Introducing: Thee Single Spy

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Photograph by Lucy Johnston

It’s very rare we feature unsigned talent on The Line Of Best Fit. So rare in fact that I could probably count the number of times on one hand. But sometimes an act sparks our attention to such a point it would be criminal not to introduce them to the masses. Meet Thee Single Spy, the brainchild of one Alex Mattinson formed as a vehicle for his intricate songs inspired by his love of Neutral Milk Hotel, Mount Eerie, Bonnie Prince Billy and Elliott Smith. Over the course of two and a half years Mattinson has fleshed out his sound with added musicians – adding organs, harmoniums, melodicas, clarinets, trumpets, violas and big heavy guitars to a lineup which in some degree features between five and ten musicians on stage at any one time (including Emmy The Great guitarist and solo artist Younghusband) – though the current lineup resides at an even six members.

What I genuinely love about this band is their back-to-basics DIY ethic. Every item they’ve ever sent TLOBF has arrived in a lovingly packaged envelope – with letters and press releases and tid bits all bashed out on an old typewriter (yeah – remember those things?). Their recent 7″ only single was painstakingly made in a custom ‘sweat shop’, Mattinson tells us: “(The vinyl comes in) hand-stitched and screen-printed canvas cases, the product of our borrowed home-factory in Clapham. All hands on deck for eight months of home recording and canvas cutting in Oval. Wires hanging from the stairs, microphones on bookcases, radiators dampened with mattresses, headphones insulated by gaffa tape and pillows, computers crashing, glockenspiels in the bedrooms, ringing ears and canvas fibres across every surface of the house, drum takes at 10pm, mixing at 1am.” I find it not to be attracted to a band that puts so much detail and love into their releases, that matched by their equally beautiful songs of love, loss and despair delivered with a vocal akin to Conor Oberst meets (a sober) Shane McGowan you have the ingredients for a very special act indeed.

Here, Alex Mattinson tell of his inspiration, nervousness of performing and how the band single handedly helped Obama into the White House.

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should…
(1) We’re personally endorsed by Barack Obama.
(2) Our two clarinettists are both members of Obama’s campaign team, our keys player cuts Obama’s hair and our drummer wrote his inauguration speech.
(3) We’re not above jumping on the Obama bandwagon before it’s too late.

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?
I was given a clarinet when I was very young, and then a saxophone a little later on. For several years I was happy playing ‘Watermelon Man’ in my room, but it wasn’t until I tried to play along to ‘K’ by Kula Shaker in 1996 that I realised there was no place for woodwind in Crispian Mills’ pseudo-mysticism, and that I might be better off with a guitar. By that point I was also starting to put together words to make images to make lyrics, and I simply couldn’t sing with a clarinet in my mouth. Some people can, and I bet they’re pretty popular.

Where do your songs come from? What’s your inspiration
Lyrically, people say my songs seem quite dark, but I’ve never understood that. They tend to be based in quite dense imagery, and some of that might include strange juxtapositions of words or ideas, but I’ve never found anything I write to be depressing in any way. I very rarely write stories from my life directly into a song; instead I tend to include a word or phrase which evokes whatever experience it was. That way it’s like joining the dots – I can go from this word to that word and in my head I’ll visualise different events and emotions. Lyrically, the songs are mine, but the music is a group effort. I bring the song’s skeleton to the rest of the band and we write arrangements and try out different instruments. That’s the benefit of having a band full of musicians with a classical background – any song in danger of sounding too ordinary to us can often be rescued by a melodica, harmonium, clarinet, viola or trumpet.

Name your Top 5 records.
Recently I’ve been listening to:
Death Vessel – ‘Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us’
Phosphorescent – ‘Aw Come Aw Wry’
Pavement – ‘Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition’
Elliott Smith – ‘From A Basement On The Hill’
Dungen – ’4′

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success?
My first gig was at the Lock Tavern in 2006. I played it solo with some help from Fran, our other singer. It was for a band’s single launch and there were about 150 people. I remember rehearsing on the pavement outside the venue for an hour because I was so nervous. It was a success, but it set up me up for a fall in terms of audience size for our other early gigs. I couldn’t understand why the same 150 people hadn’t followed me to a pub in Hampton Court.

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
I am too self-doubting and negative. Was it justified? Almost certainly.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
Watching episodes of the Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson on the internet. It’s got terrifying Chucky-style puppets and various cuddly toys moralising to young people about sex, drugs and Christ, interspersed with Bible readings, singalongs and unconvincing puppetry. In one episode, a panda’s wife elopes with a drug dealer and becomes hooked on crack cocaine. In another, there’s a singing camel.

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?
Sitting in my house wishing I could be making music. I have an all-consuming fear of not being able to write and play songs, and can’t picture myself doing anything else. If a gun was put to my forehead and I was forced to choose another career, I would be an archaeologist. I think my beard suits the role and I would enjoy being the first person in thousands of years to see whatever it was we were digging up.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
I once worked in a cafe where my only job was to pour discarded cups of tea and coffee and the contents of ashtrays into a big bowl of water. For a change of pace I was occasionally allowed to take the bins out. I started at 7am on a Sunday, and by the end of the day I would be hallucinating from the smell. I eventually resigned by writing a rambling letter to the manageress, who was a sadistic old crone with a chip on her shoulder, and pinning it to the door.

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
I’ve chosen the theme, “Musicians whose impressive songwriting is matched only by their impressive beards”. They are…
Phosphorescent – ‘Dead Heart’
Bonnie Prince Billy – ‘The World’s Greatest’
Josh T Pearson – ‘That’s Just The Way That Life Goes’
Devendra Banhart – ‘A Sight To Behold’
Younghusband – ‘Mass Kiss’*

*Before I’m accused of nepotism, I should say that Euan from Younghusband does sing and play with our band occasionally, but his music and beard stand alone and would have featured in this list regardless.

mp3:> Thee Single Spy: ‘Smoke That Tea’

The band regularly play shows in London, check their MySpace for details. And a note for your diaries: Thee Single Spy will be appearing at TLOBF’s monthly club night at Old Blue Last in Shoreditch, London on 18th May with a whole host of exciting nu-folk acts. Keep your eyes peeled for the full lineup coming soon..