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Mike : Tunng started out, I think, about 2003 or a maybe a little before, when I met Sam. He was kind of like a singer/songwriter. Playing gigs all around London and stuff like that. I met him from a friend of a friend. I saw him just play one day and I thought he was really good. He knew I was a producer and I wanted to do a demo, so we kind of got together to do a demo and thought it sounded nice. We sat in the basement in Soho for a few weekends and over a year we started to make our first record.

LP6 : What did you do before Tunng?

Mike : Mostly music. Producing music for whoever would let me, you know like for t.v. and film. Before that I was recording bands and my own music. I did this small record called Dirt Box which was like a solo record which came out on this tiny label in 2003.

LP6 : I read somewhere that you guys started out scoring music for soft porn?

Mike : (Laughs)…Ahh yeah..kind of, not really. I was trying to make money to make music, instead of getting a job in a office. So I was taking any job I kind of find. Some of it was um, scoring some music for ..not really porno, it was sort of like cable porn title sequences and shit like that. It was pretty nasty. Sometimes that’s kind of fun, you get asked to make music that you would normally never make. You know like, they would ask me like “can you do some thrash metal tune with a euro house beat and saxophone solo?” and you’re like “um ok..”

LP6 : How many members are now in Tunng now?

Mike : There are six of us now. That kind of came from trying to work out doing something live. First record “Mother’s Daughter and Other Songs” was kind of a studio experiment. We didn’t even know if it would come out on a record label or anything and it did and people seemed to like it. So we kind of figured we needed to get a band together and play it. I didn’t want to do it with a laptop and play it as a prop and stuff. I found some people through a friend of a friend or people I knew already from other projects, but that was like 2 years ago. They all became part of the band now, so its like the six of us.

LP6 : When you guys made the last album “Comments of the Inner Chorus” did you have all six members or was it just you and Sam?

Mike : We had all six at that point. Mainly me and Sam wrote the record, but everybody is on it in some form or other. Vocally or Martin playing his bits of wood and seashells and stuff. Definitely, everybody is involved on that record.

LP6 : Did you guys have the songs written before going into the studio or sort of sat together in the studio and jammed?

Mike : Kind of strange with this band. Its bit of an odd band in general and always has been since the beginning. About how we write music, or how we play music or who’s involved or who isn’t. So, it wasn’t like sitting in a rehearsal room and all jamming out ideas. This band has never kind of been about that. Tunng’s been about more like trying out things in the studio, writing and recording at the same time. Layering stuff, like I’ll be in there all day and Sam might come in and say I’ve got this tune or I got this idea. We’ll work on that. Martin might pop in, you know one evening and start playing percussions or other things. Its all sort of done like the studio is this central hub and people seem to drift in and out of that and add their ideas and thoughts to whatever is being written and recorded at the time. So it’s, I dont know, kind of like that.

LP6 : Songs like “The Wind Up Bird” are really cool because of the organic elements and electronics. How did that song come about?

Mike : The Wind Up Bird, is about reading books and getting involved in other worlds when you open different pages. Wherever you are, like sitting on a train and then opening a page and going into another world. Production fits into that theme…the whole Tunng thing has been all about fusing acoustic elements with different electronic sounds. I think it gives the music a sort of feel like the music is live in some kind of bed of atmosphere..kind of gives it that space or flavor.

LP6 : Sometimes you get labelled as a folktronica band? Do you agree with it?

Mike : I don’t think its negative or positive really. Its like, its been …quite an old name now. I don’t think it really matters anymore, whatever people want to call us or other people in this sort of scene, if it is a scene. You know, everybody that seems to get labelled that, seems to sound completely different to me. Its hard to know what that it is. I think sometimes it could be helpful to people to put things in categories or genres, so they can more easiely understand what kind of music they are into. It kind of helped us you know…like we got put into categories with people that are amazing like Vashti Bunyan and King Creosote and some of the American freak-folk stuff like CocoRosie. We have played with some of these people and we may have not if we would not have been somehow put into this scene. It was cool, we met some friends being called folk whatever.

LP6 : What music were you personally influenced by?

Mike : Oh..when I was younger I was into dodgy thrash metal stuff like Slayer. Then I got into electronic music, bands like Isan and Digitonal. There’s this record label, Expanding Records, from London they’ve influenced me a lot. They do a lot of minimal, kind of, ambient electronica. For the band, you know, has loads of different influences. The folk thing, I’ve been playing the guitar for years. Sam brought a lot of acoustic music in the studio as well. Phil who plays in the live band, he’s like this sort of d.j., hardcore sort of electronica, noise music. All sorts of things.

LP6 : Ashley Bates is the drummer for you guys?

Mike : Well we don’t have a drummer. He plays guitars and sings in Tunng. But he used to drum for Chapterhouse a long time ago. You know that whole shoegazing scene.

LP6 : Your live sound, how does it compare to the studio records?

Mike : I think it gets more energy live. Sort of like more beats and more up and defintely more smiley. Less, um sort of fantasy murder. We really enjoy the live shows. The instruments being played, there’s a lot of electronic sounds as well. Technically its essentially the same music as on the record, but it seems to come to life a little more. Less lullabye and more..uh I don’t know what more..but it’s something more.

LP6 : Does Sam play with you live? I’ve read that he doesn’t perform live?

Mike : Nah, there was a while when he didn’t play live. But yeah he’s playing with us the moment. He’s been playing with us live for the past six months. Before that we were doing other things, so I was singing and the other people were singing and we all would end up singing live, like some big campfire. So, Sam’s back and we’re all the better for it. Yeah and he’s coming over with us to the U.S. which is cool.

LP6 : Will this be the first time your band has played in the states?

Mike : Actually we played last year at South by Southwest. We’re doing South by Southwest this year as well and also playing in New York and one gig in Los Angelas. Not much, but a little clump of gigs. It will be fun, I’ve never been to New York or Los Angelas.

LP6 : Anything in particular you are looking forwards to in New Yortk or Los Angelas?

Mike : Um..you know jacuzzi’s, champagne, bikini’s. You know, I’m actually more interested in meeting people I think. And seeing scenes out there and bands, but of course I’m going to climb up to the Empire State Building and things like that.

LP6 : Have you guys been working on the next album yet?

Mike : Yeah we are working on the new album at the moment. Thats pretty much what we have been doing after we finished up the European tour in December. So we have been sort of back in the basement and its going good, really good. Can’t really tell you to much about it at the moment, because its not finished. The album keeps going in different directions and then changing again and then coming back here. Definitely a different feel happening on this record.

LP6 : I know you said you can’t describe it to well, but so far the record feels different from Comments or the fist album?

Mike : From both of them really. Obviously it still sounds like Tunng and certain elements will always be like that. But like there’s even a tune with an electric guitar on it (laughs). I’m sort of getting into clumpy sounds, like hitting wooden boxes and stamping feets and tapping fingers on tables. I sort of like the human percussive sounds. Sort of getting into those things.

LP6 : It seems you have done quite a few remixes lately, like for Department of Eagles and Viva Voce, how did those come about?

Mike : I don’t know, it sort of just started happening. People kept asking and I sort of did them. I didn’t really do a remix before a year and half ago. I haven’t done that many, about 12 with those people. Its an interesting way of playing with music. You know taking something completely finished by someone else and taking it apart and giving it a new flavor. Hopefully not losing anything the song has or trying to piss anybody off that wrote the song. You know? I really enjoy doing the remixes. Department of Eagles did one for us and I really liked it. Quite like that swapping music thing. We did that with Viva Voce as well.

LP6 : The song “Because…We Have Hair” how did you guys pick that song title?

Mike : I think that song just didn’t have a title and we’ve all gots lot of hair (laughs). Its a bit of a ridiculous tune anyways, kind of about togetherness and people as one, but kind of like the lyrics doesn’t flow in any sensical way.

LP6 : How about “Jenny Again”?

Mike : That’s pretty much Sam’s song. It’s just a great song, classic chord progression. Lyrics are really special to me. You know its kind of like a murder ballad, but like a forgiveness song as well. The song is written about a guy that kills his brother to get it on with his brothers wife or girlfriend. The song is sort of narrated from the dead brother’s point of view, like the vocals are the dead brother saying to the brother, “you did it for a reason and you might as well make the most of it, so run away, and get married, and forget about me.”

LP6 : What’s a Woodcat?

Mike : Acutally, you know what? I’m not completely sure. That song is about a girl turning into a hare…like a rabbit. It’s another one of Sam’s moments. I thought it was like some kind of animal with rabbit like qualities, but I could be wrong about that.

LP6 : Do you know when Comments will be released in the U.S.?

Mike : Yeah, good question. I was really hoping it would be out before we went there, it was supposed to be. There was a deal that was going to happen with a distribution company, but that didn’t happen. I would think within the next month it would possibly be out. I wanted it out earlier, but you know, I don’t really know how that works. Hopefully our gigs will generate some interest and we will come back out again over there.

LP6 : Last question, have you ever tried kimchi Mike?

Mike : (laughs) have I ever tried what?

LP6 : Kimchi.

Mike : Um I don’t think I ever tried Kimchi. What’s that?

LP6 : It’s like this Korean vegetable dish, that’s pretty smelly, spicy as hell, but tastes pretty good.

Mike : Yeah? Sounds like sort of thing I would like to try.

LP6 : Well when you come to New York, you should try the restaurants around 35th Street, they sell a lot of it. Maybe you should try some there.

Mike : Alright I’m down.

LP6 : Thanks for taking the time out to answers the questions Mike, good luck on the tour and can’t wait to hear the next album.

Mike : Alright..cheers.

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Comments

2 Comments so far

2 Timmy Says: March 12, 2007
I would also like to give props to you guys and Tunng for doing this interview. Simple an awesome band and “comments of the inner chorus” is just hellacious.
1 _explosions Says: March 8, 2007
thank you so much for posting this interview. i enjoy tunng very much, as well as having read this article and seeing the live version of “jenny again”.

thanks again.