"We're Still Learning": EDITORS Return With A New Album And London Show

Doron
By Doron Last edited 129 months ago
"We're Still Learning": EDITORS Return With A New Album And London Show


Brum-rockers, EDITORS, have had almost as many line-up changes as Sugababes but this doesn’t seem to have had much impact on their chart success.

Their last two albums both went to number 1 and they have a loyal fan-base which grows steadily with every release. Next week the band bring out their fourth long-player, The Weight of Your Love, which they will be promoting at Glastonbury Festival and, subsequently, with an album launch show here in London at Village Underground.

We spoke to the band’s Russell Leetch about the relatively long wait since the previous album, their latest incarnation and the forthcoming London show.

Your last album came out in 2009, which is, like, a gazillion years ago. Why the long hiatus?
It is. Sorry! We weren't really on hiatus. We had a turbulent time with our former guitarist which resulted in us asking him to leave. We changed record label, it all took a bit of time.

Has the change in personnel in the band made the dynamic very different?
Absolutely. Justin and Elliot have a lot of energy and ideas in them, it's a very different way to work than it was a year and a half ago.

If you were to sum up The Weight Of Your Love in one word what would it be?
Pure.

And why is that?
Because it was what we wanted to do. It's got our clearest set of songs on it, yet.

Was the first single, A Ton Of Love, also the first song you wrote for this album?
No, that song actually came nearer the end of the record.

So what was the song that started this project off for you?
Sugar was one of the early songs. It evolved and evolved as the time making the record went out. I think that because of this, it has become a highlight.

The Back Room, your first record, came out eight years ago. Has it been difficult keeping up with the way the music industry's evolved since then?
I think to stay current as a musician is hard, especially when we have been away for the best part of four years. I think the best thing to do is keep doing it, trends and fashions change so you can come in and out of focus.

Your previous albums performed incredibly well in the charts. Do you feel any pressure to meet their commercial success with the latest one?
Commercial success is always needed by the labels but I think that having a body of work is more important in the long run.

You're playing an album launch gig on the day that the new album comes out. Do you remember your first ever gig?
Yes. It was at a pub in Birmingham called the Actress & Bishop. We played upstairs and played Munich for the first time. It went down well!

Will this show be your first gig under the new band format or have you already performed publicly together?
We've only done five shows together so we're still learning. We've done a lot of rehearsing for the tour so we are ready for it now. The shows we have done have been great so far.

What are you enjoying listening to at the moment?
I love the new Bowie record. I also really like a band called Nightbeds. The new Sigur Ros album is pretty great too.

Finally, will you be playing mostly new songs at your album launch gig or will there be older material as well?
We'll play about five or six new tunes and about 15 older tunes so a good mix!

EDITORS play Village Underground on Monday 1 July. For ticket details visit http://www.editorsofficial.com/on-tour

Last Updated 24 June 2013