INTERVIEW: The Brigadier
The Brigadier is Matt Williams, a Welshman based in Brighton, England, who writes, performs and produces his own timeless pop. With kudos and plaudits from the likes of Alan McGee and Mark Eitzel, people are starting to take notice of Matt’s catchy indie-pop tunes. He’s released two albums off his own back, the latest; “The Rise and Fall of Responsibility” has just been released.
So how did The Brigadier evolve, what made you want to make music?
I’ve always been in awe of the power of pop songs and how they can excite you, empathize with you or perhaps just offer you the promise of something better if you know what I mean. Even when I was very young in the 1980s the shiny, sparkly 3 minute pop songs that I heard around the place stayed with me, I liked the escapism that they offered and I knew then that I wanted to write songs too.
I always used to make up tunes but I couldn’t play anything, so in my teens I picked up the guitar and got into a lot of rock stuff and then started writing. It sort of evolved from there really, I liked the idea of the perfect pop song and that’s what I keep striving for. I’ll never do it of course but it’s in the trying that you get the results.
Was it a conscious decision to be a one man band? And what are the pros and cons of doing it all yourself?
It wasn’t really conscious, I was in bands for ages, originally as a guitarist but then as a singer and main writer but I got fed up with all the stuff that comes with being in a band. I’d always been into recording so I bought a computer and started making recordings for myself. I found that I preferred the results that I made that way rather than what I’d been doing in bands so I carried on.
It’s good because you can do what you want when you want but I do miss some of the interaction of playing with other people. It’s most evident when I play live which can be a bit lonely and a bit boring too, it’s more fun to have a band then but I haven’t found the right people yet.
Who are your musical influences?
My main influences are lots of classic rock and pop – Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Velvet Underground, The Beach Boys, Black Sabbath, The Beatles, T-Rex, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Abba, Scritti Politti, Peter Gabriel era Genesis, Steely Dan, Wham, Fleetwood Mac and a lot more besides.
I also like a lot of rock’n’roll, rockabilly and country rock stuff; Elvis, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Dion Dimucci, The Byrds, Neil Young, Gene Clark etc.
On top of all that I like Kate Bush, Saint Etienne, The Cure, The Waterboys, Paul Simon, Scott Walker, Nick Lowe, Stackridge….all sorts really!
You’ve just released your second album, which has the intriguing title “The Rise and Fall of Responsibility”, how did that name come about?
After I’d finished the album I realized that there were things on there about growing up and all that sort of stuff and generally themes about facing up to things which wasn’t intentional at the beginning but that’s the impression I got by the end. I couldn’t think of a good title so I was brainstorming with a friend for a title, most of them weren’t great and then he said ‘The Rise and Fall of Responsibility’ which leapt out at me, it sounded grandiose and slightly ridiculous and it fitted perfectly.
Have you any plans for live shows?
I do play live every now and then, not every night by any means though! I did my first solo gig in London at the Notting Hill Arts club in London after Alan McGee asked me to play which was nice though it was very scary! After that I’ve just played in and around where I live, I’d quite like to get a band together for the live work so when I do I’ll probably play a bit more, at the moment I play just with my guitar or to backing tracks from my mp3 player.
If you had any advice for any new musicians/bands starting out what would that be?
I’ve no idea really, I’ve had some misspent years myself so I’m probably pretty useless to ask! However, one thing I do think for young musicians or writers is that they should listen to a lot of music with an open mind, don’t dismiss stuff because they think it’s ‘Uncool’ or ‘Old’, I say that because I do know people who think like that.
The worst thing you can do is be shut off, because through listening to all sorts of music you can find out what you do and don’t like. Even within music you’re not keen on there are always things to take note of, you might think “This song’s rubbish but that rhythm’s good, I’ll borrow that” or “That’s the worst guitar sound I’ve ever heard, I must remember never to use that!”
March down to check out The Brigadier at:
http://www.thebrigadier.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/brigadiermusic
Recently
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:44 am
I love The Brigadier’s music!
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:58 am
Thanks for the mention, “Brigadier”. Glad you enjoy our music.
Stackridge