Talking Eds

Cork-bound this summer for the Indiependence festival, English rockers Editors have recently been gigging in some pretty far flung places – indeed, they have even followed in Bob Dylan’s footsteps and played China.

“It was the first festival they’d had there,” explains frontman Tom Smith. “We were playing in Beijing and it was great, the kids were really up for it. It was actually quite a pop-oriented line-up – Avril Lavigne was on the night before us. But there were some other acts who had a similar vibe to us, like Ladytron, so we didn’t feel too out of place. It was one of those things; you get asked if you want to play China and you think, ‘Will we ever get a chance to go again?’, so we just did it.”
Since the start of the year, Editors have been busy at work on their fourth album, the follow-up to 2009’s In This Light And On This Evening. The record will once again find them working with super-producer Flood, whose array of credits (including U2, Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey and Nine Inch Nails) gives him one of the most glittering CVs in rock. Have editors ever pushed him for stories about working with such rocky heavyweights?
“Of course!” replies Tom. “It’s particularly interesting talking to him about the heyday of rock in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when bands were selling more than they ever had before or ever will again. So, Flood would have Depeche Mode calling him up from New York and asking, ‘Do you want to come and party?’ So he’d get the concorde over, get completely off his head, then get the concorde back again and continue working on whatever album he was busy with. He also did a fair bit of partying with U2. We do like to party ourselves, although perhaps not at Depeche Mode levels – then again, we’re not at Depeche Mode’s level of record sales! But we do enjoy ourselves.”
Around the same time as Editors released In This Light…, the group also appeared on the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack, which one imagines was a very good artistic fit, considering the darkly romantic feel of much of the band’s music.
“It was a great opportunity for us to reach new people,” enthuses Tom. “We wouldn’t have been big Twilight aficionados, but it seemed like a great chance to reach out to a different audience. There were lots of other great artists involved and that soundtrack was very successful, so we were delighted to play our part.’
Finally, with the festival season now well and truly upon us, I enquire as to Tom’s all-time festival highlight, either as a punter or as an artist.
“Glastonbury would be the answer, on both fronts,” he responds. “I grew up not a million miles from there so it was pretty much in my back yard, and I have lots of great memories of seeing different people perform. Also, as an artist, I have to say there is something very special about playing there. When you’re up on that stage and the sun’s going down – it’s unbeatable, really.”