One sunny afternoon, we were together with Dimitris Antonopoulos in the studio of "Channel 1, 90.4", waiting to talk to Chris Urbanowicz (guitar, synths to Editors). Even if that Tuesday night 30/3 the band played in Birmingham in a sold-out show, Chris found some time to talk to us.
We talked about many different things, regarding Editors and music in general. Read more in the following text, but also in the video, which you can find at the end of this article.
MG: So, after two shows in Rockwave and Eject Festival in Athens, finally we will see you in a solo concert at Fuzz Club! What should we expect to see from you guys in Fuzz Club on the 14th of April and on the 15th of April in Principal Theatre?
CU: Right, it's gonna be pretty big. Certainly, a little bit different from the Festival shows that we played. We will be playing about 1 hour and 40 minutes, I think so - in this tour that's how long we are playing - which is quite long, covering all our records. It's going to be busy.
MG: During your tour, you play almost every day! Isn’t it exhausting? Would you like to arrange a massage for you here in Athens? (laughs...)
CU: (laughs...) It is tiring, yeah you are right. We 've been touring for five years now, so over the years, you know how to moderate yourself and how to get the best out of each show. We feel pretty good now, we can get by every gig.
MG: I swear to God, I would pay a lot to find a video of Tom in his childhood, singing a Joy Division song… (laughs...) What would you say to all these, who claim that you sound, like Joy Division and Echo & the bunny men, etc?
CU: (laughs...) Hmm, the first record is Echo and the Bunnymen definitely! I mean, we are big Echo and the Bunnymen's fans. And still off, to be honest we don't sound like we used to. I guess that many people would say that the new record sounds like Depeche Mode... (laughs). I think that we sound like all the bands, we like.
MG: How is life in New York? If Tom stays in England, you in Lebanon, Russell in New York and Ed in Greece, can you imagine the sound of your next album?
CU: (laughs) Who knows? I' m not moving away from New York for long. I' m definitely staying there. Well, I think that living in different places, definitely has an effect on this, new record. As long as we continue, we keep experiencing new things to make sure that the music that we make is still fresh.
MG: If you decide to create a new album in New York, do you believe that it would have more guitars or synths?
CU: Well, I don't know. We haven't discuss about making our fourth record in somewhere else, like New York. I don't know. I mean for this one, for the new album, the only think I can think of is that it's a lot heavier and a lot more riffy, than the previous ones. So, it's gonna be kind of... deep and heavy, but also have those electronic and dark elements as well. I think it's going to be more remixed than the last one was.
MG: Do you believe that the official free mp3 downloading of your music will be a solution at the problem of piracy in music? You know there are many aspects in this subject.
CU: Yes, it' s a tricky subject, because there are so many aspects. The hardest thing about this subject is that there is not actually a solution. And can't think of one and no one can think of one. One think that it's not fair is the fact that we make a lot of music and people... It is their prerogative that they can have it free. I don't think that it's fair, you know. It's like we go round to where they work and just take their money from them. That's kind of what it's happening. It also has a reflect in our albums as well. For example, this one is taking a lot longer to get than the previous one. Whether we 're going to give our music away for free, I don't think so. I don't think that's fair enough.
MG: Can you imagine the world of music without albums? Do you believe that the singles or EPs are replacing the albums nowadays?
CU: Yeah, that's a good question, I think. It covers with something that is very interesting for us. Our latest record is a record you have to see from start to finish. Not just to pick up a new song and mix it with another song of another band - whatever - like many people do now. I think the album to listen to from start to finish, dedicating 40 - 50 minutes, to sit down and listen it is very important. Life moves so quickly and people can listen to half a song, before they get bored and switch it to something else. We will always make albums, as long as we live! You know, I don't care about the single market dying out, that's totally fine. As far as we are making albums, physical albums, records, CDs - whatever - we will always do that!
MG: And finally, let's go for a classic, but very interesting question for all your fans. So what are you up to in the next months, except from touring? Any new singles or songs? A new album maybe?
CU: Well, I wish a new album, I wish. I' m going back to New York tomorrow morning for about 5 days. Regarding new music, we have a couple of new songs. We don't really know what we are going to with them. A new song is called "Last Day", which we will be playing in our new tour and in Greece of course. And we 're going to do a very limited edition (vinyl release) and release it on Record Store's Day to get people to record stores, to stop buying mp3s and you know do things the old fashion way. That's all we got coming up.
MG: So Chris thank you very much for all the talk. We wish you, all your family and of course the band Happy Easter. See you in Athens!
We talked about many different things, regarding Editors and music in general. Read more in the following text, but also in the video, which you can find at the end of this article.
MG: So, after two shows in Rockwave and Eject Festival in Athens, finally we will see you in a solo concert at Fuzz Club! What should we expect to see from you guys in Fuzz Club on the 14th of April and on the 15th of April in Principal Theatre?CU: Right, it's gonna be pretty big. Certainly, a little bit different from the Festival shows that we played. We will be playing about 1 hour and 40 minutes, I think so - in this tour that's how long we are playing - which is quite long, covering all our records. It's going to be busy.
MG: During your tour, you play almost every day! Isn’t it exhausting? Would you like to arrange a massage for you here in Athens? (laughs...)
CU: (laughs...) It is tiring, yeah you are right. We 've been touring for five years now, so over the years, you know how to moderate yourself and how to get the best out of each show. We feel pretty good now, we can get by every gig.
MG: I swear to God, I would pay a lot to find a video of Tom in his childhood, singing a Joy Division song… (laughs...) What would you say to all these, who claim that you sound, like Joy Division and Echo & the bunny men, etc?
CU: (laughs...) Hmm, the first record is Echo and the Bunnymen definitely! I mean, we are big Echo and the Bunnymen's fans. And still off, to be honest we don't sound like we used to. I guess that many people would say that the new record sounds like Depeche Mode... (laughs). I think that we sound like all the bands, we like.
MG: How is life in New York? If Tom stays in England, you in Lebanon, Russell in New York and Ed in Greece, can you imagine the sound of your next album?CU: (laughs) Who knows? I' m not moving away from New York for long. I' m definitely staying there. Well, I think that living in different places, definitely has an effect on this, new record. As long as we continue, we keep experiencing new things to make sure that the music that we make is still fresh.
MG: If you decide to create a new album in New York, do you believe that it would have more guitars or synths?
CU: Well, I don't know. We haven't discuss about making our fourth record in somewhere else, like New York. I don't know. I mean for this one, for the new album, the only think I can think of is that it's a lot heavier and a lot more riffy, than the previous ones. So, it's gonna be kind of... deep and heavy, but also have those electronic and dark elements as well. I think it's going to be more remixed than the last one was.
MG: Do you believe that the official free mp3 downloading of your music will be a solution at the problem of piracy in music? You know there are many aspects in this subject.
CU: Yes, it' s a tricky subject, because there are so many aspects. The hardest thing about this subject is that there is not actually a solution. And can't think of one and no one can think of one. One think that it's not fair is the fact that we make a lot of music and people... It is their prerogative that they can have it free. I don't think that it's fair, you know. It's like we go round to where they work and just take their money from them. That's kind of what it's happening. It also has a reflect in our albums as well. For example, this one is taking a lot longer to get than the previous one. Whether we 're going to give our music away for free, I don't think so. I don't think that's fair enough.
MG: Can you imagine the world of music without albums? Do you believe that the singles or EPs are replacing the albums nowadays?CU: Yeah, that's a good question, I think. It covers with something that is very interesting for us. Our latest record is a record you have to see from start to finish. Not just to pick up a new song and mix it with another song of another band - whatever - like many people do now. I think the album to listen to from start to finish, dedicating 40 - 50 minutes, to sit down and listen it is very important. Life moves so quickly and people can listen to half a song, before they get bored and switch it to something else. We will always make albums, as long as we live! You know, I don't care about the single market dying out, that's totally fine. As far as we are making albums, physical albums, records, CDs - whatever - we will always do that!
MG: And finally, let's go for a classic, but very interesting question for all your fans. So what are you up to in the next months, except from touring? Any new singles or songs? A new album maybe?
CU: Well, I wish a new album, I wish. I' m going back to New York tomorrow morning for about 5 days. Regarding new music, we have a couple of new songs. We don't really know what we are going to with them. A new song is called "Last Day", which we will be playing in our new tour and in Greece of course. And we 're going to do a very limited edition (vinyl release) and release it on Record Store's Day to get people to record stores, to stop buying mp3s and you know do things the old fashion way. That's all we got coming up.
MG: So Chris thank you very much for all the talk. We wish you, all your family and of course the band Happy Easter. See you in Athens!
Special thanks to "Channel 1, 90,4 FM" for giving us its studio for this interview.
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