Batting Order: Neil Hannon's Favourite Albums | Page 9 of 14 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

8. O.M.D.Architecture And Morality

Similar time to The Human League obviously – it’s just another synth-pop classic. It’s when O.M.D. still had a much more experimental edge and yet similarly to the League, they had some stonking tunes, the two ‘Joan Of Arc’ ones, and ‘Souvenir’s on that as well, which I absolutely adore. I remember I bought the single of ‘Souvenir’ and probably the single record that I have played most in my life. I just kept it on repeat on our old record player in the house. That would have been in Enniskillen Woolworth’s, probably along with Roland Rat or something – everybody buys shit records at the time as well and accidentally buys good ones when you’re that young.

I hold all of the above in mind when writing music and yet you’re also trying to expunge them from your mind as well! It’s a very complicated process – you can’t help being the sum of your parts and you can’t help little bits of the things you love coming out. If a certain chord does a certain thing in one of those songs that makes you kind of tingle, then you’re looking for the tingle, but you’re not looking to do it with the same chord, if you know what I mean! So you might use the same kind of mechanics but not the same notes.

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