Interpol
apr 19th 2005
interview with Carlos D (bass) by Barbara H

So, how are you ?

I'm alright

How has this tour been going on so far ?

It's going really well. We did three shows for each country, so we did two in london and one in dublin and we did three in Germany then a day off, then three in netherland then a day off, now it's three in France, well Bourges will make it four... so it's set really comfortably, every fourth day is a day off. And also the travel time between each city is so short that you don't have to leave until much later so i get to hang out, that's always important to me (laughs)

Do you plan on touring as much as you did for Turn On the Bright Lights ?

In fact we already have! We've done three US tours already, if you count the Curiosa tour, that's like three... you haven't seen us yet on this tour though ?

no

We toured pretty extensively for this record. I think we're going to be finished by september or october and if that is the case, if you add up the amount of time it's pretty much the same amount of touring that we did.

How did you manage to get some rest after the previous tour ?

I didn't... i mean i did but... it was just that being at home for 6 months was so good because i kinda went back to what i thought was a little more like... sleeping in the same bed every night and, you know, seeing the same people in the same place and not always having to travel around. It was really really nice, but then it just started all over again.

Do you plan on making a break after this tour ?

There will be a longer break than the last one, for sure

good! (laughs)

yeah, it's definitely needed.

About Antics, there were a few things that Turn On the Bright Lights had in common, or that the press thought it had in common with Joy Division, and most of these things are gone, I was wondering if it was a conscious choice or just a natural evolution...

no, it wasn't conscious, it was just... a lot of people had said initially. It was really... we do everything so organically, that's were that kind of stuff kinda slip in...

About the writing process, it used to be Daniel bringing sketches, guitar parts, around which the abnd built songs, and in Antics some of the songs sound more bass-oriented, and i was wondering if there had been some changes in the writing process...

No. It's pretty much the same... the "more bass" development kind of stuff happenened because Sam and I mess around when we play the songs but the actual structure is based on a motif that Daniel always introduces. Daniel wrote the bass line to Evil. Daniel wrote the bass line to Not Even Jail... If you go way back he brought the bass line to Specialist... So if you wonder why there are changes in the songs or in the structures, it's all because of Daniel (laughs)

How did the recording sessions go, for the first record they were very short and very tight, how did it go this time? did it take longer ?

Yeah. There wasn't the... we weren't running against the clock. This time we definitely gave ourselves enough time to finish it, although the engineer ran out of time in the end, he had to go somewhere else with another band. So we were racing against the clock because of him, the money wasn't a problem... We definitely spent more than enough time on Antics, we don't feel like we shortchanged any song because we had to run away from the studio

What do you think of the band's first recordings, in retrospect ?

when we were recording A Time to Be So Small for Antics we went back to the original recording of it every now and then just to check on things... it was embarassing (laughs) I do like the chemikal underground ep, i still like it, things were so different... when we recorded the gray ep which came after, we thought the gray ep was better, but now i think that the first one is better.

There's Song Seven on the gray ep, it's one my favourites...

have you heard the new Song Seven ?

yeah

and you prefer the old one ?

yeah, mostly because there's no longer Daniel's spoken word thing on the new one.

really ?

yeah i really liked it.

really? you're one of the few! we suggested that he do it, and we wanted to fuck around, maybe to make it more spoken word than the way he did it in the original but we never got around to it.

I know Song Seven is one of the leftovers from the recordings, are there other songs?

there was another one, that song that's called Mascara, we did that one and it came out really really well but we never got around to putting vocals on it, so, Song Seven and that are the only two, but we will release that, because it's pretty much finished. I don't kow when though...

Each of you remixed tracks from the record for the C'mere single, do you think they're representative of who you are ?

yeah, for certain we can get the sense what it is that we individually contribute to the group. that was kind of the idea to begin with.

Some time ago you played Slow Hands on Leno and i was really impressed, do you feel more confident as a musician and as a band ?

yeah, for sure, a lot of the stuff that's on Antics, especially Slow Hands, I wouldn't have been able to play that song circa TOTBL, and i think that just from touring, playing the same songs over and over again you develop a proficiency and then you take that proficiency to the new songs... also, i didn't go through any of the anxiety that i went through during TOTBL, I remember our first TV performance, that was on David Letterman, and I was like *gasps for air* (laughs)

you get used to it...

yeah

You have signed a two records contract with Matador and i was wondering if you already knew what you were going to do next...

I'm sure the guys are matador are also wondering... (laughs) We haven't even gotten to that point. I know we're going to have to start thinking about it soon but there hasn't been some kind of space or time for us to... we're more concentrating on survival, the schedules are so arduous...

What are the next plans for the band ?

We're going to have to go to Australia, we're doing this Summer festival circuit, we're going probably to Mexico and Canada, maybe even Brazil.

And then... a break

yeah, absolutely

Is it always comfortable, being with the same people all the time, you've been constantly together for years now...

there are days when there are a lot of friction, especially when some of the most essential basic needs that people have, like eating, sleeping... anything fucks with that which is very likely because we are on tour, they can ruin your whole day and create friction, but i think we've learned to deal with stuff like that.

Do you plan on keeping on making music, with or without Interpol during the break ?

I think we're not going to... Sam is not going to Asia, I'm not going to Siberia, I think it's going to be a little different, than the way it's been, because i do think we need our space, at times being individually by ourselves and work on other things. I would love to work on a soundtrack for instance, in between now and the third album... and it's like the record deal, we haven't even gotten to that, i think we will by the end of the summer but it's just not in our heads right now. I'm looking forwards to it!

How do you feel about the band's success ? Surprised ?

Well, the surprised happened during TOTBL. The surprise was the first month when the record was released, i was like "oh my god!", but ever since it's just kind of pretty steady, like one notch over... so i've been able to keep up.

Good! Thank you!

Thank you.

/may 1st 2004/