Your New Favourite Band: Oh Minnows Interview
Back when Ragged Words first started intermittently transmitting from London around the middle of the last decade, Semifinalists were very much our new favourite band. The London by way of Indonesia/San Diego and Chicago trio released a couple of fine albums, drew initial comparisons to the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev only to promptly disappear like so many other promising local bands of that period (Goodbooks… Ladyfuzz… Bricolage.. anyone?). While singer Ferry Gouw carried on making music videos – including VMA nominated work for Major Lazer – multi-instrumentalist drummer Chris Steele-Nicholson quietly got on with his new life as Oh Minnows, the fruits of which can be heard on a superb debut album just released by the Young & Lost Club. So five years after Ragged Words first talked to him over Cardiff pub dinner, we shipped Chris over a few questions about the new project.
Good to speak to you again Chris and thanks for your time. How soon after Semifinalists ended did Oh Minnows begin? Did you immediately enjoy working on your own or did it take some time to get used to?
I think we were all working on our own stuff while Semifinalists was going and then just segued into whatever we were doing after Semifinalists. Yeah, I enjoy working in both scenarios.
Was the album made completely by you alone? Going by the sheer scope of the instrumentation, you could tell me it was actually made by a six-piece and I'd believe you.
It was just me. But thanks! Humm, I like the concept of a six-piece.
You recorded it a few different locations across the U.S. - how did that help/hinder how the record turned out?
Well, I liked the process of traveling and recording. Sometimes it’s good to just get a different view on things. This is true of any kind of relationship. It’s good to break routines as a way to rediscover something.
Although it shares the same dreamy qualities, the record feels like it has more of a widescreen sound compared to your music with Semifinalists and (dare I say) it’s strikes me as more polished and even anthemic. Is that something you get from listening to it? And if so, did the songs just develop that way or was it something you worked towards?
Yeah, there was definitely a different approach for each project. For Oh Minnows there was probably a bit of both, I wanted the songs to have a full sound but nothing was decided at the outset, I just started working…
It’s also kind of refreshing to hear synths on a record these days and it not strike you as belonging to just another chillwave artist. Do you think not overdoing it on the synths helps make the tracks on For Shadows the sort of dynamic pop songs they are?
Yeah, not sure about that. I wasn’t to concerned with what the instrumentation was going to be at the outset. It’s nice to have different instruments available so you can conger up a range of textures. There is a concept that you should always just try to serve the song, not be to devoted to gener, that makes sense to me.
How much of a different experience is it now releasing music on an independent label than when you were signed to a major for Semifinalists’ two albums?
Not hugely different in terms of recording. In both instances the people I worked with from the label have been great, really cool and supportive. I’m really digging working with Sara and Nadia at Young and Lost. I'm liking being on a indie because suggestions can be offered and decisions made quickly, which is great.
I remember first hearing ‘Show The Way’ in 2005, then subsequently seeing Semifinalists live and thinking you were the type of band marked out for slow burning success. For whatever reason I guess it didn’t quite happen for you guys so is there any sense at all that Oh Minnows is trying to put some of that right?
I don’t feel that way about it really. For me it’s just a matter of expressing something and it’s always amazing to have the music go out into the world!
You’ve already made a number of videos for songs from the album, as someone who has experience in filmmaking, is it particularly important to you to put the music to film?
That is a tough question. Sometimes I feel conflicted about videos. On one level they are a chance to further explore a mood, feeling or idea and that is great. On the other hand I feel concerned about potentially intruding on someone’s personal concept of a song. If you make things explicit, then you run the risk of excluding them from their own experience. I’m very much a fan of a certain amount of ambiguity because for me that is an invitation for the audience to enter. Amazingly, all three directors did just that with their videos. Really pleased with how they turned out.
Who’s idea was it to record a day in the life of a grounded astronaut for the (utterly brilliant) ‘You’ll Never Know Us’ video? It also really suits the cosmic sound of the song - is it particularly satisfying when a track marries so well with its video?
The video was conceived by The Unthank Alliance. They pitched a concept to me, then delivered a video that was different, but even cooler. Yes, I agree, I think it turned out great!
Are you planning on playing any shows in the next while? How do you see Oh Minnows working live - will it be just you or do you think you’ll put a live band together?
No shows planed at the moment, but I would like to get a band together. Not sure about the lineup. A friend of mine and I were talking about doing a performance piece… maybe that?
And finally, who are some of your new favourite bands?
Wolf in A Spacesuit
In your words