"From Here" - Interviews, articles and reviews

[MaoLee]

https://service.oeticket.com/new-model-army-kein-bock-auf-vergangenheit/?fbclid=IwAR1ojhOdEsHTr3IIZojqadHoPWvrc0GSicml3bSSSQ6-ELBF6-ODKm-vItk

translation taken from facebook by Michael Sanderson:

Next year, the punk rock pop folk legend New Model Army celebrates its 40th anniversary. Before the festivities begin, they throw the new album "From Here" on the market - including a tour and Vienna gig in October.

Founding member Justin Sullivan, who is also responsible for the guitar as well as the vocals, does not mind the analysis of the band's history, because that's enough in 2020 in the anniversary year. Nevertheless, he was barely able to stop at the! Ticket-talk.

As the lead single for the new album you chose the untypically short title "End of Days". In addition, the band does not appear in the video. Why the unconventional approach?

There are much more personal songs on the album. The title should just give you a rough idea of what it's about. And "End of Days" is short. The other tracks are long. When a record company tries to market an album, they need a short song first and foremost. There is no title with 13 minutes. "End of Days" is certainly not the best song on the record, but it represents the whole album in terms of sound. It's a simple, little song. For "Never Arriving" we shot a video. That was before we decided on "End of Days" as the lead single and for a text video. There is also the wonderful artwork. By the way, I'm reluctant to explain my lyrics, but I want every listener to take what they want out of it. It does not just have to give an opinion to everything.

In End of Days, you talk about something that would never have been invented. What could humanity never have invented?

(laughs) Where should I start? Maybe the book of the books of religions? They are a cultural problem. Judaism, Islam and Christianity are actually the same damn religion. They all have a longing to separate people from nature. They distinguish between men and women. Divide religions. Many problems have their origins there. This reminds me of the line: "The trouble starts with the meaning of things."

Does the end of days break over us?

Every generation has its own doomsday scenario. Especially the next generation will experience a terrible cataclysm. The most horrible statistic I've ever seen is that within my lifetime, 40 percent of all species on Earth will have disappeared. This is extremely worrying. But there are no concrete examples on the album. I wanted to take a step back from this world where we only shout at each other. I wanted to see the bigger picture.

Why did you choose a studio on a small Norwegian island?

We have now recorded a couple of albums with Lee Smith and Jamie Lockhart, they also coproduced Winter. Our relationship is really great and they have this little studio that I really like. But it's a punk rock studio. It is very small and crammed with equipment and a bit claustrophobic. We wanted to work together again, but elsewhere. "Winter" has this claustrophobic sound of her studio, everything sounds very crowded. This time we wanted an album that sounds great. So we needed a large room with adjoining rooms. Lee and Jamie arrived with this Norwegian studio, which is currently popular with many artists. It is located on the coast of this small island, surrounded by the sea, mountains, rocks and snow. When we were there, there was still snow on the beach which slowly melted away. Whenever you pick up things, you are surrounded by that vastness, a hard, beautiful, melancholy landscape. The studio has built a musician who knew what he is doing. He also has a lot of coal. There are wonderful old tools: tape machines, great microphones - and a brand new mixer. Everything is perfect. The living rooms are on the first floor. They are pretty simply equipped. If you spend three months there, you could easily go crazy. But the studio is so booked up that we only had nine days to record the album. Living rooms did not matter to us, we worked all the time anyway. And every time you look, there is this vastness and the weather. Other musicians like to go to New York, to L.A., in the middle of the hustle and bustle. Or in the Caribbean. When you ask all five New Model Army band members about our favorite scenery: cold, desolate, big, open, rough. Snow, rock, water. A landscape where you can see for miles.

 In "Conversation" it goes u.a. for talks with seagulls. What did you discuss with them?

(laughs) The text line comes from the Icelandic movie "The Deep". It's about an amazing story that happened in the eighties: A fishing boat capsized in the ice-cold sea. All of the crew were killed except one sailor. He's always kept swimming. Later, it was found that this was due to a genetic abnormality in his adipose tissue that he was able to survive in cold water. The hardest thing for him was loneliness. And so he talked to a couple of seagulls, who kept circling over his head and accompanying him. For me, this is an incredibly strong story and there are impressive pictures in the film. It shows how we function as living beings. We are social creatures, we need society.

Passing Through is about loss. Do you still have something to lose?

Not really, no. Well, we all lose. As you get older, you lose people. They die. You lose things that you love. The world is changing. But that is an unalterable part of life. You swim with the stream. One day you go too. And it does not matter. The last line of the album is: "Look in the mirror and laugh." People overestimate themselves today completely, they have lost all modesty. Especially when it comes to nature and the whole planet. We think we are so important. One should accept that one is nothing. I am nothing. Maybe these are the things that are going on in the world right now, which is why I wanted to take a step back. Away from the petty quarrels, to a certain modesty. We are all just passing people. One day you are dead. Gone.

Getting older is not a great thing?

Yes absolutely.

To the song "Never Arriving": Is there no arrival, nowhere?

That is a legitimate question that leads to the philosophical. But you are probably right, there is no arrival. Maybe dying is the arrival. In my life and in my lyrics, I never liked the idea that I should ever arrive somewhere. Or knows where I'm going. That would be the end of the journey. I do not like to finish something. When I make an album and it comes to completion, I hate to let go. Then comes the day it's done and I lose all interest in it. It's gone. Finished. The journey is the interesting part for me. The safest place for me is between A and B. A might cause problems, B the same. In between, you are sure. This is the place for cowards. For cowards like me. But that's the way I am.

Next year is the 40th anniversary of the band, "From Here" is the 15th studio album. What are you thinking about these numbers?

Nothing. No thoughts in that direction! We think about that in the coming year. At the end of last year we thought about recording a new album. As a band, things went smoothly and we had tons of ideas. We wanted to take advantage of that. We knew it would have to be released this year, because then everybody wants to talk about our damn past and the forty years. That was one of the reasons why we recorded and released "From Here" so quickly. I think it was an advantage that we had to work so fast. Even though we had imposed the pressure on ourselves, it really did us good.

"Setting Sun" starts with folk and develops into a driving rock banger. Was this a planned journey between styles?

We do not think about that, everyone in the band has a different musical taste. We do not listen to the same music next to New Model Army. I always liked folk melodies. But at the end of the day, I'm a soul guy. My first love was Tamla Motown, most do not check that out because they do not listen. If you listen to all the records of New Model Army, then drums and bass are the main draws. I am a songwriter. I can not play drums. But I've always understood that each volume is all about the rhythm section. At the end of "Setting Sun" there is this great guitar part, but it is highlighted by drums and bass. The New Model Army has always had great drummers and bass players.

In October there will be a concert in Vienna. What will the set list look like?

There will be much of the new album. What's more, we have not decided yet. The special thing about this record is that we use as few keyboards on it as never before. It's a guitar album. Dean is finally getting away from the keyboards that he hates anyway, and can play the guitar.

Mick Hucknall explained that Simply Red is actually his project and not a band. You are the last original member of New Model Army. Would an NMA be conceivable without Justin Sullivan?

I never think about that and would never say New Model Army is my project. We are a band. We fight like a band. But we also get on well together, like a band. No one has a huge ego, everyone is open to all ideas. To be honest, I'm terrible when I'm on my own. I always need at least one partner.

[MaoLee]

Radio interview:

https://www.radioeins.de/programm/sendungen/modo1316/interviews/new-model-army.html?fbclid=IwAR2AnUbXTHnoOFMkCwjsl6-SdEgD2NKImqohuvJwL9Ipi5WTtQ-2qVyUSRo

[cthulhu]

Thanks for posting!
Some interesting thoughts and information. Kind of strange to hear: "End of days is certainly not the best song on the record" being said about the single release from a new album by the artist. And the, if this is true..;-)

[MaoLee]

Oh man, how big this album gonna be. Already "Watch and learn" ist a straight forward rock song. And i'm very curious and excited to hear this mentioned song lasting 13 minutes. I expect a huge guitar based riff'n'jam sound session. 

The band in this actual formation has the potential to do so. Just listen to outros like "Beginning" from the winter album. Sometimes i wish the guitar based outro would last at least 30 minutes. How this song gets bigger and bigger in the end.

[Marcin D.]

And one more interview - Flux FM, Berlin. Enjoy!

PS. In English with the translation

https://soundcloud.com/fluxfm/justin-sullivan-von-new-model

[MaoLee]

It's not a current interview referring to the album "From here". This one is from 5 years ago.

[ManxPat]

The LP is already up on Ebay! How did that happen? 

[Guillaume]

The LP is already up on Ebay! How did that happen? 

LP and CD...but both according to this site will be shipped in late August. 

[cthulhu]

Wow! I could imagine a clever student worker in the pressing facility thought no one will notice one missing, while packing thousands of those items into boxes.

[Guillaume]

I just hope they are RIGHT!!!:

  “An impassioned, impressive collection ... their style remains a gritty variation on ‘Big Music’ [with] the pounding title track fueled by righteous fury and mockery of those drunk on power. We’d all do well to listen.” - Classic Pop 4/5   

“…has the feel of arguably the band’s finest album …a treasure trove of songs.”
 - Vive Le Rock 9/10

from:

https://www.downthefrontmedia.com/news/2019/7/26/new-model-army-release-evocative-new-single-never-arriving

[Marcin D.]

The snippet related to Never Arriving release. Enjoy.

https://www.post-punk.com/justin-sullivan-wanders-the-misty-yorkshire-countryside-in-new-model-armys-beautifully-shot-video-for-never-arriving/?fbclid=IwAR3jaEB2MszCGFT2xGt1oSOF4UGlNq5q9-HiPj9WaUj3Eooc9oxr7mLkagA

[Master Ray]

Just bought the UK magazine 'Vive La Rock' and there is, indeed, a great interview and a cracking review...

[Guillaume]

It seems that Vive le Rock! is a big supporter of NMA, if i remember well 3/4 years ago they released a special magazine about the band..

[Guillaume]

Just bought the UK magazine 'Vive La Rock' and there is, indeed, a great interview and a cracking review...

https://vivelerock.net/new-model-army-new-video-arrives/

 

[Master Ray]

It seems that Vive le Rock! is a big supporter of NMA, if i remember well 3/4 years ago they released a special magazine about the band..

Yes they did, it had a flexidisc of 'March In September' included and (true story) I bought it in a shop in Chester while Ed AJ was playing just down the road...