WOM Interviews – Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate
Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate might by the strangest name for a rock band but it’s also synonimous of excellent prog rock. After releasing their latest album, “The Light Of Ancient, we’ve got a little chat with Mark and Malcolm, the heart and soul of the band.
Hello guys and welcome to our World Of Metal. I would start to ask about your newest album, “The Light Of Ancient Mistakes”, your seventh album. What was the objective for this new album?
Mark – Thank you very much for your support, we really appreciate it! To me, this feels like a continuation of the work we started on ‘Nostalgia For Infinity’ and refined further on the last album, ‘The Confidence Trick’. It feels like we’ve been on a definite upward curve over these last three albums, both in terms of the songwriting, but also the artwork and packaging.
You’ve got several tracks that are inspired in books, can you give us a little rundown of all the books that inspired the music in “The Light Of Ancient Mistakes”? And was this inspiration only lyrical or did it influenced
also musically?
Malcolm – Many of the songs on the album were inspired by books. The centrepiece of the album is ‘Walking To Aldebaran’, inspired by the science fiction novella of the same name by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It is currently my favourite track from the album, and feels to me like an unusual mix of prog metal, Peter Maxwell Davies, and musical theatre. It is different from anything we’ve recorded before. The song is sung from the perspective of an astronaut losing his sanity as he wanders around an alien labyrinth, gradually being transformed into a monster by a well-meaning but malfunctioning ancient machine. The narrative of the song was inspired by the story, but also the rhythm of the lyrics was influenced by the speech patterns of the protagonist in the novel. The dark humour and playful but virtuosic use of language was something that jumped out at me when reading the book. For those who like audiobooks, I would highly recommend the recording narrated by the author himself.
The instrumental tracks ‘Avrana Kern Is Made Of Ants’, ‘The Requisitioner and the Wonder’ and ‘Gothi and Gethli’ were named after a character, two spaceships and a pair of crow-like creatures which insistently deny they are sentient in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s ‘Children of Time’ series. Science fiction is a long-standing inspiration for me. Iain M Banks’ novel ‘Look To Windward’ is the inspiration of the title track. The title is a reference to a conversation between two characters in the book, one showing the other the futility of endless cycles of violence, and the long-lasting consequences of atrocities. The track ‘The Man Who Japed’ is named after the Philip K Dick novel. Philip K Dick is one of my favourite authors, and we’ve written several songs inspired by his novels over the past few albums. Sometimes a book inspires a song lyric, and is the starting point for writing the track. At the other end of the spectrum, sometimes we write an instrumental, and in retrospect the mood or concept of a novel seems to fit the feel of the track, and this leads to the choice of the track name.
The childhood experiences of David Cornwell, who wrote as John le Carré are the inspiration behind ‘Sixteen Hugless Years’. I was listening to the audiobook of Adam Sisman’s biography of the legendary spy novel author. If I recall correctly, I heard the phrase ‘sixteen hugless years’, and it immediately sparked the shape of the melody of the chorus. I was moved by the idea of the expert in deception hiding his feelings, from others and possibly from himself, but not being able to prevent the impact of his past experiences from causing him and those around him pain decades later. This also felt like a more intimate example of the ideas explored in the title track.
‘The Glamour Boys’ was inspired by Labour MP Chris Byrant’s book of the same name about the experiences of a group of mostly homosexual or bisexual Conservative MPs who argued against appeasement, despite the threat of exposure from Chamberlain’s government. Many of them went on to risk, and in some cases lose their lives in the Second World War. I like in my songwriting to find a view-point character, from whose perspective I am singing. Being inspired by books provides an insight into characters very different from myself, or who might feel similar emotions, but with very different causes.
I suspect it allows me to express some things that I might feel less comfortable expressing if they were sung from my own perspective, rather than that of the character.
You recorded and produced it yourselves. Did you ever think of having someone outside to do that work or you think is preferably to keep it in the family?
Mark – We’ve settled into a method of working that really works for us. We fire files back and forth to each other as we add our parts to the tunes, which eitherget used or not depending or whether they fit the particular song. Because we’ve known each other for so long we can suggest changes or ideas without the other one getting upset or having their ego bruised. The same thing comes to when it’s time to track either the vocals or flute…we all trust each other and the process remains fun. We can obsess over the small details when it comes to the mixing/mastering stage, and an outside producer may not fit into our way of doing things.
The songs have that “jam feeling”, that sense that if played live, they could grow beyond what you can hear in the record. Is that something you anticipate doing live? Extended versions of what you recorded?
Mark – With the live setup we have with it being just the two of us, (and occasionally Kathryn on flute), the more ‘rocky’ songs are a bit more tied down in structure as the laptop dictates where the song will go and for how long. If we perform our songs in a more ‘acoustic’ fashion then we’re free to take them in any direction we wish, and have done this approach live a few times.
Malcolm – We like being able to play the songs in different ways depending on the event. It is fun playing with the full rock band sound, but some of the songs also work stripped back to just a piano or guitar, voice and bass. Although there are potential limitations in flexibility because of our live setup (we have to record some of our parts in advance, but keep all the lead vocals and solos live), how we perform varies greatly between gigs. For the angrier songs, if I’m having a physically difficult time, a passionate performance is cathartic. On the albums, there are a mix of guitar, keyboard and flute solo parts. For most of our gigs I’ll be doing solos just on guitar. What sounds right on a keyboard or flute doesn’t necessarily translate directly to guitar. Exactly what I play for these will vary from gig to gig, with an element of improvisation.
What are the plans for the live promotion outside England? Could we see you live across Europe?
Mark – We would both love to have the chance to come to Europe at some point as we’re very privileged to have supporters in a lot of European countries and very positive reviews all over Europe for the album. Unfortunately, the effect that Brexit has had on touring musicians is enormous with rising costs, visa and paperwork issues and the trouble of getting merchandise into Europe. It’s a huge shame as Malcolm and I can travel pretty light with our guitars/pedalboards/laptop and a few clothes, so getting around, especially on trains would be fairly easy. If any European promoters want to get in touch and put us on at their venues then we would love to discuss it!
Tell us more about the charity single “I’m Tired And Everything Hurts”.
Malcolm – This song is about the experience of wanting to be honest when asked how I am, while also being aware that in many social situations it isn’t the done thing to actually say how you feel. This is a frequent problem for someone with an invisible disability that causes chronic pain (I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a group of genetic disorders affecting collagen, the major structural protein in the body. For me personally, it causes spinal problems, recurrent vomiting, chronic pain, intermittent brain fog, problems with the autonomic nervous system and peripheral nerves, and unpredictable pains in almost any joint. It is also for me an invisible disability, as although my life is greatly overshadowed by chronic pain, leading to me having to retire from my previous career as a neuropathologist, to most people, most of the time I don’t look visibly disabled.The title of the song was taken (with permission) from a Newsthump T-shirt. Sales on Bandcamp of the single will be donated to The Ehlers-Danlos Society to help with their work in research relating to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
“How are you”, well I’m meant to answer
It’s not like I’m trying to drag you down
But I don’t like dishonesty
And I can see that I’m veering off script now
I hate the question though it’s well intentioned
If it’s just a turn phrase, please can I pass?
Let’s skip from hello to the content
And save us both an awkward moment
I keep on, but it’s just momentum
I keep going as I know if I slow I might stop
I don’t want to give up, I don’t want to give in
But I’m scared
So let’s not go there
I keep smiling
So you might not notice
That I’m falling apart
I’m close to an edge
I need help
If this time you’re really asking
I’m tired and everything hurts
And there are times when I feel less broken
I feel like a fake, a fraudulent spokesman
Wearing a badge I look like I’ve stolen
So I push myself
My mistake, well what a surprise
I’ve done it again
I’ve pushed myself too far
And each time I tell myself
That I’ve learned to ask for help
Well I haven’t
I keep on, but it’s just momentum
I keep going as I know if I slow I might stop
I don’t want to give up, I don’t want to give in
But I’m scared
So let’s not go there
I keep smiling
So you might not notice
That I’m falling apart
I’m close to an edge
I need help
If this time you’re really asking
I’m tired and everything hurts”
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