Napier's Bones interview

Nathan :
I've lived in the South West of England all my life and love it here. I'm on the County border of Devon and

Cornwall, both of which are rich in beauty, history and legend.

Gordon:
I'm from the North of England, quite close to "Bronte Country" so dark melodrama is in the water.

 
Napier's Bones is a prog rock duo. What are your influences, when you started to write the songs and how you get an idea to work together?

Nathan :
Gordon writes all the material for Napier's Bones and amazes me every time with his intriguing, dramatic and well-researched lyrics, often with deeper layers of meaning.
We have never met in person but first crossed paths via the music streaming website "Soundcloud" and soon realised we had similar tastes in prog. The 4-part mini-epic "Wistman's Wood" came about very naturally, Gordon sent me rough sketches to begin with, we shared ideas and stories and eventually the whole thing came together really well.
My Influences include Procol Harum, Camel, Caravan, Pink Floyd, Wishbone Ash, Barclay James Harvest, Hawkwind, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep and many more.

 

Gordon:
I'd say my major musical influences are Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Van der Graaf Generator, Bowie, Miles Davis, Bruckner and Bartok.

 

Nathan :
After making "Wistman's Wood", I think we both knew we wanted to carry on working collaboratively, hence "Napier's Bones" was created and we set about delving into Gordon's rich back-catalogue of material to create "The Wistman Tales" debut album.

 

Gordon : 
"Wistman's Wood" and "Lost & Found" were specifically written for our collaboration and the other tracks were older solo songs that we re-recorded

You majestically recorded an ocean of amazing mellotron sounds and your ship has entered so beautifully in retro-prog waters. Whether that 70s-like production (which some people have complaints just maybe because they prefer to today's production) is also designed for the same purpose of retro style?
 
Gordon :

Wow, quite a build-up!
If I had to choose my discs for a desert island then they'd nearly all be from the 60s and 70s with a certain

sound. Some would say it's analogue warmth but there's more to it than that.
There are lots of albums from the 80s that are musically fantastic and work brilliantly in concert but the

production tricks make them difficult for me to listen to. Jump cuts, DX7 orchestra stabs, stereo chorusing

everywhere,synth tom rolls, brittle synth tones - they sound more dated to me than the early 70s recordings.

With Napier's I use single microphones in front of acoustic guitars or tube amplifiers, often double-tracking and hard-panning. I use chains of analogue stompboxes in preference to amp sims or modelling effects.
I'm not a period-instrument extremist and don't intend to launch into any kind of polemic - I simply prefer those sounds and I play and write better when I'm inspired by sound.
I bought a hardware MS20 and play the synth parts live to audio tracks without Midi being involved.
The Mellotron sounds are sample-sourced but I pass the signal through a combination of analogue tube drive, EQ and digital tape sims to get the sound I like.

 

Gordon :

I think Prog has always been a broad church with virtuoso and avant-garde strands in addition to the melodic, narrative based elements. I'd say Napier's sits in the mainstream dramatic storytelling tradition but if the action demands it then we can draw on all manner of heavy, angular and dissonant textures.

 
It seems to me that is pretty comfortable for you to work on concept albums?

 

Nathan :

Gordon isn't daunted by large scale projects it seems, he had a clear vision for Tregeagle's Choice from the start. I don't know how he does it !

 

Gordon : 
Given that we're storytelling then longform tracks or song cycles seem to be our habitat. When Nathan suggested the Tregeagle legend then at first I imagined a 15 minute track recounting his adventures but when I saw the parallels with Faust and the possibility of our inventing a back-story for the man who became the demon then the song possibilities expanded exponentially.

Putting myself in Tregeagle's place and asking if I'd really be any better than him, or whether I'd do anything differently, that opened up the project for me.

 

Nathan :
I have grown up surrounded by the legendary landscapes of Dartmoor and Cornwall, it's simply part of who I am. "Wistman's Wood" is a real place I have visited many times and the story that Gordon created reflects some real life experiences from us both.

 

Gordon: 
I'm hugely influenced by the 19th Century Romantic movement in literature and music, so spiritual mysticism is wrapped up in that for me.

 

Nathan :
"Wistman's Wood" is always going to be special to me as it was our first song we made on the debut album but I love all the songs on that album for different reasons. As for "Tregeagle's Choice" I'm not sure I Could choose a favourite but I suppose the dramatic finale "Eleventh Hour" would qualify as it has so many emotions and musical styles, multiple characters and intense mental imagery that stays with the listener afterwards. True "Prog Opera".

 

Gordon:
Such a tough question! I'd say "Wistman's Wood" from the first album with a special mention for "AD1069 : The Harrying of the North", simply because the events took place within a few miles of my home.

 

Nathan : Thanks, I made the album cover art for "The Wistman Tales" using 3D fractal software and decided to animate an unsettling "flythrough" video for "Room 237". After setting it all up it took a continuous 48 hours to render the animation ! I dont have any plans as yet to make any more videos although you can find some other examples on my Youtube channel. I often dream of making a movie style video for "Wistman's Wood" and that song may be getting a remastered re-release later this year, so who knows ?.....

 

 

Nathan :
I think it's simply wonderful that an underground band like Napier's Bones has the oportunity to share our music to a worldwide audience without the need for managers, distributors or recording contracts. It's simply about the music, made and shared for the love of Prog.

 

Gordon : 
It's fantastic that affordable recording tech, internet niche radio, websites and distribution have enabled artists to realise their ambitions and make their music available to prog connoisseurs. Providing both parties are willing to make a few compromises then it's a win-win situation

Do you make a plans for a live gig?
 
Nathan : 
Ha ha, I think poor Gordon would struggle playing all those instruments at once !

Gordon : 
Indeed, it'd be quite a tapdancing show with all the stompboxes I use.

 

Nathan : Most of my music collection is from the 70s, I've hardly bought any music from the last decade but I adore the "3000 Days" compilation album from The Pineapple Thief.

 

Gordon : I'd say Steve Hackett's "Out of the Tunnel's Mouth" is a special album for me with a mention for "Fain" by Wolf People.

 

Nathan :
Thank you for your interest and support :)

 

Gordon
Thanks for asking us.