Band Of Skulls: “Every Place Influences Your Writing And Recording”

December 15, 2014

Band of Skulls’ Emma Richardson sounds ruined on the phone. It’s understandable, after a solid year of touring the world in an explosively popular band. They return to Australia next April to play Bluesfest, headline shows of their own, as well as dates with The Black Keys.

For now, though, Emma and her bandmates are at home in Southampton, England, for a well-deserved break over Christmas. It’s a perfect time to reflect on what Band Of Skulls has achieved this year, including the release of Himalayan. It’s an album Richardson agrees sounds “bigger” than previous records from the 3-piece.

The band took in a new producer, Nick Launay, who has previously worked with Arcade Fire, Nick Cave, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. “We want to better ourselves each time we make a record and experiment a little bit more. It was great to work with Nick Launay; he pushed us. When we first went into the studio, we sat down and he played Purple Rain by Prince and said, ‘Let’s go there!’”

It may just have worked. While Band of Skulls say they have always prided themselves on being a live band, their songwriting process is always progressing.

“The process for this record was new. We wanted to write together and take it away; further things individually and see what happened. It was quite a free way of working and it helped the ideas develop much quicker,” says Richardson. “Every time we make a record, we try and write songs we can’t actually play and learn them!”

Himalayan was recorded in London, which breaks tradition for Band of Skulls, who have made their last albums in the English countryside. “I think every place influences your writing and recording, and we try and move around for each album,” says Richardson. “It was great to be somewhere different [for this one]; great to be commuting, actually, and being around a lot of people. When you’re in a busy city, you’re working at a different pace and your mind takes in a few more things.”

Exciting, then, is the prospect of the band writing some new material around their Australian dates next year. “We’ll be writing around those shows, and hopefully get a chance to go into the studio again at the beginning of [UK] summertime.”

It is curious to wonder which new location will be the birthplace of album number four. Richardson exclaims, “Who knows! It’s gonna be different from everywhere we’ve been before.”