Back in August 2020 Andy Bell released a brilliant single called Love Comes In Waves and he very kindly answered some questions for my blog. Being the lovely guy he is, Andy was 100% up for another interview ahead of 3 Scottish dates next month under the guise of GLOK, his electronic alter ego.
GLOK play Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms 11th October, Aberdeen, The Tunnels 12th October and Glasgow, Stereo, 13th October.
You can get tour tickets and pre-order Gateway Mechanics, the new GLOK album from this link.
Read on for an excellent interview. Andy is exceptionally open and honest as he reflects on his career, his songwriting and looks to the future. Is this an exclusive on a new Ride album?!
You've been super busy with Ride - the new albums have been fantastic and you've had a chance to reflect on your discography with reissues and playing albums in full on tour.
Are there any songs (old or new - maybe you could choose one of each) that you particularly look forward to playing live? Why?
I really love playing Seagull off Nowhere because it’s never the same twice. I saw some early footage of us playing it recently, from 1990 or so, and the start what I was playing was all straight strumming, and Loz was playing a kind of Velvets beat. Now we do a version which is a bit more faithful to the recorded version, but there’s still parts of the song that can go into new places each time we play it. Of the newer songs - Lannoy Point is a favourite because it gets the crowds going.
Seagull - Live on The Happening, 1990
When you're writing, do you know in advance if the song is for Ride? Or does it depend where the song takes you?
It’s not always immediately apparent and some would actually work in a variety of guises. But usually by the time I’ve finished a demo I know where it’s going to be going. If it’s a song with verses and choruses then it’s going to be for Ride, unless it’s going down a more folky path, which is often the sign that it will end up on a solo album. And the more dancey or soundscapey music is for GLOK. But I don’t work on 1 song and finish it. I work on dozens of things all at the same time, everything is unfinished, I just dip in and out, and eventually something sounds done. Time will pass and I’ll suddenly feel like grouping sets of tracks together and sending them off towards a final point.
You recently toured America with The Charlatans. How did that go? Would you consider a tour or some one-off shows in the UK? I'm sure either would be immensely popular!
It was brilliant and we’d like to do it again. And yes, I’d love to do it in the UK. They’re a lovely bunch of people and so are their fans.
NOTE - The Charlatans and Ride have just confirmed that they will be touring America again in early 2024.
You recently reissued Carnival Of Light, an album I really enjoyed when it was released. However, it is well documented that it created quite a bit of tension in the band at the time. Was it hard to revisit? What do you think of the album now? Do you have any favourite songs from it?
When I heard the remastered version I thought it sounded great, the production stood up really well. What I think it lets it down is my own songwriting and singing. I love the songs the rest of the band wrote, and some of mine on Carnival of Light are OK. The music and playing I like. I just don’t think I was playing to my strengths at the time. My favourites on the album are Moonlight Medicine and Only Now.
You seem to have everything pretty nailed at present; Ride, your solo material and also your electronic alias GLOK. How are you feeling about writing and creating? Are you 'in the zone' at present?
I am working through a process, something I’ve been going through for the last few years. I feel like I’m still clearing the decks and opening the channels for myself to get into some kind of ongoing flow state. The music I’ve released since 2019 is all part of that. What was going on up to that point I regard as some form of hoarding and I don’t think that’s very healthy artistically.
I’m definitely not there yet in terms of my headspace, there’s a time lag as well. Ironically the times when things are released can often end up being times when you feel at a dead end, possibly due to being in a different state mentally, having to look back over where you’ve been can prevent you seeing where you’re going. Right now I’ve not worked on anything new for weeks. It’s been a mad Summer and I’ve done almost no music, I’m feeling the lack of it, like I really miss it. I guess I broke my hand, that’s held me up a bit too. But saying all that, I feel like I’m getting into a better and better headspace musically all the time. It’s just an ongoing process.
With GLOK, what kind of set up do you have for playing live? And, at home or in the studio, do you have a favourite synth or drum machine?
I have my guitars, pedals and amps, and I have re-edited backing tracks which have been remixed by me from the GLOK multitrack masters, to play over. To play them I use DJ equipment because that allows me to extend or reduce different sections as and when I want to. For GLOK gigs I am also joined by my friend Chris (Innerstrings) who will be bathing the whole thing in a psychedelic light show.
You recently worked with Dot Allison who has released a beautiful album. Is there anyone you'd love to write for or play on a record with?
There’s an artist called Justine Forever, who has just released an incredible track called Klaus, I’d love to work on a track with her, but in a way I’m happy enough just listening to her music, it’s probably better than GLOK anyway.
Speaking of writing songs for people - You wrote songs for Oasis and Beady Eye. Would you ever consider writing a song for Liam and sending it on? He does have people writing for him. Turn Up The Sun was such a perfect song for him (and Oasis). I was at Benicassim in 2005 and you came on to play that first, it was so powerful.
I think with songs like Chinatown and Once, Liam has no need to be working with someone like me. He’s doing amazing and more power to him. The songs I wrote back in Oasis and Beady Eye, I’m very proud of them and he gave them everything vocally, he delivered them with total commitment every time, it was amazing. I think that Turn Up The Sun was the best thing I wrote for Oasis so it was an incredible feeling for me that it got played so much on that tour.
Turn Up The Sun - Benicassim 2005
What was your favourite Oasis song to play live? Why?
Rock n Roll Star was the one I had the best time playing, because it just rips.
Rock n Roll Star - Wembley Arena 2008
Lastly, what next? Any plans or are you going with the flow?
I have the GLOK UK tour in October, there’s also the GLOK live album Gateway Mechanics which is released on September 29th via ES (Electronic Sound).
You can get tour tickets and pre-order the album from this link:
https://linktr.ee/AndyBellGLOK
We also have a Ride album finished and ready to go. It’s been along time coming, without a doubt the longest gestation period ever for a Ride record. It was mastered by John Davis, who has tragically just passed away. John was a very talented man who was a lot of fun to be around, a huge Bowie fan, and so enthusiastic and positive. He’ll really be missed. So yeah, the records ready. We just signed off on the sleeve art and then it’s up to the record company to give us a release date. But we’re really happy with it.
