Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.06.2013, Blaðsíða 42
42The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 8 — 2013
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Fall founder Mark E. Smith: a fiend,
a frontman, straight up punk or a liv-
ing legend? Whatever your answer,
you can’t deny that the man has led
a long and exciting career through
his pioneering rock band The Fall—
sometimes celebrated as “the last
rock band standing.” Decades have
passed since The Fall’s relentless as-
sault on mainstream music staked
the band a prominent place in rock
history. With a sound that’s writ-
ten in stone and a revolving cast of
members, Mark has kept The Fall
going since 1976 by controlling the
band like a captain through a storm.
Some of the crew are bound to fall
overboard, into oblivion, while oth-
ers survive but, as Mark has put it:
"If it's me and yer granny on bongos,
it's the Fall.”
With a new album out and a world
tour in progress, it’s apparent that
Mark has no plans of slowing down
in the immediate future. And guess
what? Mr Smith and his band are
returning to Iceland, set to co-head-
line ATP Iceland next week, play-
ing alongside another revered rock
figure, Nick Cave. We mustered up
the guts to call up Mark and ask him
about the band’s current state and
whether he remembered anything
from his prior Iceland visits.
Fuckin’ hell!
What do you think of returning
to the Iceland?
I'm looking forward to it, but I don’t
think I've ever been in the summer.
Yeah I've been there a few times, but
never in the summer.
Have you given any thought to
the fact that you’ll be playing in
an abandoned military base?
Fuckin’ hell! [spoken in a muddy Lan-
cashire accent—no one quite handles
profanity like the British]
You visited Iceland in 1981 and
1983, roughly thirty years ago—
and then again in 2004. What
were those visits like? Any par-
ticular memories—do you even
remember them at all?
Yeah, I really enjoyed it; I made some
good friends there who are either
dead or relegated.
Anything particular that caught
your attention?
Nah. I've always liked it. When we first
went there, there weren’t that many
groups around, which was kind of
weird. But we were still very selective
of them [laughs].
The ascent of bark
What did you think of the Icelan-
dic music scene during your first
visit?
Well, we toured a bit with Purrkur Pil-
nikk, but not much other than that, and
they turned into, what you call—Bark?
You know what I'm talking about son?
[Mark may be referencing that Purrkur
singer Einar Örn went on perform in
Kukl, and later the Sugarcubes, along
with another singer who later struck
out on her own as...Björk. Or he might
not be referencing that at all].
Do you remember any other Ice-
landic acts from your first visit?
No. I mean, I got a few LPs that you
can't pronounce, some folk music and
some poetry as well, and I liked that.
Do you have an opinion on the
current Icelandic scene?
Well, I don’t know anything about it.
Nothing recent at least. What’s it like?
It’s evolved a bit and has gotten
quite big, actually. I hope you’ll
see it better when you come here.
Well, what kind of music is it? Like, do
you have a lot of groups going?
Well, yes, quite a few of them.
Well alright then.
In your song “Iceland” you men-
tion Icelandic singer/songwriter
Megas... any particular reason?
Right, well, he was a big deal back
when I was there, and I got some of
his LPs. But I’ve never met him or any-
thing. Is he still going?
Yes, he's still going strong.
Cool.
Society gets worse
All the time
The Fall was a pretty ground-
breaking band when you first
came out. Can you tell me why
you got started or what inspired
you to become a musician?
I think it’s the same as now really. I
would hear any music that was around
then and thought I'd make some differ-
ent music, something that was primi-
tive and mixed with intelligent words,
really. That’s what I’m trying to do,
still.
So you’re trying to achieve the
same things you were trying to
achieve then?
Well, if you look at it that way, then
probably, yeah.
Where did you find you
your inspiration then?
To be honest, I don’t really think about
the past that much nowadays. It’s al-
ways the next LP with me.
But is there something you
find inspiring today?
Society gets worse all the time; some-
body has got to say something. And if
you ever get to thinking you aren't fed
up with it all, then just turn on the TV
and watch some music programmes. It
riles me up. But the group I've got now
is almost ten years younger than me.
Do you feel this brings you in con-
tact with the current generation?
Yeah, I suppose it does.
But do you feel it is harder to be
all “groundbreaking” now than
back when you were younger?
Do I find it hard? No, not at all. What
we do today is what the rest of them
will do tomorrow, that’s my motto.
Watch your back,
Current fall line-up
Your band is famous for having
played host to some 66 members
since you founded it. However,
your latest album, ‘Re-Mit,’ is the
fourth you’ve recorded with the
current line-up. Have you finally
found the core members of the
group?
Haha, they’re getting nervous though,
they've been here four years now.
Yeah, I don’t think so, I might axe them
[laughing].
Some claim that the Fall would
not be what it was without the
constantly changing line-up. What
are your thoughts on this?
I don’t know. Sometimes you've just
got to sack somebody. You never
know. The current group, they’re all
married now—so that’s a worry sign.
I'll have to watch them from now on.
Many people consider music in
general to be in a state of decline,
what is your opinion on that?
What? Music in general? I think they
might be right, who said that?
Ehrm. I’m not referring to anyone
specific, but it seems like a
prevalent attitude. I was merely
interested in what you have to
say about it...
Well, you know, if I was 16 again I
wouldn't really think [unintelligible]...
But you can always say you're looking
at the bastard through rose coloured
glasses.
What I think is a big problem today
is the recording studios. It’s getting
harder for me to record now, because
these new studios make everything
sound kind of plain. They level ev-
erything down, so you have to spend
bloody hours and days trying to get it
to sound like it should. You know what
I mean?
Yeah. Do you think maybe these
studios are meant to make music
more accessible for radio and the
casual listener?
Yeah, they’re trying to phase it, with
ProTools and all that. The studios are,
in my opinion, mainly built for talent-
less people.
Idiots like bono
Many Icelanders get their music
by illegally downloading it. What’s
your opinion on that?
There’s nothing you can do about it,
really. I've been really fucking mad
about it, though. For instance, our last
LP—not this one or the one before,
but the one before that—the one on
Domino Records (2010’s ‘Your Future
Our Clutter’). Well, some idiot left a
copy of the LP in a bar and before we
knew the thing had twelve thousand
downloads. So that’s twelve thousand
sales. And then you get idiots like Bono
or fucking Madonna saying [adopts an
Irish accent] ‘Oh the music should be
free to every person, it should be all
free.’ But in the end I don’t mind, we
of course gained a lot of fans from it.
Any special plans for Iceland?
Not really, but we've got a day off
which sounds good. I don’t know.
I guess we'll wander around, get
phased from the nuclear base. I'm not
staying in town like everybody else,
that’s for sure.
I’ve read some of your interviews
in preparation for our talk. Often,
you don’t seem very fond of us
journalists as a profession. Any
specific reasons for that?
Well it just depends, Ragnar, it de-
pends.
[On that note, Mark quickly ended
the interview saying he has to
go out and catch the afternoon.
Before saying his final goodbyes,
the good man gracefully invited
me to “take him for a drink” if
we should meet while he was
in Iceland. I of course accepted,
and as I put down the receiver
I thought: “I now owe Mark E.
Smith a beer.”]
Welcome To The Fall
All our writers were too scared to interview notoriously grouchy Fall leader Mark E. Smith. All but one, that is...
By Ragnar Jón Hrólfsson