We had the opportunity to sit down Lisathe and discuss their upcoming self titled album:
So this upcoming release features a handful of covers/reworked tracks. What made you decide to release a record of this nature?
Clark: Essentially this idea came about as a way of reducing the amount of material from which we could draw from. Ollie, Miles and I had been getting together regularly to improvise as a trio and we thought it would be great if we were able capture the atmosphere we were able to create together on record. I had one piece by an Icelandic composer up my sleeve (interestingly this piece didn’t even make the record) and I decided it might be interesting to go searching for more material from that country to rework, as a way of narrowing down our source material. I’ve also been lucky enough to visit Iceland a couple of times and I’ve fallen in love with the place.
Covering or re-arranging music can be a hit or miss affair for a number of reasons. When you went into covering/reworking these songs, was there a specific approach you took to ensure you’d breathe new life into the music?
Clark: For many of the pieces, I was the only member who had actually heard the originals. Miles and Ollie would read the chart I’d brought in and interpret it as they saw fit. I loved this approach as it meant that the product we ended up with was quite disparate from what we started with. We left each piece fairly open for us to stretch out musically so I knew that in the end they’d sound like us anyway. That was the end goal. However at the same time I feel the arrangements are still able to honour and respect the original intentions of the composers. At least that is what I am hoping!
What have you chosen as the first single? What was your reason for making this choice? Is there any particular importance that the original song or your version of it holds?
Clark: Pagan Poetry by Björk is the first single we’ve chosen to release. After initially recording this one I wasn’t too keen on the arrangement but it’s really come alive during post production (particularly thanks to Miles’s work). It’s taken on a sound of its own that I feel really represents the various elements of the group and the album in general. I love Björk’s writing and her ability to effortlessly weave a melody over static harmony. Ollie did a really beautiful job of interpreting the melody and I think it does justice to the original.
Is there a second single that you’ve chosen? Can you tell us something interesting about that track perhaps?
Clark: The second single we’ve chosen is called London Út, by one of my favourite improvising bands regardless of origin, ADHD. They have released six beautiful albums that are all worth a listen. London Út is off their album “ADHD 4”. Its melody is one of my favourites and it’s a very inspiring piece to improvise on. One of my favourite things about ADHD and their music is their prevalent use of diatonicism. Their music manifests such naive beauty whilst avoiding pretension and that’s something I admire in music.
What have you been up to over the last 12 months? Do you have anything interesting happening over the next 12?
Clark: We have plans to record again in the not too distant future. We hope to write together a little more and move away from the concept of covers, though reworking them was a very enjoyable, rewarding experience for this album. We are also working on a live recording of a few songs off this record to be released sometime this year.
