The last time we heard from LOUIS ELIOT, he was fronting stylish Britpop contenders Rialto: a band whose Spectorian production values were light years away from the beery, all-lads-together schtick popularised by Oasis and the music hall Mockney-isms of mid-90s Blur.
Since Rialto's death throes, Louis has quietly re-emerged with a solo career and has made a superb start with his debut album "The Long Way Round": a warm, organic thing of contemplative beauty that proves categorically Louis hasn't lost his touch. With Christmas just round the corner, W&H couldn't think of a more likeable, charismatic character to spend an hour with discussing the relative merits of Britpop, the current Londoncentric scene and why you can take this boy out of the city, but you can't entirely take the city out of the boy.
Louis, let's go back to where the trail went dead and the end of Rialto. What's been happening with you since and how long did it take to get "The Long Way Round" together?
"Well, Rialto finally petered out in 2002, those were the last gigs," Louis reveals.
"After that, I did a limited edition EP, which actually features a couple of tracks that made the album. Even though it sounded a bit rough and ready, there was something there and I pressed up 1000 only. The response was really positive, which was heartening, obviously."
"Following that," he continues, "I went to the USA with my girlfriend while she was researching a book. I ran into (ex-Smiths producer) John Porter at this time and gave him a copy of the EP. He loved it and he wanted to get involved. In the end, I stayed on recording with him and he tried to get me a deal. I got to do some house-sitting while I was there as well (laughs), but in the end the deal we were looking for didn't quite work out. Despite that, it was a good experience and it was a really important step in thinking I could actually make a full-length album, and also the country influence that's in the new songs seeped in from John, so he was a really important figure."
Before we get to discussing the making of the album itself, Louis, how do you feel about the whole Britpop era with the benefit of hindsight?
"Well, my history's not entirely rooted around Britpop because before Rialto, I was doing Kinky Machine, which was pretty hard-edged and different to anything you'd say was obviously 'Britpop'" counters Louis.
"But yeah," he continues, "like it or not, I have always had a foot in the tradition of British guitar-based music. Very early on I loved things like Squeeze and "Up The Junction"....I loved the whole kitchen sink narrative element aspect and I suppose that's stayed with me. Britpop was a fad like any other, though, things go in and out of fashion. That's the way it goes."
As an extension of this, as someone who's been heavily involved in the London music scene for the past ten years or so, what do you make of the current crop of young pretenders based in the capital? Do you keep up with developments?
"Mmm, depends who you mean really," replies Louis, a little cautiously.
"I'm quite familiar with The Libertines and I like their stuff, and I really like Bloc Party too. I'm less familiar with Pete Doherty's new band Babyshambles, though I saw them live recently. I found it slightly worrying really."
How do you mean?
"Well, I feel the whole thing surrounding Pete Doherty is turning sour. There's definitely a loss of innocence there. At one time there were a lot more girls there watching him and there was more of a wide-eyed innocence about it all, as well as the hedonism. Now his audience is drunken, belligerent blokes and it's scary to observe, a little like the way you're drawn to watching the early stages of a car crash or some such thing."
For me, the songs on "The Long Way Round" sound very English and very affecting in an understated kind of way. Were you listening to anyone specific when you were writing and recording the songs?
"It's interesting you hear an Englishness," says Louis,
"because while there are people like, say, Stephen Duffy, out there who I really like, there aren't really any English singer/ songwriters who I feel have directly influenced the record. Funnily enough, it's people like Elliott Smith, Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips who I've mostly been listening to. Also Nick Cave as usual - his new album's excellent. It's good to see someone who's not been blunted by growing a little older."
Talking about growing up and growing slightly older, most of the songs on the new album sound autobiographical to me - ot at least drawn heavily from personal experience. I'm thinking of the likes of "Heart-Shaped Bruise" and "Party Games". Am I right in thinking these songs have been written by a wiser (if not exactly older) Louis Eliot?
"Possibly," Louis considers.
"Though I should say I've always liked writing about the morning after. That kind of thing fascinates me...the idea of escaping over someone's garden fence while nobody's looking, or guiltily pulling your trousers up and hoping to get the hell out without being discovered (laughs). That's not really a new subject for me. Certainly all the songs are drawn from situations I know about, but they're not all directly about me."
The whole album, meanwhile, feels very warm and organic. There's a feel of throwing off the city and your past and going for something more natural and direct. Was this always the intention and was making it on location in Kernow (Cornwall) a factor in the overall sound?
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"Partly it was working with John (Porter) that began to shape it...and also simply time passing and me moving on as a person," replies Louis, quite openly.
"Also, I spent a lot of time in Cornwall as a kid, so I know it and enjoy the atmosphere down there. Though I must admit I could never commit to it entirely being such a city boy..."
Despite what "Country Life" says about spurning the city and taking your girl down to the country? You can't really see yourself like Richard Briers in "The Good Life" then?
"Ha ha, no, not really," laughs Louis. " I mean, I think we all have dreams of getting out of the city, and "Country Life" is about that moment when you promise your girlfriend that this time things really WILL change, and you mean it when you say it. But despite that, deep down you know it's not cold reality."
Right. But what about the song "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead"? It's very moving and I assume this one is from experience? Scarily, I can't help thinking this might be a premonition of what might happen to someone from the current hedonistic London scene we were discussing. Can you see that at all?
"Hmm, well that's mainly about one person I was close to," says Louis, a little guardedly.
"It IS about someone who's not around any more and it was quite a strange experience writing it in that I didn't realise until later who it was definitely about. That sounds crazy, but I'd written the song and I'd lost touch with the person over the years and when I'd finished writing it I heard the person in question had died."
Louis pauses for a moment to reflect.
"When I heard about his death, it felt like the song was a sick, bad joke. I dont know...it's such a personal song, but people who've heard it have said it's very moving and somehow it was right to record it and put it out there. There's a kind of black humour to it as well and a sort of truth in there. It's hard to pin down exactly."
Right. Meanwhile, the album also features songs like "Tonight." Another highlight for me, this one demonstrates you can write a hell of a ballad when you so choose. How did you come to write this one?
"I just...I can't really say to be honest," replies Louis.
"It's difficult for me to say how I write anything really. In the case of "Tonight" it was very much the idea of wanting to write a song that says 'in this moment nothing matters except us'....and that's it really. It's a love song, of sorts, I guess, but it's just about that very special feeling and even if it's fleeting it's something very special in your life."
"I mean, in many ways I feel modern day pop music doesn't care about real emotion anymore. When I was making the album I was entirely sick of cynicism in pop music, the likes of Simon Cowell and production line music we get thrown at us. I'm interested in music that feels hand-crafted. You're gonna love this...it's like the difference between those fake gas fires and a real log fire (laughs)"
Brilliantly put! But while we're talking of warm and organic, how do you put the songs over live? I haven't seen you play as yet, but is there a regular Louis Eliot live band and do the guys featured on the record play with you?
"Yeah, Julian (Taylor, bass/ trumpet) from Rialto plays live with me, but I'm a bit contrary about how I like to do the songs live because I don't like to simply reproduce the record, y'know?"
"I don't have a fixed line-up....it literally varies from gig to gig and that ensures I can keep it fresh. The downside is that I might disappoint people who have come to see me and love the record just as it is. I'd like to apologise in advance for that!"
Sure thing, Louis, but I don't think you need to apologise too loud. We like our artists to feel free to experiment round W&H way. Sadly, our time is drawing to a close, but listen - Christmas day is almost upon us: before you go, tell us what would Louis Eliot's perfect Xmas Day consist of?
"Well, actually, this is going to sound soppy," says Louis quietly, "but I have a young child who's one and a half and just old enough to love the fairy lights on a Christmas tree. Seeing Christmas through eyes that age makes it really special. That's why this one will be really great."
Can't argue with that. And you'd be wise to ask for a copy of Louis's album for your stocking while you're at it. C'mon. Tell Santa to get with the programme and take "The Long Way Round."
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