Harry McVeigh - White Lies (24/03/2014)
An English post-rock band hailing from London’s suburb of Ealing, White Lies consists of lead vocalist Harry McVeigh, bass guitarist Charles Cave and drummer Jack Lawrence-Brown. Originally known as Fear of Flying, the triplet decided to form White Lies in 2007, after writing songs that they felt didn’t suit the previous band. Fast-forward to 2014 and White Lies has just released their third album, Big TV and are about to embark on an Australian Tour with Thirty Seconds to Mars.
“We’ve toured with Thirty Seconds to Mars once before in France, maybe two years ago. We had a really great bunch of shows with them. They always seem to bring a really big crowd; also we haven’t been to Australia for maybe five years. So I’m excited to play the shows with them and excited to come back and play in Australia again.”
Playing together since high school, Harry, Charles and Jack decided to leave Fear of Flying after reaching a position where they saw the music not fitting the band’s level. Deciding that the only upshot was to form a fresh group in which the their new composition could side with, eventually resulted in the birth of White Lies.
“We’ve been playing music together for almost ten years now. We met in high school and after playing songs together for about five to six years. We thought we reached a point with the song writing where it was kind of on another level. With a couple of the songs we’ve written, it was very obvious that we had moved on from the band that we used to be. So we thought about starting a new band and very simply changed the name and everything just took off from there. Within six months of doing that, we had signed a record deal and we had managers and everything and that was the beginning of it all. If we hadn’t had that time together to really make a load of mistakes in our song writing and our touring, then we wouldn’t have been able to write the songs that are White Lies now.”
The release of Big TV in the late 2013 saw the reemergence of White Lie’s signature shadowy, yet stirring music. Unconfined to the broad mass of listeners, Big TV was released to stellar reviews from critics and fans alike. Yet unlike their past two albums, Big TV saw a noteworthy movement to a more conformable sound, a tone that would be more accustom to a variety of voices and instruments.
“I think this album perhaps more than the others is more based on the strengths of the song-writing. I think the songs on this record you could play in almost any way. You could play them as a full-band or on your own with a piano and they would still stand up as good songs. I think we can say that more so on this record than perhaps some of the others. So I think that’s apart of the change of approach or the change of direction on this record, we focused more on the song writing and the development. So I think that came through quite strongly on a few of the songs.”
Barely catching a breath from their wild touring, I spoke to Harry in Seoul, Korea, before finishing their Asia tour in Harajuku, Japan and arriving in Australia as the supporting act to Thirty Seconds to Mars. Wrapping up their US and European tours, White Lies latest record saw a comeback of old and new fans, surprising the band with a greater reception than they initially anticipated.
“It’s always a strange one when you been away for so long and you’ve been making a record. Obviously before that we took six months off, so we really didn’t know what to expect from the crowd when we started to tour again. But I think so far we’ve been pleasantly surprised that we seen the same people coming back to the shows from all three albums. While at the same time we’re picking up a few new fans along the way. So we’ve been really happy with the touring of this record. Especially in the states, because you’ll never know as British band what to expect when you go and tour in the states. It’s just so difficult to get an understanding of how many people are coming to the show and how many people are listening to your music. With this last tour, we just did that in the US and we had a decent number of people at the shows and every show was pretty busy. A lot of people at the shows seem to know all the songs from across all three of our albums and they really picked up on the lyrics, which is just great. So we were really happy with the reception of the record.”
Assert and with no self-doubt, White Lies approached the production of Big TV with a newfound confidence after experiencing the negatives that plagued them in the first two albums. Working again with producer Ed Buller, the band spent the next few months bashing out the rhythm and gist of Big TV, before spending the final six months co-producing the record with Buller at his home.
“We were very relaxed about making this record, we kind of felt sure of ourselves after making the first two. I think we really felt that we learnt from our mistakes. So it made the writing and producing of this record a lot easier, that and also working with Ed Buller. He produced this record, but also our first one as well and working with him again was just so easy. It just felt like coming home and quite ironically, we literally worked six months at his house. So it was difficult at a point as making any music is, but we generally enjoyed process because it’s exciting and stimulating. Besides that, going back to one of our favorite studio in the world, a place called ICP in Brussels where we recorded our first record, so we really enjoyed that range-up.”
In contrast to the production of their two previous albums, Lose My Life and Ritual. White Lies paid greater attention and scope to their assembly and in particular larger emphasis on studio time to their second album, while the production value of Big TV was more at ease.
“I think we actually spent a lot more time in the studio for the first two records. Especially on the second one, which was very production heavy when compared to the other two. On this album, we spent a lot more time writing to the songs rather than recording them. So I think that was more important for the sound of the album and it’s a big part of why this album sounds a lot more different to the other two. But we only actually spent a month in the studio; instead we spent at least seven to eight months writing the records and getting the songs ready to record. But I think that is definitely something we will do again. It was a lot easier doing it that way than it was to try and bash things out in the studio day after day, it’s quite draining working that way. When you know you have the songs ready and you know exactly what you need to do, it’s a lot easier.”
With a heavier importance on song writing during the production of Big TV, White Lies songs are noted for their simplicity and openness in the lyrics of their records. In this scenario, Charles the songwriter of the band offered an idea of a youthful girl leaving her pastoral home to find affluence and wealth in a big city, but the city itself not meeting her early expectations.
“It was kind of easier actually, like Charles came up with this idea when we were first sitting down to write the music together. He gave us the basic outline of a story of this young girl leaving somewhere quite rural. I tell this to everyone, if you live in a big city or you live near a big city and you move from somewhere quite rural or remote it’s a big change. The lyrics are all about this young girls journey to the big city and her expectations for it and then the reality of it. Eventually she moves back home and how things change for her, like her relationship with people but also her own mindset. But having that theme for the record really helped Charles focus the lyrics and as you say made them quite simple. When you only have a certain section of the story to think about, it can make them very specific and simple. I think the lyrics Charles had written for this record in general are the best that his written and I think that has a big part to the success of the album.”
Inspiration can often come in many forms. For some artists they base their music on a muse, others on their surroundings, yet for musicians and bands alike, they all require a perspective that captivates their visualization. While the members of White Lies in-turn exercises this action, Harry explained to me that their source of inspiration often stems from their rich camaraderie.
“I think when we find something good in music or even writing, TV or cinema, we always share it with each other. I don’t think that even comes out of writing another album or writing music in general. It’s just because we’re friends, we like to share things that are good. We enjoy listening to music together and we enjoy going to see films together. I think that’s something that we’re very lucky to have in our band actually; that we’re sort of best mates first and foremost and we just happen tour the world together and write music together. I think its something really great; it’s definitely something I would never have dreamed of doing ten years ago. But when we’re writing and when were touring, we’re always sharing stuff together.”
Jason Cheung
THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS w/ White Lies
MARCH 2014
Tue 25 Mar Perth | Challenge Stadium (All Ages)
www.ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100
Fri 28 Mar Melbourne | Hiscence Arena (All Ages)
www.ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Sat 29 Mar Sydney | Entertainment Centre (All Ages)
www.ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100
Sun 30 Mar Brisbane | Riverstage (All Ages)
www.ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100
“We’ve toured with Thirty Seconds to Mars once before in France, maybe two years ago. We had a really great bunch of shows with them. They always seem to bring a really big crowd; also we haven’t been to Australia for maybe five years. So I’m excited to play the shows with them and excited to come back and play in Australia again.”
Playing together since high school, Harry, Charles and Jack decided to leave Fear of Flying after reaching a position where they saw the music not fitting the band’s level. Deciding that the only upshot was to form a fresh group in which the their new composition could side with, eventually resulted in the birth of White Lies.
“We’ve been playing music together for almost ten years now. We met in high school and after playing songs together for about five to six years. We thought we reached a point with the song writing where it was kind of on another level. With a couple of the songs we’ve written, it was very obvious that we had moved on from the band that we used to be. So we thought about starting a new band and very simply changed the name and everything just took off from there. Within six months of doing that, we had signed a record deal and we had managers and everything and that was the beginning of it all. If we hadn’t had that time together to really make a load of mistakes in our song writing and our touring, then we wouldn’t have been able to write the songs that are White Lies now.”
The release of Big TV in the late 2013 saw the reemergence of White Lie’s signature shadowy, yet stirring music. Unconfined to the broad mass of listeners, Big TV was released to stellar reviews from critics and fans alike. Yet unlike their past two albums, Big TV saw a noteworthy movement to a more conformable sound, a tone that would be more accustom to a variety of voices and instruments.
“I think this album perhaps more than the others is more based on the strengths of the song-writing. I think the songs on this record you could play in almost any way. You could play them as a full-band or on your own with a piano and they would still stand up as good songs. I think we can say that more so on this record than perhaps some of the others. So I think that’s apart of the change of approach or the change of direction on this record, we focused more on the song writing and the development. So I think that came through quite strongly on a few of the songs.”
Barely catching a breath from their wild touring, I spoke to Harry in Seoul, Korea, before finishing their Asia tour in Harajuku, Japan and arriving in Australia as the supporting act to Thirty Seconds to Mars. Wrapping up their US and European tours, White Lies latest record saw a comeback of old and new fans, surprising the band with a greater reception than they initially anticipated.
“It’s always a strange one when you been away for so long and you’ve been making a record. Obviously before that we took six months off, so we really didn’t know what to expect from the crowd when we started to tour again. But I think so far we’ve been pleasantly surprised that we seen the same people coming back to the shows from all three albums. While at the same time we’re picking up a few new fans along the way. So we’ve been really happy with the touring of this record. Especially in the states, because you’ll never know as British band what to expect when you go and tour in the states. It’s just so difficult to get an understanding of how many people are coming to the show and how many people are listening to your music. With this last tour, we just did that in the US and we had a decent number of people at the shows and every show was pretty busy. A lot of people at the shows seem to know all the songs from across all three of our albums and they really picked up on the lyrics, which is just great. So we were really happy with the reception of the record.”
Assert and with no self-doubt, White Lies approached the production of Big TV with a newfound confidence after experiencing the negatives that plagued them in the first two albums. Working again with producer Ed Buller, the band spent the next few months bashing out the rhythm and gist of Big TV, before spending the final six months co-producing the record with Buller at his home.
“We were very relaxed about making this record, we kind of felt sure of ourselves after making the first two. I think we really felt that we learnt from our mistakes. So it made the writing and producing of this record a lot easier, that and also working with Ed Buller. He produced this record, but also our first one as well and working with him again was just so easy. It just felt like coming home and quite ironically, we literally worked six months at his house. So it was difficult at a point as making any music is, but we generally enjoyed process because it’s exciting and stimulating. Besides that, going back to one of our favorite studio in the world, a place called ICP in Brussels where we recorded our first record, so we really enjoyed that range-up.”
In contrast to the production of their two previous albums, Lose My Life and Ritual. White Lies paid greater attention and scope to their assembly and in particular larger emphasis on studio time to their second album, while the production value of Big TV was more at ease.
“I think we actually spent a lot more time in the studio for the first two records. Especially on the second one, which was very production heavy when compared to the other two. On this album, we spent a lot more time writing to the songs rather than recording them. So I think that was more important for the sound of the album and it’s a big part of why this album sounds a lot more different to the other two. But we only actually spent a month in the studio; instead we spent at least seven to eight months writing the records and getting the songs ready to record. But I think that is definitely something we will do again. It was a lot easier doing it that way than it was to try and bash things out in the studio day after day, it’s quite draining working that way. When you know you have the songs ready and you know exactly what you need to do, it’s a lot easier.”
With a heavier importance on song writing during the production of Big TV, White Lies songs are noted for their simplicity and openness in the lyrics of their records. In this scenario, Charles the songwriter of the band offered an idea of a youthful girl leaving her pastoral home to find affluence and wealth in a big city, but the city itself not meeting her early expectations.
“It was kind of easier actually, like Charles came up with this idea when we were first sitting down to write the music together. He gave us the basic outline of a story of this young girl leaving somewhere quite rural. I tell this to everyone, if you live in a big city or you live near a big city and you move from somewhere quite rural or remote it’s a big change. The lyrics are all about this young girls journey to the big city and her expectations for it and then the reality of it. Eventually she moves back home and how things change for her, like her relationship with people but also her own mindset. But having that theme for the record really helped Charles focus the lyrics and as you say made them quite simple. When you only have a certain section of the story to think about, it can make them very specific and simple. I think the lyrics Charles had written for this record in general are the best that his written and I think that has a big part to the success of the album.”
Inspiration can often come in many forms. For some artists they base their music on a muse, others on their surroundings, yet for musicians and bands alike, they all require a perspective that captivates their visualization. While the members of White Lies in-turn exercises this action, Harry explained to me that their source of inspiration often stems from their rich camaraderie.
“I think when we find something good in music or even writing, TV or cinema, we always share it with each other. I don’t think that even comes out of writing another album or writing music in general. It’s just because we’re friends, we like to share things that are good. We enjoy listening to music together and we enjoy going to see films together. I think that’s something that we’re very lucky to have in our band actually; that we’re sort of best mates first and foremost and we just happen tour the world together and write music together. I think its something really great; it’s definitely something I would never have dreamed of doing ten years ago. But when we’re writing and when were touring, we’re always sharing stuff together.”
Jason Cheung
THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS w/ White Lies
MARCH 2014
Tue 25 Mar Perth | Challenge Stadium (All Ages)
www.ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100
Fri 28 Mar Melbourne | Hiscence Arena (All Ages)
www.ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Sat 29 Mar Sydney | Entertainment Centre (All Ages)
www.ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100
Sun 30 Mar Brisbane | Riverstage (All Ages)
www.ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100