Interview with Longitude Headliners alt-J

Listen, I’m as open to hearing New World Order conspiracy theories as he next guy with a passing interest in old YouTube clips of Coast To Coast AM (seriously, the small owl in the top left corner of the ‘1’ on the US dollar bill suggests something is up). But even my mind was slightly boggled when a bunch of online forum dwellers started suggesting that mild-mannered Leeds indie merchants alt-J had gone over to the dark side. So they’re saying it wasn’t alt-J’s immaculately constructed and played, post-Radiohead rock that earned them a Mercury Prize and had them headlining arenas in super-swift time? That, in fact, they had sworn their allegiance to the Illuminati? It seemed like codswallop and I’m pretty sure I’ve confirmation.
Sure, keyboardist and one-third of alt-J Gus Unger-Hamilton could be pulling a fast on on me as he sits in a London café, fresh from a Sunday show at Glastonbury and sweltering in a pair of summer shorts. But I reckon it’s unlikely, if he was in league with shape-shifting celebrity reptiles, that he’d thumb his nose so readily at other (supposed) members.
“Where do I stand on Kanye generally?” he muses when I bring up Mr. West’s divisive Saturday headliner at Glasto. “I’m not a big fan. He used to be this rapper that really interested me. I think his music’s still really interesting but I don’t know why he decided to become this super arrogant, ‘I’m the greatest person ever’ thing. It’s not really necessary. It really annoys me. Maybe he’s trying to be annoying or something…” Surely Yeezus, along with pals High Priest Jay Z and High Priestess Beyoncé, would bring up those comments if Gus was attending the next High Council meeting?
As for Taylor Swift taking that public stance against Apple Music and proving what a plucky young artist can do in the face of the mega-corps? Well, the two parties seemed to get back to their mutual love-in quite quickly, so Unger-Hamilton smells a rat.
“I can’t help but wonder whether it was a whole big publicity stunt. It’s certainly give Apple a boost, hasn’t it? The deal Apple was offering to independent labels was really shit and at least they’ve fixed that now. I don’t follow it all too closely. The music industry now? Nobody really knows what’s going on. Everybody’s making it up as they go along. I’m thinking about buying a record player and just fucking off digital music! I can’t be bothered to watch this fighting like cats in a bag, that’s also being chucked in a river. It’s just a bit tragic.”
No punches pulled, which is evidence enough for me that alt-J remain fiercely independent. And it’s serving them well. Following the critical acclaim of 2012’s An Awesome Wave, follow-up This Is All Yours was their first as a three-piece (founding member Gwil Sainsbury deciding the rock ’n’ roll life wasn’t for him) but that fact didn’t seem to hamper them, as it sailed to the top of the charts in their homeland. This tour has seen them play their biggest headliners to death, with their September 2014 visit to 3Arena being the pinnacle in terms of sheer scale. New touring guitarist Cameron Knight has been taking some of the pressure off the core members, but they have had to adjust to their new surroundings. A band focused on executing the songs as faithfully as possible, their extremely layered sound means intense concentration, as they focus on their instruments, time their triggers and generally sweat buckets to be as precise as possible. It’s a muso approach that suggests the grandstanding and showmanship of other massively popular live acts isn’t for them. Have there been any conversations about possible going the Muse route and putting on an outlandish spectacle? Or at least an effort to rent out U2’s old lemon?
“For this album tour, we did spend a lot of time and money on making sure the lights and video aspects were really good. So that’s been a big focus of ours. The Dublin gig was a really great show. The first time we played a huge place like that. It was pay day, because it was the end of the month, so they were all really up for it!”
The only downside to touring this time around has been the absence of Gwil. Unexpectedly, his departure didn’t cause them particular trauma when they immediately sat down to write and record This Is All Yours – they simply miss their old mate being around for the day-to-day stuff on the road.
“We threw ourselves straight into making the album and that was the best kind of therapy for us: to do some work and feel like that work was going well. We were writing and recording songs we were really happy with and seeing those results made us feel very strong. It wasn’t really too bad. going back on tour without Gwil was harder for me. I’ve missed him on tour, he was a great mate. And is still a great mate.”
Rather than hamper their progress, seeing Gwil opt for a life outside of music gave them perspective. They could always do the same if they became unsatisfied with the business, so they have no reason to compromise the band and their art just to please the industry.
“Exactly. And by not leaving, we were reaffirming our commitment to the band and to each other. There was definitely a huge second honeymoon period for the three of us as friends and as a band.”
Smooth sailing, so far, for alt-J. That Pyramid Stage slot sums up the current mood in the camp: content, confident and adored for it. They were wedged on the day between Lionel Richie and the mod invasion that was Paul Weller and The Who. Were they treated with a crowd full of middle-aged yuppies and blokes with Liamy G haircuts, then?
“I didn’t notice too many of those but I couldn’t see the crowd at all. They were very far away. It was all very big.”
It could get bigger, considering there were more than a few ‘next time, they’ll be headlining…’ comments knocking around after the set. Is headlining The Pyramid Stage on bucket list?
“Honestly, we’ve left our bucket list so far behind. The bucket list was probably: get played on 6 Music, do a tour, make an album. We haven’t really had time to update our bucket list in about four years. Everything now is unexpected and crazy. A huge, huge bonus and beyond anything we ever expected to happen. Obviously it would be amazing to headline Glastonbury but we don’t have some secret plan of world domination that we’re slowly working on.”
You’d like to think away from the stage, they found time to have a few funny cigarettes with Lionel and Roger Paltry, but with the Who singer now openly admonishing fans that blaze up during shows, that was never on the cards. When it comes to famous hang-outs, lately, it’s been very civilised…
“We had a big game of cricket with Mumford & Sons the other night which was pretty fun. They travel with a cricket set. As if they wanted to be perceived as any more Mumford & Sons-y, know what I mean?! It’s like: ‘come on guys, you’re not helping yourselves!’ It was non-competitive but I took a wicket, which I was very pleased with. I didn’t embarrass myself.”
Of all people, Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus was one name bugging up the band over the Glasto weekend.
“Yeah, I saw that!”
Not quite as unexpected as Yoko Ono following you on Twitter.
“Somebody told me this once. Yeah, apparently, but I don’t even know if she’s really active on Twitter. God knows! Woody Harrelson came to our show in London, that was really, really cool.”
On that occasion, you can be take it as read that Woody hooked up with the guys post-show for the most Woodyesque of activities. Perhaps their most ardent celebrity follower has been one Miley Cyrus. We’re not going to ask about that infamous Miley sample on ‘Hunger Of The Pines’…
“It’s come up now and then, yeah!” Gus laughs.
What is interesting, however, is the band’s impressions of the ‘Wrecking Ball’ star when they’ve met. They’ve clearly found her to be an intelligent, on-the-ball lady. As Wayne Coyne has previously told Hot Press, she is fully in control, which seems totally at odds with the media portrayal of her as a young woman in trouble. Is there a sexist agenda at work in the press?
“I do know what you mean, actually. There’s this assumption that a young woman who’s having a good time can’t possibly be on it. She must be fucked up. I actually saw the new Amy Winehouse documentary last night, so that whole thing is very much to the front of my mind right now. It’s incredible. They had Amy Winehouse’s old band playing, and her manager was there, the director was there. It was an amazing night, very emotional. We can’t necessarily compare Miley to Amy Winehouse in a particular way. “She does play it up a bit, I suppose, always talking about drugs and sex, but these are all things she’s allowed to do! She’s just going: ‘Yeah, I like to have sex. Yeah, I like to smoke weed. What’s the problem?’ It’s quite cool really.”
Any uproar seems bizarre in 2015. “Exactly people have been saying this for 50 years now! And yet, people are still shocked by it. It’s quite weird.”