Experiments in Living --

* a defeat for a generation lost in a world with no taste

Assembly Now: All the kids are in the bars...

We conducted this interview over a year ago back in the pre webiste era.... it's online now to coincide with the release of Graphs Maps and Trees, which you can read about here

Why are you called Assembly Now?

Lush: Its my fault! It’s linked to lego?!

See I’ve got to be honest here, I heard that you guys were from new cross, so I was kind of thinking that maybe assembly now referred to assembling on mass….

Gavin: We went through months, and months worth of names, and, we were just standing in the studio and max just said it!

What was the worst name that you came up with before deciding on assembly now?

Lush: Swimteam reunion !

Tony: No! that’s the best fucking band name in the whole world !

Max: Utopian sunset was one !

Tony: That wasn’t! That was a joke !

Gavin: Tony thought we should be called a thousand lights didn’t you ?

Lush: That was shit !

When was it that you decided that being in a band was what you were going to dedicate yourself full time to ?

Lush: Friday !

Max: 12:30

Gavin: 9 o clock !

Gavin: Do you mean us as a band or individually ?

As a collective..

Gavin: We’ve never actually said, we just assumed that level of commitment from the start. We always took it seriously and just wanted to see what happened.

How did you all meet each other?

Gavin: University… we all studied at goldsmiths, we were all on completely different courses, and we come from different places, but somehow it pulled together in the end at the last year of uni.

Are there any embarrassing pre assembly incarnations that we should know about?

Gavin: We’ve been perfect from the beginning!

How important is being on the right label, and what was it that resulted in you releasing on “Kids”?

Tony: The main reason we are doing it is that we want to start on a small label.. no band starts on a major

The Manics did !

Gavin: Did they do anything before that?

They had an ep on heavenly

Lush: And it was all down hill from there !!

Gavin: Well this is even smaller then that, its really just getting something released

Gavin: Kids have got a good reputation for doing this kind of thing, and releasing 1000 records and putting them in the right places

Do you consider yourselves to be as much of a pop group as an indie band?

Lush: Is pop having a melody ?

Gavin: ... If what you are asking is when we write do we think of a popular audience and do we aim to write records that will fit comfortably into hmv single charts, then I would say no.

Lush: I don't think any of us are ashamed of writing a good song – and if that’s what people classify as pop then so be it, abba were pop. Queen were pop, and they’re both fucking amazing !

How important are lyrics, and what are the main themes that yours deal with?

Gavin: If there is one thing im uncomfortable with, its writing throw away lyrics. I'd like to be able to consistently have some relationship to what I am saying, as long as I am singing the song…

Can you tell us about a bit about the song Leigh on sea?

Gavin: Yeah it was just going to leigh on sea…

Leigh on sea in essex?

Gavin: Yeah, with some friends, and erm, and just going out in a boat for the day and going fishing, getting a bit drunk, and falling asleep on the bottom of the boat! I mean – I explore more stuff in that song about my relationships with those people but – you know, that’s all pretty much open to interpretation. It’s a celebration of Leigh on sea !

Can you tell us about any books / films you’re been into?

Gavin: In the first song that we played tonight, there is a lyric that says if you want a story then go some place else, Virginia Woolf or Mathieu Kassovitz, and at that time, I'd just read Orlando, and I'd just watched Le Hain, and I was thinking in this song – about the idea of narrative - and the way we tell stories,… those are the kind of things that get me writing songs – its not going to be just about break ups or going out and getting pissed – we really want to encourage people to explore thoughts and ideas more.

Can you tell us about writing and recording your music, and how as a band, you know when a song is completely finished?

Howard: Do we ever know ?

Gavin: I don’t think you do know ?

Is that when having a producer comes in handy ?

Gavin: Well when you are putting it down on record it has to be finished… But there are a lot of songs that I would love to work on for another 2 or 3 years… I think one of the hardest things about being in a band, especially if you are a musician is to write an arrangement and then to play it for a year / a year and a half / two years – and to play it, over and over - just because in your head you are thinking ‘ I can do more with this. ’ Even just a year down the line you are a completely different musician. We’ve got songs that are coming up to a year old now, and if we were to approach them now, they would be different, but there’s a point where you’ve got to say that’s the song, and you know, its time to write a new one !

Another thing I noticed on your myspace page were all of these quotes from different magazines and stuff, and one of them referred to you as the “future kings of new cross” My question is, what’s it like being a part of the new cross scene, how has it effected your sound, and how do you think it effects your chances of being picked up and things ? Or do you think its even something that might work against you?

Gavin: Errrrr good question ! that’s a really good question !

Gavin: I think the new cross scene is something that weve never really been interested in

Lush: Well firstly, it’s a fabrication. Its not really a scene. we’ve got friends who are in bands – but there's not enough venues, it doesn’t feel like a scene.

So do you feel an affinity with bands like art brute, or corporation blend ?

Lush: We’ve played with corporation blend!

Max: The reason why people say we are from new cross, is because we live there.. its not because we are a part of the scene!

What’s it like working with producers such as John Fortis (Art Brut/Razorlight producer) and Howard Gray, how much did they contribute to the overall sound of the songs ?

Gavin: John fortis was a great person to work with. He’d often come down and gives ideas relating to structures - He made us play properly. It was like having someome that can give you an overview, and tell you that you can do better – he helped us get the best out of a song instead of just being happy with it. It's that measureing rod that you don’t have yourself, he helped provide a sense of perspective.

www.myspace.com/assemblynow

Watch Assembly Now perform Leigh on Sea, in Leigh on Sea: Assembly Now Secret Gig