FOR some artists the most rewarding aspect of creating art is the process itself.
This is something Jamie Morrison, Stereophonics drummer and member of supergroup 86TVs knows all to well, so much so that the band's debut album took seven years to make.
They’ll be performing at Kendal Calling this year after a UK/Ireland tour saw them visit many major spots of the country.
While talking about their upcoming performance at one of Cumbria’s biggest events, Jamie spoke about his love of creation, and how ideas are realised among a group of seasoned musical artists, which includes former members of The Macabees Felix and Hugo White, as well as their brother Will.
“We work really well together, we’re all experienced and it just boils down to the enjoyment of making the art," he said.
“We’re a band made to enjoy the experience of making something,” he added, explaining that they’re not touring in huge buses or private planes as 86TVs.
“We’re really low level, it’s super simple.”
He said the knowledge and experience they share provides a supportive atmosphere for creative ideas, rather than a clash of minds, but their process takes time.
“There are four writers, and it will take some time to go through all those filters to get to the finished product.
“In most bands, there are one or two people in charge of the music.
“We’re not most bands but we had a lot of time where we weren’t putting a timer on, we had years in fact when we let these songs brew, come back and work on them, and by that time we’d have learned new things or used new equipment.
“Having the time and patience is something that has been instilled in us from working in many bands.”
There’s a privilege in being able to take the time, as Jamie admits -in an artist’s early days it can seem like ideas take forever to finish, which can be frustrating at first.
But it’s a worthwhile process, as he explained: “All the best things take time, not just in music.
“For upcoming artists there’s a sense of urgency because bills need to be paid or there are responsibilities beyond music, so it’s really hard to allow for that time.
“When you’re there, I think you should go hell or leather, get burnt and fall down, it’s really healthy and you’ll learn a lot about yourself.
“At this point, I try to take time to acknowledge the experience, but we will also fall down and get burnt, and whatever level we’re on it has its own pitfalls still – they’re just unique to whatever state the industry is in and how we’re feeling individually.”
While there’s an initial boost of having big names attached to the new band, it’s still new, and they’re not hitmakers yet.
It doesn’t matter, though, because for Jamie, they’ve already succeeded.
“We’d love to sell a million records, but we’re not there just yet, we need to be patient there too.
“But it’s all very exciting what we’ve built, and we enjoy doing it.
“The journey is the best part. As a younger artist finishing a record is brilliant, but the journey of making these things is the win, the privilege – that’s worth more than money, it’s the opportunity to make something for yourself.
“In a way, our record and band are already huge successes because we’ve allowed ourselves to do that.”
Their debut self-titled album will be released in just over a month, but what themes are packed into an album that took seven years to make?
“A bit of everything, a lot of learning.
“There’s a joyous feeling to the album, a lightness, and we were feeling those things at one point while making it.
“Those layers are why it’s a fantastic album, it’s not just a snapshot of the summer where you can really bottle up that one feeling, we’ve got a jumble sale of emotions on this record.”
Therefore it’s a rewarding process, but taking that long on one project can fail, the hard part is letting go, as Jamie explained: “You can allow yourself all that time and never actually finish it, there could be thousands of artists out there right now working with no end in sight.
“It can be overcooked, overboiled – the best thing we did was take our foot off the gas and say that’s it.
Jamie will be looking forward to seeing Cumbria again, a place he knows well and has performed in before.
To those unaware of the band, or the bands from which members grew their fame, he said: “What we're doing on that stage is an event, not just playing our songs.
“We’re looking at our surroundings, and funnelling that energy right there and then... it's the most fun show you'll see, the most real show you'll see.
“We’re letting the moment happen, and we run with it.”
86TVs will be playing Kendal Calling on August 3.
For festival information, click here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here