Mama's Gun: We belong in your record collection
Friday, 30 May 2008 14:35
Mama's Gun: We belong in your record collection
Ahead of the release of his debut single Pots of Gold, Mama's Gun frontman Andy Platts talks to inthenews.co.uk's Lewis Bazley.
Pots of Gold is released as a download on June 9th and has already been labelled "uber-cool" and a "little gem" by some of the most influential names in the British music industry.
A graduate of the LIPA McCartney institute performing arts school, Andy played with Klaxons drummer Steffan Halperin and Corinne Bailey Rae and collaborated with songwriting greats such as Rod Temperton and Jon Oates (yes, of Hall and Oates) as well rubbing shoulders with the likes of Aerosmith, Madonna and Led Zeppelin at the infamous Sunset Marquis hotel in LA.
With Pots of Gold's release just days away,
inthenews.co.uk's Lewis Bazley spoke to Andy about background, breaking through and belonging.
Are you excited by the positive reactions to your material from the likes of Chris Evans and Steve Lamacq?
Of course! It's hard enough to get your record on the radio these days so to achieve that and glowing praise from such prominent DJ's is fantastic.
Why did you choose the title of an Erykah Badu album for the band name?
Long story short: I wanted a name to reflect half of my ethnicity on my mother's side of the family.
I came up with Mama's Son and Mama's Child, lived with them for a while but they weren't doing it for me. When I chanced upon Erykah Badu's album in my collection one day I just thought - perfect.
How much do you think your background influenced your music? - moving so much as a youngster and your father's work against the Triads must have been strange to deal with as a child?
I think being constantly on the move was probably the main reason I fell into music. Apart from obviously being with my family, it was the one constant aspect of my life. Obviously I was aware of what my old man did and I know my Mum suffered terribly every time he was out there doing his job - it's dangerous work.
But he never really brought his work home with him - surely it would be wrong to expose children to the nature of such work at an early age? So I never really had to 'deal' with it in that way....
And has the racism you experienced as a child informed your music?
Lyrically probably not. But indirectly I guess so in that it forced me to realise that I wasn't like all the other kids born and bred locally. Being a mongrel's a bit weird really - you're not one thing or the other so there's always a bit of a question over your head as to where you belong. If I was going to get all psycho-analytical about it I'd say that yeah that particular dichotomy continues to have an effect on my music. But hey back then if it wasn't racism, it be cos of my ears or hair or shoes or whatever - kids don't give a shit, they'll find anything to pick on...
Could the LIPA McCartney institute be a similar breeding ground for talent to the BRIT school in Croydon?
Possibly - They share the same chief executive. Frankly I don't know much about about the BRIT school but from what I gather it was a vague prototype for LIPA.
I had a good experience at LIPA - I was exposed to many new genres of music I had never explored before. I got in as a songwriter - didn't write a song for 3 years - then started writing again 2 months after I left.
While I was there they had a pretty good curriculum and the lecturers were very good too. The good ones left just after I did so now I can't speak for the quality of the tuition or the courses.
You used to play with Klaxons' Steffan - was that an acrimonious split or are you glad of the success he's had?
Acrimonious? No, no. it was all very amicable. He was a very young guy and I think was probably still looking for what he really wanted to do and Klaxons ticked many boxes for him.
Hey if he hadn't gone his way I wouldn't have chanced upon the fantastic band I play with now - some of the best players I have ever heard! So I have no regrets and am very glad it worked out the way it did.
I'm proud I got the chance to play with Steff - he's a fantastic musician and I'm
sure he will have a long and successful career with or without the Klaxons.
The list of people you've collaborated with is pretty dizzying - who was the most exciting to work with?
The accolade of working with Rod Temperton was pretty dizzying in itself but Jed Leiber (son of Elvis Songwriter Jerry Leiber) was very exciting as he really gave me the confidence to sing my guts out and be a singer. He is a wonderful person and a consummate musician.
Is staying at somewhere like the Sunset Marquis as debauched and unreal as you'd imagine?
It's remarkably civilised actually - although they never had any parties when I've stayed there - this is LA remember?? Clean living to the max. But the whisky bar was always buzzing and open late, hehe...
Did you get to hang around with Zeppelin?
Haha no I just sat next to Robert Plant and Jimmy Page in the Sunset Marquis whisky bar for a while supping whisky....
But that Sunset Marquis place is always full of mad people - while I was there Madonna was working with William Orbit in the studio next door, Aerosmith and Roger Daltrey were checking in all while I was working with Jon Oates there. Surreal as hell.
You've got the support slot with De La Soul coming up - is it exciting to
work with such legends of hip-hop?
F**k yeah! It's a real career highlight for me - I can't wait!! I've never seen them live either- they're meant to be amazing......
You've been compared to Mark Ronson - is that a flattering label?
He's over 6ft tall and a good looking chap - I'm 5ft nine and Rob Schneider's doppelganger so thank you... musically on an aesthetic level I guess you could draw some parallels but I always think of Mark Ronson as a DJ and producer type.
I'm not sure if he's all about the actual craft of songwriting and he sure don't sing!!
Talk me through Pots of Gold - what's the song about?
The futility and the struggle of achieving your dreams and desires at the expense of something much more valuable.
Where does your music belong - in the 70s from which so many of its influences come or in the modern world?
I love the 70s for what it produced musically and there's a healthy dose of 70s influence on this record but it's definitely a contemporary album.
Where does it belong? In your record collection.
Lewis Bazley and Ben Titchmarsh
To visit the official Mama's Gun website, click here
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