Matters

Coming through the fire that was 1996’s First Band on the Moon, today, The Cardigans remain one of those bands that became suddenly popular with their third life-changing album. Of its many celebrated singles, “My Favourite Game” made them instantly famous, thanks to MTV – today’s Twitter/ Instagram reality, all of which threw them into a vortex of pop mayhem. “Erase/Rewind” swiftly followed while the hurricane raged on. Fast forward to album four, 1998’s Grand Turismo – that was when I got to spend 10 precious minutes with keyboard and guitar player Lars-Olof Johansson. We spoke about the journey, part four for Sweden’s favourite band of their generation, one of a six-part rollercoaster ride we know and love to this day.

Picture it, 4 June 1997, at a time when clearly opinionated Springbok Nude Girls (fresh out of Stellenbosch and surrounds) was cementing grown-up, First World, modern rock made in ZA. This is a playful, in-the-moment, interview with a band on the cusp of global domination, all whilst hanging on the coattails of INXS.

In 1998, Paula Cole was already a Grammy award-winner and respected artist, post cutting her musical teeth with the likes of Peter Gabriel. He features on This Fire, her second album I got to unpack with her, 18 months after its initial release.

If her music is not known to you, think the very best of Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Melissa Etheridge and Sarah McLachlan, and you’ll be in ballpark she owned for the latter part of the ’90s. The big hit off that record was, “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone” – go listen.

A vital voice you should listen to if you are a fan of passionate, lyrical wizardry.

The early nulls were a time filled with rich re-invention of what had become a rather tired modern rock model. Hoobastank was one of the few that led the charge to reimagine the genre.

Hoobastank is an American rock band formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, by lead vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen. They were signed to Island Records from 2001 to 2012 and have released six albums and one EP thus far.

My journey with the band began when I was privileged enough to be offered an interview with the band’s lead guitarist, Dan Estrin; at the time the anthem “The Reason” was blowing up worldwide.

Enjoy.

The Seduction of Claude Debussy broke Art of Noise’s 10-year-long musical drought. I was fortunate enough to interview Paul Morley at the beginning of the collective’s next exciting chapter.

Besides being a journalist for the NME and co-founding the legendary record label ZTT, he was also a member of Art of Noise, along with Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, and Lol Creme.

Harvested from a decaying C90 cassette, this interview has Paul talking through the group’s hiatus and subsequent return to Art of Noise fold after more than a decade away.

Fun fact: The album, the group’s 5th, was initially only released on CD and Minidisc.

Chatting to Steven Hewitt – album two for Placebo was a collective success. Without You I'm Nothing was the second studio album recorded in mid-to-late 1998 and released on 12 October 1998 by record labels Hut and Virgin Records.

The album went platinum in the UK and gold in France and has sold over one million copies. The album spawned five singles, including "Every You Every Me", "Pure Morning", and "You Don't Care About Us".

Scott 4 may be a band you missed in the late 1990s, but one that most certainly left its mark on the UK indie music scene that’s still felt today.

After the critical success of their debut album, Recorded in State, in 1998, Scott 4 secured a record deal with V2 and headed into the studio to build on its success.

With lead singer Scott Blixen, this interview unpacks the band’s musical journey to deliver a remarkable body of work, titled Works Project.

If Scott 4 is a new name to you, I challenge you to explore their catalogue, if only because, as they did back then, it will help fill in indie bridge gaps of the day and, more importantly, fill your heart joy.

Singer, songwriter Josh Rouse was glorious to interview, as tricky as it was (read: he wasn’t interested in me). If I recall, he was is in a London cab, en-route to a soundcheck when we spoke. Under Cold Blue Stars was the album he was promoting at the time, just before the release of his career-defining 1972 album. Big thanks to Rob Cowling for setting this interview one up.

The Norwegian electronic music duo, Röyksopp, enjoyed a certain level of success until their debut studio album, Melody A.M.  What happened after its September 2001 release by Wall of Sound turned Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland into global stars.   

I had the privilege of talking to Svein nearly two years after the record first exploded and continued to find new audiences. It was an interview filled with reflection and pondering how success found them and what it meant to them both.

Post the influential, The Wedding Album, an interview opportunity with Duran Duran guitarist Warren Cuccurullo was forced into an interview with me in July 1997 to talk through all things Medazzaland.

The album’s first single was also a track included on the soundtrack to The Saint. “Out Of My Mind” took Duran Duran to new heights, even though John Taylor had recently and finally decided to leave the band.

During an emotional time, Simon, Warren, and Nick became the core of what the group continued to evolve into, unabated and in a very positive way.

The second album’s single, “Electric Barbarella”, did equally well, and cemented their ongoing legacy, some 24-odd years later.

Duran Duran love music, armed with a need to make new forms of it, meaning their finest hour keeps gloriously shifting.