In town to dot the i’s and cross the t’s with Warp Records, Battles’ drummer John Stanier has more pressing issues on his mind. Namely: tracking down tickets for a Newcastle United game. Introduced to the club by a friend in the late 80s, the percussive juggernaut is – incredibly – a fully paid up member of the Toon Army. So when ClashMusic is given fifteen minutes on the phone with the drummer, Stanier means exactly that.
Still rushing with energy from the release of new album ‘Gloss Drop’, Battles have been completing a hectic schedule that crosses cities, borders, continents. Released to overwhelming acclaim, ‘Gloss Drop’ managed to build on the ground-breaking thump of the band’s debut whilst also allowing them an avenue to work with one of their all time heroes. “We were left with this last song which of course we knew needed vocals and it was basically just we were listening to it one day and I think I said “this would be perfect for Gary Numan. But I doubt that he’s even doing music anymore and I’m not sure he’d know who we are”. It was a fantasy, he was a fantasy artist” the drummer explains. “It turned out to be as simple as getting Warp to call his people. We sent him the track and he really liked it, then we met him actually on tour in the US. We just went over there, hung out and saw the show. He was super, super nice and that was kind of it, really.”
The track eventually became ‘My Machines’ a stubborn piece of avant rock that crosses between the sci-fi synth odyssey of Numan’s early career and the twitchy math rhythms which fuel Battles. An email collaboration, Battles were shocked to find themselves in the position of rejecting the vocalist’s first draft. “It’s funny because the first thing he sent us I think he recorded it at a different speed or something. He recorded it and sent it to us and it was definitely not what we were looking for at all. It kind of didn’t work” Stanier sighs. “We were really nervous – how do you tell someone that this isn’t really what you want? We thought “what have we got to lose, we might as well just tell him ”. I forget who actually sent him an email but he was like “oh that’s fine – no problem”. In fact, I think hanging out with him later he was talking about how he had even more respect for us after that because we obviously had the balls to give him a bit of direction – which I suppose he’s not really that used to, but it turns out that’s actually what he wanted in the big picture.”
Given a single release earlier this year, ‘My Machines’ only made it onto ‘Gloss Drop’ at the very last hour. “He was the last person that we collaborated with and it was down to the final hour – I think I remember getting the actual tracks at like six in the morning or something” the drummer explains. “The rest of the record was already mixed and I believe we were already mastering it and we were still just waiting for this song. It came at about six in the morning and we were all just like “wow that’s totally amazing, put it in there and let’s just go with it”. So it was just instant. There wasn’t any more going back and forth. The take he sent us went onto the record, because hands down it is totally amazing.”
Battles – My Machines (feat. Gary Numan) (Directed by DANIELS) (HD) from Warp Records on Vimeo.
With the rhythm track essentially complete, Gary Numan’s vocal had the odd effect of both completing and re-inventing an existing song. “On the one hand, yes it was all completely written and we just needed vocals on it. On the other hand, he came at it from such a totally different angle and his lyrics have a lot to do with it as well. He really, really brought the song – he turned it into a monster.”
Set to curate and play ATP this December (“It’s pretty cool – Barry and Sean do all the work!”) Battles could well end up inviting Gary Numan onstage. “We’ve been talking about it, yeah. We’ve used guest vocalists live a bunch of times. We’ve been talking to Gary a lot. His schedule has been all over the place, as well as ours. But yes: I definitely think that will happen, of course.”
Preparing to return to the UK, a toying Stanier refused to be drawn on the band’s live show – “I’m not allowed to tell you that. You’re going to have to come and see us” – but the drummer did muse on the transformative effect electronic music has had on three musicians steeped in rock lore. “In one aspect, yes we’ve embraced electronic music and its technology, but it’s a technology that allows you to help you in a way. I think that’s really good. I don’t think you should be letting technology dictate what you do. But I think that we’re trying to have this as a healthy balance between the two. I don’t want to play electronic drum machines or anything like that” he states. “I do like how it’s like we’ve kept it in a rock band format. Meaning that it’s rock drums, there’s still guitar and still bass but it’s just totally reconceptualising the whole standard way of how a rock band is supposed to make and perform music because at the end of the day I think that we really are a rock band. We’re a rock band first and foremost. We’ve embraced electronic music in a way that a lot of other groups haven’t done, which would be by using triggered drum loops or having a DJ in the band. Stuff like that. I feel that’s been done a lot – probably too much. We’re just trying to find a different approach to it.”
– – –
Battles are set to play the following shows:
November
16 Sheffield Plug
17 Newcastle Gateshead Town Hall
18 LiverpoolKazimier
19 Dublin Button Factory
21 London Kentish Town Forum
