The Glasgow PodcART

Remember Remember creator Graeme Ronald is a composer in every sense of the word. His music rouses emotion from the mere tinkle of an upper octave piano to the delay of a timid guitar.

The repetitive nature of his music is the beauty of it. Not only does it remind you of the beautiful passages that waft around your ears but it also forges and sculptures sand dunes of bliss. The emotion created throughout his debut self-titled album is breathtaking.

By Alistair Burton

Songs such as ‘Imagining Things (i)’ are some of the most thought provoking pieces you are likely to hear. It conjures feelings of euphoria, almost like opening your curtains first thing in the morning and seeing that first cloud in a bright blue sky. Happiness like that is hard to recreate sometimes but Ronald is a genius in this respect.

Glasgow PodcART chatted to Graeme about his time in Tokyo,  his next album and of course Hinterland.

Where are you based and how many members are there?
I live in Glasgow, well I actually live in Lenzie which is a suburb outside of Glasgow, but I guess you could call it a Glasgow band. As for band members, well sometimes there is one and I think the most there’s been is 11 or 12. Essentially it’s not a band in the strictest sense of the word, I guess it’s a collective or a solo project with collaborators because it started off as me just making music on my own. That’s the one constant thing throughout the stuff that’s been done, through all the gigs and songs that are on the album. I don’t mean to underplay others contribution but if I want to do an album with a different band or different people it gives me freedom.

How long have Remember Remember been going for?
Well the first time I came up with music and came up with the name Remember Remember was about 5 years ago but that never left my bedroom it was just sharing a flat, borrowing a friend’s computer and making some tunes. For starters I hate going to see people playing music and just seeing a guy on his laptop I couldn’t think of anything more boring, but I couldn’t think of any other way of playing those songs than on a computer so they never left my bedroom. I guess about 2006 that’s when I did my first gigs on my own with a guitar and a loop station.

You spent some time in Japan at the start of the year. How did that come about and what was it like being out there?
It was incredible, it was a really good thing to do but in a sense a bad way to start the year because I am just totally depressed I am not in Japan anymore. Mogwai on their record label Rock Action had put out my album and asked me if I wanted to go to Japan. So I shat myself a little, almost literally on stage (laughs). The only draw back was because they were bringing me with them they could only really afford to take me on my own so I couldn’t take any members. This was a solo show which for me was great but not ideal because there were so many extra instruments on the record like saxophones, violins, flutes that I can’t physically play I use loops and things like that. I was having to play saxophone parts on a telephone and flute parts on a melodica so it was weird like toy parts.

The concert times are pretty early over there, but every single night right from the support the venue is full. There is total silence when you perform which is surreal, when sometimes you are used to people talking drunken pish when you are playing. The kids are just so mega friendly, this one girl printed 9 cubes of chocolate with the latest Mogwai album cover, one had Celtic Football club on it and another had the Remember Remember logo on it. The attention to detail was just amazing.

It’s very hard to find information on Remember Remember on the Myspace and so forth, is that a conscious decision?
Yeah it kind of is. Part of it is I don’t think it’s necessary to know that much about the person that makes the music, I mean obviously people are very interested in that side of things but I don’t think I am very interesting. It creates a sense of mystery about who is in the band whether its one person or more. All the people have to go on is the music and it’s a kind of puzzle that they have to figure out.

Do you follow any particular processes when you are writing?
I don’t know if its laziness, but I like to wait for inspiration. I mean I sit around with a guitar and wait for things to come to me but I like walking around and you know when you just get a tune in your head and you’re not sure where it comes from. It may be a tune you have heard on the radio but it’s messed up in your head. I sing it into a Dictaphone so I don’t forget it, once that is solid and remembered its just easier to build up. That’s the one thing I think I am good at, the main tool I use for writing music is just a loop pedal and I plug my guitar into that and I just play about with it for hours. I imagine the other parts whilst playing that, once the bare bones are set I will take it to the rest of the band.

Your music is very emotive, what inspires you?
I am really happy  you say it’s emotive despite no words because the one thing I am constantly in fear of is that with instrumental music there is a constant struggle you are going to make background music. I want there to be emotional content to it because the inspiration is me basically expressing myself and how I felt at the time. If a bunch of bad stuff happens I won’t write anything but afterwards when I reflect on it that’s when I write and turn it into something like catharsis I suppose. I want to evoke that feeling in the music without sounding too pretentious, I am not 100% sure what it is and words are so definite.

Is there work being done on a second album?
With the first album a lot of the writing was drawn from experiences from growing up in Glasgow and it covered about 6 years of my life. I want to go in a different direction with the second album. I have written a bunch of new songs for the next album, the second album is called ‘The Quickening’ (laughs). There is going to be a lot more drums on the second album, its going to be a lot more rhythmic and a lot faster.

(Note: – We are not going to print the meaning behind the album title, we would rather see if people get the joke.)

What do you think about the Scottish Music network at the moment?
I think there are a lot of good small bands, in the last few years there have been a lot of DIY promoters which has been

By Alistair Burton

great for the city. People that actually put on not only local bands but also touring bands that will raise money for the unsigned smaller bands supporting. It ebbs and flows a little bit. Findo Gask are a great band, I love pop vocal harmony I think there is nothing more beautiful that vocal harmony, they manage to do it really well.

Where are you playing at Hinterland?
I am actually playing both days! Thursday I am playing in Nice ‘N’ Sleazys with Desalvo and Friday is in the Arches.

Are there any bands that you would want to see at Hinterland?
I would obviously love to see The Fall and also, Metronomy but the chances are slim as I am playing both nights. I am really happy I am going to see Desalvo as they are label mates and an insanely entertaining band, I would love to see Guanoman again.

If you could create a bill for Hinterland that you would also be on what would it be?
Beach Boys with Brian Wilson the Pet Sounds era, instead of him sitting at home eating pies and being a genius plus all the session musicians. Kraftwerk circa 1977 not with laptops but with the the old technology that was computers the size of houses. Finally, Animal Collective and Nirvana.

What can Hinterland expect from Remember Remember?
Since I am playing both nights I want to do a different kind of show on both nights. Since we are playing along with Desalvo I want to play a more rockier show with 2 or 3 of the more upbeat songs from the album. I think it’s going to be a 4 or 5 piece for Nice ‘N’ Sleazys and the full line up for The Arches show.

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