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"I think our best lyrics are the words of survivors in realistic situations.
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Everything But The Girl took the long hard road to their current creative peak. After turning out scads of fair-to-middling adult-oriented pop records throughout the '80s and early '90s, EBTG changed course with the 1996 release of Walking Wounded, a brilliant effort that fused Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn's mature, often melancholy themes of survival with the sounds of British club land: drum 'n' bass, jungle and trip-hop. They performed the transformation with a grace and expertise uncharacteristic of pop stars trying to remain relevant and youthful; in other words, they did not coldly calculate their embrace of dance culture with hopes of achieving chart-topping success. Rather, in the wake of Ben Watt's nearly fatal struggle with Churg-Strauss syndrome, a rare disease affecting the immune system, the two embraced and were enveloped by dance music's immediacy and joie de vivre. The duo took it upon themselves to master the intricacies of dance music production. While vocalist Thorn began contributing vocals to work by the likes of drum 'n' bass DJ Adam F and trip-hoppers Massive Attack, multi-instrumentalist Watt studiously applied himself to learning the art of the DJ. He now hosts the popular London dance club Lazy Dog and has lent his newfound production chops to folk-raver Beth Orton.
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Suffice it to say that, thanks to his success as a DJ, his dedication to updating EBTG's official Web site, the recent release of EBTG's benchmarking new album,
Temperamental, and amidst preparations for EBTG's upcoming tour, Watt is a busy guy. He's also a proper Englishman, however, and graciously managed to make time to answer a few questions for RadioSpy via e-mail.
Sean Flinn: Your latest album, Temperamental, debuted (in a fashion) on the Internet as a streaming listening party. Describe your familiarity and experiences with on-line music. What plans do you have, if any, for future appearances by EBTG (and yourself, as DJ) on the Internet?
Ben Watt: I work almost exclusively on a laptop, either at home or in hotel rooms. Music sounds so crap through the little speakers that I never bother to listen to much over the Net. The early years of real audio were so bad as well; with music sounding like it was underwater, that I lost interest. Clearly things are much better now, and I thought the Temperamental Web ring was a total success.
How do you think the Internet and the advent of on-line music media (MP3 compression technology, SHOUTcast, etc.) will affect the music industry and bands like Everything But The Girl?
When a fully regulated format is established that protects writers and artists, I think that downloading albums will become an important way to purchase music. However, I think it is foolish to underestimate people's desire to simply get out of the house and walk into shops for recreation, which means high street retail shopping will be around for a while yet. In the meantime, MP3 is a great way to release demos, live tracks and bonus material that don't affect a band's recording contract obligations. For new bands looking for an ear, it is invaluable.
Describe your early (and later) experiences as a DJ. How did your established reputation as a pop musician affect your reception as a DJ? Was it easier or more difficult to gain the respect of your peers and audiences, or did your career up to that point have any affect at all on your DJing?
Of course some people were skeptical when I started, but people who saw me DJ judged me purely on my sets. Early allies were Fabio and Howie B, who said, "Hang in there." Being a pop star clearly made a lot of people intrigued, but it didn't impress them. I still had to play good sets.
Describe the process of deciding to bring elements of electronica into Everything But The Girl's music. First of all, how did you initially meet some of the folks who you've worked with -- Massive Attack, Todd Terry, and Spring Heel Jack? Did Todd Terry's remix of "Missing" catch you by surprise and make you rethink the group's possibilities, or had you been turned on to that sound in advance of the remix's success? When you began experimenting with electronica and DJing, did you have any compunction about turning Everything But The Girl into a "dance" outfit?
We were bored with our own music in the early 90's and wanted a change. Dance music had deepened and lost some of its hedonistic edge and seemed like a great place to explore new ideas. On a recommendation, we worked with John Coxon on Amplified Heart before he was even in Spring Heel Jack. We liked a lot of his approaches to making music. We wrote "Missing" round at his studio to be remixed -- at that particular tempo, simple minor chords. It was just luck that everything fell into place at once: Massive Attack rang us to collaborate; Todd's remix; I fell in love with drum 'n' bass. I don't consider EBTG a 'dance outfit,' just a band moving with the times.
People's tastes change over time, especially as they gain exposure to new and challenging music. Has your new stylistic direction and immersion in dance culture affected your view of your back catalogue? Do you ever revisit older songs and have a different take on them than when you wrote them or performed them last?
I never regret the albums we've made -- they were what we meant at the time -- but to revisit them now seems odd. It is only in pop music that you are expected to continually replay your old hits. In jazz, continual progress and the search for the new is the norm. I prefer that stance these days. I used to go and watch Miles Davis live in the 80's, and I certainly never expected (or even wanted) him to re-exhume 60's stuff from, say, Birth of the Cool or Sketches of Spain, even though they were his biggest records. In 1996, on tour, we tried to mix in old ballads with new up-tempo tunes, and the dynamic of the show was too stop-start. Currently we are exploring a more continuous groove-based show.
How has the incorporation of dance and DJ culture into your music affected your fan base? How would you like people to perceive the band? What sorts of issues have you faced in terms of pursuing your own vision and meeting the expectations of your fans?
I make albums by following my heart and my instinct, and then I take my audience where I find it. I can't bother myself with the expectations of old fans, or my music would stultify. If old fans dig the new stuff, then cool. If new fans (and we certainly have those) dig the old stuff, then cool. We have old fans that have grown with us, even into our current sound. Similarly we have old fans that can't hack it and just want Idlewild over and over again. Challenging your fans' expectations is a thing to be proud of.
What experiences have you had bringing the "new" Everything But The Girl sound to the stage? What can fans expect from your shows now? Will you be spinning and mixing while Tracey sings?
We still perform as a traditional four piece, but it is a 'futuristic combo'! We mix real playing, loops, samples, electronic gear, acoustic sounds and live vocals, but we never play to a prerecorded sequenced tape that we can't deviate from. Avoiding sequencers takes hours of programming but is worth it to keep the show modern but fluid. Actual DJing with vinyl currently plays no role in the live EBTG set.
Your book, Patient, which chronicled your battle with Churg-Strauss syndrome, appeared to great critical acclaim. Were you surprised at all by its success? How did you decide to detail your experience in fighting the illness? Was the book difficult for you to write, or did you find it therapeutic? Do you have any plans for future books?
Patient tells the story of a terrible illness I suffered in 1992. My body's immune system started to attack my own body, damaging lots of my body tissue. I nearly died. I was in hospital for three months and had four life-saving operations. Obviously it had a huge effect on my friends, my family and me. It caused me to re-assess my whole life and was perhaps a major catalyst for change within EBTG. Writing helped me come to terms with it, to explain it in words. I have no plans for another book yet.
Did your battle with Churg-Strauss Syndrome change your approach to making and hearing music? If so, how? It seems, given some of the lyrics on Walking Wounded, that the illness had a negative impact on your relationship with Tracey. Did you draw on that experience for creative inspiration, and has that helped turn some of the negatives into positives. Or had the relationship and other aspects of your life pretty much rebounded by that point?
Amplified Heart was the first album to come out after my hospitalization, and I think that album is the one that details the emotional landscape that we were both in at the time -- totally disconnected but still bonded: "Rollercoaster," "Troubled Mind," "I Don't Understand Anything," "We Walk the Same Line," "Two Star." It is quite a shell-shocked album. Walking Wounded is about literally getting up and getting on with life after change, whilst Temperamental is about positively engaging with life.
Everything But The Girl's music has heretofore reflected an air of introversion, yet Walking Wounded and Temperamental are both fairly gregarious. Do you agree with this assessment? If so, what factors do you perceive as influencing the shift in style and outlook?
I think all our albums have a fairly common outlook -- people in moments of dilemma finding a way out. Perhaps on some older songs, the solutions were a little isolated and sometimes glib, but in general I think our best lyrics are the words of survivors in realistic situations.
While Walking Wounded and Temperamental both feature elements of club and dance culture, they seem particularly geared for after-hours listening, for those car rides home after a night out (despite the massive dance-floor success of "Five Fathoms"). Did you aim to produce this sort of vibe on the albums, or was it an unintentional result?
Walking Wounded is definitely a record for bars and cars. Temperamental has more of the dance floor in it -- not your average Saturday night, hands-in-the-air variety, admittedly -- but certainly the soulful dance floor of the deeper clubs.
Your lyrics on both Walking Wounded and Temperamental seem to reflect the bittersweetness of club life. You definitely seem aware of all the highs and lows associated with dance culture. What is your favorite part of a night out? What is your least favorite? Do you consciously try to capture these moments in your lyrics?
The city at night is a really vivid world of people's hopes and despair. We go out alone to meet and commune with people but often as not come home alone. This dynamic fills several songs on the new album.
What can we expect from the band in the near and not so near future? Plans are to tour to support the new record, but do you think you'll miss DJing at Lazy Dog while you're away? Do you plan to squeeze in some DJ dates alongside the Everything But The Girls dates?
We are trying to keep everything afloat at the moment -- EBTG dates, Lazy Dog and DJing -- by carefully planning our movements. Sure, I'll miss a couple of Lazy Dogs, but it won't be a bad thing. I missed one last week, and the place was still rammed!
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