ALTO 45 ARE:
James Boyce - Vocals + Guitar
Steve Hansey - Bass + Vocals
Joe Bear - Drums
DISCOGRAPHY
Albums
101101
Singles
Don't
Give Up Giving Up
Leaving Suburbia
The Beck EP
Get Me Anywhere
REVIEWS
Album - 101101
DOWNLOADS
Moses Gunn MP3
It may be getting harder and harder to find, but the lo-fi indie ethic is still very much alive. It dwells in small English suburbs, where bored but creative minded people plot independent record labels and bands from the confines of bedrooms and garages. The music created by DIY bands can often vary from 'interesting' to 'completely laughable', but every now and then a record comes along that transcends its home-made roots by simply being, well, brilliant. Alto 45's '101101' is such a record- it's title may be awkward but what's contained within are some of the most perfectly realised lo-fi indie-pop songs you'll have heard in a long time- the retro synths, jangly guitars, and vocals that veer from severely laconic to stupidly happy will have you fondly reminiscing the days you used to collect coloured 7-inch singles by bands no one had ever heard of. Unless of course like me, you still do this.
So on the eve of '101101's release, I interviewed (via email) singer/guitarist James Boyce and bassist Steve Hansey about their album, the lo-fi ethic, and life in Alto 45. Their drummer, Joe Bear, sadly couldn't make it as he is currently "gallivanting around down in the southern hemisphere", and although his remaining band mates struggle to be precise, they "think he is somewhere in Asia". Still, the interview must go on, and what better place to start than at the beginning. Like all the best bands Alto 45 is the result of long-term friendships forged in dreary educational establishments.
"We met at school. We all played in various dodgy school bands, including the 'organ driven mod-funk monstrosity' that was Gingko. We formed Alto45 in 1999, whilst Joe was at university, Jim was finishing his A levels, and Steve was at college. We came together through a love of weird noises, 7" vinyl, and a desire to make interesting sounding music. Small town boredom also helped."
Although Alto 45's album has an idiosyncratic nature all of its own, it would be quite easy for a casual listener to draw comparisons to the similarly inclined indie-pop milieu that has preceded them. Bands like Belle and Sebastian, Gorky's, Pavement, and artists like Graham Coxon and Beck have all dabbled in home recorded sound and weird, sometimes discordant, sometimes beautiful noise making, but the band themselves list only the (now sadly defunct) Delgados as "a huge influence".
One grand tradition the band does valiantly continue is the forming of independent record labels, in the shape of their own Happy Capitalist imprint.
"Happy Capitalist started out as a means for us to release our own records. Just a few CDR's of things we recorded to give to friends. We later decided to release a 7". It never crossed our minds to get someone else to release it, we just did it ourselves. We wanted to release a record that we would like to have bought."
Since its inception Happy Capitalist has also become a haven for their like-minded peers.
"Other bands we have released
include Teruo and Evader. Evader were from Norwich. We won their souls
in a game of table football. They were one of the best bands around the
city, and it's a real shame that they decided to go their separate ways.
Teruo is one of Joe's friends from university. He's a deep voiced lo-fi
sensation from Essex. We've also released records by
Bearsuit, Fiel Garvie, The Folk Orchestra, Lucky Jim, and Benn's Little
Rebellion. We like to specialise in bedroom pop. Its all fairly lo-fi
stuff. We're always looking to hear from new and interesting bands."
According to the sleeve notes the album was recorded in the mysterious sounding White House, but fear not, as the band reveal that this is just a name given to a predictably close-to-home setting.
"The White House is actually Joe's mum's house. We rehearse and record in some outbuildings. The house is in the middle of nowhere, so noise isn't a problem. It's a strange mixture of hi tec and low tec. Anything from a hard disk recorder to a Dictaphone, a condenser mic to a food blender. We're just carrying on a tradition of people making records in their bedrooms. The album was mixed at Sickroom Studios by the rather good Owen Turner (of Magoo fame). He really helped, giving us a fresh pair of ears on the songs."
By their own admission the recording process is strange (food blenders?) but the results may surprise you as '101101' sounds as clear and fresh as any major label guitar band's latest offering, only with a bigger helping of quirky noises (like the child's spelling toy that after a few false starts gleefully spells out the bands name on the albums secret track). However slick their recordings might be, according to Jim and Steve their live show is anything but.
"It looks like organised chaos. We don't try to recreate the songs as they sound on the record. We just try to play around and have fun. Jim is always busy singing and trying to murder fx pedals, whilst Steve and Joe swap around on omnichords, drum machines and various gadgets behind him."
As all members (apart from Joe, whom they say is "loaded") have full time jobs, they explain that their songs are both inspired by real life and the opposing need to escape its trappings. The subjects covered seem to range from drunken mishaps to world domination. According to the band, 'Fell Down Stairs' tale of alcohol fuelled lows is informed by real life experience and indeed "real ale", and while 'Christian Song' might seem to ape the lifestyle of the said religion, the band explain that its influence is the much more innocent "musician of the year award". Above all though there's a universal premise to their music, as they explain, "there's two basic themes to Alto 45 songs, love and hate", which you can't really fault- after all, what else is there in life?
Alto 45 seem like a pretty normal band, albeit one with extraordinary ideas and the determination to make them work on their own terms. When asked "if a mega-bucks record company came along and offered to sign you, would you be tempted?" they responded with a resounding "hell yes", a statement which could possibly be tongue-in-cheek, although as this interview is being conducted in the realms of cyberspace it's impossible to tell where their tongues are in relation to their cheeks. Still, you wouldn't blame them if they did sign up to the man, being as it would mean that more people could hear their brilliant music. For now though, Alto 45 seem happy plotting their own course on their own label, being leading lights in a still thriving DIY indie-pop underground while the major labels run around like headless chickens trying to solve the problem of downloading by suing students and sacking their own employees. When the whole industry implodes in a mess of U2 endorsed i-pods and Pete Waterman, bands like this and labels like Happy Capitalist will survive, and the world would be a better place for it.
Interview by Ian Viggars