OUT OF TUNE WITH NEIL HALSTEAD
Words By Nick Hyman

Neil Halstead: Hi

Nick Hyman: Hello Neil, how are you doing?

Neil: Pretty good, thanks.

Nick: Could you explain how the band got together, which I’m assuming would be about the transformation from Slowdive to Mojave 3?

Neil: Slowdive basically finished after we did our third record and the band split up. We took some time off. I had a few songs I wanted to record and I called and arranged it all. We just went into a little studio in London and recorded it all. Really, at that point we didn’t have a record deal. There was really no intention of a release or anything, it was just a case of recording songs to see how they sound and taking it from there. Actually after we recorded the songs, I went away for a couple of months to see Israel. I went to Egypt as well. I called Rachel up and she’d given the demo tape to Ivo (Watts-Russell of This Mortal Coil and The Hope Blister, created little label 4AD) and we talked if he wanted to put them out. What happened really is that the first album was those songs plus a couple of others to add on and that was basically the first album. Our band has developed quite a lot, we now often have six or seven people involved in it now. I mean, the sound has really changed quite a bit from the first record, not so much between the second and third records. That’s to do with different people being in the band.

Nick: I’d like to talk a bit about the fact that most of the Slowdive material is out of print. Is there any chance we might see any reissues of that material?

Neil: Actually, that’s nothing to do with us. If Creation did decide to do it, that’s completely their decision, it’s in their hands. For another sort of fifteen years, we really don’t have a say in that.

Nick: That’s unfortunate. There is some great music people are missing out on.

Neil: I have no idea whether they have any plans to reissue it or not, probably not, because actually Creation doesn’t exist anymore does it?

Nick: Was there any bitterness between you and Creation? Were you happy to see them go?

Neil: We always had a good relationship with Creation and with Alan McGee (Creation founder) and when we did the last Slowdive record, he actually said to me “If it’s not a pop record you’re out.” It wasn’t likely to be a pop record and it really wasn’t. I think they were always fairly good to us and let us do what we wanted to do. They kind of understood Slowdive to a certain extent, the more accessible element and the more poppy stuff we did. No hard feelings, we all felt that Slowdive had sort of finished by that time anyway even if Creation had kept us on.

Nick: I had such a hard time finding any Slowdive material that I had to use Napster to hear most of it. What are your feelings about Napster and file sharing in general?

Neil: I think it’s great. In some ways record companies are ruining it for themselves charging way too much for records and CD’s for so long. It was inevitable that after a while people were going to get their music for free. I think there are certain issues about artists getting paid, but as a music fan I’m completely in favor of it.

Nick: Since your demo, you have put out three albums on the 4AD label. How is your relationship with 4AD?

Neil: Yeah, the company has changed quite a lot, especially in the last few years. While growing up, I’ve always been a fan of the Pixies, Cocteau Twins, and Red House Painters; all of these great 4AD bands. We were really happy to deal with them. I think 4AD and Creation are probably the two most influential independent labels really, especially in London.

Nick: Let’s talk about the producer of your last two records, Mark Van Hoen. You collaborated with him on a track, “On the Horizon” off of his own 1997 Locust release Morning Light.

Neil: I’ve known Mark for years, he was one of the first people I lived with when I moved to London around in 1988-1990. Mark is a really great technical engineer, he’s coming in from a completely different perspective. He was influenced by Kraftwerk and other electronic, ambient and computer based acts. There are places where we need music and I think it’s good because he is such a great personality and has served the band quite well. I think it’s important to work with people that you communicate well with. Mark was always a really good choice for the band.

Nick: Mark is certainly an artist in his own right. Do you two have any other plans on collaborating together?

Neil: We probably will. Mark is very busy at the moment, he is working on a couple of things. It is always an option. Don’t know if he will work on the next Mojave 3 record or not. He’s always working on stuff and we’re always talking about working together.

Nick: You have switched labels a couple of times in the U.S. Was it harder to find an audience in the States?

Neil: Yeah, I don’t know. I think we were lucky that we already had an audience with Slowdive which translated into people following us into Mojave 3. I haven’t figured out whether we have a bigger audience in America or in Europe but we certainly have little pockets where we do better than others.

Nick: You reside in London I’m guessing?

Neil: Actually, I reside in Cornwall. Do you know where Cornwall is?

Nick: I don’t actually.

Neil: It’s about as far South and West as you can go in England. It’ right on the coast. It’s very beautiful. I live in a little town there. I have lived there for about six years. It’s like a little seaside town which is really busy in the summer.

Nick: Could you actually describe your songwriting process? You locale sounds pretty inspirational.

Neil: I go through periods of not writing songs and I go through periods of writing songs. And I think I actually get inspired by being in different places and meeting different people. I don’t really have a writing routine. Most of my songs come from sitting around and playing the guitar and you’ll get an idea for a lyric and go from there. Actually, most of the songs on Excuses for Travellers are a few years old that we didn’t get around to recording or that weren’t finished.

Nick: Excuses seemed to be more of a collaborative effort with Rachel and Ian contributing songs to the mix. Do you see that process continuing on the next album?

Neil: I think that will definitely happen. I think Rachel has gotten more confident about writing songs and she’s writing more songs and naturally there will be an even split on songwriting.

Nick: With Slowdive, it seemed to be much more of a collaboration.

Neil: Well, with Slowdive all of the records we did we wrote in the studio. The first Slowdive record, we went into a studio for six weeks and had no songs at the start and at the end we had a album. Obviously it has changed much more from Slowdive, now the songs are much more important than the structure of the music. I guess Slowdive at times is more abstract, sort of soundscapes.

Nick: Do you make a living off of just putting out Mojave 3 records and touring or do you have a day job as well?

Neil: Yeah, we all do different jobs. I do whatever. It just depends if we are touring or not.

Nick: It must help the songwriting process, it must be hard to write while being a rock star...

Neil (laughter): I don’t consider myself a rock star!

Nick: I mean actually having a job, being in the real world brings you back to reality and more people can relate to your songs.

Neil: Maybe. I understand. We are definitely not at a point where we can leave reality quite yet.

Nick: Most interviews I read about you talk about Bob Dylan and Nick Drake as being influences. Are there other artists that have influenced you that people might be surprised about?

Neil: Well, I mean in terms of overall influences; when I was fifteen or sixteen I was listening to Jesus and Mary Chain, Dinosaur Jr., Mudhoney and Sonic Youth. I actually think My Bloody Valentine and all that stuff that is not necessarily apart in the Mojave material. I mean those influences are still in there somewhere just used as an attitude or in a way that you approach the music. I guess Dylan and Drake, but there are people like the Amateurs that many people are not aware of that have been making English folk music that influenced Nick Drake quite a lot. Stuff like the Incredible String Band, bands like Felt and some early Creation bands.

Nick: Any current artists?

Neil: There’s a lot of stuff out there now that I like. I like the Badly Drawn Boy album, I like Elliott Smith a lot. I’ve always liked Palace. I always feel slightly out of touch. I don’t actually listen to a lot of music. Since I’ve been in L.A., I have been listening to KCRW 89.9 a lot. There are so many good things that I have never heard before on that radio station. Actually, there aren’t many radio stations like that in England.

Nick: Yeah, it’s mostly dance oriented, pop chart material.

Neil: There aren’t many specialist oriented shows. The closest thing to KCRW would be the John Peel show. That’s obviously very personalized, but he plays a wide range of music. Most of the shows go by a set play list that gets played at every station across the country.

Nick: I guess instead of Britney Spears, you get All Saints.

Neil: I don’t mind All Saints actually. Not too bad.

Nick: There is a tribute album out for late singer Tim Buckley. Mojave 3 contributed a track and you contributed a solo track. How did that come about?

Neil: Well, we just got asked to do it. We were already into Tim Buckley and we thought it would be fun. I’m not sure how much justice we did to the music. It’s very difficult to do Tim Buckley. So much of his songs are incredible vocally that to do them with a “bad” vocal doesn’t sound as good.

Nick: What did you think of his son, Jeff Buckley?

Neil: I never saw him live. Apparently, people say that is amazing. He sang a Dylan song on the radio once that was amazing. I guess I never really got into the record. I don’t know why.

Nick: Would Mojave 3 ever go back to Slowdive type sound?

Neil: I don’t know. I’ve been working on my own record for the past three or four months. Which doesn’t sound like Mojave 3 or Slowdive either. I think you are always trying to go forward with music and taking in new influences and ideas and in some ways maybe you only have one idea and you are trying to reinvent it or rediscover it.

Nick: Are any other members of Mojave 3 branching off into other projects?

Neil: Rachel did a track (“Around and Around”) for a John Denver tribute album (Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver) with Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters).

Nick: I hadn’t heard of that.

Neil: It’s really good actually. I mean I fucking hate John Denver but they did a great job with the tune.

Nick: How could you hate the guy, he hung out with the Muppets! That was very influential to me growing up. The Muppet Show that is, not John Denver!

Neil: (Laughter)

Nick: Filmmaker Gregg Araki has used Slowdive’s music in three of his films, The Doom Generation, Nowhere, and Splendor. How do you feel about your music being used in films or mixed media?

Neil: I have seen all of the films and I like them. Gregg was really into Slowdive and stayed with the band and likes Mojave 3 as well. I really like it when music is used in films. I’m not a film buff but I like movies. It’s great to see a film and hear your music, particularly if the film is any good.

Nick: You are not a film buff, but do you have any favorite movies?

Neil: One of my favorite movies is Picnic at Hanging Rock by Peter Weir.

Nick: That’s an excellent film! Fearless is one of my favorites that Peter Weir did with Jeff Bridges.

Neil: I don’t think I’ve seen it.

Nick: It’s great, you should check it out. We mentioned Ivo-Watts Russell earlier. His band The Hope Blister covered Slowdive’s “Dagger”. Have any other bands covered your tunes and how do you feel about it?

Neil: I’m not sure of anyone else. I know Ivo always liked that song and every time we met he would talk about that song. I thought it was great.

Nick: I’d imagine that would be a great honor.

Neil: Yeah, generally he picks good tracks to cover. It was a nice surprise that he did that.

Nick: A couple of last questions, what one particular song would you pick from Slowdive and Mojave 3 to put on a mix-tape for someone that had never heard your music before?

Neil: Well, one song from each?

Nick: One song.

Neil: I guess “Slowdive” from the first Slowdive E.P., and probably “In Love With a View” as the Mojave track.

Nick: It’s been great talking to you. See you at the show.

Neil: Nice talking to you. Bye-bye.