You put out an album about five years ago titled Home Movie, and the song Lay Me Down (to Rest, to Sleep) was featured on last years somewhat defining Clubhouse Records collection, Divided By A Common Language. How do you chose the one song that's going to put your name out there among the finest in UK Americana?
To be honest, I couldn't choose Clubhouse initially came to me with the idea of using an unreleased track but Home Movie never got the exposure it deserved when it was released so it just made sense to choose a track from that. I let the Clubhouse guys choose in the end I think, a good choice I'd say!
Since that collection came out, there's been an abundance of very very good americana records released by different British bands. Compared to when you first released a record, are these easier times?
To an extent yes, the nuts and bolts of DIY music haven't changed really, but there's a much greater acceptance of that ethos amongst the industry and fans alike so it has more credence. I think the same applies to the idea of British Americana, its progressed from its notional beginnings. I think British artists are doing well to avoid the cliches of the genre and forge their own individual musical identities.
Forest Fire is extremely beautiful, but it also sounds like the loneliest album I've ever heard, like you're lost in this great, big lonely void somewhere in the great ocean of heartbroken troubadours. Tell me about the place you were in when you wrote these songs, please.
That's a tough one. It is a lonely album. I was going through a lot of changes and displacement in my life, moving back to the UK from Canada, a place which i'd come to love but had to leave. The expanse of Canada had a big impact on the songs in terms of concept and production and i'm glad you said 'big lonely void' because that's exactly what we were aiming for! But, it wasn't like I sat down and said, 'OK, i'm going to write about all this difficult stuff', it just came out and when I went into the studio I realized there were common threads running through which tied the songs together. Its often well after you've written songs and they work together that new meanings and interpretations become clear, which is always quite a revealing experience!
But you must have been aware that the songs that would emerge from this period in your life would turn out the way they did, rather heavy on the heart, perhaps even dark? Or am I wrong here? Did the "depressing break-up album" actually end up becoming a somewhat uplifting piece of work?
Uplifting in a sense that it came with change, but Canada was one of the only places i've really felt attached to since the place where I grew up. I think the older you get the more you realize how a sense of place or belonging is important and since the age of 17 i've literally been all over the place! But like I said, I think its much, much more than that, if you listen. I was thinking of album's like Beck's Sea Change a lot around that time which is a very dark album but blatantly a break up album. I tried to avoid that I think the darkness stems from other places in this one
Are you the kind of songwriter who needs to go through a break-up and a three-day long bender in order to make these feelings shine through in your songs, or could you just basically pull a sad love song out of your, pardon my French here, arse any time you want to?
Ha! Well, I think Americana found me when it came to songwriting. I'd tried writing songs in different styles and never really found a 'voice' as such until I started listening to albums like 'Heartbreaker' and 'Being There' and it was like instant therapy! I identified with the mood of those albums instantly and I haven't really looked back since. But yes, there was a break up before Forest Fire, and Home Movie come to think of it, what that says about me as an artist I don't know! Home Movie is much more straightforward in its approach whereas I think Forest Fire is more subtle and laces the break up elements with other ideas and themes that people are dealing with all over the world right now. It certainly feels more honest to me anyway. I think Bon Iver pretty much made it impossible for anyone to release a break up album anymore with For Emma, Forever Ago, despite the irony in the title. As for the three day benders, all my best songs were written with a raging hangover!
How do you think your stay in Canada influenced you? We touched down on this earlier, but with the Canadians being such great songwriters, there must have been an abundance of really good songs on the radio over there to inspire these songs?
Well, it came down to finding a place which felt like home to me. Canada is a massive country but it has a real village mentality (dare I say it?!), people combat the overwhelming vastness with their community spirit, which is really refreshing. Even in cities like Quebec, where I lived, you got that feeling, people were so friendly and pro-active in the way they cared about their city. But I didn't focus on that aspect in my songs as it has been done to death by the great Canadian songwriters you alluded to! I used to listen to CBC Radio 3 which is there equivalent of BBC 6 Music and I discovered some great bands while I was over there like Timber Timbre, Tire le Coyote, Plants & Animals and so many others. There's some great things coming out of Canada within the Americana/Indie scene and had I not left I would probably be out there trying to find my way in music.
I normally wouldn't ask a question like this, but when even the press release mentions the fact that your voice sounds a bit like that of Jim James, you must be aware of this? What's your own thoughts on the fact that people like me ALWAYS need to compare you to other musicians?
Ha! Thanks! I'm a massive fan of Jim James. It actually wasn't 'til Jon Berry from the Epstein came in to record some guitar on Lord Only Knows that I'd even heard that comparison before but he seemed convinced. I think that's great, I mean, as an artist somewhat on the outside looking in at this stage, people find comparisons helpful in situating your music. I don't think it does any harm. Every band has its influences, some like to wear them on their sleeve, others to a lesser extent, right?
What are you trying to tell your listeners in these songs? Are you trying to lead them through their own heartbreaks, or saying that nothing really does matter, we all die lonely?
Far from it. I think if you listen to the songs you get a sense of disappointment, that the we've managed to get ourselves in the mess we're in now. I think the album in that sense has elements of nostalgia for a time when things were simpler, like a lot of Americana music. But at its core are references to the unwelcome changes in the present and the displacement that causes, but with a wary eye cast on an uncertain future. Does that make sense? I was trying to make an album which sounded contemporary, that deals with contemporary themes but still fit loosely into the Americana genre.
When you put out a piece of art like this, you put it up for interpretation. And people might misinterpret it as well. What's the one thing you DON'T want people thinking when they hear these songs?
Absolutely! Part of the beauty of music is how its interpreted by its listeners. I'm always intrigued to hear what people make of my songs. I was inspired by studying film at university, how great films are multi-layered. They always teach you that interpretation is subjective, but then again, is it really? I mean, how different are we?! But most people would agree that listening to music is always a very subjective experience, that's what helps us identify with what the songwriter is writing about. But to answer your last question I suppose I hope people don't just cast the album off as a depressing break-up album! I think there's a hell of a lot more to it than that, for what its worth!
What's going to happen from here? The ep is out and the fruits on the UK Americana tree are ripe and ready to be plucked. What's your master plan?
Well, Clubhouse as a label is still in its infancy on a relative scale. I know we're all very keen to get as much exposure as possible so releases like this go along way to helping us achieve that. There's a real sense of camaraderie at the label and everyone helps each other out. I think the label has done well to gain a lot of respect on the UK Americana scene and we're starting to make connections elsewhere, so as more artists release more records hopefully that will start paying off. We're all aware that times are hard in this industry so we all do it for the love of the music more than anything. Any financial return is a bonus at this stage. But in terms of my music i'll probably be throwing around some demos to people soon and start making plans for a new project. At this stage I've no idea what that is going to be, but it doesn't stop here that's for sure!
Mat Gibson's Forest Fire EP is out Monday September 5th on Clubhouse Records. For more, go to Matgibson.co.uk
