The Polyphonic Flee

inancial orthodoxies, national governments, the Arctic Monkeys, Big Brother – all these things and more have waxed and waned in the long years that have passed since I first saw Chris Heaney and Richard Dale playing live in bands. Claiming that the escape act duo are well established on the Belfast music scene is like saying Alex Ferguson has been manager at Manchester United for a season or two. You need only mention a few of the bands they have previously been involved with – Desert Hearts, Ninebar, Kismet – to get a sense of just how deep their involvement runs. They are stalwarts. Stalwarts with a pronounced fondness for Pixies LPs.

Music, however, is no respecter of longevity. If anything, the further an act drifts from its accelerated origins, the more difficulty it has magicking up excitement and flair.
So, when we come to Balance, the new escape act album, and glance through the credits to find the same line-up, same producer, same studio – it’s no surprise to find a murmur of apprehension appearing on the horizon. Forty minutes in the album’s company, however, and any reservations will have been placated. Balance, as you would expect, is a record of warm familiarity and easy company. But – and here’s the rub – it manages this not by tilling a familiar furrow, but by instead darting deliriously off-road along a load of unplanned detours.
In fact, come at it cold, and the band’s lengthy CV is an irrelevance: this could easily pass as a box-fresh debut by some eager-beaver cubs. A decade in, and it’s the best thing they’ve ever done.
So, chatting to Chris – there really is only one way to start: how did you manage that?
“We just love music and being creative,” he volunteers, “Andy Miller (producer) has a similar enthusiasm and when we are recording we always work in a very positive way. There’s a tremendous amount of energy going on when we’re recording, and I think it’s ignited by the freedom to totally be yourself, because of the depth of friendship behind it. We always try to push things forward and not be precious about anything. I think that can lead to a record that sounds fresh, despite the same people being behind it, because we never try to repeat previous approaches.”
During the recording of Balance, this have-a-go attitude even led to Chris arranging all the string parts for the first time.
“It was great but pretty demanding,” he admits. “Those moments when the strings come in really capture a lot of the emotion we were aiming for. But it can be tricky getting the performances just right, especially when I decided I really didn’t want to tweak any notes on a computer afterwards, I wanted it to be honest, recorded on my limited 8-track, and reflect the spirit of what we were doing and we caught that thanks to the amazing players that appear on the songs.”
As befitting gentlemen of their vintage, everyone in the band has a day job and lots of other responsibilities – there must be times when it becomes very tempting to phone in sick.
“Oh aye,” Chris nods. “But we all love it. I enjoy the process of writing and recording music. Enjoy working with close friends on creative projects that are usually lots of fun. When things stop being fun, which happens periodically, we have been really good at changing things so that we renew our enthusiasm and remind ourselves why we’re doing it.”
With Balance representing something of a career high, I wonder if the escape act massive miraculously found themselves sharing a tour bus with their younger selves, how they would all get on?
“I actually think surprisingly well,” laughs Chris. “Throughout it all, in all our different bands, we shared a real love of music and hanging out together in a time when we didn’t do much else. So thinking idealistically about it, I imagine us all going on tour enjoying all the music we loved then and sharing new stuff we’ve discovered since.”