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The Delgados - We focus on the negativity of life

Where do they get the time? The Delgados run the record label Chemical Underground and also just made a new record. And not just a record: Hate is the contrast between the beauty of fully arranged music and the focus on the negative part of life. Emma Pollock writes the songs, together with Alun Woodward, and she gives us insight into the Delgado way of thinking. "Hate is also responsible for the progress of the world."

Tekst: Norbert Pek

Publicatiedatum: 25 september 2002

Why is a beautiful and sensitive album called "Hate"?
"Well, it's really the fact that some aspects of life have to do with that. Like the struggles of people and the negative emotions in life. They are important as well. Alan and me are the writers of the Delgados, and we both have the same perspective on life, so we end up with a certain thought. We discussed it and decided that Hate was a good name for the whole album. It's hard to explain. But people have to listen to the lyrics to really understand it."

And the track All You Need Is Hate seems to attack the golden All You Need Is Love. A new perspective?
"It's not that simple; I think we see it as a game. We focus on the whole negativity of life. In this song we like to give a contrast. You notice this when you compare the friendly chorus with the harsh lyrics."

Do you think there is more hate in people than love?
"Yes, sometimes I do. When there is a lot of stress in people, it's easy to hate. This is also with the Delgados. We work very hard under stress, and sometimes we're also victims. But not that it's a bad thing. Hate is also responsible for progress of the world."

Is it a typical Scottish thing? In Trainspotting, everyone also hates everything, except for drugs and music.
"I suppose so. On Trainspotting, it does seem they present the nature of the Scottish life. But I must say that life in Scotland isn't dreadful at all. So that's not Scottish. But in the movie, there is a lot of attention to the people who have no focus in their lives and who are struggling with a lot of difficulties. That isn't the same thing as we have. What we do is to actually try to represent emotions. The movie is also ironic, by the way."

Aren't Delgados also sometimes ironic?
"Well, we do take everything we write very seriously. But there is humour in it as well. It can't be all that bad. There's nothing worse than someone who never sees the light. But as I said: We do take everything very serious. It's our passion."

Right now there's a blooming Scottish music scene. Does a Chemical Underground or Mantra release automatically receive a lot of attention?
"No, we have to work very hard. Chemical Underground is a respected label, but we don't sell a lot of records. In Britain it's hard to have a breakthrough. Mostly because the media is a lot smaller at the moment; a lot of magazines are closing down. Now it's becoming more difficult to get attention. It seems to be that all publishers are most interested in reaching as many readers [as possible]. It's hard for a genuine artist to get into such a magazine. I guess it just all comes down to making money. Well, these people have the power and freedom to write about something. They want to make the advertisers happy. What we hope for is an individual who really respects and loves our music and writes something about it. Then he cares so much about the music that he makes it The Band.
Another difficult thing for us: Chemical Underground isn't a major label, so they also think we can't back up attention in the press with a lot of marketing."

Hate is released on the Mantra label. Wasn't it strange to work for another label but your own?
"Well, it wasn't that difficult, because Mantra has been doing the Delgados all of the time, around the world. And now they do the Delgados in the UK as well. So they're busy with the marketing and the tour support. We can approve of some things, but we don't decide everything anymore. We can't spend as much money as we want."

Was it really necessary to avoid your own label?
"There weren't enough resources to release the Delgados album on Chemical Underground. We didn't have enough cash flow in addition to other bands on the label. It just was impossible to do everything we wanted. We didn't have the freedom to keep on spending money."

Are you going on tour with the string section again then?
"I think they'll be with us as much as we can manage. When they play with us, we represent the accuracy of the record. In Britain they will certainly be with us. But for the rest of Europe, it is quite expensive. But when we play without them, we'll do an extra thing to compromise — that's inevitable. We will play more aggressive."

The string section was on the last two albums and also on your last tour. Do you still consider The Delgados a four-piece band?
"I still do. We are a group of four individuals who write music. We're really a band. The other musicians enter much later."

First I thought Hate sounded quite like The Great Eastern, but I noticed the music is more prominent, like it's for a soundtrack. Do you agree?
"Well, that's funny you say that. Last year we were invited to write a soundtrack for an artist named Joe Coleman. He paints pictures of people, a kind of visual biographies. About people with colourful but tragic characters, with troubled pasts. His work is really hard to stomach for a lot of people; it does not compromise. He is also well respected by celebrities like Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio; they collect his work. We received a tape of his work and made three instrumental tracks. We played at an exhibition of him and it was a real success. But we also used the music we made there on the album."

I guess that's also where the song Woke From Dreaming was born?
"That's quite interesting you think that. Well, it's very instrumental, that's true. But it's written afterwards on the piano. One-and-a-half years ago, we bought one. I really can't play, but I'm learning. I'm really pleased by it. But the basics of the song are written on that piano."

When you listen to the noisy rock parts on Domestiques, do you still consider The Delgados a rock band?
"There are still elements when we use guitar, bass, and drums, like an ordinary guitar band. But the music now is more complex, there are more dynamics. When a song is written, you also think about what to do with the other instruments."

When I attended a Delgados gig in Holland, Alun was really mad at the people who made noise during the songs. How do you want a live audience to respond to your music?
"To be as moved as we are when we play live. There is always more excitement; you don't know what's going to happen. A song can sound different every time. We want the people to get something out of the music. But we also want to represent the sound of the album."

What can we expect from the forthcoming shows?
"We try to make the songs sound really good onstage, but then with a lot more volume of course. We want to reach the same intensity. We have a lot of material now, but we will mostly play songs of The Great Eastern and Hate, because that's more of the sound we want to reach. It's hard to fit the songs from Domestiques and Peloton in there."

I do hope you play Pull The Wires From The Wall.
"Well, we haven't decided yet. I guess we'll pick some songs from Peloton. But it's also possible we only do it in the encore. But you can't do them all. I don't think we can do two hour shows all of the time."

Don't you get enough of always the same band members/colleagues?
"No, it's good to combine. It's always been like that. We're a group of people with a common goal. We started something together, and we're trying to make the best of it. Sure, sometimes there's stress and we do have arguments. But that doesn't matter, because we know each other so good. The additional musicians are also no problem. On the contrary, we have a great relationship. When we go on tour, the atmosphere is excellent."

Is it also possible to combine running a label and touring with the Delgados?
"Well, we have three extra people working at Chemical Underground. Graham manages all the sets, Andrew does the international stuff and Alice does a lot of things, like the promotion. So they're a great backup when we go on tour."

http://www.kindamuzik.net/interview/the-delgados/the-delgados-we-focus-on-the-negativity-of-life/1886/
Meer The Delgados op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/the-delgados