!
Neil - I would choose "Breeze" because it has a "universal" quality to it, where you don't just have to be into synthpop to enjoy it. There's also a lot of trance-related music around in the UK at the moment, so I think it would be quite a success. 

EN: This may not be fair, but how would you characterize your sound? Is it Synthpop? What do you call it?
Ian - I don't really know what everyone's perception of synthpop is. if it means totally synth, then we cannot be in that category. If the next stage along is industrial, then the melodies that we incorporate into our music doesn't fit in there either. We have been described as techno-pop or Future pop, maybe they are right?
Geoff - Progressive Bubblegum Synth pop.
Neil - I would class it as a Synthy-electro-full-fat-chocolate-milkshake-pop. But less of the "pop". 

EN: How does The Nine craft a song? Give us some insight into your process?
Geoff - It generally starts with creating a drum loop on Cubase followed by either a rough bassline or chords, whichever comes first. It's in these early stages where Ian will come up with a vocal melody and lyrics. This pulls the song into a certain direction and gives us an idea of the songs structure. Everything's done on Cubase VST on the G4 for those who are interested. More ideas are added along the way but we tend to get to a certain point with a track and then start another. For the album I took the 10 selected tracks, still unfinished, and went through them one at a time adding all the production polish and mixing them down. I found this method of approach gave the album a 'uniform' sound because any new ideas or techniques that I had learnt could be applied to all of the tracks so there is no really obvious change in quality, so to speak, between the tracks. 

EN: What is Dreamland about?
Ian - It is looking toward a place of tranquility, peace and harmony, yet realising at the same time that this ideal is impossible to find, and when you are taken there it is as a result of somebody's (maybe my) action. it leaves the audience with the question 'Where is this place, can I recognise it, would I want to go there?' Is it really a pleasant place ?
Geoff - Sounds cool, Ian!

EN: What was the biggest difference between the making of Native Anger and Dreamland, or was it along the same line?
Ian - Structurally the songs were written in the same way. The main difference was the inclusion of guitar which helped the album attain a more aggressive feel, but without losing the melodic influence that we receive high acclaim for.
Geoff - Since Native Anger we had progressed both technically and as songwriters so there were changes in our approach to writing Dreamland. We were more creative and not scared to experiment with different ideas. The inclusion of Neil's guitar helped pull the tracks in a new direction.

EN: For the most part, electronic artists do not need to have any real musical background, and in some bands it shows more than others. I get the sense from your music that there is some of that traditional musical background in the project. So, I'll go out on a limb and ask - Who plays piano, guitar or maybe, drums?
Ian - We are all omnicompetent on the spoons, the bass washing board, using the black notes on the keyboard and turning a computer on. 
Geoff - My instrument has always been the synth from the age of 10 or something like that. I've had no training in any instrument so everything I know is what I've learnt by listening and the occasional bit of reading. The only one who plays a traditional instrument is Neil.
Neil - I know a bit of music theory, but on some occasions it's done us more harm than good! I believe that as long as it SOUNDS right, that's all 
that matters. It's nice to be able to bend the rules a bit. :-) 


EN: Without too many details, the vocals in The Nine compliment the music well. The range, expression, and timing are where they should be. How did you develop as a singer? Any formal training? Who do you think out there right now in the scene is a good vocalist?
Geoff - Again, no formal training, just a lot of hard work and a lot of practice really. After being criticized for having emotionless vocals on Native Anger I made a conscious effort to get that right for Dreamland and that has obviously paid off, thanks :) Good vocalists in the scene? - Marian Gold - great voice - great guy too! Midihead of Monolithic fame. He's got a very powerful voice and was good to see live. 
Ian - For me singing in the shower and car have helped me perfect what was really an undiscovered talent.
Geoff - thanks Ian.

EN: What do you have to do to setup and play live? Do you prepare seperate mixes and sequences for the live shows that differ from the recorded stuff? What is that whole thing like for you?
Geoff - For technical and logistical reasons we can't take the entire studio out to gigs with us so, as many bands do now, we use backing tracks for drums and the fiddly production stuff, but the majority is played live. All vocals are live and that's important. All the tracks are tailored to fit into a live performance situation, so what you hear live will be different from CD versions. We put a lot of thought into our live performances, it's not just a case of turning up and playing.

EN: What do you think the future holds for the electronic bands? Do you think the genre will ever see the light of day or will it always remain an underground scene?
Ian - It has always been an uphill struggle for electronic bands, because they do not fit the stereotypical image of lead, bass and drums. Live venues seem to find it difficult to deal with our type of music. Fortunately there are some good promoters out there who are working with good venues to try to promote the scene and at the moment it is working quite well. To try to expand the scene, we need the support of local radio and record companies to promote what we have to offer.
Geoff - Here, here!
Neil - I think electronic music will have it's finest hour very soon. There are a lot of excellent up-and-coming electronic bands, and the way musical trends change so quickly in the UK, it's only a matter of time. 

EN: Who do you listen to? Any favorites from within the genre?
All - System22, Alphaville, Icon of Coil, Beborn Beton, Goteki.

EN: If you had the cash, what is that dream piece of gear that you would buy? Do you think it would make a big difference in the overall product that The Nine put out?
Ian - I'll leave that to the technical expert. Any charity greatfully received !!
Geoff - Cheers Ian! - Probably a full blown Pro Tools system. Something that just gets on with it and doesn't complain if I throw too many plug-ins at it. Something that has decent sounding EQ and compressors, then I could stop worrying about the technical aspects and just get on with writing the music! 
Neil - When I'm rich and famous I am going to buy a Fender Jaguar in UV orange, and the biggest amp that Marshall make. Hear me roar. :-P 

EN: Where/How does The Nine record? Tell us a little about the studio situation?
Geoff - We record at the Dreamland Studio which is a converted spare room in my house. The main tools are the G4 running Cubase VST, 01V, Trinity 
Plus, Supernova II (love it!!) All vocals and guitar are recorded into Cubase and there's enough stuff for every track to run live down to the CDr (with a touch of compression of course!) It's great because I can go in there at any time and do little bits and pieces to tracks or spend the whole day in there, whatever takes my fancy and it's not costing me anything ridiculous. The fact that I can produce stuff that sounds 'finished' is good too. I'm planning on getting into music for tv, corporate video etc. So, having the studio at my disposal is going to be essential.

EN: What is up next for The Nine? Any shows planned?
Geoff - We've got some festival gigs in the pipeline for next year but nothing has been confirmed yet. We've started work on the next album and are hoping for it not taking 3 years this time!! Our new single, 'Control' is due out soon on ADD and Energy Rekords, Sweden, featuring various remixes and a previously unreleased track called, 'Back to This'. Keep checking the website for any news on future gigs etc.

EN: OK, thanks a bunch for taking the time to do this. It has been great!
Ian - It has been an absolute pleasure.
Geoff - It has indeed.
Neil - Cheers!