Tomorrow on the Quietus we’re running a piece where we visit their home-built studio for a track-by-track run-through of the genesis of their excellent forthcoming new LP, Skying. But that title seems to be causing a certain amount of confusion, even when it comes to how you say it… and what does it mean? The sensation when the MDMA rush tickles the very top of your noggin? A foolish new internet hobby and development of planking where young indolents lie on top of a plane’s wing as it thunders down the runway in order to see how long they last before falling off? A government initiative to rebrand astronomy to make it popular with the kids. None of the above, says Horror Tom Furse of The Horrors.
"Skying is a term that I read on an Australasian psychedelic compilation," he told the Quietus. "It was an early term for tape flanging and for phasing. I think depending on where you were in the world it was used, because obviously it sounds like a plane taking off, which is what that kind of sounds like. I always really remembered that word and thought it was a really good one.
Part of the reason behind the choice of title comes from The Horrors long-standing crate-digging habits: "Then we found out there were some British records where they’d be like ‘Wow, cool. What does this box do?’ and they’d put the whole track through it. But as well as that idea, the imagery that ‘Skying’ conjures up is very fitting to us."
Check the Quietus tomorrow for the full Skying feature, featuring exclusive studio photos from the inestimable Dave Ma.
