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Tom Smith
Editors' reputation as a dark and dismal band seems rather undeserved talking to frontman Tom Smith. So does their standing as one of indie rock's most serious bands.
When we speak, Tom is cheery, excitable and good-humoured on the eve of their UK tour opener in Lincoln.
The smooth deep voice on the other end of the line is instantly recognisable as the baritone from such hits as Munich, All Sparks, End Has A Start and Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors. But that's where the similarity between Tom and his music ends.
The songs may be bleak, but Tom, the band and their fans are not.
Tom says: 'I guess our music is more serious than a lot of the stuff in the pop charts. But we're not making it for everybody.
'People like to put us in a pigeonhole, but I take the whole thing with a pinch of salt. What do I care what anyone else thinks?
'We love the music we make. It's exciting for us and the audience that comes to see us. They don't leave our gigs upset. They leave uplifted.'
A lot of people have been uplifted by Tom and his band. This winter alone, they've toured across the UK, Europe, Australasia and America.
'And now we're coming home to start all over again,' says Northampton-born Tom.
He talks to me from production rehearsals in Coventry, where he's having a 'super' time.
'We tour all the time, so we're never far out of practice,' he tells me. 'We spent a couple of days in a grotty little studio in London practising a couple of songs we want to play on this tour that we didn't on the last.
'But these two days (the production rehearsals], that's the fun stuff. It's all boys with their toys, you know – lights, TV screens, explosions,' continues the 28-year-old, though he admits that there aren't any explosions on this tour.
Their forthcoming stint on the road will see them visit Portsmouth Guildhall later this month, with support from Brighton band Fujiya and Miyagi and Southsea-based Guide Award runners-up The Strange Death Of Liberal England.
This will be the second time Editors have toured the UK in support of their third album, In This Light And On This Evening. The first time round they came to Southampton in October, just as the album became their second to debut at number one.
Editors have also enjoyed success across Europe and became the first non-domestic act to have a single go straight in to the top spot in the Belgian charts, with the album's lead track, Papillon.
Their popularity is not just proven by number ones, they've also amassed a collection of awards – and even more nominations – since their first album was released in 2005.
Their last album, An End Has A Start, earned the band a BRIT Award nomination for best British band and their debut, The Back Room, was up for the Mercury Music Prize.
Though still recognisably the Editors' sound, In This Light And On This Evening follows current electro-indie-pop trends with an abundance of synthesizers.
Tom explains: 'Making a more electronic record wasn't really the point. The point was to do things we hadn't done before.
'We don't want to do the same thing over and over again. We don't want any kind of formula to creep in to the way we write music.
'We want to push and stretch our songwriting and recording and stretch our audience too.
'This record's got less guitars, more keyboards and more synths and the sound grew from there,' he continues.
Editors' new synthesized sound owes much to their new producer, Mark 'Flood' Ellis.
Known for adding electro elements to traditional alt-rock, Flood has worked with The Killers, Depeche Mode and U2.
Tom says Flood was 'vital' to the sound of the new record and explains how the collaboration came about.
'He has extensive knowledge of synths and keyboards and he was top of my list of producers I'd like to work with,' Tom explains eagerly.
'Some of the others wanted to work with a younger producer, but when we met Flood and he talked about the way he wanted to work, we all knew instantly that he was right.
'We feel like we've met the producer we'll make a few records with and go on a journey together.
'He has a similar sense of humour and likes music on the darker side of things and so do we.
'Many of the mistakes and flaws which, in previous records, we'd have ironed out, were left in because it was about the groove and the feeling.'
Lyrically, that feeling is very London-centric.
Tom explains: 'A lot of the lyrics touch on London, even those that weren't about it directly. In my head, it was all about London.
'In the songs that are character-driven, like The Boxer, I see the stories played out on the streets of London, whereas In This Light and Walk The Fleet Road are directly about the city.
'London is the backbone of the whole album.
'The second record was more personal,' he continues. 'It was about things that had happened in my life. This looks the other way. It's more observational.
'I've lived in London for five years and it seeps into the lyrics,' continues Tom, who grew up in Stroud and met the rest of his band while studying music technology at Staffordshire University.
At the beginning of their career, the four members of Editors all lived together in one house.
Tom remembers: 'To start with, we were at uni and a couple of other people lived with us too. It was in a small town and there wasn't much cliched student life going on. It was just a bit crap, to be honest with you.
'Then, just us four lived in Birmingham for one or two years. We were all working together too, in a call centre and a shoe shop, for beer money.
'We rehearsed two or three times a week and played gigs and became part of the Birmingham scene. So we were together all the time,' he adds.
Now, only one band member remains in Birmingham – Ed. Russ and Chris have moved to New York. But, despite the distance between them and Tom in north London, he says they still spend a lot of time together on the road and in the studio and it hasn't affected the way they make music.
'We still write the way that we've always written,' he insists. 'I start the writing process, I write the bare bones with an acoustic guitar or keyboard, the basic chordal information. Then I email demos to the other three before we head into the rehearsal room to make them into Editors songs.
'Moving apart hasn't made any difference at all except that two of them have a lot further to travel when we eventually rehearse as a band,' adds Tom.
When the band gets together, it's usually in London, where Tom lives with his partner, Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman and their 21-month-old son Rudy.
Tom doesn't like to talk about his private life. 'We're not that interesting,' he says of his potentially high-profile relationship with the national radio star.
He says Rudy is 'amazing'. And of his young son's effect on his life, he explains: 'In many ways it's very different and in others it's not at all.
'When we tour, I miss him, of course, but when I'm home, I'm home more than I would be if I had a normal job. It's swings and roundabouts really, but overall Rudy's made the whole thing better.'
Tom will have plenty of time to spend with Rudy when he's back at home making music after the end of the tour, but he has something else to look forward to in June, when he'll be appearing at the Isle of Wight Festival for the second time.
'I'm really looking forward to it. When we first played there, we felt a little dwarfed and out of our depth. I can't wait to have another crack at it,' admits Tom.
He says he would like to see his mates Biffy Clyro if he can, when they play the main stage on the Saturday.
He's also interested in seeing the acts which will take to the main stage after him on Sunday. 'I hope Pink does that thing she did at the Grammys, you know, when she hung from the ceiling. That was one of the most amazing performances I've ever seen.
'And of course I'll watch a bit of Paul McCartney – see what all the fuss is about. Apparently he wrote some good songs,' says Tom, with mock nonchalance.
But what does the star, used to taking the headline slot, think about appearing third from the top of the bill in the festival finale?
Tom says: 'It's an interesting billing, coming after Spandau Ballet and before Pink. No-one's a headline band when Paul McCartney's playing. Third is great for us. We'll take third.'
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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