You can safely assume you’ve gotten the music world’s attention when you draw comparisons to Coldplay or Muse. It’s been this kind of buzz that has already made Air Traffic one of Britain’s most promising up-and-coming bands, and the Bournemouth natives are ready to make a name for themselves in the States as well with the American release of Fractured Life. The album was already released overseas back in July of 2007, with the debut record finding a spot on the UK’s Top 40 charts thanks in part to vocalist/pianist Chris Wall’s infectious work on the keys. But guitarist Tom Pritchard told Ultimate-Guitar that there’s another side to Air Traffic that is likely to emerge in future albums: one that is driven by the sound of a gritty, amped-up guitar.
Although he loves composing alongside Wall (who does dish out some incredibly catchy melodies and has a voice similar to Muse‘s Matthew Bellamy), Pritchard said there is more of a traditional rock sound waiting in the wings. The band has already begun working on songs for the sophomore album, which Pritchard has called “angrier” and “edgier.” So don’t get too comfortable with Air Traffic’s current sound – that Coldplay sound could very well be given a heavy dose of distortion in the near future.
UG: There’s primarily a piano-driven sound to most of the songs on Fracture Life, but a few tracks like “Charlotte” are definitely straightforward rock. Can you give us an idea of how you worked out the guitar parts during the songwriting process?
Tom: It’s more like a collaboration of songs we’ve written before getting signed. It’s been about 3 years worth of songs, which makes it sound more diverse. We’ve got more of the piano-y type of songs and then we have full-out guitar parts, so it’s kind of up and down. Normally one person has an idea for a song, brings it to the rest of the guys, and then we just mess around with it. Whatever suits the song best comes out.
Did most of the ideas grow from a piano line, or were there some instances where a riff started it all?
Yeah, probably the 2 main guitar songs on the album. “Charlotte” and “Get In Line,” they were based on guitar riffs. Sometimes Chris will bring something he’s got on the piano, and then we mess around a bit and I think of something on the guitar. Suddenly it turns into a completely different song. We just feed off of each other.
I read a quote from Chris in which he mentioned that your hometown of Bournemouth, England, wasn’t the best place to find a musical venue. Is that true?
In Bournemouth they don’t really have many bands playing. It’s more of a club culture with DJs and all that kind of thing. So it’s mainly a nightclub culture. Because there isn’t a mass audience for people to watch live music, people that had live music venues didn’t make enough money. So quite a lot of them closed down while we were still starting out, and we had to go back home frequently, too. There’s hardly anything now. So for bands playing around in that area, it’s pretty rubbish.
Who were some of the guitarists that inspired you to initially start playing?
I grew up listening to my dad’s music, and he was a massive fan of The Stones and The Who. So then I started delving into his punk collection and started listening to The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and Talking Heads. I’m really into Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Iggy & The Stooges, all those kinds of things. I’m more of the dirty, scratchy member of the band! Everyone else is kind of a bit cleaner. I guess the ones I like, they’re the 3-chord bands! That’s more kind of my style of rock.
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| "While we were doing the album, we were still developing ourselves." |
You mentioned that the other guys in the band tended to be a bit “cleaner.” What do they listen to?
Not in a bad way. It’s more like I would be into The Stones while they would be into The Beatles. That kind of thing. Dave, the drummer, he loves a lot of West Coast music like The Beach Boys and that kind of vibe. So when I say “cleaner,” I mean that more production has gone into it. I like it more when there are a couple of guitar takes, shove some vocals over the top of it, smash the guitars, and go home!
Do you have quite a few songs appearing on the next album that suit your particular rock style?
We do play a lot more guitar songs live. I guess it’s more like 50/50 live. On some stages you have to play a bit livelier, edgier stuff, while some shows want more of piano and that kind of side. It’s really how I’m feeling that night.
While we were doing the album, we were still developing ourselves. So we only really had those 2 songs that were completely finished at the time the album came out. I always try to bring the guitar out. I don’t just want to be a in a band where the piano is the main thing and the guitar is just backing it up. I still want the guitar to get into the forefront of everything as well. There is a lot of feedback going on in everything in the album. It just makes it a bit scratchier and a bit dirtier. You’ve still got the piano on the top to bring it back a bit.
What do you use to create that scratchy, dirty guitar sound?
I mainly use a lot of Hiwatt amps. I’ve got an AC30 and a couple of Fender Twins. I just really crank them up and get them to sound really rich and dirty. I mainly used Telecasters. I’ve got a Gibson SG, and it’s used for a bit heavier stuff like “Get In Line” and “Charlotte” to beef it up. Otherwise, there’s not really much there. It’s just standard stuff you can find in any guitar shop, really. I’ve got delay pedals and a couple of RAT distortion pedals. It’s kind of basic. I mainly rely on how it sounds off the piano and how you feel at the time.
Are there any guitarists that you think deliver the sound you’re usually after?
It’s a cross between Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead and Graham Coxon from Blur. They were kind of the main 2 guitarists when I was growing up that I wanted to see what they used.
How old were you when you picked up the guitar?
I was 15, I think, when I first started. My parents had always played the piano, but I wanted to try and play the guitar. So there were people always coming around playing the guitar, and I would have a little go here and there. It wasn’t until I was actually 15 that I could really play. My parents bought me a guitar for Christmas and I started playing promptly.
Can you recall what that first guitar was?
Oh, they got me a Christmas starter pack thing! It had a tiny little Marshall amp. I think it was the Marshall Rocket pack. It’s probably under some cupboard with cobwebs on it!
You’ve already tasted success overseas and had the opportunity playing on the Jools Holland show. What was that experience like?
Actually, I don’t really remember! It was one of those things that I was so excited about playing that the next day you wake up and you go, “God, I just played Jools Holland last night!” It was a great experience. It was one of those programs that all 4 of us grew listening to and watching. It was the main television program where bands could actually play on it. It’s still really incredible today and it’s great to be a part of that.
I imagine that it is pretty surreal experience.
Yeah, you kind of daydream and you wake up and feel like, “Wow, this is still happening.” Then you question it quite a lot. Other days it’s kind of like you just take it for granted, which is really horrible. I hate those days. It’s always nice just going to America, playing America. We played SXSW last year and it was like, “Christ, we’re playing in Texas!” It does take a lot to take things in sometimes.
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| "We do play a lot more guitar songs live." |
How would you describe the SXSW crowd?
It’s just like one massive party! We absolutely loved it because people would be standing outside and sticking their heads through the windows to watch us play. It was great and I loved every second of it.
You’re in the middle of a lengthy touring schedule, but do you find time to still write on the road?
We’ve tried a few times. One of us may have had an idea while we’re on tour and when we get off tour we’ll go into the studio and try the idea out. We don’t really seem to work very well as a 4-piece on the road. It’s a bit hard to get together and be in the same space and be in the same mindset. One of us could be strumming an acoustic guitar backstage while no one else is around. When we get back to England we’ll go into the studio and say, “Oh yeah, I got this messing around on tour and we can work on it now.” Ideas can come from the road, but we don’t really seem to have the big picture of the song until we go into the studio.
You mentioned that someone might come up with an idea on the acoustic on the road. Considering you prefer songs that are based around a crunchier, dirtier sound, how often do you develop ideas on an acoustic?
I think an acoustic guitar is more accessible and you can play it anywhere. The thing I normally find is when I play an acoustic guitar, I end up writing a song that an acoustic guitar is made for. It’s a bit slower. When you pick up an electric guitar, you think of songs that are a bit more upbeat and hectic.
Do you primarily plan on touring in the coming months or do you have time to put out any other CDs or DVDs?
We plan on touring as much as possible. We’ve got a lot scheduled for America and for the rest of Europe. We’re in the studio this week and working on new ideas we’ve got kicking around. We’ve got quite a lot more recordings to try out. People here might go, “Hey, when is the second album?” We want to be a bit prepared when that happens, so we’re currently doing that now.
And we can expect the guitar to make a heavy appearance on the upcoming album?
Yeah. The songs are a lot more developed and they sound a lot more mature. Fractured Life, we wrote when we were about 19, 20. I know that was only a few years ago, but a lot has happened in those 2 or 3 years. We’ve had different experiences from being on the road. It’s a bit angrier and a bit edgier, even in Chris’ voice. We’re playing it live while we’re on tour. So if people want to come down, we’ll be playing our new stuff as well.
Interview by Amy Kelly
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