THE MUSIC HAS CHANGED, BUT THE SAME PHILOSOPHY APPLIES
A CONVERSATION WITH ANDY GILL OF GANG OF FOUR
Andy Gill is the guitarist and one of the founding members of the iconic post-punk band Gang of Four, he has been the driving force behind the band since its foundation in the late β70s. With a brand new studio album on the way, Gang of Four have teased us with a four track EP titled Complicit, which will be their first release since Where Do We Go From Here in 2015. I had a chance to speak with Andy Gill about what he has been up to since then.
βIβve been slowly collecting songs I was working on whenever I had the chance, and around the autumn time I just woke up one day and said right, letβs make an album, letβs get going.β
Ross Orton (M.I.A, Arctic Monkeys) and Ben Hillier (Blur, Depeche Mode) have collaborated with Gill on the production of the EP, which marks the first time in years where Gill didnβt produce the release entirely himself. βWhen I got around to thinking about that, it struck me that itβs a little bit like a film director deciding to write his own script, edit it, film it, star in it, you know and I thought well is this really the right way to do things and it probably isnβt you know.β
Gill realized it would be exciting to work with some of the people he was interested in, which is what he has done. βEverybodyβs got their own little thing they bring and some of the things kind of surprised me and I sort of think βhmm thatβs not the way I wouldβve done it but I really like it.ββ
This is a new method for Gill and he has definitely adapted to a new mindset while working on the EP. βThereβs a saying if you want something done ask someone whoβs really busy because youβre more likely to get it done, itβs a sort of a mental attitudeβ he explains βIβve kind of thrown myself into it.β He adds βIβve been getting up between six and seven in the morning, and I find I get quite a lot of work done. Often times around 10:30 am someone will come and join me, whether its Ben Hillier or somebody else Iβm working with.β
A lot of the themes on the EP relate back to the crazy times we’re living in now, and itβs made quite clear on the song βIvankaβ that Gill has a sense of humour and is able to float above all the madness. βThe song βIvankaβ which the American media has gotten quite excited about is something different.β Gill says.
βI think she is kind of a fascinating subject, almost the Mary Antoinette of the day. Whatever your opinion about Trump, whether you thought he was going to win, or whether you hate him or love him, nobody knew the Trumps would be that entertaining.β He explains the song βin many respects is quite gentle.β
βItβs really just quoting things she said. You almost feel sorry for her being put in this bizarre position. I say βalmostβ because I donβt feel sorry for her.βΒ he adds.
Another subject the EP touches upon is the uncertainty of todayβs media, which inspired the song βIβm A Liarβ. βIβm A Liar” refers to the way nobody can really believe anything anymore at this point, so nobody is quite sure where to look.β
βWe are living in interesting times, which doesnβt mean we’re living in very nice times.β Gill confesses. He goes on to say that the media of today has changed enormously since the early eighties. βIf things were stated on a news channel or written in a newspaper, there was a certain amount of recourse if things were totally made up. Thereβs a job called a fact checker, where people check the veracity of certain things that journalists have written. That doesnβt exist anymore, you can write whatever you like and thereβs no come back.β
Gill explains that the lead single βLuckyβ is less introspective than the former songs. βI think βLuckyβ was a statement of intent in a way because itβs exciting, itβs like a character that we all recognize in ourselves, and itβs just got an amazing guitar riff. I donβt want too much slow stuff.β
βIβm not trying to make something which is definitely going to get on the radio or get on someoneβs playlist, Iβm just trying to make the best musical statements that I can possibly make.β he adds.
This is definitely a sentiment that sums up Gill’s thoughts on the EP. βIf I listen back to the EP I feel it will divide people, βI donβt understand thisβ, or β,This isnβt rock music as I know itβ and there will be other people that will listen to it and it will stay with them, and thatβs how itβs always been.β
Gill then delves into the release of Gang of Four’s next studio album. βThe exciting thing to me is thereβs still a number of different ways we could go.β
He then adds βWeβre about eight tracks in, Iβm probably going to end up with about 14 songs within the next few weeks. We might use one or two tracks from the EP weβll see, but the album is definitely coming out in June.β
It seems that Gill is even more fueled by today’s crazy times than he ever was, and after all of these years, itβs quite clear that we still have lots to look forward to in Gang of Four’s discography.
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