Louder Than The Radio
They've wooed the audiences of Bon Jovi on the New Jersey quintets 'One Wild Night' UK Tour - and audiences of their own with album newie Audio Lessonover. Chatting down the wire with Delirous frontman Martin Smith, Buzz discovers it really is good to talk.
Do you prefer playing in front of larger crowds (as on the recent tour with Bon Jovi or at festivals) or headlining gigs in smaller venues? I enjoy both, although there's nothing like huge crowds for mass sing-alongs of your tunes!
How was the experience of touring with Bon Jovi? Absolutely brilliant! We met Bon Jovi once and got on fantastic with (the other support band) Matchbox Twenty. Live, we really went for it and at the same time we made a lot of friends - socially and musically.
At the Huddersfield gig you branded Bon Jovi as 'your heroes' towards the end of your set. Was this genuine? (Or merely vintage flattery as a gesture of thanks to be supporting them?) No, they aren't our heroes.That was a tongue in cheek statement although we do have a lot of respect for Bon Jovi. It was just to get the crowd pumped up.
The Delirious sound has matured throughout the years, King Of Fools bridging the sound between secular and Christian music, Mezzamorphis continuing this with a more contemporary feel while Glo opted for all things big and epical. Audio Lessonover offers something unique again, sounding like the most refined Delirious album yet. Is the reinvention of your sound per album to do with how you write or feel at the time, or to avoid being sonically stereotyped? I honestly feel we've just gone with where we're at. Audio Lessonover was a very natural record - we set up on the floor and played the songs together as a band. So with the exception of one or two studio overdubs, it was a live in the studio type of record. Our music's never being concerned with fashion - we just sure of what we're about.
While last record Glo was a fine opus, in hindsight do you think it was a bit overblown in places and not as catchy as other Delirious efforts? That's partly fair comment. We made Glo specifically for the church market (e.g., songs to sing in church, in the vein of earlier numbers such as Historymaker or I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever). We even brought in some monks on the track God You Are My God to give some extra feeling!
The hooks and melody always seem to have been the main characteristic of the Delirious sound - and it seems to be at the fore again on Audio Lessonover, (Take Me Away, Fire etc). Yeah, we've always tried to aim for great hook-lines and melodies!
Waiting For The Summer is a grandiose seasonal anthem that's unmistakably Delirious. What was the inspiration behind the song? Interestingly the song came out of another idea - which we redeveloped, on the studio floor. At the time we had no lyrics. When we were recording up in Brighton during December / January time, it was raining constantly. We saw people waiting at bus stops for ages, getting soaked, and we were all saying 'I can't wait for the summer' - hence the songs title! It's also a cute love song about spending time with my lady, (cue the 'you're a beautiful woman' line), and generally having fun.
In Angel In Disguise, Love Is The Compass, Angel, Bicycle Gasoline, America and Stealing Time, the record offers plenty of shade, arguably more so than any other Delirious release. That was Chuck's (Zwicky, producer) influence. He created a lot of segments in different parts and places - say Angel In Disguise for a good example. It just happened that way because it felt good.
How did you find working with (producer) Chuck Zwicky? What did he bring to the records sound? It wasn't the most enjoyable experience we've ever had - he's a strong guy as opposed to a team player, and it was all a bit grueling (Reason for title of the album explained? Ed.) He broke old habits. Before we used to have one fixed idea about how we would set about writing tunes - he showed us a whole new realm of songwriting. Zakk was really pushing us to get the best out of our instruments and each other - particularly concerning vocals and guitars. I think my voice is in better shape than ever, and the drum sound on the record is great… I'm really proud of the album.
Many have their hopes pinned on the band as being the next big thing for pop music in this country. Given your musical qualities, acclaim and sales plus the fact that you've got "a message to bring…", it must be quite an exciting adventure as to what the band can potentially achieve.
Yeah, we've been playing together for ten years (note, guitarist Stuart Garrard arrived in '94) and we're still excited and still lovin' it. Not just because of being in a band, but because we have a purpose. Our faith and beliefs - that is what we're about and plays a vital role in what we do.
Who have been influences upon the group musically? Radiohead, U2, Manic Street Preachers, Coldplay and Starsailor to name a few!
You clearly have your own vocal ID and frontman skills - an essential quality in any successful band (E.g. Liam Gallagher, Oasis, Kelly Jones, Stereophonics etc). Who has been a vocal or stage influence upon you? Wow! (In humble response to the question, Ed!). Bono (U2) is the ultimate frontman to my mind and a big influence. While when I was really young INXS's (frontman the late Michael Hutchince) was an inspiration. I've just watched these people do their thing and gone on to develop my own onstage persona.
Stuarts guitar sound has always thrown something different into the mix over the years. Audio Lessonover shows off some impressively catchy guitar melodies (Take Me Away, Waiting For The Summer), and a fine solo workouts on Alien and Show Me Heaven. It seems the lead side of his playing has had a much more predominant role on the record.
Yeah, …Lessonover's got less chunky 'n' distorted sounds and it's not as crunchy chord wise, but it's guitar melodies and soloing all the way - Stu's a great guitar player.
Who have been the biggest influences been on Stuarts guitar playing? Jeff Beck, The Edge, Phil Keaggy - there the ones I hear him talking about.
While the pro-Christian lyrics are still faithfully intact, there's a subtler message this time around. Our songs are very holistic. we're singing about life - ordinary, everyday experiences through the eyes of our faith - and giving a different prospective. There's one song about one of my friends, who's having trouble with his wife for example - our prospective here is how God works in situation to make things better. That vein continues through the record as a whole.
Given you've established your message on previous albums, will you now consider going secular in a lyrical sense? We write whatever we feel, and always close link our lyrics to who we are as well as expressing God's half - so we're not just writing about ourselves exclusively.
Why was Take Me Away withdrawn as the second single release? We were receiving very little radio play and we didn't want to put our fans through the agony of buying the single only for it to crash out of the charts a week later. (Cue the 'You may not here it on the radio but you can feel it in the air' from the Delirious track Revival Town - Ed!). Although the track Alien is on radio play lists across the country.
Can we ever expect another praise and worship album in the vein of the Cutting Edge releases (E.g. Cutting Edge 5?) We've always written praise and worship songs but now is not the time to release another album totally consisting of that style - so who knows?
What songs will be in the live set from the new album? Will any previously unheard live Delirious numbers be unveiled? All 13 will be showing in some form over the course of the tour, accompanied with the usual Delirious live fav's.
Besides your gig with names such as Pulp, James and Catatonia at Guildford Live 2001, have you any more festival appearances in wait? Surely Reading and Leeds have to be on your minds for next year… It was a really great gig - as for Reading and Leeds, we are trying!
Finally, what can you reveal to us about the albums hidden track? The hidden track was recorded by Stu G on his eight track at home, and it also features Stu on vocals. It's titled Making Art.
Extra exclusive… Delirious played a recent unplugged gig featuring songs from the new album besides favourites such as Deeper, Bliss and My Glorious. The gig included vocals from guitarist Stu G as well as Martin Smith. During a question and answering session, the topic of what the story was behind the name Audio Lessonover came up. The bands reason: "It's an anagram for 'radio one loves us!" Paul Buttery
STOP PRESS… Delirious's 18-date tour of the UK commences on the 15th November - while on December 12 the group release a remix of an earlier album classic (from Cutting Edge I and 2) - I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever. Nail them down at your peril…
Many thanks to Martin Smith and Amanda Collins @ Furious and Warren @ Blurb for arranging and making the interview happen - Cheers.
They've wooed the audiences of Bon Jovi on the New Jersey quintets 'One Wild Night' UK Tour - and audiences of their own with album newie Audio Lessonover. Chatting down the wire with Delirous frontman Martin Smith, Buzz discovers it really is good to talk.
Do you prefer playing in front of larger crowds (as on the recent tour with Bon Jovi or at festivals) or headlining gigs in smaller venues? I enjoy both, although there's nothing like huge crowds for mass sing-alongs of your tunes!
How was the experience of touring with Bon Jovi? Absolutely brilliant! We met Bon Jovi once and got on fantastic with (the other support band) Matchbox Twenty. Live, we really went for it and at the same time we made a lot of friends - socially and musically.
At the Huddersfield gig you branded Bon Jovi as 'your heroes' towards the end of your set. Was this genuine? (Or merely vintage flattery as a gesture of thanks to be supporting them?) No, they aren't our heroes.That was a tongue in cheek statement although we do have a lot of respect for Bon Jovi. It was just to get the crowd pumped up.
The Delirious sound has matured throughout the years, King Of Fools bridging the sound between secular and Christian music, Mezzamorphis continuing this with a more contemporary feel while Glo opted for all things big and epical. Audio Lessonover offers something unique again, sounding like the most refined Delirious album yet. Is the reinvention of your sound per album to do with how you write or feel at the time, or to avoid being sonically stereotyped? I honestly feel we've just gone with where we're at. Audio Lessonover was a very natural record - we set up on the floor and played the songs together as a band. So with the exception of one or two studio overdubs, it was a live in the studio type of record. Our music's never being concerned with fashion - we just sure of what we're about.
While last record Glo was a fine opus, in hindsight do you think it was a bit overblown in places and not as catchy as other Delirious efforts? That's partly fair comment. We made Glo specifically for the church market (e.g., songs to sing in church, in the vein of earlier numbers such as Historymaker or I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever). We even brought in some monks on the track God You Are My God to give some extra feeling!
The hooks and melody always seem to have been the main characteristic of the Delirious sound - and it seems to be at the fore again on Audio Lessonover, (Take Me Away, Fire etc). Yeah, we've always tried to aim for great hook-lines and melodies!
Waiting For The Summer is a grandiose seasonal anthem that's unmistakably Delirious. What was the inspiration behind the song? Interestingly the song came out of another idea - which we redeveloped, on the studio floor. At the time we had no lyrics. When we were recording up in Brighton during December / January time, it was raining constantly. We saw people waiting at bus stops for ages, getting soaked, and we were all saying 'I can't wait for the summer' - hence the songs title! It's also a cute love song about spending time with my lady, (cue the 'you're a beautiful woman' line), and generally having fun.
In Angel In Disguise, Love Is The Compass, Angel, Bicycle Gasoline, America and Stealing Time, the record offers plenty of shade, arguably more so than any other Delirious release. That was Chuck's (Zwicky, producer) influence. He created a lot of segments in different parts and places - say Angel In Disguise for a good example. It just happened that way because it felt good.
How did you find working with (producer) Chuck Zwicky? What did he bring to the records sound? It wasn't the most enjoyable experience we've ever had - he's a strong guy as opposed to a team player, and it was all a bit grueling (Reason for title of the album explained? Ed.) He broke old habits. Before we used to have one fixed idea about how we would set about writing tunes - he showed us a whole new realm of songwriting. Zakk was really pushing us to get the best out of our instruments and each other - particularly concerning vocals and guitars. I think my voice is in better shape than ever, and the drum sound on the record is great… I'm really proud of the album.
Many have their hopes pinned on the band as being the next big thing for pop music in this country. Given your musical qualities, acclaim and sales plus the fact that you've got "a message to bring…", it must be quite an exciting adventure as to what the band can potentially achieve.
Yeah, we've been playing together for ten years (note, guitarist Stuart Garrard arrived in '94) and we're still excited and still lovin' it. Not just because of being in a band, but because we have a purpose. Our faith and beliefs - that is what we're about and plays a vital role in what we do.
Who have been influences upon the group musically? Radiohead, U2, Manic Street Preachers, Coldplay and Starsailor to name a few!
You clearly have your own vocal ID and frontman skills - an essential quality in any successful band (E.g. Liam Gallagher, Oasis, Kelly Jones, Stereophonics etc). Who has been a vocal or stage influence upon you? Wow! (In humble response to the question, Ed!). Bono (U2) is the ultimate frontman to my mind and a big influence. While when I was really young INXS's (frontman the late Michael Hutchince) was an inspiration. I've just watched these people do their thing and gone on to develop my own onstage persona.
Stuarts guitar sound has always thrown something different into the mix over the years. Audio Lessonover shows off some impressively catchy guitar melodies (Take Me Away, Waiting For The Summer), and a fine solo workouts on Alien and Show Me Heaven. It seems the lead side of his playing has had a much more predominant role on the record.
Yeah, …Lessonover's got less chunky 'n' distorted sounds and it's not as crunchy chord wise, but it's guitar melodies and soloing all the way - Stu's a great guitar player.
Who have been the biggest influences been on Stuarts guitar playing? Jeff Beck, The Edge, Phil Keaggy - there the ones I hear him talking about.
While the pro-Christian lyrics are still faithfully intact, there's a subtler message this time around. Our songs are very holistic. we're singing about life - ordinary, everyday experiences through the eyes of our faith - and giving a different prospective. There's one song about one of my friends, who's having trouble with his wife for example - our prospective here is how God works in situation to make things better. That vein continues through the record as a whole.
Given you've established your message on previous albums, will you now consider going secular in a lyrical sense? We write whatever we feel, and always close link our lyrics to who we are as well as expressing God's half - so we're not just writing about ourselves exclusively.
Why was Take Me Away withdrawn as the second single release? We were receiving very little radio play and we didn't want to put our fans through the agony of buying the single only for it to crash out of the charts a week later. (Cue the 'You may not here it on the radio but you can feel it in the air' from the Delirious track Revival Town - Ed!). Although the track Alien is on radio play lists across the country.
Can we ever expect another praise and worship album in the vein of the Cutting Edge releases (E.g. Cutting Edge 5?) We've always written praise and worship songs but now is not the time to release another album totally consisting of that style - so who knows?
What songs will be in the live set from the new album? Will any previously unheard live Delirious numbers be unveiled? All 13 will be showing in some form over the course of the tour, accompanied with the usual Delirious live fav's.
Besides your gig with names such as Pulp, James and Catatonia at Guildford Live 2001, have you any more festival appearances in wait? Surely Reading and Leeds have to be on your minds for next year… It was a really great gig - as for Reading and Leeds, we are trying!
Finally, what can you reveal to us about the albums hidden track? The hidden track was recorded by Stu G on his eight track at home, and it also features Stu on vocals. It's titled Making Art.
Extra exclusive… Delirious played a recent unplugged gig featuring songs from the new album besides favourites such as Deeper, Bliss and My Glorious. The gig included vocals from guitarist Stu G as well as Martin Smith. During a question and answering session, the topic of what the story was behind the name Audio Lessonover came up. The bands reason: "It's an anagram for 'radio one loves us!" Paul Buttery
STOP PRESS… Delirious's 18-date tour of the UK commences on the 15th November - while on December 12 the group release a remix of an earlier album classic (from Cutting Edge I and 2) - I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever. Nail them down at your peril…
Many thanks to Martin Smith and Amanda Collins @ Furious and Warren @ Blurb for arranging and making the interview happen - Cheers.
