Crack

White Lies are on the side of a dusty road in rural Poland. They are stranded four hours from their destination and have little hope of making the festival for which they have been booked.

Emotionally drained and morale running low, the band wonder whether there is any chance they’ll make their slot. After a lengthy and painful 10 hours they are finally picked up. They get to the venue in the nick of time and get on stage. Having had no sound check, it is a gamble how they will come across, let alone how the crowd will receive them.

The whole gig is a rapturous success and the 20,000 strong audience know every word. If the three-piece ever needed reassurance, this would be it.

White Lies’ sound has changed. Their raw new album demonstrates their aptitude to evolve as a band, aided by working with heavyweight producer Alan Moulder. He has helped the band retain their unique sound, whilst pushing for a rougher more real album.

They return after a hectic three years with a wealth of musical knowledge, and a confident relaxed attitude. The success they have gained internationally is astounding. Having spent 18 months touring after the release of their first and UK number one album, To Lose A Life, their popularity stretched to all areas of Europe as a result, shifting huge quantities of records and becoming a main stage draw at some of the biggest festivals in the world. It’s safe to say success this rapid hasn’t come to a British band since the Arctic Monkeys.

The buzz that surrounds the band is clearly still there, after a live premiere in October of new album, Ritual, at York Hall in London sold out within minutes of going on sale. Touring is second nature for the band. They take in the highs and the lows of being on the road as their little Polish adventure demonstrated.

With current listening for White Lies ranging from the Swedish metal of Opeth, to the sonic expansiveness of My Bloody Valentine and the etheral techno greatness of Trentemoller and Plastikman, it’s clear their tastes have developed beyond the young indie boy tag they may have been stamped with. Add Moulder’s expertise, they have clearly developed a wealthy knowledge to shape their new music.

Crack sneaked in an interview with Jack Brown from the band, when he took some time out to talk about future plans, the music industry and their international recognition.

Having had such a whirlwind success with To Lose A Life, you went from being a small indie band, to having a number one album in a very short space of time. How did you deal with that?

Yeah, it’s been good. One of the first major events in our career was the release of our album. Straight away we had a number one record. We were chucked in at the deep end, but we didn’t really feel phased by it because the first thing we did was jump on a plane and toured all around the world. We came back to the UK after a long tour of America, Japan, Australia and Europe. After we had been on tour we felt the immediate impact and success of the album had worn off for us. We were keen to avoid getting caught up in the semi-dangerous wave of success we had experienced.

''You spoke about how your first album’s success had already worn off by the time you finished your tour. In the age we live in, music is quite a fickle industry. As fast as the hype machine can bring you fame, it can bring you down too. Does this
worry you?''

When we started to get attention in 2009 I don’t think we were too bothered. We had already recorded an album and were happy and pleased with it. There wasn’t much else we could do. It went really well. It felt amazing we were living up to people’s expectations. We thought our album was good enough to give out, and so because of that we had a lot of confidence in the record.

So moving on to the new record, how has the old White Lies informed the new? Have you made a conscious move away from your previous sound?

It’s going to be quite a sizeable move away from the first album. When we made the first album we had a fairly limited knowledge of recording and a fairly limited knowledge of writing. We were all around 19 years old when we first started, and didn’t have a lot to draw from. By the time it came to recording Ritual we had experienced more music. Over the last few years we have all amassed a more extensive library of influences on which to base the new album. Also, Harry has a very recognisable voice. There is a something about the way he sounds that means you will instantly know your listening to a White Lies track. Because of this we’ve never been worried about losing touch with the sound we started with.

With reference to this album, what music have you found influential and what is currently inspiring you?

When we started working on this album we listened to a lot of the music Alan Moulder had produced because we had him on board from the early stages to produce this album. He has made some incredible records and worked with some incredible artists (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails). We wanted to delve into his recording past to see what he had been working on and inform ourselves about working with him as a producer. Also, we have all got into electronic music over the past few years, and that has informed the album, though this is a massive generalisation because the amount of music and different styles I have bought over the past year is insane.

Infamously second albums are a struggle. Bands are susceptible to pressure after a successful first release. Did you encounter any teething problems or creative differences when you were putting together Ritual?

We had minimal issues, but a few are inevitable when you’re working on something with other people. Everyone who is involved has an input. The producer wants their input and you’ve got a record label that wants to know exactly what you’re doing. There were some slight differences, but to be honest it was a reasonably enjoyable process compared to the first album.

Rituals are a part of our every day life. What does the title mean to the band?

A lot of the songs deal with various rituals. There are lyrics in the songs that could be about ceremonial rituals, though it is more about humans and rituals as a daily rite of passage. All rituals are a kind of distraction in our world. In a way the album links all these different things and draws them to the same conclusion. Is doing this really just a way of killing time, or trying to find some purpose in life?

In a another interview, Harry had said that this record was a lot more grown up, a little bit raw, and had a few more rougher edges to it. He also said he had been smoking far too much in the past year, and his voice sounded a little cracked and rougher than it did on your previous album. Do you feel your sound and your tracks have become a little harder edged?

I think so. Some of the tracks have a harder edge than others. A few of the tracks are softer as well, but overall this album is rougher than the last. I certainly feel after the last few years of listening to music, it’s often the music with rougher edges that make a difference to me. With this album we were conscious the production was massive. There are a few places in which you will be able to pick up it isn’t 100% ‘finished’. We wanted to leave cracks and this has added depth to our sound.

Tell us more about your touring experiences? Going to Poland sounded mental with you guys breaking down on the side of the road for 10 hours.

Yeah, that was funny. We thought we weren’t going to make it, and then we got there and it turned out to be the best show on that tour. It’s important for bands to travel, but it’s hard to know what to expect from different countries. Each country had something different to offer in terms of audience. People listen to you and react in a different way in other countries.

Do you think it’s quite hard for a British audience to tell how well a band is doing internationally? British media judge a band’s success on their relative success in the UK. You have a huge international following.

I definitely think so. We were really keen on achieving international success and I think each country will treat you depending on how well you do in that country. This is especially true of the UK. People assume if you do well over here you will do well over there, or if you do badly over here you will do badly everywhere else. That isn’t how it works. This album will hopefully be an international success. We are touring all over Europe, where I think the album will do best.

What has been your best experience with White Lies to date?

I think it would be the completion of the second record. It shows what we have achieved over the past few years.This record is what marks a point in our career where we have managed to improve on everything we have done before, and really prove to ourselves what we have managed to create.

And finally, what really pisses you off about the music industry?

Oh man, I dunno. To be honest when I started out I got annoyed about a lot of stuff in the music industry and the music press. I don’t have a problem if people don’t like our music, or write a nasty review with something about our music. That’s their call. They can say that if they like. I have a problem when journalists try to talk about us as people, like they know us. Or talk about our families.

They talk about your families! Has that ever happened to you?

They like to pry a lot, especially about who they think you are and in many ways it would suggest they know you. It doesn’t get to me as much as it did. I’ve accepted that it’s just what happens in the industry. There are always going to be lies, so whoever likes us, likes us, and whoever doesn’t…well…we don’t really listen to them.



Words: Siobhan Mari Raw

Tune: Bigger Than Us

http://www.myspace.com/whitelies

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