Ahead of the release of his solo album, former Fratellis front-man Jon Fratelli took the time to chat to us about what to expect from his solo career.
-How has the reaction been to the singles you've released so far?
You know, I have no idea. I like them. Pretty decent I guess, but I haven't really seen any reviews.
I'm only ever really bothered about the people who like the music, and have liked it before, what they think about it. At the shows I've done, they seem to have gone down pretty well, and that's all you can hope for.
-How far do they go in representing the sound of the album?
I'm not sure. In some ways, I hope they don't. You don't really want one song to sum up a whole record. Then again, sometimes it's probably inevitable. They were more obviously singles, I guess.
I hope I've made an album of lots of songs like that. Hopefully, again, the songs don't sound like they would necessarily go together, but still make sense. The thing with records, I don't think I could listen to a record of 11 of the same songs.
I'd last three songs before I started to lose interest. So, I always hope that they're the kind of records I'm involved in. I think this one is the first time I can say that I've done that.
-Is there quite a diverse range of influences you're drawing on for this then?
They're the same as ever, but that's the thing. They're the same kind of influences. Throughout your life, I guess you use different ones at different times. You call upon different ones.
For this record, though, there really wasn't any one or two areas where it was coming from. I remember my attention span jumping around a lot whilst writing it. I could do whatever I wanted. There was no preconceived notion.
I was starting again, you know, and because of that you can write your own rules. That came into it a little bit. Before you know it, you're heading off in a few different directions.
I kinda hope that makes the whole thing listenable and interesting. I'd hate for it not to be interesting.
-Do you think you prefer working as a solo artist, compared to how it was in The Fratellis?
The only different, one difference, comes down to the songs that you write. Before you even bring them to the band, the only difference is the songs that you write on your own. You don't have an internal editor, which I think I did with The Fratellis.
I'd write certain songs and think that one person in the band wouldn't like it. That started to impact on writing songs, that checking all the time. You were checking yourself, how is this going to go down?
It's not a criticism of them, but it got in the way of writing songs. The only difference is that you're just writing. You're not necessarily liking everything, but you're doing lots of it, because you're not checking yourself.
That's a good way to work, because you come out with a lot of stuff. You've got a lot of songs to choose from.
-Do you think fans of previous projects will enjoy the new album, or is it a drastic change?
I don't think it's a drastic change. I think it'll make sense to some of them. I don't think it's going to thrown those people too much. At the same time, you still want to challenge people.
You don't want to make it too easy. I've got no interest in doing the same thing again. I don't have to do it again, I've done it once.
You want it to be something that doesn't confuse people, but challenges them I guess.
-You just hinted that The Fratellis is something you've done and don't need to do again. Is this drawing a line under previous bands, and starting a solo career?
Yeah, I think that band's gone now. I'm certain.
-What was the reason behind releasing The Magic Hour for free earlier this year?
It goes back to having a lot of material. You can be left with tonnes of songs after making a record, and you're actually left with stuff you really like, but just didn't fit on that record with the other songs.
Some of them you'll use again. Some, I'm keeping hold of for a while and I'll keep them until the next record. Then, there's some you're left with that, even though you like them, you're certain you won't use them on a record.
Right now, it's a good way of getting music to lots of people. The b-side has become a bit redundant because there aren't many physically released singles anymore.
There's no need for a b-side, nobody even asks. More people get to hear these songs if you just give them away and treat them as b-sides. I just like that idea.
By the time you're finished with the whole album cycle, you could have two albums worth of material to let people get hold of.
-What have you brought from your previous projects to held you with your solo career?
I brought my drummer, Mince, from The Fratellis. The last band I was in, Codeine Velvet Club, I brought pretty much all of them to do the rest.
So, it doesn't actually feel that much different to me, surrounded by the same people that I have been for the last four or five years.
-Are there any experiences you've had that have helped?
You just learn, hopefully, with every record you make. You learn what you need to do and what you should stay away from.
This time, I was really happy to give the record over to the producer and give him the control. Really, I didn't want to take any control over the sound or sonics of it.
It was nice to let somebody else hear an idea of where the record should go. I like the fact that everybody has assigned jobs. Mine was to write songs and put the chords in, but not to be too involved in the other stuff.
A lot of stuff goes into putting a record together, if you want a good one. It was nice to just let someone do that, it's the first time I've done that, really stood back. I'd do it that way again because it really works for me.
-What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Well, playing live actually. It seems like an obvious one, but to go out and play as many shows as possible. The live setting is the last thing a musician has any control over.
All those other things, whether it gets played on radio or whether the label does a good job on your record, all of that is completely out of your hands.
Playing live is the last thing, and that'll never go. It's quite comforting to know that if all else fails, you're a pretty decent guitar player, you sing and you can go out to sell these songs by playing them to people.
It's the age-old thing. So, that's the plan for me. That's the fallback in a good way, just to be out playing for people.
-Best of luck with the live dates and the album. Thanks for chatting to us.
Thanks man, I appreciate it.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
Ahead of the release of his solo album, former Fratellis front-man Jon Fratelli took the time to chat to us about what to expect from his solo career.
-How has the reaction been to the singles you've released so far?
You know, I have no idea. I like them. Pretty decent I guess, but I haven't really seen any reviews.
I'm only ever really bothered about the people who like the music, and have liked it before, what they think about it. At the shows I've done, they seem to have gone down pretty well, and that's all you can hope for.
-How far do they go in representing the sound of the album?
I'm not sure. In some ways, I hope they don't. You don't really want one song to sum up a whole record. Then again, sometimes it's probably inevitable. They were more obviously singles, I guess.
I hope I've made an album of lots of songs like that. Hopefully, again, the songs don't sound like they would necessarily go together, but still make sense. The thing with records, I don't think I could listen to a record of 11 of the same songs.
I'd last three songs before I started to lose interest. So, I always hope that they're the kind of records I'm involved in. I think this one is the first time I can say that I've done that.
-Is there quite a diverse range of influences you're drawing on for this then?
They're the same as ever, but that's the thing. They're the same kind of influences. Throughout your life, I guess you use different ones at different times. You call upon different ones.
For this record, though, there really wasn't any one or two areas where it was coming from. I remember my attention span jumping around a lot whilst writing it. I could do whatever I wanted. There was no preconceived notion.
I was starting again, you know, and because of that you can write your own rules. That came into it a little bit. Before you know it, you're heading off in a few different directions.
I kinda hope that makes the whole thing listenable and interesting. I'd hate for it not to be interesting.
-Do you think you prefer working as a solo artist, compared to how it was in The Fratellis?
The only different, one difference, comes down to the songs that you write. Before you even bring them to the band, the only difference is the songs that you write on your own. You don't have an internal editor, which I think I did with The Fratellis.
I'd write certain songs and think that one person in the band wouldn't like it. That started to impact on writing songs, that checking all the time. You were checking yourself, how is this going to go down?
It's not a criticism of them, but it got in the way of writing songs. The only difference is that you're just writing. You're not necessarily liking everything, but you're doing lots of it, because you're not checking yourself.
That's a good way to work, because you come out with a lot of stuff. You've got a lot of songs to choose from.
-Do you think fans of previous projects will enjoy the new album, or is it a drastic change?
I don't think it's a drastic change. I think it'll make sense to some of them. I don't think it's going to thrown those people too much. At the same time, you still want to challenge people.
You don't want to make it too easy. I've got no interest in doing the same thing again. I don't have to do it again, I've done it once.
You want it to be something that doesn't confuse people, but challenges them I guess.
-You just hinted that The Fratellis is something you've done and don't need to do again. Is this drawing a line under previous bands, and starting a solo career?
Yeah, I think that band's gone now. I'm certain.
-What was the reason behind releasing The Magic Hour for free earlier this year?
It goes back to having a lot of material. You can be left with tonnes of songs after making a record, and you're actually left with stuff you really like, but just didn't fit on that record with the other songs.
Tagged in Jon Fratelli