Ash

Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton, Sunday, December 13

HAVING publicly renounced the album for their year-long fortnightly A – Z singles series in 2009, Northern Ireland trio Ash returned this year with their crowd-funded seventh album Kablammo!

Frontman Tim Wheeler talks to Duncan Hall about returning to full-length vinyl, his very personal 2014 solo album Lost Domain and the power of three.

The Guide: Did it feel strange going back to the album format?

Tim Wheeler: It took a while to get our heads back into making an album, because A – Z was really a world away from it. A lot of extra work goes into making a cohesive body of work, it meant writing a lot of songs and whittling it down.

How much did the experiences of A - Z influence Kablammo!?

With the A - Z series we were experimenting with different sounds and styles because we had the freedom to do that. When we took A – Z on the road we took along Russell [Lissack] from Bloc Party with us so we had an extra pair of hands.

With Kablammo! we focused on getting songs that we could do in our live set as a three-piece. We knew we wanted to make a three-piece rock record that would stand up alongside our old albums. We decided to make it short and snappy and use a bit of simplicity in our writing like we did with [early albums] 1977 or Free All Angels.

Was it a bit like going back to the beginning? They often say you have all the time in the world to write your debut album.

We did have [mini-album] Trailer before 1977, but 1977 was our full debut, which we wrote from scratch. We didn’t have time to record a full album then – we recorded it single by single. We were still at school when we recorded [early hit singles] Kung Fu, Girl From Mars and Angel Interceptor – they were all released before we’d even recorded the rest of the album. We were trying to do homework at the same time!

Was it hard juggling 1977 and getting signed with your A Levels?

It was a crazy time – we were getting a major label deal with Warner Brothers at the same time we were trying to revise for our exams. We were getting boxes of CDs which was quite distracting, as well as doing Australian tour interviews.

Did that constant pressure mean you avoided writer’s block?

I’m amazed looking back at those days. It was always about finding that single and keeping it going. I was consistently writing good stuff. Kung Fu was a track we wrote as a B-side for Angel Interceptor, it was meant to be this throwaway little thing which turned out to be really good. We put Angel Interceptor on ice for nine months so we could put Kung Fu out first!

Do you find it harder now?

There’s always a bit of pressure when you haven’t written for a while – you wonder how you will get back into it, or whether you will ever write a song again. I know from experience it’s starting and getting going that’s important. That was the great thing about A – Z, it was so many songs over such a long time I was in the flow of writing all the time. It became quite easy. With Kablammo! I was consistently writing and building it up – there were a lot of songs that didn’t make it.

Do you have lots of songs stored away for the future?

The album could have taken a whole other direction. When the album starts to take shape it’s always about getting those key songs that help dictate the shape the record is taking.

At the same time having a song like [the softer, yearning and more spacious] Free on the record was exciting, as we have never written anything like that before. We didn’t know we could play like that – it was a magical moment.

Do the origins of Free come from your solo album Lost Domain?

With Lost Domain I learned to have a little bit more space in the songs. The bands we grew up with, like Nirvana, had a very dense sound. Oasis had part of every frequency in the sound spectrum. We have definitely learned a bit of subtlety. The guitar solo in Free is about not being afraid of negative space. It takes a long time to discover that.

How have the three of you managed to keep it together since the 1990s?

It’s pretty easy – although there’s only a couple more bands I can think of from around the time who have never split up. We are a band that’s based on friendship – we started as mates in the same school and have been through a lot of ups and downs – but the downs have been an important part in keeping us together.

How much has having your own recording studio in New York City helped?

It has given us freedom from record labels – we don’t have to rely on a label to make a recording, never mind make an ambitious project like A – Z. Music technology has changed a lot – it’s quite easy for people to make records in their bedrooms but keep the quality control the same as on older records. Having our own studio is one of the best things we did.

Do you have a love of New York City?

It’s crazy – I remember when I first moved from Northern Ireland to London it was a culture shock – I was so used to having so much space in Ireland. I didn’t really like living in London for about two years. I love the energy of big cities now – and New York is the greatest, you can find anything you want here 24 hours a day. There’s everything here if you want it.

How do you feel about the new bands in the technological age trying to make it in the same way you did?

I feel for them – there’s so many platforms to be heard it’s quite amazing, but at the same time I’m so grateful we have got a fanbase which gives us freedom to do what we want. There’s a lot less money in the music industry nowadays so it must be very hard to be in a new band. It’s a lot of effort to be on the road and build a big enough fanbase so you can make money from touring, which is where most bands income comes from these days. In the old days we would sometimes lose money on tours, but the record company would pay for it as it promoted the album. It’s a big seismic shift – but I guess it always takes a lot of commitment to make it as a musician. That hasn’t changed, you just have to be more committed than ever.

Do you enjoy performing just as a three-piece now?

There’s something great when the three of us have played together for so many years. There’s only a handful of songs from the back catalogue that are too tricky to play without an extra guitarist. Nowadays it’s more work for me but I enjoy the responsibility. I’m playing a lot of lead guitar, but when I’m singing my brain can handle it. It’s like rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time.

Do you have any plans for the future?

I’m trying to figure out where to go next musically. We never like to repeat ourselves. I know it’s an organic process, so I will start and see where it takes me, and open my ears to a lot of different music to see what is inspiring me. You have always got to see what’s going on in the world before you get into making an album.

Was your solo album Lost Domain [inspired by the loss of his father George to dementia] a one-off?

I don’t think I will ever explore that again. I feel like I said what I needed to say on the subject matter. It was such a personal subject it had to be a solo record.

It was interesting – I wrote a lot of that album on piano instead of guitar and ended up with a whole different sound. I would like to explore that – but I think I’m going to focus mostly on the new Ash stuff. Anything that doesn’t fit could be part of a solo project – having done it once I would be up for it again. It was very satisfying.

With Lost Domain even my family were worried about how it would feel writing about something so personal to them. I did a show in Belfast for the album which was an emotional gig – I think it meant a lot to my family. They found it as cathartic as I did even though it revisited something painful. I constantly get messages from people saying they went through similar things with Alzheimer’s in their family and that it helped them. It’s really nice connecting in that way. Music is very healing.

Starts 7.30pm, tickets £17. Call 01273 673311 for returns.