Isobel Campbell interview: 2011

BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Possessing one of the sweetest voices in contemporary music, meant Isobel Campbell slotted rather neatly into Glasgow folk-pop ensemble, Belle & Sebastian – the band she started with former lover, Stuart Murdoch - but just slotting in, by her own admission, was never Campbell's intention. “Nah…. holding back has never been something I’m particularly good at.” Isobel left Belle & Sebastian in 2002, having provided them with their biggest hit, Legal Man just previous, and emerged from her Gentle Waves solo side-project to finally record under her own name from 2003 onward. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, a serviceable grunge act called Screaming Trees had ended their ten year run with a whimper, and brooding front-man, Mark Lanegan was part-timing with Queens Of The Stone Age. Seemingly adverse to maintaining another full-time band, Lanegan stuck to his 'casual basis only' habit all decade-long, leaving a trail of collaborations in his wake.

Lanegan's reputation as a sleeping bear never reached Campbell ahead of her request for Mark to 'sing on a couple of tracks she'd written'. The voice she had in mind for her songs was, 'that guy from Screaming Trees', knowing nothing of Mark's volatile nature and problems with addiction. Campbell simply says, “All of us have something or other to contend with… I believe”, and whether or not his demons affect their creative output, Isobel maintains, “Everything affects everything else, doesn’t it?” Her attitude to Mark is based on mutual respect and certainly Lanegan displays uncharacteristic warmth in Campbell's presence during rare joint-interviews. Their collaborative efforts to date amount to three acclaimed albums, the last of which, Hawk, released in 2010 spells the end of their partnership. Looking back over their work together, Isobel's lasting impression is, “I would say 99.9 percent of the time we saw eye-to-eye musically. We trust and respect each other a lot, and I think that is pretty obvious by the music we made.”

Isobel and Mark's work has allowed Campbell much greater expression. She utilises their shared vocal lyrically to direct a conversation, often willfully personal, courting comparisons with Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin's explicitly charged duets. In her writing, Campbell has addressed the messy break-up with Belle & Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch, but she's equally at home playing fictional storyteller. “Sometimes it can be a vent for things, yes, but sometimes it is just pure fantasy. If the song is for someone in particular then I usually have their voice in my head, but usually I just concentrate on writing a good song and that may or may not tell some kind of story, or reveal something about me, but either way it's some form of personal expression.” Although Campbell and Lanegan's last tour winds up this year leaving Isobel to pursue new collaborations, she reveals a long-term retirement plan she hopes will include Mark.

“I think when we're really, really old it'd be nice to get together one more time and do something with our combined history and the experiences we've had separately as well.” She laughs, “I'll be like Mark is now – kind of broody and dark – and he might have mellowed out, so it could be really interesting!” While Campbell fantasises about possible future role reversals, she reveals exactly what their current collaborative roles are. “Mark always says I am the head and he's the body in this arrangement. He likes to leave the thinking to me. I think it's worked out well though  because, I was really willing to be that person and it suited Mark also because he needs somebody  to push him to work sometimes.” Geographically, Isobel and Mark are closer now than ever – Campbell recently moved to LA, while Mark calls Washington State home – but her shift to the US has offered Isobel new opportunities, helping her transition away from the safety net of the Lanegan collaborations.

“I'm really proud of the three albums (I made) with Mark, but that cycle is completed for now.” The musically fertile Arizona desert, unlikely as that sounds, drew Isobel in. “I've found it's the perfect place for me, being from Glasgow, you can't get a greater contrast. Also, I've fallen in love with the music scene out there.” She reveals, “I've been writing with a singer called Victoria Williams, and our record is about half done now.” She adds excitedly, “ Calexico play on some of it, as well who are just amazing, but as for what the end product will sound like, I will quote Victoria, who always says…. 'We’ll see….', but you just know she has it all mapped out in her head.” Both Mark and Isobel have grown considerably through their in-obvious bond, and certainly a great deal more than if either had stayed within their respective bands. Between them they've forged one of those, for all intense and purposes, mis-matched duos who like, Kirtsy MacColl and The Pogues or Nick Cave and Kylie, although usually short-lived, we continue to have an enduring fascination with.

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"Is the glass half full, or half empty, Mark?"

Mark Lanegan interview (2010)

For Washington based singer Mark Lanegan, music has been a great addiction and one rarely satisfied by the occasional hit. He began performing in grunge nearly-rans, The Screaming Trees in the late '80s, but was restless with their slow progression and so before the band even fully broke through, Lanegan instigated a solo career to satisfy his need to write and play. The Screaming Trees, carried along on the grunge wave, seemed poised to hit big, yet it soon became clear their singer was intent on paving a way out of grunge for himself and continued to surface, mainly in collaboration, with artists also seeking a way out of their respective scenes. With that in mind, it's Mark's collaboration with the English duo Soulsavers - on two of their three albums - that begins our talk ahead of his Australian solo tour. The roof-raising soul/gospel angle of these works saw Lanegan move as far away from his grunge roots as possible.

"The gospel influence on those albums was those guys' vision, but did I co-write a lot of the music on Soulsavers." Mark explains. "It was just one of those things, they asked me to sing on it and I liked the music so, that's what we did. I have simple criteria – If someone asks me to do something and I like what they do, I'll get involved." The challenge of writing and recording music he had no founding in was appealing for the restless artist that Mark is, he continues; "Any sort of music is a challenge, because you're creating something where there was previously nothing and so I find that more challenging than the type of music I'm doing." He adds, "The thing that draws me to these different projects is that it's actually a treat to do something outside my realm and that keeps it interesting for me." The Soulsavers marry down-tempo electronica with the uplifting gusto of traditional gospel, if you're among the uninitiated. Yet Lanegan found their niche appealing not from a religious perspective but because of its rarely matched power to move the listener. "I find certain gospel songs incredibly moving, and just because I don't go to church that doesn't mean that I can't be moved by the music of that environment." He states, "But you know it doesn't matter if its gospel, or rock or blues as long as the artist means it and you can feel that, then that's what's gonna draw me in every time."

Mark's current tour is a look back at his solo work, but also promises to include a few tracks from his many collaborators. A third album with Isobel Campbell (ex-Belle & Sebastian) is due later this year, Lanegan has recently completed a tour with his ongoing collaborator Greg Dulli (as The Gutter Twins) plus another solo record is underway. The work keeps piling up, and as Mark puts it, it's all down to him being unable to refuse an offer. "There's time for everything I suppose, but really, I just can't say no." he laughs, "I'm never not working on something or other. One of the main reasons I guess I don't say no to working with so many different people, because each time it's a surprise." He adds, "I know what it's like to sit down and write a song by myself, and that's my comfort zone I suppose, but I might not know what it's like to write with you for instance, so that'd be the more interesting option every time." Interesting is the word, I've never written a song in my life but it seems rude to not offer Mark the opportunity to get a co-write happening anyway, "I'm very busy for the next few years but….!"

Moving on, we discuss Mark's involvement with Queens Of The Stone Age. Between 2000 and 2005 he became a full-time member after a long association with the group. I ask Mark if he was perhaps missing the dynamic of a group, and the simpler pleasures of just rocking out. "I guess that was the thinking there."  He laughs. "I had played with Josh already in Screaming Trees (Homme toured with the band in 1995) and I'm a big fan of what he does, so when the 'Trees split and he asked me to join, it was no question really. Anytime I can travel the world and play songs I love and hang out with friends, I'm there."

 Mentioning Screaming Trees has Mark sighing a little. It's well documented that the band had a rocky existence, but yet were still able to pull off seven acclaimed albums in their career. Lanegan's slow move away from his group had begun in 1990 with his first solo album, The Winding Sheet. In hindsight I wonder if Mark felt he was outgrowing his band from the start. "Not at first, it was just something that I saw as a way of playing with people other than the band. Also it wasn't only me doing that, the other guys had bands outside of Screaming Trees as well, so the group was kind of all our side project really. Now I'm out doing this solo tour, I kind of feel like everything I've done has been a side project." He smiles. As Mark's list of collaborations grows, it's hard not to wonder who's left on his dream list; "Well one of the high points of my recording career has been working with PJ Harvey (on Mark's album Bubblegum)." He recalls, adding "Also I really like Band Of Horses, those guys are really doing… something right." He drawls, "You know you're a big deal when you get one of those bus stop bench advertisements." Mark laughs, "I saw their new album advertised on one of those things which was pretty weird, but I love those guys."

With that tantalizing thought hanging in one of the many silent moments during our chat, I ask Mark finally if creating music from such a broad palate with apparent ease has given him greater confidence. "I think I've gained more humility," He pauses, "I had confidence already but music has taught me to be humble because it's outside of my realm in that I don't really understand where it comes from when I'm writing or singing." He adds, "I hope I never learn how to grasp it fully either. It's like a goal that you never quite reach, but that's why I do what I do because if that chase ended, then I'm sure the music would stop for me."



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Click to watch:

SOULSAVERS + MARK LANEGAN "Revival" video