Simple Things 2015: HEALTH discuss bonding through catharsis

HEALTH returned earlier this year, after a lengthy period of silence, with Death Magic. They'd been up to other things, like soundtracks and projects with game company Rockstar, but this was the first glimpse of HEALTH proper since 2009's Get Color - and now they're about to bring their revitalised mayhem to the UK.

With an altered sound and more positive outlook, HEALTH have transformed their "violent" energy into a streamlined force for catharsis... for both the band and the audience.

How do you feel about playing Simple Things?

We've played very few UK festivals - we've only done Reading and Leeds I think, which obviously has a totally different feel. We played a tiny club show in Bristol way back in the day, and we've driven through a few times I think on the way to other cities, but this is gonna be like playing somewhere new for the first time.

What are you expecting from the city this time around?

Rain.

What are you looking forward to at Simple Things?

It's way more venue based than we're used to, and it feels like it’s a bit more a music fans' festival you know? I mean Reading and Leeds is great, but there's a contingent of people just there to see Guns 'N' Roses or Limp Bizkit, and there we're definitely the weirdest band on the bill. This time it seem there's a really varied line up, with lot of different types of music. Those are the best kinds of festivals. When you look at Primavera, music fans go to see music, and not just the 'festival experience'. That's great as well, but it is distinctly different.

Are you gonna aim to catch anyone else on the bill?

I haven’t seen Battles in ages, so that'd be cool. We're friends with Wire as well - we got to hang out in Australia and Tasmania through the same people that brought us all over, and our shared label guy out there was like ‘do you wanna grab dinner with Wire?’. We were like 'duh, yes of course'. We hung out for like a week. It’ll be great to see those guys again.

Your visuals for "New Coke" and "Stonefist" are unsettling and vivid - do you have a way of getting the same effect when you’re on stage?

We don't have projections or anything like that. We have a super jealous control over our videos and our look – anything we do must be in our aesthetic and we wanna keep the integrity of that. We were conceived as a live band, and to communicate that visceral, uneasy atmosphere we... we like our performances cathartic. I don’t wanna sound hi-falutin or like I'm being pompous, but we try to inhabit that aggressive and physical element we try to create in our music. The only way to enjoy properly is to physically engage. The audience freak out, and although violent elements are there, it's not a violent atmosphere. It helps carry the water, so to speak. We don’t wanna do projections of video or photos, but we are trying to build a live show, though that’s expensive... we can't tour with a whole lighting rig, but when we have the opportunity we love to do something that fits.

Is there much of a difference between UK audiences and US or mainland Europe?

Absolutely. There can be an overarching character to a country, but it's more region to region where you see the differences. London is like New York or Los Angeles, and everyone who's from there or moves there is at the shows because they wanna be part of a 'tastemaking scene', so there's a bit more hesitance of ‘are we supposed to like it?’ But then you know places like Norwich are gonna go fucking crazy. It's dependent on where you play.

How have fans reacted to the new, poppier material on Death Magic?

Since the beginning, we've always been appreciated in the UK for being experimental and flying in the face of traditional rock, and the response to Death Magic from fans has been great - they like the hummable melodies... but there’s some in the critical community that say they preferred our confrontationally obscure music. It will be interesting to see how those reactions translate to live shows in the UK.

What are you favourite tracks to perform live?

"Die Slow" and "We Are "Water" get a really specific reaction. It’s energising, and it makes you feel connected - that’s the most special moment. It’s a shared experience that’s totally unique where it's actually okay to shout and thrash and dance and break a kind of taboo in music appreciation. I mean, look at opera — it’s a lot more stayed.

The new material is invigorating though. “Dark Enough” is like a pop ballad, or as close as we get, and that’s been the most fun to play. I look forward to that in a set, so like if it’s been hot (The Dome in London was ridiculously hot) and we’re hungover, pouring sweat, and I’m thinking I wanna just end and go grab a beer, I’ll be revitalised knowing that “Dark Enough” is on the way.

How has Death Magic gone down when you’ve played it live?

Shows have been great. We did an overhaul of the live set up. There’s more low end, more clarity, more hi-fidelity sound, more melody in the vocals… so we had to change the way we presented our music on stage. We were acutely aware of playing old material with new songs. There’s nothing more frustrating than watching a band you love just play new material that you’re only part familiar with… unless you’re a jam band like Phish. We might remix older material so it's cohesive… certain songs from our first record are eight years old – Jesus saying that out loud is fucking depressing - so will obviously sound different. Certain songs sound, and I don’t wanna use that dirty word ‘pop’, but it’s still more accessible. Death Magic has been a shock to some fans, but if you look at the slow trajectory to where we’re going… we had remix albums for first two LPs, then we did Max Payne… this has always been the next step.

What are your plans for winter?

We’re full swing in the album cycle. I have the next year and half of my life planned out, but I just don’t know it yet… our booking agents and managers know before us. Typically the first day your album’s out is when the tour starts, but in this day and age it’s different. Back in the day you had 500 kids queuing outside for Metallica to release The Black Album, but now things are totally different. Not that we’re comparing ourselves to Metallica, but now things have to trickle down through Spotify, word of mouth, YouTube, friends, friends of friends. We wanted to have a breath in the process, and we wanted people to have the chance to find out about us and enjoy the record, and then be able to come to the show excited to hear the new stuff.

Busy times ahead, then?

If we’re not busy, it’s not good.

HEALTH play Colston Hall's Main Stage at Simple Things ahead of their own UK tour.

We're hosting the Foyer Stage, with Micachu, Blanck Mass, and Slime all performing.

A limited number of tickets for Simple Things 2015 remain.

HEALTH's Death Magic is out now via Fiction.