The Maccabees Interview

London indie-rock quartet The Maccabees headline the forthcoming Shockwaves NME Awards Tour. The band’s second album, Wall of Arms, was placed in the higher reaches of several end-of-year album polls and was euphorically received at a number of music festivals last summer. The Shockwaves NME Awards Tour has an impressive roster of previous acts - acting as a commercial springboard for the likes of The Killers, The Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand. We spoke to guitarist Felix White before The Maccabees’ date at Cardiff University.

How was your Christmas Felix?

Christmas was really good thanks. My brother Hugo is in the band as well so we both go back to Reading for a few days and see the family. You appreciate it a bit more when you’re older as you don’t see your family every day of the week – especially when we’re on tour.

Are you snowed in at the moment?

A little bit. It’s been snowing all morning but it’s stopped now. I’ve been recording for most of the day so I’ve not been out. The snow always makes me want to watch the original Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe – I don’t know why exactly, it just reminds me of Narnia I guess.

Considering the bands that have played on the tour before, does being the headliners on the NME Tour put more pressure on you?

We’ve played a lot of the venues on the tour before and we felt the pressure then and we’ll be feeling the pressure again. You don’t want people going home thinking you’ve played a s*** show. I’d be thinking the same thing if I was in the crowd.

Did you grow up reading the NME?

Of course I did. I lot of my friends weren’t into guitar music when I was younger so the NME was my escape. I used to have posters of the Strokes all over my bedroom walls. If someone had told me ten years ago that I was going to in a band headlining the NME Tour I would’ve gone nuts. I’m obviously still very happy about headlining now.

Do you think music publications have become more obsolete?

Around 20 or 30 years ago publications like the NME would’ve been one of the only media sources for people to find out about new music. I can’t speak with any great authority about the emergence of the internet but it’s made the process of getting your music heard easier for bands. There’s a sense of band empowerment online. Still, the NME is incredibly relevant. I still look to see who’s on the front cover whenever I’m in the newsagents.

You were all over the festival circuit last summer – any particular highlights stand out for you?

Reading was really amazing. We didn’t expect such a huge response from the crowd – there was an overwhelming sense of euphoria and excitement. Playing the Other Stage at Glastonbury was pretty special too. It was raining before we came on but by the time we’d finished our set the sun was out and it stayed there for the remainder of the weekend. We were the Sun Gods of Glastonbury. (Laughs) there’s no way of making that not sound tongue-in-cheek is there?

Probably not Felix. You played the Lake of Stars festival in Malawi last October as well.

How could I forget about that?! Our call came four days before the festival, completely out of the blue. We were the only Western band to play the festival and Malawi is such an awe-inspiring place. Again, I can’t speak with a great deal of authority regarding the situation in Malawi, but until you see the place and see how people out there live, you really don’t know what it means.

The noughties are over – what was your favourite album of the decade?

I’d have to say Turn on the Bright Lights by Interpol. The opening track (Untitled) is one of most beautiful, tender and yet aggressive pieces of music I’ve ever heard. It was one of those records that excited all of us as a band. There were no huge guitar solos – they worked on an egoless principle. That’s what music fans connect to and that’s what we as a band look to achieve.

And your favourite gig?

I’d have to pick three. Arcade Fire at Brixton Academy would be the first. A few of us went and we decided not to drink and I was all the happier for it. No measure of alcohol or drugs would get you up as high as the feeling at that gig.

I went to that gig as well.

Really? Would you put it in your top gigs of the decade?

It would definitely be in my top five. And the other two gigs?

Public Enemy, which was also at Brixton Academy, and Neil Young at the Hammersmith Apollo. My tour manager invited me along and it was one of those jaw-dropping experiences – I didn’t realise how phenomenal Neil Young was on the guitar. It’s the closest thing you’ll see to Hendrix.

You recorded your last album, Wall of Arms, in Paris. Was it an inspiring city?

We weren’t running around wearing berets or playing accordions. We spent most of the time holed up in the recording studio so that left little time to venture outside. We just decided as a band it would be a cool to record somewhere else and Paris was our chosen location for a month.

Your recent single Empty Vessels, a reworking of No Kind Words, featured hip-hop artist Roots Manuva. How did that collaboration come to fruition?

When we were putting the song together for Wall of Arms the beat had more of a hip-hop vibe to it with heavy, dark inflections. It was a weird yet fitting collaboration. I love Roots – there’s something very British about his personality and his humour, but at the same time he’s effortlessly cool.

Who came up with the idea to film the video for Can You Give It at the Gloucester Cheese Festival?

We were sat around a dining table on tour just discussing random things to numb the boredom and the Babybel advert with the rolling cheese came up. Our guitar technician mentioned there was a festival the following week in Gloucester so we sent one of our video guys down there to film the event. It’s about celebrating the leftfield traditions of our country, how some traditions remain popular no matter how long they’ve been in existence. It’s beautifully shot and the guy who wins is an absolute hero – we didn’t want to make it look like something out of (MTV show) Jackass.

What the latest news on your third album?

We’re all working on our own at the moment as the last time we first got together for Wall of Arms we spent about a year arguing about it! I’m looking forward to touring again and sharing ideas. We’ve only been off the road for a few weeks but I’m already starting to get itchy feet.

Michael Took