• Interviews

• All
• Music
• Cinema
• TV
• Comic Books

Mar 10, 2024 By Dom Gourlay Photography by Cal McIntyre Web Exclusive

Ride release their seventh and latest album next month entitled Interplay. Out on 29th March aka Good Friday via Wichita/PIAS, Interplay represents a shift in focus from the delay and reverb heavy guitar sounds that have become synonymous with the band. Instead, this is a more diverse collection of songs bathed in electronics as much as their customary guitars while displaying a pop sensibility some might not associate with the band.

If predecessors Weather Diaries and This Is Not a Safe Place were their Rubber Soul and Revolver, Interplay is Ride’s White Album. A sprawling masterpiece that builds incessantly while taking the listener on a journey via innumerable twists and turns of direction. As with its aforementioned predecessors, Interplay also heralds Ride’s reunion as one of the finest reformations in recent years. Not least because the new material stands gallantly alongside the band’s earliest works, but also because it hints at even more unfinished business to come.

Bearing all of the above in mind, Under the Radar sat down with founder member, singer, and guitarist Mark Gardener to discuss Interplay, working in his studio, and his band’s forthcoming tour, which looks set to dominate the second half of this year.

Dom Gourlay (Under the Radar): I imagine it being a really busy time for you at the moment with Interplay coming out soon and the tour following later this year alongside working full time in your studio?

Mark Gardener: It is. I’m juggling a lot of stuff at the moment. The studio’s so busy now. It has to be and I’m really glad it is. It was such a ridiculous leap of faith and investment to do that, and then of course COVID hit so I thought, “What the hell have I done?” But that’s got really busy, then when Ride ramps up it does mean I’m flying around a bit like a madman. I try to do a bit of health training in the morning and get into the studio around midday until midnight every day of the week, then I have my daughter at weekends. So, that’s me at the moment. I was living in my studio for three years, just so I could basically save some money to put down a deposit on a flat. That finally happened last year, which is great as I finally have somewhere I can call a home and my daughter has a room for when she stays. It’s a nice place here. I can see the River Thames from out my window and I’ve got that separation from my studio. I love music and it’s quite a nice studio to be fair, but you sometimes need to take yourself away from that working environment. It wasn’t as if I was sleeping under the mixing desk, but that separation is great. The first thing I want to do when I get home is listen to music, which then makes me want to come back to the studio and work! Yet when I was living in the studio I regularly needed to get away from music for a bit because I was literally living in it 24/7. So it’s weird how that all works.

The Ride reunion will be 10 years old later this year. Interplay will be your seventh album and represents one of your finest collections to date. Did you expect it to go as well as it has, not only from a critical perspective but also from a creative one as well?

I’m really pleased with the way the new albums have been received so far, which in a way justifies my main reason for wanting Ride to get back together as I always felt we had some more great records left in us. I do struggle a little with the repetition of the heritage side of it. But I also understand that it is a huge part of us and our history. We’d be idiots not to embrace that as well, so I do get it because I have the same feelings when I go and see bands as well. I want to hear the songs I want to hear, as well as new music, so I’ve had to get at peace with that and understand it. But my real drive was making new music because I know the chemistry is good with us, and I think that’s where reunions are found out. If the chemistry isn’t good then the records sound terrible because it just doesn’t fire on all cylinders. I was really happy with Weather Diaries. This Is Not A Safe Place I wasn’t quite as involved in as I wanted to be, mainly because of my life circumstances at that time. I was building a studio, and I felt it was a fast record when we made that. There were things that really niggled me about it. With this record, it just felt like the first time we were really able to come together and start something in our own studio, especially off the back of a lot of adversity with COVID which everybody went through, and we also found ourselves in an ugly legal battle with an ex-manager who basically tried to make us be his pension fund and he had a very aggressive legal team, which was hideous and actually threatened the existence of the band. But at the same time, having that adversity made us closer as did having our own studio. When Ride first started we were just four guys that met at art school, jammed, and made music together. So, we had that feeling back in the studio and we weren’t going away somewhere for two weeks or whatever that was costing money. Now we had our own studio it actually gave us more time to just make music without feeling pressured. We could take our time more with this record, which was essential because I’m not good if there’s or two or three weeks in a studio and we just bang out an album. I like to sit with some instrumentals then on the night that I feel the inspiration or whatever to just start putting top lines and singing over the top. It sounds quite cliched but it works. So, I felt a lot more involved with this record and also because I was engineering it initially until I got to a point where I thought I can’t do this any more and then Richie [Kennedy] came in, who was incredible. Then I was liberated and back in the band, and could hear it coming together with the mixing. I just feel now that I can die happy knowing that Ride have hit some incredible heights, which I always thought we could with this record. There’s moments on Interplay where I’ve always thought that’s what we’re capable of hitting. The challenge has always been trying to make something better than we’ve ever made, and I guess everybody says that. But I really think we have with this record.

It’s a very diverse record and one that’s as focused on electronic pop as it is loud guitars, which is probably where the Talk Talk and Tears For Fears influences fit in?

When bands are so entrenched in one thing, a weird phenomenon happens. I went to see Depeche Mode a few weeks ago and even though people normally associate them with synthesizers, they were on their guitars all the time. It was a proper rock show. So for us, when you’ve been known as this shoegaze, guitar band forever, we just play around with synths to expand the sound. We were doing that anyway with the previous two records, and I think that just continued with this one. I’ve got a nice collection of synths in the corner of my studio, and everyone just kept gravitating towards it. Steve [Queralt, bass] has got some great stuff at home as well, so he was quite interested in bringing them into the studio. It just keeps it interesting to play with different sounds, especially when you feel you’ve been pigeonholed as one thing and want to try other stuff as well.

I think it’s no coincidence that the most successful reunions in recent years have been yourselves and Slowdive. Both felt they had unfinished business and both have since made arguably better records than some of the ones first time around while also developing their sound and introducing new elements to the mix.

I totally agree with that, and also its nice to feel a level of respect. Ultimately, all we really aimed for the first-time round was just the feeling of hopefully doing something that stood the test of time. I think that’s the real test of any artistic endeavour, because then when everything gets thrown at you from derogative stuff to encouraging stuff you’re thinking we fed off music that was timeless in a way. So, you’d like to think some things you’ve created might have that similar sort of quality about them. That’s the aim, but its just hard as I can’t ever be on the outside of Ride. I’d like to hear it in a more objective way as I hear other music. Now I’m living in the apartment. I listen to 6Music on the radio a lot more, so I’m hearing “Peace Sign” played quite a lot, and when I hear it alongside lots of other music it sounds great. It actually sounds fresh and exciting, and that’s a slightly more objective way to hear it because I wasn’t expecting it.

The first two singles, “Peace Sign” and “Last Frontier,” pretty much picked themselves, but there’s probably another six or seven obvious radio friendly bangers on there as well. Will there be any more singles before the album comes out?

“Monaco” will be the next single. It was one of those that came together as we already had the backing track and the guys had left the studio, so I remember saying to Richie [Kennedy], “We’re going to try and get the top line down on this tonight.” So, we turned on the mics, put some delay on it and basically let’s just see what happens. It was one of those that came together in one night and it was brilliant. We were playing “Monaco” on the American tour with The Charlatans last year because we felt that was a strong single straight away, and also a good one to play live. There’s two or three others that I think are obvious singles as well. Also, “Monaco” was so angry about how everyone is being smashed by economics and prices in this country. We’re all being smashed to pieces and having to live to work rather than work to live. As people we’re working harder as we get older just to afford to pay the bills. I’m working harder now than I ever have in my life, and everyone around me seems to be in that same boat. At what point did living to work become the thing, rather than working to actually live? The living part seems to have disappeared a bit, so “Monaco” was written as a response to that.

It’s becoming more apparent after 14 years of successive Tory governments have decimated the UK from an economic, industrial, and social perspective—particularly since Brexit—how many artists and musicians are writing songs or making it clear they’re incredibly disillusioned at what’s going on around them.

I just can’t see how people get through now. It’s just madness. I’m doing okay between studio work and writing but I still don’t see how most people are coping with this? You’ve got to live a bit as well. Ride never hit it so big that we became detached from reality and our audience in that way. I feel the same pain that a lot of people coming to our shows are feeling that way. I think that’s maybe why everything did and didn’t happen with Ride for a reason. It keeps us pretty hungry and also very present with reality because we’re living it the same as everybody else.

When were the first songs written for this record? When did Interplay begin to take shape?

We started the sessions after COVID. We did try and come together but it was slightly difficult because two of the band’s partners were shielding. So, soon after that when it was all clear that we could be together in a room again that’s when the sessions started in my studio. We did quite a few two-week sessions together to gather lots of good backing tracks and material. Most of which did then become songs. It was more of a slow burner than the previous two records. Steve [Queralt] brought in a backing track, which was incredible that later became “I Came to See the Wreck.” I actually worked and did the topline vocal for that before Richie was even in the building. I was jumping between two rooms and recording the vocals for that. I just thought it was incredible. For me, it was a huge feeling of how lost I felt at that point and just a way to express that. It went beyond the song for me and became quite therapeutic. It had a transcendental effect on me, which might sound corny and cliched but it helped lay a very dark two years I was feeling to rest. Then Loz [Colbert, drums] brought in the original version of “Last Night I Went Somewhere to Dream,” which Andy [Bell, guitar/vocals] jumped on as well. People were bringing in bits and pieces, but otherwise it was just this body of instrumentals and songs we’d got together as a band and I think that’s why the whole feeling of “interplay” as a word stuck, because it really did feel like more of an interplaying-type record we’d created by reacting off each other. Also, because I was initially engineering and mixing demos as it was coming together as well as still trying to be in the band as well as cooking food for the guys and hoovering up in the studio, it eventually exhausted me to the point I had to ask management for help. Then in came Richie Kennedy. Richie was amazing, so it was a great call from our management. We’d worked with him before when we worked with Erol Alkan, so we already knew he had a lot of energy. He’d worked with Flood and became his go-to engineer so we’d already seen how good and active Richie was. When he came in it was total liberation and he was brilliant. We’d already done a lot of the record together so Richie’s role was to liberate us and take it further, which he did. He just took it on and did great, and I’m sure he’ll have a big future in production if he continues doing what he did with us.

Did any of the songs change with Richie’s influence after he came on board, or even the tracklisting itself? Did that change in any way?

It did change. He did have a serious input on some tunes more than others. I thought “I Came to See the Wreck” was finished but then Richie dived in on it so I ended up redoing some of the vocals and he put this amazing low-end thing on that kept just turning it around. So, even ones that I felt were pretty much there, he came in and had a great input on everything. On other stuff, he was pretty influential from the ground up because some of the instrumentals we’d just got together with me on the controls were okay, but a lot of them really did need a good revisit. In some cases, he’d start them again, or on others redo the bass and drums so they were much tighter and better. He really helped us to refocus it all. I’d say he’s all over all these tracks.

Are there any other songs that were written and recorded at the same time which didn’t make it onto the album? If so, will any of them be revisited or released in the future?

There were only a couple of songs that didn’t make it. We called a lot of the early demos place names and “Monaco” stuck, but there was another instrumental called “Dusseldorf” which sounds a bit like Orbital and is going to be on the Japanese version of the album. I ended up mixing and mastering that myself. Most of it did get mopped up and used. I don’t think there was too much left out from the body of work we had. “Last Frontier” transformed about three times with Richie working very closely with Andy. I was a bit confused by that because Andy’s first two versions were great. Then it came again, which is what it is now and I didn’t quite get it at the start but I really do now. It’s great. When I’m back in the studio I’ll check the drives, but I’m pretty sure most of the stuff has been used. It ended up being a double vinyl again so there’s a lot of tracks.

Ride has a UK and Ireland tour planned for September. Will you be playing the majority of Interplay as part of your live sets?

I really hope so. That is the aim as far as I’m concerned. I think it would be ridiculous to make this album then go back to playing loads of old stuff. There’s got to be a balance I guess, but I do hope we have the confidence to play as many of these songs as possible because it’s new ground, it’s new blood. Also, because we’ve done a lot of Nowhere tours, which have been nice, this is what really excites me. It just feels like a new blood musical sonic transfusion.

Interplay could easily be a gateway album into Ride’s back catalogue for a lot of teenagers and twenty-somethings that might not be as familiar with your other material.

I’d like to think so. I’d love that because I listen to a lot of new music and react more to that than listen to old records in many ways. It’s a reaction to the feeling there’s a lot of great new bands coming up and if we’re not really on your game they’re going to knock us in the pocket. It’s got to be good. What right do you have to be offered shows and stages at festivals unless we’re still really good? That’s the pressure and hopefully we’ve risen to that occasion.

With the tour running throughout September, are there any plans to play any festivals or overseas shows either side of that?

We’re certainly open to that, and discussions are ongoing at the moment. We’re hoping that when people have heard the new album those discussions might gather momentum leading to festival opportunities that could be happening. I guess its just whether it happens this summer or next year. I think a few will, but next summer will be great as well once the album’s really sunk in. So, next year I would expect there to be quite a few festival appearances. We’re going to the Far East in August. Fuji Rock is definitely happening, there’s a Korean festival definitely happening. Then I believe we’re going to do an Australian tour pretty much straight after so that swallows up a lot of time for UK festivals because it puts us out there for a good two to three weeks. We are available in and around our tour dates though, so I guess it’s a case of watching this space! Something new seems to keep popping each day or in discussion. I’d love this album to really bump us up because it would then generate more income and mean we can have more of a light show. I’d love that at this point, because then it just jumps it up a level again which would feel amazing. I feel like it’s been cooking so hopefully it will go to boiling point now which would be amazing and feel like such a success for our reunion to hit that at this point. Which of course really depends on how people receive the new record. I’m training harder and really trying to get in shape for whatever happens, which I never used to do before. It almost overwhelms me, that feeling we’ve potentially created something special here. So, I just really want to be on my game then we can really deliver, whatever it is we’re expected to do. I just want to feel we can really deliver this.

It’s the 30th anniversary of Ride’s third album Carnival of Light in June. Will you be doing anything special to commemorate this?

Andy’s good with checking out stats—he’s our statsman—and I love him for that! Whereas I’m not. I’ve only recently succumbed and joined a streaming company. Tidal, actually. I’ve resisted for so long, mainly out of principle because of the way artists get paid by Spotify. But even with Tidal, I pay my subscription but it still feels as if I’m stealing music. It’s a very weird feeling and I’m only just getting used to that. Of course, kids have been doing that for years. But to me it just feels odd. But I do love being able to get all the music I want in my apartment and listen to it whenever I want. So, I’m now streaming, which takes me back to the original question, as Andy knowing his stats said that “From Time to Time’’ off Carnival of Light has got a ridiculous number of streams, which I’d never really thought about before. I mean, I love “From Time to Time.” If I ever do a set of acoustic songs I always play that. So, I think we will take note of Andy’s research and what the big numbers are on certain tracks when it comes to streaming. It would be nice to incorporate that and maybe a few others that have had a rest or we don’t play much. I was also amazed at how many streams “Drive Blind” is getting. We rested that quite a while ago so maybe something like that could come back into the live set as well. We haven’t planned anything for the 30th anniversary of Carnival of Light. We didn’t really do anything for Going Blank Again. We have been playing it a bit here and there, and even though its 30th anniversary has been and gone, everything got knocked back because of the COVID years. That’s why the Nowhere shows were late. That’s why Going Blank Again could potentially be later. I don’t really know, but I do know I’m most excited about this new record. It’s lovely to go back in that zone with some of those older records. I do still love it but what’s really exciting is the here and now.

Working in the studio with lots of current artists and bands, are there any that really excite you? Or even any that remind you of Ride from their early days?

People like Fontaines D.C. I really love. Everything about that band to be honest. Young Fathers as well. Arab Strap too. I know they’re not a new act but I keep hearing their new stuff and its great. They’ve all caught my ears recently and now I’ve got a streaming account I can go and listen to them whenever I want! I recently worked with a band that came in called Two Headed Horse. They’re really interesting. I actually spoke a lot to Tim Burgess when we were on tour together with The Charlatans and he’s set up this project Help Us Help Bands. So, he’s going to help me get a couple more tracks recorded with Two Headed Horse and they then get a slot at Kendal Calling. They’re really good, very talented and I really love them. I finished a mix for Motel Thieves today as well. They’re an exciting young band I’ve just had in. They’re the ones that immediately spring to mind at the moment. I went to see Depeche Mode in Birmingham a few weeks ago and loved it. It was an arena show which I’m not really a fan of arenas that much but I loved it. They were brilliant. This band I’ve loved from being a teenager until now. We’ve mentioned Talk Talk and Depeche Mode as being influences on this record, which I think has surprised some people, and yet we’ve always been influenced by Depeche Mode, Tears For Fears, and quite a few of those ‘80s bands. It’s always been there. It’s always been a huge part of me because that’s when I was first starting to fall in love with music. I used to lie in bed listening to The Hurting by Tears For Fears thinking one day I want to be in a band like that. But when I see Depeche Mode still making music like that now they’re older I think to myself we can keep doing that as well, especially with a great record.

The album Interplay is out on Friday, March 29 via Wichita/PIAS.

For more information on Ride including all tour dates visit their official website.

Subscribe to Under the Radar’s print magazine.

Support Under the Radar on Patreon.