TLOBF Interview :: Field Music

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Through their many incarnations brothers Peter and David Brewis have been carving their own brand of wonky guitar pop, with influences ranging from Bowie, Bush (Kate, not G.W. Jr), and Zeppelin to the author Paul Auster. After their self-imposed hiatus and a couple of “solo” projects they’re back with a predictably brilliant album, this time under the Field Music moniker. Mathew Parri Thomas managed to steal a rare interview with Peter Brewis to talk about double albums, band identity and the pursuit of commercial success.

Firstly, you’re back! Well, Field Music are back; with you both collaborating on each other’s solo projects it’s like you never left us.
Well, we didn’t really. Or did we? I don’t even know myself anymore.

How do the different projects work if you’re essentially still working together?
It’s all to do with who’s boss. Me and Dave both have strong personalities and we both want to be in charge of our music. I’ve started to think that maybe it’s about the initial conception. Dave had an idea to make a record, so that was School of Language. I had an idea to make one, so that was The Week That Was. We then had an idea to make one together, and because we both liked the idea it’s Field Music. Maybe not quite as simple as that, but it ain’t far from the truth.

Why the decision to record another Field Music album now and not next year, or last year.
We had a gap in our diaries…(a five month one). And, more importantly we were both into the idea of doing something together and we both liked the mantra of…double album…double album….

The double album is a pretty bold move for your “comeback”. Is it a product of having so much material written or were you always intending to release a two CD package?
It was always the intention. Double albums are funny. They seem to signify pretension and over-ambition but in this day and age of multi-formats and the death of the album they can perhaps signal a nostalgia for a time when albums were king. It’s a farewell to the archaic perhaps?

Across all your works the lyrics have always seemed quite personal. What themes did you want to tackle on Measure?
I think Dave’s lyrics are more overtly personal. Mine tend to end up like lists of statements that were intended to be questions to myself. I think when I say “we”, “our”, or “us”, I probably mean “me”, “mine or “I”. Anyway, the things I’ve tended to be concerned with over the past year are “what am I doing/ have I been doing/thinking and why?”, “what should I do to make things better?”. I mustn’t be thinking about this this too deeply ‘cos I’ve not reached many conclusions. But through writing songs at least I ask the questions. Did someone say ‘art solves none of the worlds problems but at least it makes the world a less boring place’? Something like that. I’m incredibly scared of boredom.

When you decided to put Field Music ‘on ice’ Tones Of Town had just been release to rave reviews and you were all set to tour with arena-filling Snow Patrol. Is wider commercial success something you activly avoid? Do you think it would restrict how you operate?
We’ve never intentionally avoided commercial success. It just avoids us. The Snow Patrol thing was down to the fact that we felt at the time that we couldn’t stand in front of all those people and entertain them in the way Gary and the lads could. I’m all up for supporting bands but not if we’re not able to do the job. It’s different now though. We’re more confident with how we come across on stage. Maybe that lack of confidence has restricted how we have operated in the past. Now I’m channelling that lack of confidence into something constructive…ie making the music that I want to make and being incredibly attentive to it.

Many bands make the pilgrimmage to London to ‘make it’, but there’s a vibrant scene in the North East. How does your location affect you as a band?
It’s cheap to rent a room and make a record in Sunderland. Plus without the underlying pressures of a music industry and a cool music scene we can make whatever music we fancy. The musicians in Tyne and Wear are incredibly supportive of each other.

In terms of sound you’ve always carved your own niche. Do you pay much attention to current music trends and are you suprised you can happily share airplay with the raft of identikit indie bands?
I wish we could have a larger share of that airplay! If I’m honest I don’t really listen to much new music unless it’s recommended to me by a friend or if a friend’s made it. I mainly listen to Radio 3 or sometimes Radcliffe and McConie on 2 if I want to see what bands are sounding like these days. If I had digital I’d probably have 6music on a bit.

How does it work writing not only as a duo but also as brothers? Any fisticuffs in the past?
Last time me and Dave exchanged blows was probably playing American football on the parents landing. Even then it was probably by accident. We take our aggression out on the drums. We don’t really write as a duo. I’d say we more produce as a duo. We have a common language in that we don’t have to explain ourselves to each other. A raised eyebrow or smirk can either mean….’try again’ or ‘that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard’.

With two previous Field Music albums, your new double disc and two solo albums in your canon, how are you approaching live shows? Is it strictly Field Music or can we expect “The Brewis Brothers — Live!”?
Certainly not! Well, we’ll not call it that but we’re doing stuff from everything except The Week That Was album. I’m resting that…perhaps permanently.

And finally, in the ever-changing world of the brothers Brewis, what’s next?
God knows. We’ve got lots of ideas and not enough time to get them all done. We need to concentrate on the live shows. Which is sometimes difficult when you’ve got one eye on the next thing… Thanks for the questions!