Battling on
As they prepare to release sophomore album Gloss Drop, NYC math rock combo Battles talk festivals, Gary Numan and how they came to appear on the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack.
Paul Nolan, 08 Jun 2011
Shortly after they storm Forbidden Fruit, Battles release their second album, Gloss Drop, which comes four years after their cracking debut, Mirrored. The record had a somewhat difficult birth, given that guitarist/vocalist Tyondai Braxton left during its making.
So, how did the band cope with losing a member?
“We considered it to be an inconvenience to have to go backwards,” reflects Battles guitarist Ian Williams, who interrupts some repairs to his guitar case – the group are about to jet off to Guadalajara – to speak to Hot Press. “It’s almost like making a record is a large performance; when you’re on tour, each day there’s always some unforeseen thing going on. Like, you’re flying to the next city, your guitar got smashed and you have to scramble to find a replacement. Or your power converter in Spain is not working or what have you.
“There’s always this strange scrambling, and so for me, Ty leaving was almost like a continuation of that process. You’re going, ‘Okay, fuck it, what do we do?’ It was okay though, because in the end we were very happy with the record. I guess at this stage, I’m used to the unforeseen happening and then coping with it.”
Gloss Drop has a notable guest appearance from electro pop legend Gary Numan, who contributes vocals to one track. How did the collaboration come about?
“He was really in the category of the fantasy pick,” admits Ian. “Somebody like Eye from The Boredoms and some of the other guests on the record, they were picks that weren’t that hard to imagine, but Gary Numan was the one where we went, ‘Wouldn’t that be surprising, not just to the rest of the world, but also to us?’ So we asked him if he was up for it, and I don’t know if he knew who we were, but I think somebody in his camp said, ‘Battles are a good band, you should check them out.’ So he listened to the track and really liked it.
“To me it actually sounds like a Gary Numan song and a Battles song at the same time. It succeeds in letting Gary Numan be Gary Numan and letting us do our thing. A lot of times in collaborations, one of the artists has to play so much by the other’s rules, that they cease to do what they do best. He’s doing what you want Gary Numan to do, and it makes me happy.”
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