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Aug 04, 02:17 AMDispatches from the Madhouse Part 7So, what's the best video you've ever seen? Depends on so many things, doesn't it? For the ‘60's generation, seeing The Beatles lysergic extravangaza for Magical Mystery Tour - first broadcast on Boxing Day 1967 - must have been the aural equivalent of a particularly powerful acid trip. For the punks, witnessing the Mike Mansfield directed clip for The Sex Pistols Pretty Vacant must have been the perfect incitement to create a riot of their own. During the ‘90's, it was the video for Oasis' ode to hedonism ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol' (directed by Mark Szaszy) which really got the Britpop party started. Kasabian have, of course, always tested more boundaries than a bat wielding Freddie Flintoff. Remember the Peellaert inspired pop art of Shoot The Runner? Or how about the Wiz-directed promo for Empire, a (napoleonic) bridge to the sleeve of West Ryder? However, the video for new single Where Did All The Love Go? is arguably their best yet.
We spoke to director Charles Mehling in Paris about how the video came about. Because, as David Bowie, might put it, don't you wonder sometimes, about sound and vision?
Elliott Palm
Consultant Narcologist
WRPLA
How did you first become aware of the band?
CM: I've wanted to work with Kasabian ever since I first met them a few years ago at the K West Hotel in London, before they recorded the first album. There was talk of doing a short film then, but sadly it never happened. I was blown away by their enthusiasm and creativity. They were great to work with. They're confident in what they're doing, and they're prepared to take risks. They're a lot more playful with their public persona than most bands. At the same time, they allow the creative people who work with them free reign to express their own ideas within the context of what they are doing. That's very rare these days!
How did the idea for the video come about?
CM: The video was inspired by both the lyrics and the over-saturation of imagery we receive these days via the media. It can have a corrupting influence. It led me to the idea of a live performance by the band being watched by two kids. I needed a place where this over abundance of information could be played out, so the circus seemed like a good analogy for it.
What were the logistics involved in the shoot?
CM: It was a twenty six hour shoot which we did on a soundstage in London. The band's tour bus turned up direct from the previous night's gig, which was great, because when everyone showed up at 6am the band were already there. We had them trapped! They played the track through about six times and Tom and Serge did some extra shots. It was an exteremely long day, and I still only got about half of what I wanted to get. In the end, there's only so much you can do in 26 hours. There was an element of life imitating art. If you film a band with someburlesque dancers, some Hells Angels and knife throwers in a Big Top, it actually becomes a circus!
There are a lot of disparate visual elements involved ...
CM: Yeah. Because the band have such a strong image it meant we could play with certain imagery without overwhelming them. Anything from The Black Panthers to the Hells Angels; this iconic, screwball imagery all fits. It also seemed to be the context the band work off of. They use certain imagery and it sums up a vibe, and everyone reads into it what they like. For me, that's where art is at its best. I must say, I was surprised there wasn't more of a furore about the images from Abu Ghraib. There seemed to be more controversy about the naked female dancer. I guess that says a lot about the society we live in right now!
Visually, it feels like 21st century psychedelia; the ‘60's blueprint updated...
CM: There was definitely an influence from (the Sayles Brothers Rolling Stones 1969 movie) Gimme Shelter and Kenneth Anger's films - that ‘60's freedom of thought. It seems to suit the band. They were exciting times. Bands like The Beatles and The Stones had the tacit encouragement of the public to go as far out as they wanted. Now the climate seems to be the opposite - the further bands stray from the blueprint, the less inclined their public are to go with them. Kasabian aren't retro in any way, but they have elements of the golden age of rock'n'roll about their music and image, so I felt I could utilise that same kind of abstraction, by including Black Panthers and Hells Angels. Most bands have to stay within their own formula but Kasabian are stronger than that. They take elements of rock's past and make them their own.
Lyrically, the song's themes of knife crime and urban paranoia are very contemporary...
CM: Yeah. I know Serge was mindful of the video being relevant to today. From speaking to him, I gathered these are strange times in the U.K at the minute. Society has progressed yet youth culture still has a high propensity for violence. It feels like this rash of knife crime among young people is dragging things back to the stone age.
Did you want to obliquely reference that in the video?
CM: I tried to bring those ideas across in really subtle ways. I didn't want to tell stories, I wanted to allude to them. There are representations of it in the video - the knife thrower and the women dancing with the swords on their heads, so there's a hint of that narrative. The song works in the same way. When I first heard it, it just sounded like a great pop song - I didn't know that was what it was about. At the same time, I didn't need to be told word for word, I 'd rather just get the suggestion. Psychedelia and abstraction go brilliantly together - I Am The Walrus is the perfect example of how powerful lyrics can be when they mean nothing on the surface, but they mean so much when they're strung together in the right formation. That's where poetry and prose differ. You have a lot more freedom.
How did you get the Hells Angels involved?
CM: A stroke of luck - I don't think they've ever been in a video before. Fortunately, the band's tour manager is well connected with them and there's a bond between the band and the Angels. We got in touch with them and they happened to be at a rally in Italy. For a while it seemed like they wouldn't be able to do it, but they left a day early and drove for two days just to make it. In the end, about twenty of them showed up. They were so cool, and into the whole process.
While we're here, what are your favourite videos?
CM: Oh that's a difficult one. I'd say The Stones It's Only Rock'n'Roll - where they're dressed as sailors and covered in foam - and Roots Manuva's Witness. -
Jun 19, 04:16 AMDispatches from the Madhouse Pt 3Greetings Asylum Seekers
The week of release of West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum and the figures speak for themselves. 73,021 copies sold on the first day, a 20 date tour all but sold out, and 60,000 copies of Fire now in the homes of the country's most discerning music lovers. Further proof - if it were needed- that even in the Digital Age TM and the cultural debris of 2009, rock'n'roll can still touch the heart and soul, the head and the feet all at once. For the band, it's been another week of slashing guitar chords, screaming crowds and late night epiphanies. But then, when the sun's out and the stars are aligned, anything feels possible, right? Especially with Where Did All The Love Go? about to hit radio, another wake up call for those who think music is something you pour into your coffee for flavour at Starbucks. So bless the weather, throw open the windows and let the neighbours dig West Ryder too. In the meantime, here are the latest thoughts of Star Captain Pizzorno...
Elliot Palm
Consultant Narcologist
West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
How was the last night supporting Oasis at Heaton Park?
Serge: The last of the three gigs was a really special night. By that point we'd all started to appreciate the scale of the event. As Liam said, the last person to bring that many people together in the city was The Pope! We had a great show and Oasis played a brilliant set. It was as though they were exorcising their demons after hassles on Thursday night. Phil, their tour DJ, really got the crowd going before they came on. It reminded me I've got to sort out a mixtape for when we play our own arena shows later in the year. After the gig we had a few glasses of champagne to celebrate Fire going top three. I can't thank the fans enough for helping us get there - a great moment.
The album came out last Monday. It must have been a good feeling after all this time and effort...
Yeah. We played an instore gig at HMV in Manchester and I was blown away to see a load of fans had turned up for the signing session. There were lots of young girls there which is always great to see. I get a real buzz off the fact West Ryder might be someone's first ever album. It's psychedelic in the true sense of the word - challenging what pop can be.We played a six song set in the basement of the HMV building. It felt like going into the belly of the beast! As Tom said, it's the place where only the staff and the shoplifters ever get to see. I went out for a curry with Noel and Mani from The Roses in the evening. It was one of those 'Is this really happening?' moments. We got papped on the way out. I didn't realise until the next morning when I saw the picture in The Sun. We were all in a row - it looked like a rock'n'roll versuin of Reservoir Dogs!
How were the gigs in Newcastle and Sunderland?
Serge: They were both brilliant in different ways. It's always great to play Newcastle. It's brilliant doing support slots, but at points it becomes a bit of a battle. In Newcastle, because it was our own show, they were with us all the way. It was a fucking amazing crowd. For me personally, it was up there with the Leicester shows in terms of atmosphere. When the crowd sang LSF at the end I don't think I've ever heard it so loud. Newcastle is a rock'n'roll town. They understand they've got a part to play in the same way a football crowd does - they're the twelfth man. Sunderland was equally good. The Stadium Of Light is an incredible place, a sporting cathedral. We had to come off stage during Underdog because people were getting crushed down the front. In a funny way it made the gig, because when we came back on and did Empire everyone was really focused. It was like a mushroom cloud of energy kicking off. After that sort of buzz, nothing afterwards can compare.
What was it like playing the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff?
Serge: Of all the gigs with Oasis that was probably the best one. The capacity for the gig is 60,000 but there must have been 35,000 there for us. We started with Shoot The Runner and the crowd were with us all the way. Tom was on great form. You can't take your eyes off of him. I'm not comparing us toThe Stones or Zeppelin but he's got that magnetic quality all the great rock'n'roll frontmen have got. He's the best of his generation.
Afterwards it was straight on the bus for a few beers en route to Swindon, all to the sound of Maliki's The Ugly Side Of Love. It's the best thing I've heard for ages. Swindon was another quality show. It's great to hear people singing along to the words from the new songs and shouting for other new ones. We want to get a few more songs off West Ryder into the shows in the Autumn. We're going to make those unforgettable, a psychedelic extravaganza.
Any other highs and lows of the week?
Serge: It was a shame we didn't get to make it to the Mojo Awards on Thursday. We were hoping to present an award to the Pretty Things but logistics just got in the way. They're such beautiful human beings, the genuine article. I guess the oddest thing that happened was seeing a picture in the paper of Daniel Radcliffe carrying a copy of the album. Apparently he's a big fan. Good to know Harry Potter's on board. It makes sense really- it's the sort of album a wizard can appreciate!
Next week: More mega-gigs, the build up to Glastonbury and a trip to the British Grand Prix... -
Jun 04, 06:17 AMDispatches from the Madhouse Pt 1The first in a weekly series of bulletins from within the Kasabian camp, delivered by Dr Elliot Palm, Consultant Narcologist at West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum.
Greetings Asylum Seekers...
June 2009. The press phase of Operation WRPLA has begun, and what a glorious sight it's been. Across the U.K, newsagents have found their shelves filled with an NME cover boasting images of a surrealist tea-party, inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In Metroland, commuters have found their broadsheet diet of fear'n'famine interrupted by our favourite psychedelic street casuals name-checking everyone from Silver Apples to Charles Bukowski and Tangerine Dream.
Across Europe, meanwhile, websites have been blanket-bombed with terrace tales and lysergic quips. It's been the journalistic equivalent of Abbie Hoffman putting acid in the water-supply; a napalming of normality to rival the Tet Offensive.
Oh, and the alternative, out there in the real world? Fat-cat MPs face up to having their hands in the till, the recession rolls on and a promising teenage footballer called Jahmal Mason-Blair gets tragically killed in a street scuffle in East London.
It's enough to make you feel a bit like R.P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: “Jesus – I must be crazy to be in a loony bin like this.”
Or, as the band put it in forthcoming single 'Where Did All The Love Go?': “Gotta see the signs of a real change coming/Take another sip of this hobo's wine/ And get yourself a million miles from this concrete jungle."
All of which brings us neatly to this week's events, a catch-up with Serge on the making of the video.
Look after each other out there, brothers and sisters.
There's Hope for Everyone
Elliot Palm
Consultant Narcologist
West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Where did you shoot the video for Where Did All The Love Go??
Serge: We did it last Wednesday on a soundstage in Wembley, all in one day. You know how these things are - they always take longer than everyone expects. Some bright spark booked it in on the day of the Champions League Final. Inevitably, we missed it. But it was well worth it.
What was the thought process behind the video?
Serge: It came from an idea from a video director we know called Charles Mehling. It's a surreal circus with us playing in the middle of it, based on one of those old '60's American variety shows. It's all seen through the eyes of a couple of kids who sneak under the canvas walls of a large tent set in an abandoned warehouse and see the madness taking place. It's a constant bombardment of images and ideas, total overload. We wanted it to have a disorientating feel so you're not sure what's coming next, like when you're jet-lagged and you're more receptive to things. Stylistically it's inspired by ('60s' auteur) Kenneth Anger in films like Scorpio Rising, Busby Berkeley and French cabarat. It's very surreal- there are Black Panthers in it, a knife thrower with a Union Jack cape, pigs painted with Euro signs, the lot! It was another one of those Spinal Tap moments. I'd be standing there next to a Hells Angel and a belly dancer and a donkey would walk past!
The lyrics of Where Did All the Love Go? seem particularly apt at the moment..
Serge: Yeah, we wanted to get that over in the video too. Kids are constantly bombarded with images these days, it inevitably leads to a lack of innocence. Any kid with access to a computer is one click away from seeing almost anything. It's a totally different experience to the one I had growing up as a kid, where the world ended with the school playground. Y'know, what happened to the days when kids were happy messing about with their mates and playing British Bulldog? At the same time, it's a pop single; it's got an uplifting disco feel - you could play it in a club. And it's quite sexy in places.
It's been great hearing Fire get so much radio airplay in the last few weeks..
Serge: Yeah, it's been a real surprise. It sounds weird between the rest of the stuff they play, but then I think the rest of the music on there is mental!
Fire isn't a traditional radio record either, but people seem to be ready to accept it from us. Maybe because we're on the third album. We're the polar opposite of those bands who have one big radio hit and their fans don't know anything about them, but it's already made a real difference at gigs. When we played the Great Escape in Brighton the other week the reaction to Fire was insane. It made me realise the power of radio. The best thing is that it feeds into the rest of the songs, so the whole set becomes supercharged. We can't wait to get out there.
While we're on the subject, how did the video for Fire come about?
Serge: We did that with Wiz in South Africa. We wanted to get the look and feel of small town America, and it was easier to shoot over there than go to the States. We filmed it in this small town a hundred miles outside Cape Town. A totally mental shoot. There was a school next door , so there would be two hundred kids watching us, queueing up for autographs. The whole idea is that we're stealing the music back from the people who are out to ruin it - I think we all know who we're talking about. Wiz is a genius at drawing people's personalites out on camera - he did it brilliantly with Tom on the Empire shoot, and he did it again with Fire.”
How was recording 'Later' with Jools Holland last week?
Serge: “Really good. The last time we did it we were in the middle of touring Empire and we were totally exhausted. None of us were particularly happy with it, so we were determined to really put in a performance this time. We got three gospel singers in for Fire and it really worked. We did Underdog and Fast Fuse which really clicked. Sometimes you can try as hard as you like, and no matter what you do, the spark doesn't come, but we nailed it.
Any memories from this week's NME cover shoot?
Serge: Marian Paterson (NME photo editor) suggested the idea of a cross between the sleeve of The Stones 'Beggars Banquet' and 'Alice In Wonderland' and it was exactly what we wanted - something out of the ordinary. I like the fact we're referencing a scene from a book published in the nineteenth century, surrounded by cherry tarts. For me that's what being in the band is all about; not just showing up, but taking it to the extreme edges of what it's capable of. It means we can keep people guessing visually.
The reviews so far have been great, but I'm increasingly interested in how people perceive the band-and this record- thirty years from now. I don't want to look back on the band and think, we were just another group who never did anything too risky. I want to say, I was that bloke who was on the cover of the NME wearing a white suit, holding a rabbit! (laughs).If it leads me to a nervous breakdown, so be it...
Next Week: Serge tells us what it felt like to play main support at the 50,000 capacity Oasis /Kasabian 'super-gigs' at Manchester's Heaton Park.....
