With two storming singles in "Even When The Wind Blows" and the new "Lunatic Perfume" (on the Kooba Cuts label) already under their belts, young London quartet THE CONWAY STORY are cutting a loud'n'stylish dash that's refreshingly different to either the waves of Libertines clones or the angular, Gang Of Four copyists.
The band are currently out on tour around the UK, but vocalist NIK OWENS was still happy to take W&H's call, even though he's missed most of a night's sleep because another (un-named) member of The Conway Story snored through a whiskey-fuelled slumber and kept him awake for hours. Bearing this discomfort in mind, Nik is affable and extremely benign, but harbours reserves of confidence, too.
Let's start with the obvious, Nik. You're yawning and shaking yourself awake after another round on the live circuit. How are you taking to this life on tansit vans and motorway services? Is it toughening you up to be a hard-living band on the road in the future?
"Well it's not so much transit vans because we load all our stuff into cars at present," says Nik, with what sounds like a laugh and a yawn rolled into one.
"But, yeah, aside from being forced to sleep next to a snorer, it's good so far. It's unpredictable, because at our level you really don't know what the crowds will be like most nights....you might get a room full of people baying to be entertained or four men and a dog, but that unpredictability's part of the fun. We're not afraid of touring because on stage the 3 minutes when you play a song it's like a great culmination of all the effort you've put into making a song work, so it's exciting, not a chore."
Good attitude. But - before we go any further - I'm about to break my golden rule and ask you about The Conway Story's name. I believe it's drawn from the 'story' of one Anne Conway: a 17th Century philosopher who lived much of her life in incredible pain, but had the will to overcome it in her own inimitible way. Where does your fascination for her spring from?
"It's not a fascination really," Nik points out, "it's more that we read some stuff about her and found it interesting. She didn't really overcome her pain physically, but it was her quest to look for something beautiful and inspiring to come out of her situation that we found inspiring ourselves."
"Ultimately, though," he says disarmingly, "for us it's just a name that looks and sounds good. What's in a name anyway?"
Yeah, I know what you mean. I've always loved The Jam and that's probably one of the worst names ever...
"Yeah," laughs Nick. "And The Smashing Pumpkins....a great band, but the name...what the fuck's that all about?" he finishes, chuckling.
Fair point. But tell us more about your background. How long has the band been operating in its' current form?
"It all started about 2 years ago, though I should stress it was a different line-up and - oh God - the original stuff we were doing back then was just awful," he grimaces.
"Since then the personnel's changed. The keyboards all went out of it for a while and we got in Jimmy, our current guitarist, and scrapped all the early material we had. Slowly, since then, bits of keyboards have started entering the sound again and more recently we got our other Nick - with a 'C' - on board. The current line-up is now in place for about a year. It's been a learning curve, you could say."
And you have a drummer (Lenin Alegria) who hails from Chile. There can't be many Chilean drummers making like Keith Moon in London, can there?
"No, I guess not, but then we're a pretty nomadic band really," says Nik enigmatically. "We're all from different places, we're not the regular four guys from west London, we've just fetched up there. We're all very independent and we don't follow trends slavishly. That's not what we're about at all."
Well, I can understand that from the sound of The Conway Story. While it broadly inhabits the loud'n'hypnotic indie template, the band's music is some way removed from the Londoncentric sounds related to the like of The Libertines or The Others, or the newer breed of excess-shunning indie trailblazers like Bloc Party. Do you feel a kinship with any London bands at all?
"Only in the sense that we've been known to hang out at the same clubs, in Shoreditch and so on," says Nik, dismissively.
"I mean, I go to those places all the time and meet people looking like '80s throwbacks. But y'know...that's their thing and it doesn't faze me. But we're a different kind of thing, we don't sound like any of those bands. I dunno...everything's so retro at present. Things that are deemed 'cool' shift in focus all the time and we don't pay too much attention to all that. It's too ephemeral."
Right. One thing that does tangibly seem to have shifted for the better, though, is that people really DO seem to want to go and see bands again. Would you agree with that on the whole?
|
"Yeah, that's very true," Nik concurs. "It's exciting in that, if you follow the circuit, there are so many brilliant unsigned, pre-signed bands around at present. Every bill I catch, there's usually at least one band on there that's great and causes a stir in the room."
Why's that, do you think, just now?
"Because I do think since certain bands broke through in London (I think he may actually be referring to the likes of The Libertines here - ed) I think it's made people realise it's still cool to plug in a guitar and make a noise that's dirty and punky and get noticed. In tha sense, certain bands have been a catalyst, I can't deny that."
To be more specific about The Conway Story's music, though, you've been working with producer Sean Genocky, whose previous scalps include The Manics and Suede. How did you hook up with him and what has he brought to the table for you?
"Initially, our manager found him on a producer hunt," says Nik plainly.
"Last autumn, we spent some time in the studio with him and we nailed the four songs that have been on the two singles so far. We also completed a fifth track called "Streetlights" that's available to download on our website. Sean's been very important to our development because for one thing he makes guitars sound like God speaking and secondly he's a lovely bloke. You're mates with him two minutes after being introduced to him."
Cool. Tell us a little more about recent whirlwind single "Lunatic Perfume." We're taling testosterone here, aren't we?
"Well yeah, basically," gushes Nik, laughing uproariously.
"I mean, I wrote it when the spring was kicking in in London. You DO see a change in mens' attitudes believe me, because all of a sudden the women are wearing mini-skirts and skimpy clothes. The men become peacocks when April and May come around. They've spent the winter huddled inside the pub nursing pints and all of sudden they're out in the beer garden checking out the talent, y'know (laughs.)"
OK, but what about the lyrical input to the song's B-side "Ten Days", when you sing: "You've got culture, but I've got soul." Is this attacking a specific target?
"No, but I wrore that song so long ago I've forgotten if I had anyone in mind at the time anyway," he laughs.
"But no, it's more about getting messed around in a relationship," he considers.
"It's about only being able to take so much and kind've lashing out verbally. It's not written about anyone specific, it's more about not accepting being pissed around by someone and making a stand against it."
Nik seems deep in thought as he answers this, but when I ask him about the band's short-term plans, he brightens again.
"We're looking forward to going into the studio in May with a different producer, actually," he reveals.
"This time we're looking to work with a guy called Al Stone, who's done Bjork, Jamiroquai and the Stereo MCs...."
He's not a regular 'rock' producer, then?
"No, he's very different and we're very different to him, which is part of the attraction. Yeah, he's from the dance scene, but I love the great dry drum sound he gets, plus he has a certain zeal about him because he's only recently discovered 'rock' as such. He's a wicked bloke. We're going to do a single and if it goes well maybe we'll start on the album."
Sounds like you've got it all worked out Nik. So it's a case of nose to the grindstone for the forseeable, then?
"Yeah, we haven't got a day off until well into April," Nik replies, groaning in mock agony.
"Actually, apart from recording," he laughs, "I think sedating our manager is our primary goal for the moment."
Ambition, eh kids? It's a funny thing, ain't it? Thanks for the chat, Nik. And keep that alarm clock to hand. It sounds like you're gonna need it.
|
