Masters of Puppets

So, has Best seen The Karate Kid remake with Jackie Chan as the old, wisened martial arts instructor? “No! I’ve seen the poster and I’ve just thought, ‘Naaah, I think I’ll give it a miss!’ I’m sure it’s a great work of art, but how can you improve on the original?”

It’s a good question, and one Best has posed of his own group’s sound. Critical darlings of the electronic scene, the band have often drawn comparisons with Krautrock giants, Neu! and Can. For their fourth album proper, he was determined to break free of those influences, escape their default setting. A dark electro throb of a record, Best reckons they’ve succeeded with Ventriloquizzing.
“I think we all feel quite proud of this one,” he reflects. “Previously, when you wait for reviews it’s a bit like a school report. But I’m so pleased with this that I don’t really care. I think we need to stand on our own feet more.”
They’ve gone on record as saying that this is the best thing they’ve ever done. Does he stand by that?
“Yeah, I mean, every band says that!” he laughs. “But I really do believe it and I don’t think I said it on the last two so I think I’m allowed to this time!”
The past year has seen more than just musical changes – both Best and bandmate Steve Lewis (aka Fujiya, from the record player brand) have recently become fathers.
“The reason why the record has been delayed is because I’ve just had a son a few weeks ago and Steve has had a daughter. So we didn’t really want to be away,” Best explains. Will the theme of fatherhood seep into the music?
“No, I think bands go awful when they have kids, you’ve got to be careful. Any song that I write for my son, I think I’ll keep between the two of us! And I think the world would be happy that I did that.”
What it does mean is that they may now have to find time for writing on the road.
“Historically we haven’t been able to do that. I think now we have to, or else it’s not going to get done. Words-wise I’ve been trying to do that more. It’s quite nice actually because on [2008’s] Lightbulbs you can see that I hardly left the house – all the songs are like ‘Dishwasher’. Not that I had one then!”
You were the dishwasher.
“Yeah, I was!” he laughs. “Now, I dunno, maybe I’ll turn into Bruce Springsteen and write songs about aeroplanes.”
One way of freeing up a little time is by having mannequin versions of yourself step in for all those pesky photo and video shoots. Suitably enough given the new album’s title, the band now have miniature alter-egos.
“The dummies idea… none of us like having our photos taken and we figured they wouldn’t age so much and they wouldn’t lose their hair so quickly! But just having this extraordinary little identity as well as having links to some of the lyrics, it really helped to make the record feel cohesive.”
It’s a nice update on an old Kraftwerk idea.
“That was one of the reasons for not doing it actually,” Best admits. “But there’s a million reasons for not doing everything. And I suppose not many people have the chance to have ventriloquist dummies made of themselves, however mental that sounds. So, why not?”