STRAIGHT in the middle of their initial fame, The Wombats adjourned to Balado to perform in front of throngs of adoring fans back in 2008. In those heady days, they were armed with a string of high-profile hits such as ‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’, ‘Moving To New York’ and perhaps most anthemic of all; ‘Kill The Director.’
Modern times view the group as altogether more mature: a band that have honed their sound into something much sleeker than on previous outings.
Their latest LP Glitterbug was met with a great deal of delight from various corners of the media; who saw their insatiable ear for melody as a tool that hadn’t been in any way tarnished by the process of time.
Following their set on Friday at T in the Park’s new home of Strathallan Castle, lead singer and figurehead Matthew Murphy; more commonly known as Murph, spoke to TTV about those early days, the new material and the speciality of festivals in Scotland.
Inquiring as to whether he and his bandmates had looked to return to T in the Park at some point in their career, the frontman spoke enthusiastically about his delight to return. “Yeah it feels great, it’s just been too long basically. We last played here in 2008 and absolutely loved it so it’s nice to be back. The reception was more than we could’ve ever dreamed of so we’re pretty happy.’
Of course this is atypical of the response to T in the Park, with many artists citing it as one of their favourite festivals in the world to play. Despite the fact that Murph had only once performed at the festival prior to the site move, he seemed confident that its new home of Strathallan Castle maintained the magic of its Balado, its revered predecessor. In fact, he actually seemed to be more enamoured with it than the remote airfield in Kinross that had held the festival for many years.
“I actually prefer it due to all of the forestry, and it definitely does retain the kind of aggressive nature that T in the park has. Now it’s just set against this stunning pine forest backdrop. We love that undercurrent of danger froma festival, but I don’t know if it’s as good for everyone else.”
When an act achieves a great deal of mainstream success during the formative stages of their career, it can often be quite a daunting task to usher in a new era for the group. With their third record Glitterbug standing out as a fine return to form for the Liverpudlian three piece, Murph seemed very pleased with the way in which fans had embraced them during their performance on the festival’s main stage.
“I’d say they were actually better received than I thought they were going to be but not as well as say, Techno Fan. That’s fine though, they take time to really bury in, those bastards. We’re tremendously proud of everything that we’ve done but we definitely don’t dwell on it. It’s all about what’s happening next, so for now it’s all about touring Glitterbug and getting the music to as many people as we possibly can.”
Something which as been regularly touched upon by most commentators and critics, this year’s T in the Park harbours an incredibly eclectic mix of artists both old and new. Given the great deal of exciting acts playing, Murph had a few sets that he wished to catch.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing The War On Drugs. I’m also intrigued by the whole Sam Smith thing. I can’t describe why, I’m just intrigued. It’s a weird line-up to be fair but a really great one. Rudimental and Hozier too, there’s so much stuff. Like, the Radio 1 Stage has Afrojack, followed by The War On Drugs, then straight into David Guetta. I mean what the fuck? It’s mental.”
Having been on the touring circuit for years and no stranger to travelling all over the world to perform, Murph certainly has his opinions about playing festivals; wittily explaining why they’re a lot less monotonous than your average show.
“When you’re playing shows in a controlled environment then it’s more appealing from the standpoint of we roughly know how it’s going to go. However, I actually do prefer playing festivals because it’s a completely different animal as everything and anything can happen. That’s part of the excitement. Don’t get me wrong sometimes it can be annoying; sometimes my amp can blow up on stage and things like that, but when you’re playing festivals for a whole season then it’s definitely a lot more exciting.
As part of a band who’ve been something of an omnipresence on the charts since they appeared onto the scene, you’d think that the Wombats frontman would most certainly have his finger on the pulse and be well aware of the best new releases. as it transpires, this turns out to be the polar opposite of what actually occurs due to the arduous process of putting together an LP.
“I’m the worst person to ask about new music. After I’ve finished an album then go on to try to listen to an album or artist, I basically just get into this head-space where I can’t switch off. I’ll just be thinking about this melody or that lyric so I basically wipe out and come around again later . I’m right in the middle of one of those just now so I don’t really know. I’ll probably be alright by around August. We’re friendly with Prides and they came to see us the last time we were in Glasgow so it was nice to see them playing on the main stage and i’m really glad things are going well for them.
With the emphasis firmly on their rigorous touring schedule, he goes on to detail the extent of their plans for the year:
“No thoughts of the studio anytime soon, it’s all about touring just now. We go to Belgium, Norway and Germany next week then straight to Australia (The Wombats are huge over there, with This Modern Glitch debuting at number two on the charts in 2011 before repeating the feat with Glitterbug) where we’ve got Splendour In The Grass and a few shows around that. Lollapalooza in Chicago, Reading & Leeds, another UK tour, European Tour, US tour and an Australian tour. After all of that, we’ll see where we are.”
