Dutch Uncles talk Rum vomits, Records, and Manchester's musical past

Ahead of their final show of 2011 at The Deaf Institute, Skiddle spoke to Dutch Uncles bassist Robin Richards about time signatures, the ongoing revival of Manchester musical past, and his hatred of Pink....

This summer was your first “proper” year out touring. What was it like playing the festival season this year? Which was your favourite event and why?

It was definitely a busy summer, with festivals every weekend. The highlight for us was probably playing Leeds and Reading for the first time, although Reading was almost marred by rum induced vomits before and after our stage time. Luckily all was well and good for the 30 minute set, and the vomits continued shortly afterwards.

How do you feel about your second record, Cadenza, released earlier this year, in comparison to your debut, Dutch Uncles, from 2009? I notice that the production sounds brighter, it’s on a different label, and you’ve been touring the songs between the records, etc?

The recording process was completely different on Cadenza from our debut. The first was recorded in two weeks during a heatwave in Hamburg, whereas the second was created over the space of four months in a basement in Salford. I think we were a lot more naive when recording the first, and the two years between the recording of the albums were tough. I like to think we grew a lot as a band during that time and the compositions and production reflect this progression.

What do you think of your contemporaries working in broadly the same genre? Bands like Everything Everything, Field Music and Foals spring to mind. Any favourites, and is there any current music from any genre that you strongly dislike?

The scene is pretty healthy at the moment, with forward thinking/progressive pop music getting the recognition it deserves. Field Music, Wild Beasts and Everything Everything spring to mind as favourites of ours. I'm really looking forward to hearing Egyptian Hip Hop's debut album next year too. As far as music I dislike goes, I think Pink is pretty shit.

The Manchester heritage industry continues apace with recent news that the Stone Roses are reforming, Peter Hook’s band The Light playing old Joy Division hits, and Noel Gallagher flying high in the album charts. As part of the new generation, how do feel about Manchester’s impact on the music scene? Do you respect it or resent it? How do you feel about the defining Manc bands and their music itself?

There will always be people obsessed with Manchester's musical past. The countless times we've been in our local pub getting educated by an inebriated moron on the depths of Ian Brown's lyrics, or the immense bass skills of Hookie. I understand that these bands mean a lot to the fans, so you have to respect their loyalty in parting with £50 to see a band who are clearly not going to be as good as they were 20 years ago. As I mentioned before however, new and exciting bands in the city are getting much more recognition than they were in 2007, when bands like The Courteeners and Twisted Wheel were continuing the 'lad rock' era. The musical heritage is there, and some of it is good.

Which bands and particularly records and songs are touchstones for the band?

'Discipline' by King Crimson is an important album for us, as it portrayed to us a much 'cooler' side to prog rock, despite being received hugely uncool when it was released. 'Songs From The Big Chair' by Tears For Fears and both albums by Television also offer great inspiration.

Changing time signatures and tempos are a facet of the band’s sound. Would you ever write an album or EP of more commercial, accessible, direct sounding songs? While retaining the Dutch Uncles sound, of course?

I like to think there can be a balance of our progressive rhythms and a poppier sensibility. I don't think we've found the perfect balance yet. We thought that in Cadenza we had written a pop album because it featured slightly more songs in 4/4 than the first. In hindsight it wasn't a pop album. The main thing I think we need to work on is creating slightly more space in our songs. Dutch Uncles use a lot of notes.

What can fans expect for the upcoming dates this winter? And what are your plans after that?

We're currently on tour with Wild Beasts in Europe before heading back to the UK to do some of our own dates. The last gig of 2011 is in Manchester at The Deaf Institute at the start of December. After that we're continuing to work on album three, and should be back in the studio very soon.

If you could collaborate with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Snoop Dogg and Slash.

Interview: Abbas Ali

Dutch Uncles play their final show of the year at The Deaf Institute on Friday 2nd December.

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