British Sea Power

Mon 25th Jul, 2011 in Features

Speaking to guitarist/keyboardist Martin Noble as he makes his way back home from a discussion on nature in London, I quickly learn that British Sea Power is not your average band. This might be something that is often throw around flippantly when describing musicians, but British Sea Power have the CV to prove it. The group has played at a Czech Embassy, down a Cornish slate mine and deep in a Polish Forest and at the Great Wall of China.

“We were supposed to play this festival in Beijing and it was the 60th anniversary of Chairman Mao and then because of that, I don’t know, it was the Buzzcocks, the Futureheads, and all these western bands got pulled from the festival. It was a bit weird. So we decided just to go off and do a few gigs anyway. So we just did shows everywhere [laughs], sort of feeling it. The label organised for all of the fans to come on a lake with us in different boats, so we did a gig in the middle of a lake. It was really sweet. We wanted to go to the Great Wall of China so we went with an acoustic guitar to do some stuff. Just thought it would be fun. We played some Chinese sport with 80-year-old women. They were really supple. And then they joined into the show and clapped along. They were all pretty bemused really, I think they joined in with spirit fingers.”

Forming in 2000, British Sea Power has released four albums proper including Do You Like Rock Music?, which was nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2008, and one soundtrack to a 1934 film about Irish fishermen. Album number four, Valhalla Dancehall was released earlier this year and is defined by its luscious guitar solos, orchestral tracks, as well as references to the military and liberal politics.

Since its release the band has been touring consistently, and will be arriving in Australia for Splendour in the Grass. Martin Noble says the band is looking forward to getting back to Australia, after spending some time here for Big Day Out a couple of years ago. As a massive nature enthusiast, he taught me a little bit about my own hometown. “It was brilliant. We went swimming in the sea before a gig. I really enjoy that kind of lifestyle. We went scuba diving in Sydney as well, which was brilliant, and saw sharks and stuff. You’ve got these leafy sea dragons that are pretty rare in Sydney. They’re like seahorses, only they’ve got longer tails and they do look like seaweed. Someone decided to go off on their own as well and got lost, and then had to swim miles to get back to the shore.”

As a band known for their idiosyncratic shows, what can Australia expect? “We’ve only just come around to the idea of hand clapping,” Noble explains, “So we can all do some hand clapping. We can all do a big group count to ten as well. It’s pretty random really. Sometimes we do a ten foot bear but it doesn’t travel well. It just kinds of beats us up. Sometimes we have a robot that comes on and beats the bear up. We might get a few robots.”

British Sea Power tour:

Wednesday 27th July – East Brunswick Club, Melbourne
Thursday 28 July – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Friday 29th July – Splendour in the Grass