TUE., JUNE 30, 2009
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eMusic Q&A: Stuart Murdoch
by James McNair
Quaint cottage-industry charm informed Belle & Sebastian's 1996 debut Tigermilk, but by 2003's Trevor Horn-produced Dear Catastrophe Waitress, they were able practitioners of lush orchestral pop. Front man Stuart Murdoch's pukka songwriting has been key to the Glaswegian band's seven LPs to date, and now comes his first solo venture, God Help The Girl. Both an album and, all going according to plan, a film, the project is voiced by Murdoch, The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon and a plethora of fresh-faced, hitherto unknown chanteuses that Murdoch began auditioning as early as 2004.
The orchestrations are by Belle & Sebastian's Mick Cooke, while Rick Wentworth (composer of parts of the soundtrack for the cult 1986 film Withnail And I) conducts.
eMusic talked to Murdoch about anxiety dreams and why his gals are not necessarily the kind of singers you'd find on American Idol.
How did God Help The Girl evolve?
Back in 2004, I put an advert in the Glasgow-based magazine The List. I would audition people on a Saturday morning, just teaching them a song. Out of that I found Celia [Garcia], Alex [Klobuk] and Catherine [Ireton], but then I got distracted by Belle & Sebastian and things got put on hold. When I came back to this project in 2006-2007 I was looking for more singers — particularly a more powerful voice for a couple of the songs. That was when we invited people to audition via [social networking site] iMeem.
Some 400-plus hopefuls uploaded demos…
Yes! I had great fun with it all. Three or four entries came in every day, and it was exciting to see who had applied. It felt like a little community; all of the people who applied could see and hear everybody else's entries.
Did you have a clear idea what you were looking for? With the on-line auditions I was hoping for someone who sounded a bit like [gutsy-voiced, Glasgow-born veteran] Lulu. I'd had this dream in which I was singing a Belle & Sebastian song and my voice got Sellotaped-up and I couldn't even speak. It was a classic anxiety dream, but a woman in the audience took the microphone and started singing. Her voice sounded a bit like Marlena Shaw singing "California Soul," if you know that one? I thought 'Wow! This is terrific." That dream was definitely a spur.
At the outset of the GHTG project, you also placed ads in shop windows. A gentler approach to finding talent than that of American Idol, but was there a moment when you felt like Simon Cowell?
I've no clue what Simon Cowell feels like — I've never watched one of his programmes! But, as you say, I think our approach was a bit more tasteful; more so even than the kind of old-fashioned talent competitions I used to see when I worked for [budget UK holiday-camp company] Butlins. People who applied for God Help The Girl could do it in the comfort of their own home without fear of humiliation. I listened to every applicant, and gave them due consideration. People got emailed back.
The on-line auditions brought two more singers: Brittany Stallings of Olympia, Washington, and Dina Bankole from Jackson, Michigan. You could see that they looked great and sang beautifully, but what if, having flown them to Glasgow, you hadn't gelled as people?
Had we taken out an album in The Daily Telegraph or something we might have been in trouble, but I think the way I went about things ensured that people coming through would be decent sorts. I never had any problems with any of the girls. We had a great time making this record.
On "Funny Little Frog", you can really hear the smile in Brittany's voice.
Definitely. It was her first time in a proper studio, and it was Dina's first time in any studio. It was all very exciting and new to them, and I think that comes across in the recordings.
What's the arc of the story that's played out on God Help The Girl?
The main character is Eve, and at the beginning we find her in a hospital, in an institution. It's not really explained why she is there, but it's the roughest patch of her life so far. Things get better from that point onwards. She discovers music. She finds a piano in one of the recreation rooms and finds that she can piece songs together, and that saves her in a way. The other main protagonists are James and Cassie. Eve sings with them and they form a little gang unto themselves one summer while Eve is recuperating…
I read that God Help The Girl, the film, will arrive in 2010…
Hopefully, but who knows? I'll probably have to go back and do some Belle & Sebastian stuff before I finish the screenplay and get around to making the film. I aim to direct it myself and I've got a producer, Barry Mendel [Rushmore; The Royal Tenenbaums], on board. He's been a great guiding light so far.
Will you appear in the film?
No. And I don't know if the people I've been working with so far will be in it, either. My wife will say, 'Oh, you must do proper auditions, you must go to California and find the best people to collaborate with.' I can see the logic, but for me the answers are usually closer to home.
The idea of you making a film makes sense; Belle & Sebastian's sleeve art has always had a filmic quality…
Yeah, when we did those sleeves they would almost suggest a whole film. We'd set them up like a two-day film shoot, but we were just having a laugh, really, and we were just after stills. I often wondered to myself, 'Well how much more trouble would it be to actually make a film?' A lot more trouble [laughs].
What's afoot with Belle & Sebastian?
Apart from the fact that they're all having babies? We're going to reconvene towards the end of the year when Richard [Colburn; B&S drummer] returns from his triumphant world tour with Snow Patrol.
Any pointers on how the next B&S album will sound?
No, but I think it will be terrific [laughs]. Without wanting to sound smug, we all get on really well these days. There's definitely something to be said for older people in the workplace.
The orchestrations are by Belle & Sebastian's Mick Cooke, while Rick Wentworth (composer of parts of the soundtrack for the cult 1986 film Withnail And I) conducts.
eMusic talked to Murdoch about anxiety dreams and why his gals are not necessarily the kind of singers you'd find on American Idol.
How did God Help The Girl evolve?
Back in 2004, I put an advert in the Glasgow-based magazine The List. I would audition people on a Saturday morning, just teaching them a song. Out of that I found Celia [Garcia], Alex [Klobuk] and Catherine [Ireton], but then I got distracted by Belle & Sebastian and things got put on hold. When I came back to this project in 2006-2007 I was looking for more singers — particularly a more powerful voice for a couple of the songs. That was when we invited people to audition via [social networking site] iMeem.
Some 400-plus hopefuls uploaded demos…
Yes! I had great fun with it all. Three or four entries came in every day, and it was exciting to see who had applied. It felt like a little community; all of the people who applied could see and hear everybody else's entries.
Did you have a clear idea what you were looking for? With the on-line auditions I was hoping for someone who sounded a bit like [gutsy-voiced, Glasgow-born veteran] Lulu. I'd had this dream in which I was singing a Belle & Sebastian song and my voice got Sellotaped-up and I couldn't even speak. It was a classic anxiety dream, but a woman in the audience took the microphone and started singing. Her voice sounded a bit like Marlena Shaw singing "California Soul," if you know that one? I thought 'Wow! This is terrific." That dream was definitely a spur.
At the outset of the GHTG project, you also placed ads in shop windows. A gentler approach to finding talent than that of American Idol, but was there a moment when you felt like Simon Cowell?
I've no clue what Simon Cowell feels like — I've never watched one of his programmes! But, as you say, I think our approach was a bit more tasteful; more so even than the kind of old-fashioned talent competitions I used to see when I worked for [budget UK holiday-camp company] Butlins. People who applied for God Help The Girl could do it in the comfort of their own home without fear of humiliation. I listened to every applicant, and gave them due consideration. People got emailed back.
The on-line auditions brought two more singers: Brittany Stallings of Olympia, Washington, and Dina Bankole from Jackson, Michigan. You could see that they looked great and sang beautifully, but what if, having flown them to Glasgow, you hadn't gelled as people?
Had we taken out an album in The Daily Telegraph or something we might have been in trouble, but I think the way I went about things ensured that people coming through would be decent sorts. I never had any problems with any of the girls. We had a great time making this record.
On "Funny Little Frog", you can really hear the smile in Brittany's voice.
Definitely. It was her first time in a proper studio, and it was Dina's first time in any studio. It was all very exciting and new to them, and I think that comes across in the recordings.
What's the arc of the story that's played out on God Help The Girl?
The main character is Eve, and at the beginning we find her in a hospital, in an institution. It's not really explained why she is there, but it's the roughest patch of her life so far. Things get better from that point onwards. She discovers music. She finds a piano in one of the recreation rooms and finds that she can piece songs together, and that saves her in a way. The other main protagonists are James and Cassie. Eve sings with them and they form a little gang unto themselves one summer while Eve is recuperating…
I read that God Help The Girl, the film, will arrive in 2010…
Hopefully, but who knows? I'll probably have to go back and do some Belle & Sebastian stuff before I finish the screenplay and get around to making the film. I aim to direct it myself and I've got a producer, Barry Mendel [Rushmore; The Royal Tenenbaums], on board. He's been a great guiding light so far.
Will you appear in the film?
No. And I don't know if the people I've been working with so far will be in it, either. My wife will say, 'Oh, you must do proper auditions, you must go to California and find the best people to collaborate with.' I can see the logic, but for me the answers are usually closer to home.
The idea of you making a film makes sense; Belle & Sebastian's sleeve art has always had a filmic quality…
Yeah, when we did those sleeves they would almost suggest a whole film. We'd set them up like a two-day film shoot, but we were just having a laugh, really, and we were just after stills. I often wondered to myself, 'Well how much more trouble would it be to actually make a film?' A lot more trouble [laughs].
What's afoot with Belle & Sebastian?
Apart from the fact that they're all having babies? We're going to reconvene towards the end of the year when Richard [Colburn; B&S drummer] returns from his triumphant world tour with Snow Patrol.
Any pointers on how the next B&S album will sound?
No, but I think it will be terrific [laughs]. Without wanting to sound smug, we all get on really well these days. There's definitely something to be said for older people in the workplace.
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