Festive break long-reads: the LTW Interviews 2021

John Robb does his interviews by Zoom – you can sit back and enjoy them all by going to his YouTube page here. But a lot of us at Louder Than War like a good old-fashioned typed-up interview giving you a long read with our favourite artists.

Some are lengthy so you will need a suitable attention span.  But with the festive holidays upon us, no gigs and best-to stay bubbled-up to avoid Omicron there is no better time to enjoy your favourites again –  or those you may have missed earlier in the year.

Bookmark this page, follow the links, happy holidays and happy reading,

Interview: Amyl and the Sniffers in depth about their new album – by Cassie Fox

“We’re very Australian and we’re very sloppy…”

Kevin Cummins on Caught Beneath The Landslide: The Other Side Of Britpop And The ’90s – by Naomi Dryden-Smith

‘I think digital is destroying iconography and it’s all too accessible, and people don’t listen to it properly. That’s why there’s such a thirst for nostalgia.  I mean, Noel says Oasis would never reform – we were the last great analogue band’.

Dave Haslam Interview: All You Need Is Dynamite: Acid, The Angry Brigade, and the End of the Sixties – by Ryan Walker

“In All You Need Is Dynamite, the hedonists and the music fans become politised.” continues Haslam. “Because they can’t help but be, because of the Vietnam war, because of the Soviets and the Americans having their button on the nuclear bomb, there’s a lot going on.

Interview: Martyn Ware Pioneers don’t necessarily reap the rewards they deserve – by Banjo

“We were taking a lot of risks, to be fair, so we deserved some kudos for that. And I do believe that that has led to a longer tail to my career. Unfortunately, pioneers don’t necessarily reap the rewards they deserve. I don’t just mean me, it’s the same throughout.  Often they kick the door open and everybody else piles through…”

Kevin Martin aka The Bug – by Andy Brown

“…music is selling less and has been relegated to background accessory. I knew I wanted this album to be absolutely foreground and in-your-face. Just relentless.”

Shaun Ryder’s War Is Louder Than Yours – by Ryan Walker

“… next week or the week after, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon I’m on with Black Grape, then I’m headlining the same festival with the Mondays. I’m a greedy fucker man.”

Matt Berry: The Blue Elephant interview with a slice of Toast! by Wayne Carey

“The Mellotron has always had this kind of creepy vibe and the strings always sound scary even when they’re not meant to be.”

Andrew Fearn’s War Is Louder Than Yours – by Ryan Walker

“You could go into the jobcentre and say: ‘Look, I’m a musician, that’s what I am’. They’d go, ‘oh okay, we can’t find you any jobs doing that’.”

bloody/bath interviewed  there’s sadness in your lonely song: grief & loss & Unholy Cross – by Ged Babey

“…during this difficult period in my life, I think it would be impossible to write a happy song, I think it would just come across as inauthentic”.

Interview: Grow Your Own Records – by Nathan Brown

Grow Your Own Records is a UK DIY punk label that grew from humble beginnings and has snowballed over the past few years. Since 2015 LTW has featured at least 26 releases associated with the label. They don’t have a fixed label “sound” as such but they have an aesthetic which exudes a mix of anarcho-punk, playful art and down to earth honesty.  They celebrate the old while championing the new, which gives them a multigenerational appeal.

Jon Savage: England’s Dreaming. The Sex Pistols and Punk Rock – by Irina Shtreis

40 Years of The Raincoats’ Odyshape – Interview with Ana da Silva – by Audrey J Golden

Interview: Graham Lewis (Wire/Elegiac) – by Dan Volohov

David Gedge, The Wedding Present – by Iain Key

Music, Memoirs, and Midwinters: An Interview with Mark Lanegan – by Audrey J Golden

Billy Bragg: The Million Things That Never Happened – album review/interview by Iain Key

Tansy McNally: The Blue Orchid with the Electric Ukulele – by Ged Babey

Dan Haywood: in-depth interview by Mark Ray

Louder Than War caught up with singer/songwriter Dan Haywood and discussed Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, punching out folkies, living with murderers, and refusing to compromise as an artist.

Interview: Night Beats – by Nathan Whittle

As the global pandemic struck, Danny Lee Blackwell (Night Beats) made the move from his birthplace of Texas to the streets of old Hollywood to make his fifth album, Outlaw R&B.

Dead Sheeran: Exclusive Interview by Wayne Carey

Part one and Part two of our interview with The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn –
by Paul Clarke

David Gedge: Seamonsters 30th Anniversary – by Jon Kean

Yard Act: Dark Days EP – review and interview by Ryan Walker

The Lathums: How Beautiful Life Can Be – by Nathan Whittle

List compiled by Ged Babey for LTW

Source: louderthanwar.com