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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Erland And The Carnival
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 9 March 2011
Formed in 2008, London-based neo-folk outfit Erland And The Carnival is comprised at its core of ex-Verve guitarist Simon Tong, Orkney island crooner Erland Cooper and percussionist David Nock. Known partly for creating offbeat contemporary reworks of Celtic and English folk standards, they released their debut album, recorded in Damon Albarn’s Studio 13, last year.
A second album, ‘Nightingale’ was released by Full Time Hobby this week, and the current single from it is ‘Map Of An Englishman’, a psych-tinged pop tune inspired by a Grayson Perry etching of the same name. It’s one of the lighter moments on the album. As the band prepare for an in-store show tonight at Bristol’s Rise Record Store, we asked guitar guy Simon to tackle our Same Six Questions.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
I started making music when I was seven or eight by forming a band with some friends who lived in my street. None of us could play an instrument but we would use the presets on my Mum’s Bomtempi organ and sing along over the top then record it onto an old cassette recorder. That’s pretty much the basic process I still use to make music today.
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
The latest album was partly inspired by the concept of making an imaginary soundtrack to a 70s British horror film.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Usually one of us demos an idea at home and works it up as far as they, can before bringing it to the rest of the band to finish off or discard, depending on how suitable or good the idea was. We probably did about 50 or 60 demos for the latest album and only thirteen made it on to the final record.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
Bernard Herrmann, Mike Nelson, Dennis Potter.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Give it a few listens.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
For as many people as possible to hear and enjoy the music.
MORE>> www.erlandandthecarnival.com
