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First a little background.
How did you become involved in the music business in the first place to
end up as producer and musician?
My first entry into the
music business, as in getting paid for it, would have been production
work on Moby's 'Play' album. This was a result of connections with Mute
records at the time. I consider myself more a musician/composer than a
producer. I suppose if you're making electronic music, as we have done
in the past, then the two roles are blurred.
Since you’re Sheffield based
and titled a track “The Circus Of Deaf” on your last album “A Dense
Sense Of Ancient Stars” I’m guessing you’re well into the bands vast
history and back catalogue?
Well, the 'Circus' title was
Dean's idea, so I'm not sure. I have always been aware of The Human
League (obviously), going back to about 1981. I loved 'Being Boiled'
when it was released as a single. I preferred it to the contemporary
singles from 'Dare'.
Would you label yourself a
fan?
I'm not sure what 'fan'
means these days. If it means that I love their work, but don't have
posters of them on my wall, then yes I am! However, I'll show you the
tattoo one day.
It was a bit of a chance
meeting in the local park between Philip and Dean that made the contact.
So what were your initial thoughts when Dean told you I Monster were
gonna produce the new Human League album?
A chance meeting, yes, but
Phillip is always in the area and never far from contact. I thought,
"cool, something to get our teeth into". At the time though, we weren't
sure if it would lead to anything. We were just going to try some ideas
out first. But it was exciting.
How would you describe the
demos for the album? Were they fully evolved and could your trained ears
already spot some hit potential?
Spotting hit potential is
particularly difficult these days. There was a whole album's worth of
demos. Some more evolved than others. 'Sky' stood out from day one. That
was the "hit", in my ears, ie, it's a bloody good song, and classic
League.
As I understand it was
recorded in a very modern way, exchanging files over the internet. So
was any time spend together in the studio recording the old fashioned
way?
Filers weren't sent over the
internet. We did it kind of old fashioned - Phillip brought the files
down on his pen stick! We spent very little time in the studio together.
They recorded any new parts at their studio and dropped them off for us
to work on in our studios.
It was a very relaxed and
agreeable way of working.
It’s a bit unusual to have a
two-headed producer, so how were the roles defined between yourself and
Dean? And was there ever a need for one to step forward and be the boss
to make a decision?
We both throw ideas in and
agree or disagree. Two's company - three's a crowd. I worked on some
tracks at my place, Dean at his. We worked on some others
simultaneously. Of course, we got together to finish them all off. It's
usually a very democratic way of working.
Since Human League fans have
waited a long time for some new songs I was hoping we could pamper them
by going into details about the individual tracks of the album. So
looking at the song titles, I hope you can elaborate on the challenges
of getting each track right?
Never Let Me Go
Also a single, therefore it needed tweaking, tweaking and extra tweaking
in every department. Edits, and big edits they were, due to the album
version being much longer and the arrangement quite unusual. A
challenging track to do.
Night People
Again a single. This was the first single. Many mixes and tweaks were
done here. This one had to appeal to the clubbers. Quite different to
'Never Let Me Go' and 'Sky'. I love the lyrics BTW.
Sky
The first track we worked on. As I said earlier, my favourite. A
pleasure to work on. This one went quite smoothly as far as I remember.
Into The Night
This one didn't prove to be too much like hard work. I thought this was
interesting, in that it sounded quite different to typical League. The
songwriting I mean.
Egomaniac
This one was the first one that I initially worked on at my place. We
kept the trancey synth line that runs through the chorus, which was on
the demo. I love what Susan and Joanne did on this. That wasn't on the
demo, but it really adds a lot to the song.
Single Minded
A
lesser track I think. The original version that we worked on had a
completely different chorus, which had very 'Dare' like properties.
Electric Shock
A
companion piece to 'Night People'. A clubbier track. I love the vocal
break that Susan and Joanne sing in the middle. Reminds me of Buggles
for some reason! Which, in my book, is a good thing. A quirky moment,
which is important when a track is very linear.
Get Together
An
early favourite for many of us. A good one to work on, as it's such a
great song. This one, out of all of the Credo tracks, sounds the most
like something from the Dare-Hysteria era.
Privilige
The most Mark I sounding track on the album. Lots of old synths on here.
This was the closest to the Mark I sound we'd dare go (pun intended).
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Breaking The Chains
Nicky played a great synth guitar line on the demo of this. We decided
to throw that it in as an intro to the song and make more of it and I
think it really works. I recorded some Mellotron right at the end. A
first for The Human League!
Stars Start To Shine
A
quirky one. Great. This one always stood out in demo form and wasn't
changed too much. A great way to end the set. I always compared this one
with 'Into The Night', as it has a 'musicals' feel to the songwriting. I
think Phillip should write a musical.
Philip Oakey has mentioned
in interviews that they had
enough material for 2 albums, so any tracks left over from the recording
sessions for future use?
There were numerous bits that weren't developed. I'm not sure if
anything will get a future release if worked on.
As time has distanced you a
bit from the album, how do you look back on the creation of it? Any
favourite tracks?
I've not played the album since it came out. My favourite is 'Sky'. I
love 'Egomaniac', 'Get Together', 'Stars Start To Shine' and 'Never Let
Me Go'.
The 3 singles from the album
has been promoted by the best Human League remix packages for decades,
so have you heard any of them?
Most of them. Some are good.
I'm not a huge fan of clubby remixes though.
The signing of The Human
League to Mark Jones cool Wall Of Sound label looks like a perfect
match?
Mark is a huge League fan. He'll probably have the posters on his wall
too! I think it's a great match. Cool band and cool label.
Being part of the Sheffield
music scene for many years, have you experienced many Human League gigs?
Just the one - December 2010 at the O2 Academy in Sheffield. It was a
rescheduled show as the original one at the City Hall was cancelled due
to colossal amounts of snow.
The Human League has a vast
collection of vintage synths and electronics stacked away in their
Sheffield studio. Which ones were the most fun to fiddle with the knobs?
They have a huge amount. We borrowed a few - the Jupiter, Oberheim 4
voice, Pearl Syncussion...
Out of the bands vast back
catalogue, can you name your favourite Human League
album, single and song?
'Travelogue' - why not?
'Being Boiled' or 'The Sound
Of The Crowd' - because I like them!
'Do Or Die' (at the moment) - love the synth riff or 'Sky' - because
it's great and I'm shamelessly promoting it.
I Monster also do remixes,
so if you could choose any Human League track, which one would you like
the most to remix?
A progressive rock version
of 'The Black Hit Of Space'.
The Human League has some
very loyal and dedicated fans that try to get to as many shows as
possible on a tour. Have you had the same passion for a particular band?
You know, following them around the country, sleeping on train stations
as you wait for the first train home?
Never
I Monster is not only a
production team, but also a band in itself, so can you tell us a bit
more about what you want to achieve under this moniker?
I would love loyal and
dedicated fans that try to get to as many shows as possible on a tour
and follow us around the country, sleeping on train stations as they
wait for the first train home.
The technology has evolved
at an unbelievable rate in the music business in the last decade. So how
is it working in a studio today, compared to when you started out?
Compared to the very first demo tape I did in the mid/late 80s - a
universe apart in terms of technology and cost. It gets better and
better, but I am a fan of old instruments, so a buzzing Hammond organ is
always going to buzz, weigh a ton and be a pain to record.
You seem like a very busy
man, so what are the future plans for Jarrod Gosling and I Monster?
I'm working on two solo projects at the moment - both progressive rock
orientated.
The first is called Regal Worm, which is mostly instrumental
70s style progressive/psychedelic music. There's plenty of analog synths
on there. The other, called Sovereign Of The Skies is a more song-based
thing which will be much heavier and darker and modern sounding.
We're planning a new I
Monster thing, which will be a collection of adult fairy tales/odd
childrens stories, narrated over music, maybe with a book to accompany
it.
We're also working on a large scale musical/concept/soundtrack album
with a Sheffield Victorian criminal, two kids and some ancient Nordic
aliens as main characters. We're not sure what name this will go under
yet.
Check out these links to
learn more about Jarrods current and future projects;
www.imonstermusic.com
http://twitter.com/#!/IMONSTERBAND
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Jarrod+Gosling
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