Interview Nine Black Alps

It’s been a hectic few months in the world of Nine Black Alps. Touring with Kaiser Chiefs, playing for the industry movers and shakers in Austin at the South by South West festival and recording the long-awaited debut album in the brooding ground of the rich and famous, LA. DIY caught up with the guys to talk names, South America and the Nine Black Alps ‘attitude’.

Hi Guys, for anyone who doesn’t already know, introduce yourselves and what you do in the band and tell us a bit about Nine Black Alps.
Martin: Bass,
Sam: I sing and play guitar,
James: Drums,
David: I try to play the guitar.

And the Sound?
Sam: Distortion, percussion guitars, umm… three minute songs.
Martin: Pretty loud really…
Sam: Kind of angry without being stupid about it.

You’re named after a Sylvia Plath poem, which is pretty dark Was that the idea? To create a bit of mystery about the band?
Sam: It gave us something to aim for I think, it sounds big and scary.
Martin: It wasn’t really the poem as a whole, just the one line out of it
Sam: That’s what we wanted, there is no real purpose there, it’s a random thing, I’d say it’s fairly meaningless.

You are getting compared to bands like Nirvana and the Pixies, is that a bit of a burden or are they bands that you are into and admire?
Sam: I mean, every band gets compared to someone, a lot of bands get compared to New Order, it’s not that it’s a burden, you just have to go out and prove yourself. I listened to tons of things, you know, like David Bowie and The Beatles. When we started playing we had really bad amps, really bad practice rooms, we had to turn everything up as loud as possible just to make some kind of sound. We never really learned how to play quietly!
Martin: But we are coming from the same place as those two bands rather than Wham! Or something…
Sam: We have spent a bit of time listening to them.

You’ve just been on tour with Kaiser Chiefs, how was that? Any good stories?
Sam: There wasn’t really any mischief, just having a laugh.
David: There was a lot of drinking with Peanut and Ricky…
Sam: They were really nice, kind folk.

You were in Texas for South by South West, how did the American audience like Nine Black Alps?
Sam: We had a Texan guy at one of our shows who stood there and shouted ‘You guys Rawk!’ I didn’t quite know what to say at that point.

Are you looking forward to the NME new music tour playing with a bunch of bands who are touted as ‘the next best thing’? How does if feel to be lumped in with bands that are pretty different to you?
Martin: We played with The Cribs in New York a few months ago and that was really good.
David: We’re really looking forward to playing with The Cribs, we’ve seem them about four times and they’re awesome so that should be good.
Sam: It’s good when we play with bands that don’t really sound like us, because there is more of a contrast

You’ve finished recording the debut album, what was the process like?
Sam: It was kind of mentally draining, it was hard work
Martin: We did it in LA but that wasn’t really the point of going there, it was just working with Rob [Schnapf, who has worked with Beck and Elliot Smith], we really wanted to work with him, I think he got the best out of us.

The album’s called ‘Everything Is’ What’s the meaning behind that? Or is it just self-explanatory?
Sam: It’s more of an attitude than a meaning
Martin: For Fuck’s sake, I can’t believe you just said that!
Sam: We just didn’t want anything concrete you know, for the album’s title. I didn’t want anything kind of ‘The Moon at Night’ kind of thing…
David: It was a bit of a kop out I guess, something straight to the point.
Martin: We were trying to keep away from all the band names and stuff at the moment like ‘The something’s….’ It’s an album title that doesn’t really sound like an album title I guess, fairly random, the same way as the band’s name is. It’s a band name that doesn’t really sound like a band name.

Are you looking forward to playing the festivals this summer? Do you have any good memories of being at them?
James: Yeah, we’re playing Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Isle of Wight, we might even be playing one in Sweden.
Sam: I always used to go to Leeds, I used to live right next to the site.
David: I went to Glastonbury about six times in a row, so to be playing that is pretty special to me. It sounds a bit… you know? But playing at Glastonbury is kind of one of those dreams you have, so it will be great to step out there. But we’re really looking forward to Reading and Leeds cos we’ve been the last few years and it’s always the best line up.

What’s the future for Nine Black Alps? Where do you see yourself in a year’s time?
Sam: Brazil!

Nine Black Alps release new single ‘Not Everyone’ on May 23rd.