Catching up with Neil Arthur of Blancmange
Feature
In my latest look ahead to a major artist playing at the HMV Empire in Coventry (on October 6th), I'm pleased to say that I was able to chat with Neil Arthur, founder of Blancmange, which band first came to prominence more than forty years ago in the first explosion of electronic based pop music alongside the likes of Soft Cell and Depeche Mode & who have (albeit with a lengthy mid career hiatus) been producing original & progressive material ever since: their latest album being ‘Private View' which comes out conveniently the week before the concert.
I opened by asking Neil how the previous couple of years had been for him and how he managed to create the new album in such circumstances:
"Very strange. Frighteningly so…..I did manage to keep creative. Probably as a means of escape or more to the point a way of documenting, processing what was happening to us all and how I and others were affected by it. That was largely the case with the Blancmange album ‘Commercial Break', but with ‘Private View' I was trying to tackle, sometimes with difficulty, a larger canvas. Looking to a future, also reflecting on a past. Searching out and questioning….. but sonically my co-producer Benge and I try to experiment with the sounds we use, so keeping us on our toes."
What can fans expect in your setlist on the night?
"We'll play some songs from ‘Private View', along with songs from the 80's and some from the more recent albums."
Regarding your fans, have you a sense of who they are in 2022? Presumably many have been with you for the whole journey, but I'm guessing that the continuing success of your career means that you continue to win new admirers who weren't necessarily around when the band first hit it big?
"I think that's about right. It's great to see fans who've been there from more or less the start and brilliant to know that a younger generation are also enjoying our noise."
I also asked Neil about any new musicians he saw coming out of his own local music scene:
"I do try to listen or sometimes see local musicians, although as you know until recently, because of the pandemic, the latter hasn't been so easy. There's some pretty interesting stuff going on in the electronic field around here."
Along similar lines, but looking a bit more broadly, are there any up and coming artists you can recommend to our readers?
"You wouldn't call them up and coming, as they've been around a while but, Ed Dowie, Alice Hubble, Low Altitude and Finlay Shakespeare."
Looking ahead, do you have any other plans you can share with us please?
"I have just finished an album with Finlay Shakespeare and Liam Hutton, which will come out next year. There are a few other projects waiting in the wings and more Blancmange too."
Are there any other musicians on a bucket list of people you'd particularly like to work with?
"Fats Waller."
Blancmange play the HMV Empire on 6th October (£28). Tickets available via this link: http://www.hmvempire.com
‘Private View' comes out on September 30th
