Maximo Park headlines the Troubadour May 16
Maximo Park is Newcastle’s angular pop quintet that includes Paul Smith (vocalist), Tom English (drummer), Duncan Lloyd (guitarist), Archie Tiku (bassist), and Lukas Wooller (keyboardist). The group will be headlining The Troubadour on May 16.
The four of them formed their group initially as an avant rock band. They recently completed their debut album with the help of producer Paul Epworth who has also worked with Babyshambles and Bloc Party. Maximo Park was also featured at Texas’ huge music festival South by Southwest.
The OC Concert Guide had the opportunity to interview Maximo Park regarding their origin, working with Epworth and what they’re most excited about in the next coming months.
OCCG: How did you come up with Maximo Park? What’s the significance of it and how did you guys meet?
MP: We met at University in Newcastle, but I only joined the band after we had finished our studies. I had been playing in an instrumental band with my friends and because there were no vocals I used to move around a lot on stage to grab the audiences attention. The guys in Maximo Park thought that I would make a good front men but I didn’t know if I could sing or not! It didn’t take long for us to find out that we gelled as a group and the songs we were writing inspired us to write even more. Our ethos was to write emotionally-driven pop music with an edge to it, which we still believe in to this day, although the methods we use to get to that endpoint have evolved and changed over five records.
OCCG: What was it like working with producer Paul Epworth?
MP: We’ve been very lucky to work with some of the best producers out there and Paul is clearly one of those people, having gone on to great, worldwide success. When we made our first record with Paul we felt like he was a kindred spirit; young and intense with a great ear for a song. He also has the ability to achieve very unique sounds in the studio without those sonics getting in the way of the song or the bands inherent personality. The really great producers are always facilitators.
OCCG: Who are your main musical influences?
MP: We could be here for some time! We are a very democratic band and between the five of us we have quite eclectic tastes that feed into the music you hear on our records. For example, Lukas listens to a lot of techno or other types of dance music, which feed into our keyboard sounds. On the latest album I think you can hear things like Fever Ray or The Blue Nile or even The Associates. Dunc our guitar player likes a lot of punky stuff such as The Wipers but he also came up with the music for a song called Brain Cells, which he wrote on a new Moog synthesizer. It just goes to show that inspiration can come from anywhere. Personally, my lyrics can be inspired by film directors like Mark Cousins or by novelists like Don DeLillo, Alan Warner, Roberto Bolaño or Lydia Davis. There is definitely a literary stamp on the lyrics for this particular album, which is not necessarily overt except on a song like Her Name Was Audre, a song directly inspired by a documentary about Audre Lorde the poet.
OCCG: What do you want your listeners to gain out of your fifth LP, “Too Much Information?”
MP: I’d like people to listen to it and take it on its own terms but if people have heard our other music I would also like them to hear the evolution of the band and feel like each time we make a record it’s a fresh approach. This is our most diverse album and I’d like to think there was something for everyone on there. It feels like there is a lot more space in the music and we recorded the album ourselves in the northeast of England giving us extra time to develop the sound. There are certain nocturnal themes on the album, which I’d like to think people could relate to and connect with.
OCCG: How would you compare and contrast music in the US from music in England? How do the pop cultures differ?
MP: I would say they are broadly similar in terms of trends – a situation brought about by the homogenisation of western culture, if that’s not too ridiculous thing to say! There are more connections than ever thanks to social media and the Internet. Since the US is much bigger I think it is harder to create a buzz about a smaller band, which obviously impacts on touring as well. So many of our band’s influences come from America so it’s really difficult for me to say too much about the differences – even our album was mixed in New York by Nicolas Vernhes who has worked with Dirty Projectors and Deerhunter amongst other fantastic US bands.
OCCG: What’s your personal favorite track from your latest album and why?
MP: My personal favorite is Drinking Martinis possibly because it is the most emotional and romantic song on the record. The music has a grand sweep to it that matches the lyric of the song in a way that reminds me of bands like The National.
OCCG: What do you hope to achieve in your music career a year from today?
MP: I hope I’m still making music! I feel incredibly lucky that this is my so-called job and long may it continue.
OCCG: Who would you guys want to collaborate with if you could collaborate with anyone?
MP: I would love to do a duet with Chan Marshall from Cat Power because I think she has one of the great modern day soul voices (even though she is associated with alternative rock culture).
OCCG: What are you most looking forward to at your show on May 16 at Troubadour in LA?
MP: I’m looking forward to playing in front of a lively audience and busting some rock moves! The Troubadour is a great venue that we have played a few times before and it has a lot of history to live up to, which is the kind of challenge that I like.
OCCG: Where in the world would you guys want to perform if you could pick?
MP: The Hollywood Bowl, playing to a sold-out venue with everyone singing our songs back to us.