Geoff Parkes spoke to member Matt FitzGerald, firstly about the joys of Air Supply. Q: I read in an interview you'd put Air Supply, along with The Birthday Party and AC/DC, on your all-time favourite bill. What's the Air Supply connection? A: We just thought it would be great to have all three on the one bill. There is actually a connection though - one of our first photo shoots was at the same location as Air Supply did there's, so it's a slight homage. Q: Having seen you perform live at the Labradford gig and now reading about your relation to this film, there seems to have been an almost constant connection between music and images. Why? A: You're right - sound and vision have always been important to the whole atmosphere we're trying to create. In a way, music equals vision, is equally important composing and playing, and Simon has always been with us as a member, especially live. It's all part of what we do, how we try to evoke a response. Q: How did you compose the music - was it watching the film and then going away to compose or ? A: No, we sat down and using a computer program viewed the movie and created our music accordingly. We wanted music that dealt with each specific part of the film, that respected the images visually, adding to the experience. Q: Are there any plans to tour with the movie, to play live etc.? A: Not to the movie, no, as the music's quite intricately linked to the film and the dialogue, and it wouldn't be possible to replicate that without distracting from the screen. We are doing a series of dates around the East Coast over the next month or so, and we'll be playing the soundtrack, with Simon using images and outtakes from the movie, and we'll be responding to that.
A: We didn't really choose - it was just the right time, the right film and we were approached to do it. Cate is an amazing director, the film's cinematography is just incredible, and it gave us the chance to work with these creative, energetic people who were passionate about something. Q: It seems to me that there are really at least two music industries at the moment. One is the one run by the three majors, where it's very explicit the consumerism and product shifting and whoring you have to do. The other is equally full of whoring and egos but masks itself as something other, purer. How do you make your way through these industries and what makes it bearable. A: Firstly we won't whore ourselves. We don't. We don't compromise, and that's been something we've felt since the beginning. That requires a lot more sacrifices and losses but ultimately we've been very lucky. We're independent, we have our own studio, we're autonomous and not beholden to a label or an image. We do what we want when we want. Yes it's difficult, and it's hard to make a difference. We'd love more bands to share our approach, or at least to be honest about their politics and their position, to be up front that they really do want to go join a major and do everything that requires. I mean, the public ultimately decides on what it buys, so I'm not interesting in determining taste or the space these guys take up, but knowing their intentions would be something. Because there isn't a load of money to be made in what we're doing, but that's not why we do it. Decoder Ring's Somersault is released via Inertia
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Forming in 2001, Decoder Ring have independently
established themselves as a band of fierce integrity,
semi-symphonic lushness and equally inspiring
accompanying visuals. When I saw them supporting
Labradford in 2002, they stunned the audience with
this combination of aural and visual, and it's no
surprise that Simon K, their visual artist, is listed as
a full member of the band. It's also no surprise that
they were approached to create the soundtrack to
Somersault, the debut feature of director Cate
Shortland, and both film and CD have drawn rich
praise from local press and from afar as the film was
screened at this year's Cannes.
Q: Why do a soundtrack now (DR have
only previously released an LP and an
EP)?
