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Interview Details
OMD - Talking Loud And Clear
SubCulture Magazine
was fortunate enough to catch up with founding member, Andy McClusky, to inquire about OMD's upcoming re-release of Architecture & Morality CD plus brand-new DVD, their eagerly anticipated European tour, as well as their plans for 2008. Reformed with all original members, while OMD might be delighted to "be hip again" in today's '80s revival climate, true fans would argue that the strength of OMD's music never went out of fashion.-
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Architecture And Morality (EMI UK)
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The most obvious question is perhaps, what prompted this (wonderful) decision to reform and re-release a CD + DVD of Architecture & Morality?
We wanted to play
Architecture & Morality to reclaim the ground we use to hold as an experimental band that happened to write songs that sold millions. Many people see Architecture and Morality as the album that definitively captures that balancing act. Since we were playing the album live again Virgin asked if they could rerelease a digital enhanced DVD. -
Why have you waited for so long for this reunion to happen?
I carried on with OMD until 1996 when it seemed that being perceived as a '80s synth band was just banging my head against a brick wall of Brit Pop!
In the subsequent years I have been busy developing young acts in my recording studio in Liverpool. Paul has created the Onetwo Project with Claudia Brücken. Martin returned to his usual business of painting fantastic still life pictures and Mal has been doing whatever it is that Mal does. (Laughs) Now just seems the appropriate time for everyone to work again as OMD.
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What can fans expect from this new re-mastered edition?
The CD has been digitally re-mastered from the analogue tapes, so it sounds much better then the original CD from the '80s. It also includes all the b-sides from the album period, which were only ever available on vinyl. Our b-sides have always been very import to us it's where we usually do most of our experimental work. Nothing has ever been available before by OMD on DVD, so we thought it would be a good idea for people to see how we did
Architecture & Morality in 1981 and compare it with this years' tour. -
What are the plans for the tour in terms of band members overall thematic? Andy, with your recent surgery, what are you doing to make sure you are in tip-top tour shape --Physical therapy or just good old rest and relaxation?
OMD in 2007 is a odd collection of middle age men, we have a drummer who has had bypass surgery, a keyboard player who has to sit down cause he has a perforated disc and hopefully my knees will be up to the tour! I won't be jumping around as much as I use to but I have still had to get very fit.
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Is there a chance you all would extend the tour beyond Europe?
At the moment we are only playing in Europe, 2008 will see us expand our plan beyond.
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You all have always been pioneers when it comes to embracing new electronics in your albums. What types of sound or hardware are you currently experimenting with?
Modern technology is allowing us to sound fantastic on this tour, we have sampled all the original keyboard parts either from the old keys or the original multi-track tapes, they are all loaded in to Fhantom 8. Mal is using many of the original drum sounds in his Rowland electronic kit, and instead of the old tape recorder we are now able to run our backing tracks from Pro Tool, which allows infinite updating.
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Together with Human League, Spandau Ballet, Gary Numan, Heaven 17 and others you've led the British electronic new wave music scene of the late '70s early '80s. Your music has continued to influence current outfits and music up these days. How do you relate to what you hear on the radio, watch or listen online or see on MTV?
It is interesting to see electronic music has now come back into fashion as everything inevitably does. It is flattering to get name checked by many young bands these days who refer to us as an influence. We live in a wonderful postmodern world of music where nothing is out of fashion anymore. Regarding current music, it is the same as it ever was 95% is rubbish in any style you care to choose and 5% is genius done by pioneers.
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You have recently branched into the forays of myspace and the like. Are you finding a younger generation of fans discovering OMD through these types of community channels?
We do indeed to be finding a younger generation of fans partly through continual radio play or through the availability of our back catalogue on places like myspace and even their parents.
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Paul, Tell us a bit of your side project OneTwo with Claudia Brücken. You have just released a debut album Instead. What are the reactions you receive so far and are you planning on continuing focusing on that collaboration?
The reactions to Instead have been really positive Paul and Claudia worked a long time to perfect this album. They are delighted at the reception it's received and will certainly be working together in the future.
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Andy, we know that since OMD's 1996 swan song, Universal, you've been focusing on management and songwriting (Atomic Kitten, Genie Queen). You also started your own label. What else are you working on these days?
It has been a interesting eleven years from 1996 – 2007, developing young acts, writing songs for some of them and running my own recording studio, which has seen many new bands record their first single. Most noticeable the Arctic Monkeys, and "Fake Tales Of San Francisco", they also came back to do their second album.
To be honest, after eleven years of retirement and hanging up the mic. I'm really excited to be doing OMD again and I have effectively stopped working with other people.
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What is your favourite OMD album and why?
To use a cliché answer, it is of course impossible to pick a favourite OMD album. There are a few that have special meaning attached, the buzz of releasing the first album in the early '80s that went gold, the huge international success of
"Enola Gay" that helped sell the second album, Organisation, but I'd probably have to agree that as most other people seem to say Architecture & Morality capture the essence of what we were doing in the early '80s best. For me personally the success of the Sugar Tax album in 1991 which sold as much as Architecture & Morality was a great relief as well as very exiting. -
Why do you think there is so much appeal and impact to the music produced in the late '70s and early '80s?
I think the reason for the appeal of late '70s early '80s, especially electronic music is that enough time has now past for people to be able to objectively reasses it. As I have said before it seems these days that there is really nowhere new to go for music so people re-assess the past. I'm delighted to be hip again!
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And of course, perhaps, the most asked questions, are there plans for an album of new OMD material in the future?
Indeed there are plans for a new OMD album there is a lot of material already written, I think is sounds great but then I would wouldn't. I hope 2008 will see its release.
For more information on OMD see OMD Web site