Probably one of UK’s most out there math-rock outfits is Brighton’s I’m Being Good. The band’s history goes back to the beginning of the 1990s and initially started out as a bedroom project of guitarist/singer Andrew Clare. The band has five albums, a compilation, 7 inches and loads of free form digital releases up their sleeves and mostly released on Andrew’s label Infinite Chug but they’ve also released for labels like Kill Rock Stars, Jonson Family, Ché and their latest album, Mountain Language, was released by Nottingham’s indie label Gringo Records.
The band has undergone quite some line up shifts through it’s two decades of existence but the main core of the band today has remained the same for six years and consists of Stuart O’Hare guitar, drummer Tom Barnes (also of Drum Eyes, Sloath and Sweet Williams) and Andrew who also makes music under his own name and Pine Forest but has done several other projects and collaborations with DJ Scotch Egg, Thurston Moore and Derek Bailey. Past members include members of The Go! Team, Comet Gain and Huggy Bear.
I’m Being Good have released a new improvised album entitled Shadow School exclusively on gogoyoko and it was recorded during the Mountain Language sessions. The near future will see a new full length by these unsung underground heroes that has been praised by BBC hosts John Peel and Huw Stephens, XFM London’s John Kennedy and loads of experimental rock enthusiasts.
Benedikt Reynisson had a chat with Andrew and Tom about their newest album, today’s music scene, music online etc..
I’m Being Good have been at it for about two decades now (correct me if I’m wrong) which is an admirably long period for just about any band, especially if they sustain a good creative output. What has helped you maintain your creativeness and made you keep on going all this time?
Andrew: I guess we do I’m Being Good for our own entertainment, and if you’re in it for the long haul you have to keep things interesting for yourself. Also, disinterest from the outside world kind of makes you feel like you can do whatever the hell you want because no-one’s watching — so that can be quite liberating, creatively.
How does Mountain Language differ from previous I’m Being Good releases in your opinion?
Andrew: I think it has more character.
Tom: The current line up of the band has a more solid, dense sound and this comes across on the album. Also, I think there is more variety on this record than any previous one. Each song is different to the preceding one.
I’ve always found I’m Being Good’s music having a mean sound and on Mountain Language I feel you’re at your meanest. Do you agree?
Andrew: Thanks! We hate the world.
What are your thoughts about file sharing and music streaming on outlets like gogoyoko, Youtube, Vimeo, Bandcamp etc.? Is it good or bad or both?
Andrew: I think it’s a bit of both. For us, it’s nice to have a means of dissemination that doesn’t involve radio, music press, or distributors (since all those avenues seem to be closed to us). Also, iPhones are very expensive, so it’s important that people should be able to check your band out for free and keep their money for more meaningful lifestyle-defining purchases.
On the downside, kids seem pretty blase about music these days now that they’ve got it on tap, and for some reason we seem to require a degree of commitment from the listener. It might take a few listens — or at least one listen the whole way through — for an album to make sense. Dismissing a band on a single track is like pushing a whole plate of food away because you don’t like carrots; it’s rude and makes you look like an asshole.
Tom: I’m pretty fickle on this subject but my current thinking is that we lack a decent filter for the almost infinite amount of choice there is out there in the music world nowadays. I miss John Peel. I want a human who isn’t interested in hip points to filter some fun stuff out of this endless stream of ego – and present it to the mainstream as legitimate. It doesn’t seem like there is anyone out there to do it. How the hell do you navigate it all otherwise? Blogs are all very well but the good ones are dedicated to music of the past. Perhaps I’m not looking in the right places.
How’s the music scene in Brighton these days, any bands worth checking out?
Andrew: Quite a few! Sweet Williams, Sloath, Fat Bitch, Vortex Collisions, Headquarters, Davidd Winter, all good stuff.
Tom: I really like Cold Pumas too, they’re getting more hypnotic with every show.
Are there any plans of touring outside the UK in coming future?
Andrew: Yes, but they keep falling through. We’ll try to get back to Iceland one of these days.
The UK music scene, especially the underground scene, has been coughing up more diverse and original artists the last years with the arrival of labels like Upset The Rhythm, No Pain In Pop, Young Turks etc. This is of course my opinion, what’s your feeling about this?
Andrew: I think it’s all empty, bullshit dead-eyed genre music.
Tom: I had to look up the last two labels you mentioned to have a listen, though I had heard of them. Mostly it’s shoe-gaze bands I guess, and a bit style over substance. I shouldn’t give them too hard a time though, it’s what I was doing when I was 18. Upset The Rhythm is something separate as far as I’m concerned – they’ve been going a long time and they have done a lot of good for music in London. They’ve made their own “cool” but they’ve never tried to manufacture it.
The economy is struggling almost everywhere you look. What effect do you think this has on music and art in the long run? In Iceland music has been getting better since the economy collapsed and also the sales have gone up.
Andrew: I think if we had a supportive welfare system here it would be a good thing; dissent and boredom always yield good art, but only if the disenfranchised aren’t pouring their creative energies into shelf-stacking at Tesco.
