The Telescopes - Discovering the Magic

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NÚMERO 39

UNA R E VISTA IMA GINARIA

THE TELESCOPES DISCOVERING THE MAGIC

DISCOVERING THE MAGIC

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Today: The Telescopes - As Light Return (2017) EInterview with Stephen Lawrie from The Telescopes by Diego Centuriรณn.

Translation: Rodrigo Debernardis

The Telescope is one of the most beautiful bands that had remained in shadows, hiding, generating their own world sound, adding supporters that discovered a color as perfect as abrasive, which erodes the impurities of conventional sounds, transforming them into an amalgam that hypnotizes.

This 2017 turn 30 years of existence and they celebrate by editing a new album “As Light Return”.

We communicate with Stephen and talked about this new record.

Hi Stephen, it`s an honor to speak with you about this new album. But we must start from the beginning of everything, now that`s been 30 years of The Telescopes.

How can you define the story of the band in all these years?

Hi Diego, an all-embracing voyage beyond the realm of natural vision is how I would define The Telescopes.

Without any maps to guide us.

A few weeks from the album release, where do you put “As Light Returns” with the rest of your records in terms of sound?

Each album has its own identity. In many ways As Light Return is a continuation of Hidden Fields.

When did you start to think about recording a new album?

There was no conscious decision, I just carried on writing after Hidden Fields was finished and that’s where it led me.

When did you begin to write the songs?

It’s hard to say, some parts have been written for a long while, other parts more recently. I don’t sit down with a pen and a blank sheet of paper and write an album. It’s an amalgamation of many thoughts and ideas gathered over time that eventually collide into a greater being. A series of eureka moments.

The concept of a record is sometimes a creative engine and others an invention from publicity. But listening the album over and over I can`t help but notice a unity between the sound and the esthetic (on the cover). Have you been working on a special concept for this album?

I think that it’s more a case of my perception of what an album is. I’m not a singles based artist, I’m more of an album based artist that also creates some music that suites the single format. So my albums aren’t a collection of singles with a picture of the band on the front. I have complete control of all aspects of The Telescopes, every release is a whole creative vision, in

the same way that a painting or a poem represents the visions of its creator.

How and where was the recording process of the songs?

You Can’t Reach What You Hunger, Hand Full Of Ashes and Something In My Brain were recorded entirely at Riverside Music Complex in Busby, just South of Glasgow. All three of those songs were recorded live in the studio, just bass, drums and rhythm guitar, with everything else overdubbed afterwards.

Down On Me and Handful Of Ashes are tracks I started off myself at home and then sent to the rest of the musicians to finish off at Riverside.

However, I also play shows with help from One Unique Signal (London), LSD And The Search For God (California) Flavor Crystals (Minneapolis) and JB and Marco from Coman’Shee (Paris). Sometimes it’s a hybrid of all constellations.

Today, with so many years on the scene, a lot of bands name you as an influence. How do you feel about it?

I work to ensure the music isn’t disposable so there is some inevitablity in others being influenced. It’s the kind of music that sticks with you once you get into it, not something that wears off.

The Telescopes is your Project and you are the only stable member of the band from the beginning. Who helped you to record this album and

Nowadays, with the internet, all the market rules have changed. Having lived the previous stage, how do you see this change? What do you think are the positive and negative aspects of this era?

who will join you on the forthcoming shows?

Helping me out on these recordings are Brian McEwan (bass/ vocal harmony), Jamie Cameron (guitar) and Ross Cameron (drums/ engineer/ co-production), they all play with St Deluxe from Glasgow. Martin Kirwan also played guitar on Something In My Brain.

Martin used to play guitar in St Deluxe.

Live shows can be very different. Quite often, when I play with St Deluxe, Brian will move onto guitar and Martin will join us, so there are three guitars and then Kevin Hare usually takes over the bass from Brian.

Most of the time I play live with John Lynch (drums) and Dave Griffin (bass) from The Koolaid Electric Company. The guitarists are usually on rotation, subject to availability. Regular guitarists are Stuart Gardham from Venn, Samuel Toms from Temples and Sam Barrett from Koolaid.

Connectivity and access to information are all positive aspects for me. I can see how that is threatening to those who don’t want us to be connected and sharing information. It makes us harder to control.

In terms of market rules, personally, I still enjoy browsing record shops, so that world is still there for me.

The Internet works like a fanzine, it’s a good place to discover music that I will go out and buy. The downside is that more people are able to pirate and distribute more easily or just stream music rather than buy it.

Which has its upside in terms of wastage. I think a lot of record companies used to over press their releases, so the bargain bins in record shops were overflowing with stuff no one was ever going to buy. Which is something you don’t see so much of these days.

Despite the benefits that greater accessibility brings, there’s a mindset that creativity should be free online,

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which would be a utopian concept if everybody else provided their services for free. Art is a valid pursuit that benefits us all and should be recognized as such. Artists need to be able to provide for themselves and their families just like everyone else. A lot of the online providers don’t offer a fair deal to creators, and with very little regulation for them to abide by, it’s very easy for them to sit back and get rich off somebody else’s back. Which is nothing new…

Can you tell us something about each one of these songs?

"You Can't Reach What You Hunger” The inner void.

“Down on Me” Losing the self in others.

“Hand Full of Ashes” The death of all hope.

“Something in My Brain” The crack in the cosmic egg.

“Handful of Ashes” Sick of the death of all hope.

Which are your expectations about “As Light Return”?

The same as every record I release, people will say I’m crazy now and then in 10 years time they will get it.

Which are the plans for The Telescopes in 2017?

We have a couple of festivals, Liverpool and Manchester Psych Fests, Rock Valley Festival in Italy and then we will be touring the album after the summer. There will be another album in October that will be very different.

Thanking you for participating in The Brian Jonestown Massacre collective review I ask…which bands do you enjoy nowadays?

Deceased Squirrel On The Phone.

Thank you very much Stephen I leave the final part of the interview for you to say what you want…

Keep a listening ear.

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