Last Waltz Talk

Music

Having gifted us a peach of a mix last week, we finally caught up with the threesome that make up the excellent Last Waltz ahead of their set at Bad Passion this weekend for a chat taking in everything from North Eastern myths to studio roles via their key influences and extra curricular activities…..

Hello there. First off, its something youve probably been asked for a while but why the name?

Geoff:

Foss came up with the name originally, as it started out as a name for a fairly short lived Sunday night party we were doing in town. It was the best name that either of us had suggested and I love the Scorsese film, so we just ran with it.

Mick:

What Geoff said… And I also think it’s one of the best looking music docs I’ve ever seen… I’ve been listening to The Band a lot recently actually…

Have you ever thought about making a track in waltz time? Do you think the old 3 to the floor is making a comeback?

Mick:

I have done… A number of times… I’ve written songs & been in & out of bands for years but regarding Last Waltz, yeah I’m up for owt & definitely keen on doing plenty stuff away from the typical 4/4 dance music thing… We’ve been talking about how we’d like an album to sound recently & I think we’re all keen on the idea of it not just being an hour or whatever of 4/4 bangers…

Geoff:

That’s the only real dance I ever learned how to do, so I could possibly be tempted just so I had a legitimate excuse to show off a hidden skill.

Tell us about the mix we managed to wrestle off you. Do you ever make mixes as a threesome, all jangling elbows and 6 hand knob fiddling?

Foss:

Yes but Geoff is a knob hogger.

Geoff:

We’ve done 2 so far. We’ll be recording another one soon. We’re just going to spend a day getitng pissed at my house basically. 1 hour recording. 11 hours Fighting.

Mick:

Like Geoff says, we’ve done a few but we’re all often busy with other stuff so it can be tricky getting us all together at once so it’s often quicker & easier for one of us to do it… I know you’re angling for a comment about threesomes & fiddling with knobs but I’m not gonna take the bait…

Regarding this one, I wanted to keep it relatively upbeat & be a reflection of what people may hear on Saturday at Bad Passion…

Do the three of you have massive arguments with each other, or is yours a more harmonious relationship?

Geoff:

Harmonious might not be entirely correct. We fight like teenage sisters. We’re faily embarassing sometimes, but the one good thing is that we’re all close enough to not harbor a grudge, so it always gets resolved.

Mick:

Well, they’re both wankers so what do you reckon? 🙂

Foss:

We’re a proper bunch of girls but like Geoff says arguments and bickering never get taken further.

Mick:

That’s what you fucking think.

Have you got designated roles in the studio?

Foss:

Mick drinks, Geoff hogs the knob(s)

Geoff:

We don’t really have designated roles, just certain things we often gravitate towards. For me, MIck is definitely more hands on from a playing point of view and tends to be responsible for a lot of the live flourishes, Foss (Lee) has a really great ear for fine details and percussive touches, which is something that I think I’m personally guilty of overlooking sometimes, and is one of the things I really like about our sound. I tend to be more in to the shape of the whole tune and its arrangement, but again, these aren’t fixed roles and we’re pretty much interchangeable.

Mick:

Yeah like Geoff says, there aren’t any fixed roles but I think we all acknowledge each others strengths & the best stuff we come out with is definitely when we’ve all worked on it together from the start…

Have you thought about putting a live set together and taking it on the road? What does live mean to you?

Geoff:

Would love to play live. Honestly, that would be the dream for me. It’s finding the time though, amongst everything else. We’re all lucky enough to know some amazing players though. For me, something akin to what LCD Soundsystem do live would be my ideal. A proper band with some nice electronic embellishment (and a drummer tight enough to play along with an 808).

Mick:

Yeah I’d love to but for me it would have to be a full live band thing… I’m not really into the idea of a few blokes & laptops type of thing… Saying that ,I really enjoyed watching the way Metro Area did it at Garden Festival but yeah, my “musical roots” are in the live band type of set up, I’m actually in the process of getting a new band together at the moment which is a world away from Last Waltz stuff so like Geoff says, the time aspect of doing it with LW at the mo just wouldn’t be possible… Never say never though…

Whats the electronic music scene like up in the North-East at the moment?

Foss:

Newcastle is ok but outside of Newcastle (Sunderland, Middlesboro, Durham etc.) there is virtually nothing going on and thats a decent sized area with a lot of people.

Geoff:

Yeah, for me, at least Newcastle is beginning to get really good again. I hope I don’t upset anyone, but at one point almost everyone seemed to be just locked in to booking the same RA centric tech-house thing which for the most part bores the very piss out of me. Without meaning to sound patronising, a lot of the younger guys with big succesful parties now seem to have been really broadening their musical horizons and we’re seeing more and more interesting bookings being made. Also, a lot more people seem to be seeking out interesting venues now, rather than just traditional clubs, which something we’ve always advocated.

Dada, our party, always ticks all the boxes for us with the crowd and the vibe etc, so it would be dead easy to just kind of sink back and have no involvement in the local scene, but I think you still need to take an interest in what’s happening to be able to say you’re really contributing, and I think it’s the best it’s been in a long time now.
I think it also helps that there are all sorts of great alternative sounds coming out of the area by people like People Get Real, Emil Strunz, Blackhall and Bookless, Four Hands, Joonipah, Al Gobi, Funk Ethics, Iron Blu and whole bunch of other talented people (who will probably not speak to me again for neglecting to mention them here.

Mick:

There’s a lot of good stuff coming out of the region at the moment, quite a bit of it by folk we know too, which is nice… Club-wise, I couldn’t really comment as I find myself going out to clubs less & less… Whether that’s anything to with the music or is just a sign of me getting old, I’m not sure…

What comes first in order of enjoyment, DJing or producing?

Mick:

DJing for me… I have a low attention span so sometimes long sessions in the studio can drive me fucking mad!

Geoff:

I enjoy both, I just think I’m probably a better DJ than a producer when it comes down to it.

Youre busy lads outside of LW. Tell us a bit about your extra-curricular activities.

Mick:

I drink, buy trainers & occasionally sing…

Geoff:

I’d mention I’m off to Uni 15 years late, or that I’m about to start a German nightclass, but they’re actually both just curricular I guess. Mick is a frustratingly talented singer songwriter. I co run the website www.tourist-mag.com and Foss spends a lot of time growing his hair and googling lizards.

9 tracks that influenced the Last Waltz sound…

Foss:

The Knights of the Turntables – Fresh Mess

Art of Noise – Into Battle

James Brown – The Boss

Geoff:
Smith and Hack – Falling Star

112 Bpm – Willesden Dodgers

Liquid Liquid – Optimo

Mick:

It’s a Fine Line – Woman

UB40 – Don’t Break My Heart

Joey Beltram – Energy Flash

Do you know of the myth of The Lantern Worm? My father in law sings me a song about it every time I see him. Is this normal North Eastern behavior?

Mick:
It’s Lambton, which is a place in Chester Le Street in County Durham…

Chris from Bad Passion will no doubt be regaling us yet again with his version of it on Sunday morning…

Geoff:

Lambton is on the wong side of the Tyne Tunnel, which is more Foss’s territory.

Foss:
Whisht lad had ya gob!

The Lambton Worm