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Interview: Hercules and Love Affair (Pt. 2)
Interview: Hercules and Love Affair (Pt. 2)
- Genre : More Music
- Type: News
- Author : Super Admin
- Date : Fri, 31 Oct 2008
After listening to Antony and the Johnsons for so long, it was a bit shocking to hear how well Antony's voice worked over dance music. What was it like for you the first time you heard his vocals on your music?
It was funny. We went into the studio for the first time with "Blind," and I was just in awe. His voice is his instrument primarily, he's also a fabulous piano player, but his voice is his instrument. It's always amazing when you watch a piano player who knows their instrument backwards and forwards and has this amazing facility. It's similar with a guitar player and a drummer, anyone really, but it is particularly amazing—for me at least—when you see a singer who's instrument is completely internal. His facility, his control over the instrument is beyond—it is just really really awe-inspiring. My first reaction was just watching him and thinking, "Wow, I've never seen anyone that can use their voice like this."
The process of actually doing it was really thrilling. When we walked out of the studio and listened to the "Blind" demo, we both felt a little uncomfortable. It wasn't the easiest of marriages initially. I don't know what happened, we had that train wreck response of, "Is this right?" or "Does this feel right?" That question was in both of our minds. For that reason, I diverted my attention for a long time and worked on other material and revisited that song and remixed it. It wasn't until a good year had passed that we listened to the song together and Antony said, "I actually think this is a good song. I think this is a good performance," and I said, "I think this is good too. It's crazy, I think it's really wild." I was just happy we had created it, and it was really at his coaching when he said, "I think you should do something with it." He gave me the green light, and he felt comfortable with it—initially there was a little concern if it was too grand of a shift in terms of his own identity. But I felt, lyrically it was sincere, it was emotional, it was telling a personal story that he could relate to and I could relate to. Musically, it was dark enough that it didn't seem in too different of a world.
You also have Nomi and Kim Ann take lead vocals on songs. How did you decide who to approach for each track?
The approach I took was very open-ended and flexible. Nothing was set in stone. I actually had them all singing different songs at different times. Initially, Kim Ann tracked "You Belong" for instance, the track that Nomi sings on the record. Then there was a period where Antony sang it, and Nomi ended up singing it. It was really natural. I got to hear all of them, and I got to decide which one. Also, I got a sense from them, like, "How comfortable are you with this?" How much did they feel like they owned the song? I liked that approach, where I was able to hear different voices on the song the same way that you would write a line for a trumpet and say, "Oh, you know what? Maybe a synth should be playing this, and we will write a different line for the horns." It is kind of like treating it like an instrument and placing parts on different instruments.
You sing lead on "This Is My Love." Is there any particular reason that you chose that song to sing on?
I had tracked that entire song by myself and had sang on it initially. It was nice; my friends came in and everyone was like, "You should sing that one. That one sounds so good, you should just sing it." But also, the lyrics are specifically written for my partner. I wrote the song for him, so it made sense that I would sing it.
The band is really your brainchild and so infused with your voice, but you are so willing to step into the background on the songs and even in press photos. Is that an intentional structure for the band and how it's perceived?
Approaching this project, I wanted there to be a couple things. One was: I wanted to have
It was funny. We went into the studio for the first time with "Blind," and I was just in awe. His voice is his instrument primarily, he's also a fabulous piano player, but his voice is his instrument. It's always amazing when you watch a piano player who knows their instrument backwards and forwards and has this amazing facility. It's similar with a guitar player and a drummer, anyone really, but it is particularly amazing—for me at least—when you see a singer who's instrument is completely internal. His facility, his control over the instrument is beyond—it is just really really awe-inspiring. My first reaction was just watching him and thinking, "Wow, I've never seen anyone that can use their voice like this."
The process of actually doing it was really thrilling. When we walked out of the studio and listened to the "Blind" demo, we both felt a little uncomfortable. It wasn't the easiest of marriages initially. I don't know what happened, we had that train wreck response of, "Is this right?" or "Does this feel right?" That question was in both of our minds. For that reason, I diverted my attention for a long time and worked on other material and revisited that song and remixed it. It wasn't until a good year had passed that we listened to the song together and Antony said, "I actually think this is a good song. I think this is a good performance," and I said, "I think this is good too. It's crazy, I think it's really wild." I was just happy we had created it, and it was really at his coaching when he said, "I think you should do something with it." He gave me the green light, and he felt comfortable with it—initially there was a little concern if it was too grand of a shift in terms of his own identity. But I felt, lyrically it was sincere, it was emotional, it was telling a personal story that he could relate to and I could relate to. Musically, it was dark enough that it didn't seem in too different of a world.
You also have Nomi and Kim Ann take lead vocals on songs. How did you decide who to approach for each track?
The approach I took was very open-ended and flexible. Nothing was set in stone. I actually had them all singing different songs at different times. Initially, Kim Ann tracked "You Belong" for instance, the track that Nomi sings on the record. Then there was a period where Antony sang it, and Nomi ended up singing it. It was really natural. I got to hear all of them, and I got to decide which one. Also, I got a sense from them, like, "How comfortable are you with this?" How much did they feel like they owned the song? I liked that approach, where I was able to hear different voices on the song the same way that you would write a line for a trumpet and say, "Oh, you know what? Maybe a synth should be playing this, and we will write a different line for the horns." It is kind of like treating it like an instrument and placing parts on different instruments.
You sing lead on "This Is My Love." Is there any particular reason that you chose that song to sing on?
I had tracked that entire song by myself and had sang on it initially. It was nice; my friends came in and everyone was like, "You should sing that one. That one sounds so good, you should just sing it." But also, the lyrics are specifically written for my partner. I wrote the song for him, so it made sense that I would sing it.
The band is really your brainchild and so infused with your voice, but you are so willing to step into the background on the songs and even in press photos. Is that an intentional structure for the band and how it's perceived?
Approaching this project, I wanted there to be a couple things. One was: I wanted to have
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