Oxford four-piece Glass Animals are currently gearing up to release their debut LP, following on from 2012’s Leaflings EP, last year’s self-titled EP and forthcoming single, ‘Gooey’. The latter sees them further refining the sound – expressive vocals strafing skeletal electronic structures centred around R&B beats and the gentle chime of tuned percussion all suffused with sultry, claustrophobic synths – a honing no doubt aided by Paul Epworth, whose Wolf Tone label the band are signed to.
Fresh off the back of finishing a European tour with St. Vincent, we’ve got a first look at the video for ‘Gooey’, which is out on April 7, while below singer David Bayley gives us an update from the band’s HQ:
How have the shows with St. Vincent gone? Has Annie Clark given you any touring tips?
David Bayley: They’ve been wicked. We got to play some really cool venues, and the crowds were lush. Annie may have been angry at us for the first show as I accidentally ate her dinner. We’re all cool now, I apologised. She didn’t give us any touring tips, but we played a show in Oxford a few weeks ago curated by one of our favourite musicians [Colin Greenwood of Radiohead], and he gave us some of the most honest touring advice we’ve had yet… the best thing you can do on stage is just have fun. Word.
Can you tell us anything more about what to expect from the debut album?
DB: If Timbaland and Dr. Dre had a love child that was brought up feral by a pack of wolves on a desert island and then that child created a soundtrack of its life – that’s a bit like what the album sounds like. It’s bigger and wilder than our previous releases – in the early days we were a bit too self conscious to completely let go when recording. We’ve put that feeling behind us and I think the musical result is something rawer and untamed.
We’re envious of your sylvan retreat, The Shed – have the woods of Oxfordshire made any contribution to the sound of the record?
DB: We spend lots of time working and rehearsing in our space so I’m sure it permeates its way into our minds and effects the way we think and write. There is an atmosphere in the record that mimics the atmosphere surrounding The Shed… there are some warped field recordings and sampled animal noises from around here that are woven into the tracks. Come hang with us if you’re ever at a loose end ’round these parts.
How’s it been working with Paul Epworth? Was it at all daunting with the man behind mega hits like Adele’s 21, etc? Did he get you using any unusual recording techniques?
DB: I may have recorded the vocals for one track lying down while holding a pineapple. Working with Paul was exciting rather than daunting. He found ways to squeeze ideas out of our brains which is an incredible talent. For the most part he used kid gloves with us and he took more of a general guiding role, and was there in the background throwing ideas around, and pushing us out of our comfort zones.
Finally, we enjoyed the Women In Love nod in the video for ‘Gooey’ – how did you come up with the idea?
DB: Normally with music videos we work closely on ideas with our friend and animator Rafael Bonilla Jr… we couldn’t make his stop motion work particularly well with the fluidity of ‘Gooey’ though, so our friend put us on to some film-makers called The Apiary for this one. We wanted something that ran well along side the threads of youth, naivety and the sort of playfulness in the lyrics. Their films already had those elements, so we left them to interpret the song as a film and this is what they came up with.
