Interview: Interpol continue to evolve

Interpol are heading over to Australia at the end of the year to play Falls Festival and their own sideshows. Cherry Anna Brearley chatted to Daniel from the band to find out more:

Hey Daniel. Happy Halloween! What are you up to today – are you marking the occasion in some way?
[Ignores Halloween greeting. Charming.] Hey! How are you? I’m in Tokyo – so my day’s been pretty good so far! We’ve been having to to do some promotional things, press conferences and such, in London, Paris… which were pretty intense. So, before our show here, I thought rather than fly back to New York, I’d come over to Tokyo… and so I’m just here, hanging out, seeing some friends, eating too much.

Oh COOL! Have you been to the Museum of Ramen? It’s amazing there, it’s this museum, right, and…
I’m not really a big ramen guy, so, no.

Oh right yes. Sorry, that’s not what we’re here to talk about. Errrrr *shuffles papers awkwardly*. Soooooo…how’s the tour been? Have there been any firsts on this particular tour – places you’ve visited, venues you’ve played, reactions you’ve got to certain songs…
Uhhhhh… we’ve been, let’s see… we’ve done two separate two-week legs of the North American Tour with a couple Canadian dates, too, which was great. We played two shows in Mexico City which were really special. The Hollywood Bowl in LA, which is really, really remarkable, a cathedral of the music world, really, that was somethin’ else. The record’s only been out for a short time [new album – Marauder], so we’ve got a while to go yet until the end of tour. Next up is the Tokyo show, and then Hong Kong and Singapore, both firsts, which is exciting for sure.

[Trying and failing to angle back to Halloween-y theme] So, it’s kind of apt that I’m interviewing you on Halloween because Interpol’s sound has often struck me as somewhat spooky and chilling… either musically or lyrically speaking. Over 15 or so years, the feelings and contexts surrounding the creation of your music must have changed a lot. Can you tell me more about Interpol’s processes for making music and how that’s developed over the years – especially on the new album?
[Deftly ignoring the Halloween reference for the second time – Don’t think I’ll mention it again] Yeah… I think we’re just, y’know… we like to think that we’re all sort of… evolving and we just naturally kind of… see what comes out.

We recognise the elements that make up ‘The Interpol Sound’, and we’re the same humans, with the same sensibilities as 20 years ago, when we formed, 4 years before our first record came out. We’ve just had the life experience to evolve and have subconsciously fed through these new influences into the music. For me, being inside it, it’s hard to see the changes – I tend to leave this to people outside the band to recognise.

There’s a deep need within me to express myself through the piece of music I write. There’s nothing better than when we all start… then really latch onto something we’re really excited about, which is the point it starts blossoming into ‘an Interpol piece of music.’ We can lead these rehearsals with the same euphoria as when we first started out, always making new little discoveries.

Have there ever been any huge challenges that you thought for a second the band might not be able to overcome?
Oh yeah I mean, we actually formed Interpol 4 years before we even put out our first record… and I might add, with very little encouragement! We didn’t know why we were even in a band, at some points! There was nobody even coming to our shows… it was huge challenge, especially in New York City, with very little money to our names, and rehearsal spaces costing what they do… and pretty much every single record company saying no to every sample we sent them.

We ultimately thought that there was an audience for us out there, but one of the most important things that brought us through was that we, ourselves, were getting so much out of the process. That feeling of, ‘nobody ever hears this music, nobody might ever listen to it, – but i’m okay with that’. That was enough for me… but it’s easier said than done over 4 years.

By some miracle, we stayed together and 20 years later here with 6 records under our belt.

How inspiring. Thank you. So, congratulations, you’re coming to Australia for summer! I hope you own some beach wear! Are you looking forward to your trip and playing with any of the other artists on the bill at Falls Festival?
Yeah, sure! It’s cold as hell in New York in December! It’s been a while since we’ve come over, a while back, and last time we only got to play one show. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great show – Splendour in the Grass – but this time around we get to hit a few stops around the country, and obviously playing the Opera House, this magnificent structure you see in books when you’re a little kid… that’s right up there. That’s insane.

And what are you looking forward to getting up to next after breaking from tour?
Ooooooho ho ho… that feels like so far off from now. Fortunately I really like to travel – that’s the reason why I’m in Tokyo so early for our show. I love exploring the world, experiencing new cultures, and I’m lucky to be able to do that. Culture. At this stage, it’s hard for me to plan but I’ll sure as hell make the most of it. Oh, and of course, we’ll be looking forward to starting to write some new songs!

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Interpol 2018/2019 Australia tour dates

Sunday 30 December – Lorne, VIC – Falls Festival
Monday 31 December – Marion Bay, TAS – Falls Festival
Wednesday 1 January – Byron Bay, NSW – Falls Festival
Friday 4 January – Melbourne, VIC – Palais Theatre
Saturday 5 January – Sydney, NSW – Sydney Opera House
Sunday 6 January – Fremantle, WA – Falls Festival

Falls tickets are on sale now, all details and pricing can be found at: fallsfestival.com

Marauder is out now via Matador Records / Remote Control Records

Interview by Cherry Anna Brearley.