Robert Smith interview (NME 2019)

Started by Ulrich, July 05, 2019, 18:15:21

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Ulrich

https://www.nme.com/the-cure-interview-robert-smith-big-read-exclusive-interview-glastonbury-40th-anniversary-2019-glastonbury-mad-cool

Quote from: undefinedFollowing a triumphant return to Glastonbury, The Cure's iconic frontman Robert Smith breaks his silence for a rare and exclusive chat with NME's Andrew Trendell.


The only constant presence in The Cure since they formed in Crawley in 1976, Smith betrays himself with his dry humour and humility. His knack for a melody, natural flair for melodrama and ability to communicate the extremes of romance – from morose to giddy – have made him the architect of so much of the culture we enjoy today. So does Robert Smith, a man who has reshaped rock, indie, pop and beyond over a 40-plus year career still feel the weight of a night like this?

"Not really," he says, before clarifying: "Well, I'm not downplaying it. The other festivals we're playing like Roskilde, Werchter – they're massive. To all of the people there, when you walk out stage it's like, 'This is it, the last thing we do'. I have that mentality instilled in the band and it just comes naturally. But walking out at Glastonbury was the biggest moment so far for us. This was the concert that matters, but we're going to Belgrade to play Exit this week and I'll have the same feeling: this has to be the best show that we've ever done."

Reviewing their set for NME, I was smitten by how, unlike any of the other act to headline the Pyramid Stage this year, there was "no frills, no banter – just joy" . The Cure just came as themselves, and we all got a little bit lost inside them. Smith delighted us all with his dad dancing, and even seemed to have a tear in his eye during the final throes of the show. Is it possible that the dark overlord of rock's dark overlord was humbled by all the crowdsurfers, flags and flares aloft in front of him?

"Yeah!" Smith says. "But it's probably not the first time or the last that I'm going to burst into tears at the end of a show this summer. It was a long weekend and it probably got to me. For the first 20 minutes I was very, very unsure. In some respects for the first half hour we didn't really offer much concession to the 'casual' listener. Everyone was a little concerned about that. They were going, 'Oh, maybe we should load the front end of the set with songs that people know a little bit more', and I was going 'No, we'll build towards the end with this big release in the encore'. I never get nervous, but for about 20 minutes I was like, 'Ooh, maybe I haven't read this one right'. Then by the end it was a slight release because the encore was absolutely fantastic. It was just a huge sing-along, but we're not really that band."
...
"I realise as the years have gone by that I come across as reasonably inarticulate on stage, and it's primarily because I'm so absorbed in what we're doing. I suddenly become very self-conscious. It isn't an act because I'm not shy in the slightest, but there's a huge difference being part of a band while performing and singing, and then having a communal experience and becoming 'the person that's talking'. Standing there and talking to 100,000 people is f*cking weird! There's nothing I can do to get over that. Rather than try to agonise about it, I just don't say much."

Do these friendships carry over into civilian life? What is a typical night out for The Cure?

"That's a tricky one," says Smith. "We've had one night out together as a band since we started the summer festivals, and it was very low key. We spend so much intensity onstage that I don't think we feel the need to whoop it up offstage. We actually just sat around and drank beers by a lakeside and just talked about life and stuff into the early hours."

So when will the new album be ready?

"It's changing. It is a work in progress," says Smith. "We did three weeks in Rockfield Studios in Wales in the early part of the year to try and capture some genuine Welsh doom and gloom. It was sunny the entire time though, which was pretty disappointing. It only rained once in three weeks, which I think is a national record for Wales."

Which version of the The Cure are we likely to hear on the record?
"We did about 17 songs and almost all of them were really downbeat and heavy. There were a handful of others, and I really shouldn't say this because you'll go 'oh no', but in my head I wanted to do two albums – one after another. One was gonna be upbeat and the other downbeat, but the upbeat one I'm not so sure about now."

So you've settled on the idea of something quite miserable now?
"Although the concept of what it's going to be hasn't really changed, I may have to change some bits of it. It's kind of pushed me back a little bit because I thought I'd be in the mixing stage by the time we'd finished the festivals, but in fact we're going to go back and re-record about three or four songs around the time we go and play Glasgow in August. I feel intent on it being a 2019 release and would be extremely bitter if it isn't. At some point I will have to say 'this is it', otherwise we'll just keep recording like we have done in the past. It never gets any better. We're due one more session then we're done."
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

piggymirror

If you ask me... I think we'll be treated to more of the same kind of album we've had this last decade.

"Yeah, we're recording".

How about "I don't believe you any longer"?

Ulrich

Sorry, you make the impression you did not read the same interview I read...  :expressionless:

(Above are only a few quotes I chose - read the whole damn thing, he even talks about the relationships within the group and much more.)

He did not say "yeah we're recording", in fact he said that they have already recorded some tracks, but are not quite finished yet. There might be changes to it after all:
Quote from: undefined"When it's closer to its finished form, it's all about whether I think it's too much or whether we just go with it. If it does turn out like that I think it's going to alienate any kind of pop audience we still have. I think fans for a certain type of music that The Cure make will love it.

"We did about 17 songs and almost all of them were really downbeat and heavy. (...)
"Although the concept of what it's going to be hasn't really changed, I may have to change some bits of it. It's kind of pushed me back a little bit because I thought I'd be in the mixing stage by the time we'd finished the festivals, but in fact we're going to go back and re-record about three or four songs around the time we go and play Glasgow in August. I feel intent on it being a 2019 release and would be extremely bitter if it isn't."
Read more at https://www.nme.com/the-cure-interview-robert-smith-big-read-exclusive-interview-glastonbury-40th-anniversary-2019-glastonbury-mad-cool#02pGUmTZjBA5QhdT.99
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

piggymirror

Quote from: Ulrich on July 07, 2019, 11:13:56Sorry, you make the impression you did not read the same interview I read...  :expressionless:

From start to finish, I read it.

Quote from: Ulrich on July 07, 2019, 11:13:56(Above are only a few quotes I chose - read the whole damn thing, he even talks about the relationships within the group and much more.)

He did not say "yeah we're recording", in fact he said that they have already recorded some tracks, but are not quite finished yet. There might be changes to it after all:

He was actually saying almost the exact same things by the time of 4:13 Dream and the later years when he was supposed to be releasing "4:14 Scream" or whatever it was that they said they had in mind.

We'll see...

Ulrich

Quote from: piggymirror on July 08, 2019, 03:22:23He was actually saying almost the exact same things by the time of 4:13 Dream and the later years ...

Did he? I don't remember... can you refresh my memory a bit by delivering some quotes?
The holy city breathed like a dying man...