JOHN HARLE & MARC ALMOND – The Dark Side of London Town
Following up his acclaimed Art Music release from last year, John Harle has teamed up with Marc Almond for The Tyburn Tree. An album that tells of tales of London’s dark past, the collaboration through Harle’s music and Almond’s words conjures up an almost ghostly and unworldly look at the darker side of the city's history.
If at first the pair appear unlikely stable mates then a cursory glance at their respective CVs would indicate that a meeting at some point would be inevitable, as both embrace a wide musical vocabulary and a healthy disregard for genre pigeon holing.
With Harle and Almond about to embark on a tour of the UK performing music from The Tyburn Tree, and with rehearsals taking up much of their time it was nice to get the comments of both musicians about this most unusual project and their work together.
If at first the pair appear unlikely stable mates then a cursory glance at their respective CVs would indicate that a meeting at some point would be inevitable, as both embrace a wide musical vocabulary and a healthy disregard for genre pigeon holing.
With Harle and Almond about to embark on a tour of the UK performing music from The Tyburn Tree, and with rehearsals taking up much of their time it was nice to get the comments of both musicians about this most unusual project and their work together.
Many visitors to this website will I’m sure remember Marc Almond for his work as one half of the eighties pop duo Soft Cell, and in particular the hit song ‘Tainted Love’. Before we start on the serious business of talking about the new album I ask Marc how he views a song that he seems to be indelibly linked with. “I have a great fondness for ‘Tainted Love’ and I'll always be happy to sing it, it gets such a great reaction for people. When I tour with Jools Holland and his band, which I'm doing all this year, we do a big Band version with brass which works so well. I couldn't exactly pinpoint its continuous success, it’s very
infectious and its timeless simple mix of synthesizer and vocal still gives it a modern sound. It’s been sampled by so many artists it is in peoples DNA now. It also is a big part of people’s treasured memories.”
Some thirty years on from ‘Tainted Love’ Almond has continued to perform in a variety of contexts, but at first glance his collaborations with saxophonist and composer Harle would seem unlikely with both apparently coming from opposite sides of the musical spectrum. “I met John for the first time for this project but I recorded two vocals for his Art Music album before we began recording The Tyburn Tree” explained Marc. “John is fantastic to work with and fun, he pushes me but that's great because I can take my vocals to other places. He knows what he wants and has a clear vision of what his music should sound like and how he wants my vocal to sound. I go from quite low range to high on Tyburn.”
infectious and its timeless simple mix of synthesizer and vocal still gives it a modern sound. It’s been sampled by so many artists it is in peoples DNA now. It also is a big part of people’s treasured memories.”
Some thirty years on from ‘Tainted Love’ Almond has continued to perform in a variety of contexts, but at first glance his collaborations with saxophonist and composer Harle would seem unlikely with both apparently coming from opposite sides of the musical spectrum. “I met John for the first time for this project but I recorded two vocals for his Art Music album before we began recording The Tyburn Tree” explained Marc. “John is fantastic to work with and fun, he pushes me but that's great because I can take my vocals to other places. He knows what he wants and has a clear vision of what his music should sound like and how he wants my vocal to sound. I go from quite low range to high on Tyburn.”
Continuing Almond says “The Tyburn Tree is a musical song cycle about dark London and its myths and folklore. The Tyburn Tree was the name for the Hanging Gallows at Marble Arch in 1571. Both John and I share an interest in British and particularly London History. John had already had an idea in doing a project called Dark London and after hearing some of my music on an album called Feasting With Panthers and of my work in Mark Ravenhill's and Conor Mitchell's song cycle Ten
Plagues, thought I would be perfect voice to collaborate with on this project.”
“Although Marc sang on my album Art Music last year we've been planning The Tyburn Tree for longer than that” adds John Harle. “It seemed that we'd both been planning this album independently of each other, because when we met around two years ago, we described the same album to each
other!”
So what was it that particularly drew you to the subject matter of London's dark history? Why did it resonate so much for you? “We are both from the North of England,” says Harle “but spent most of our working lives in London. Northerners see and think about London differently to Londoners. They see the roots of power in the streets and the romance of the history in a different way. This is a love affair with a mythological and the dark history of London.”
Plagues, thought I would be perfect voice to collaborate with on this project.”
“Although Marc sang on my album Art Music last year we've been planning The Tyburn Tree for longer than that” adds John Harle. “It seemed that we'd both been planning this album independently of each other, because when we met around two years ago, we described the same album to each
other!”
So what was it that particularly drew you to the subject matter of London's dark history? Why did it resonate so much for you? “We are both from the North of England,” says Harle “but spent most of our working lives in London. Northerners see and think about London differently to Londoners. They see the roots of power in the streets and the romance of the history in a different way. This is a love affair with a mythological and the dark history of London.”
“London's colourful and dark history has always held a deep fascination for me and I've collected and read many books on it,” continues Marc. “My favourite is Peter Ackroyd's ‘London, A Biography’. London is a place of myth and legend none more so than the myths
surrounding Jack The Ripper and the area of London where the Murders happened and the speculation of who did it. My favourite periods of London’s history are Georgian and Victorian and even though London is currently undergoing a lot of new building work, sometimes sadly losing some of its history, you can still see many places of historical note and link them with the stories of things that happened there. I also think that Jack the Ripper is the utmost mythical figure of London but we've referred to some of the many myths surrounding him like it was thought in a report at the time that the murderer was more likely some kind of creature than a man, maybe a kind of Minotaur because of the Labyrinth of streets around White Chapel and Limehouse at the time. Spring Heeled Jack is my favourite London Urban Myth. There were also press reports of a Vampire who'd
been seen in High Gate Cemetery unsurprising as the Cemetery is like a scene from a Hammer Horror film with Gothic Crypts that were frequently broken into.”
Describing the music heard both on the album and the tour, Harle says “This is Progressive Music. Heavily influenced by rock, electronica and classical together. Fun and quirky - but with a solid beat!! Almond expands this further by adding “The music actually covers quite a few genres from folk to techno ambient and classical. There is some very tribal drums in a couple of songs, brass and voices. Quite Apocalyptic. I joke with John that it’s very Progressive Rock.
surrounding Jack The Ripper and the area of London where the Murders happened and the speculation of who did it. My favourite periods of London’s history are Georgian and Victorian and even though London is currently undergoing a lot of new building work, sometimes sadly losing some of its history, you can still see many places of historical note and link them with the stories of things that happened there. I also think that Jack the Ripper is the utmost mythical figure of London but we've referred to some of the many myths surrounding him like it was thought in a report at the time that the murderer was more likely some kind of creature than a man, maybe a kind of Minotaur because of the Labyrinth of streets around White Chapel and Limehouse at the time. Spring Heeled Jack is my favourite London Urban Myth. There were also press reports of a Vampire who'd
been seen in High Gate Cemetery unsurprising as the Cemetery is like a scene from a Hammer Horror film with Gothic Crypts that were frequently broken into.”
Describing the music heard both on the album and the tour, Harle says “This is Progressive Music. Heavily influenced by rock, electronica and classical together. Fun and quirky - but with a solid beat!! Almond expands this further by adding “The music actually covers quite a few genres from folk to techno ambient and classical. There is some very tribal drums in a couple of songs, brass and voices. Quite Apocalyptic. I joke with John that it’s very Progressive Rock.
“Having the ideas for the songs is the easy bit! Bringing all the disparate elements together and creating a sound-world that holds all the musical elements without being schizophrenic has been the biggest challenge” confirms Harle but Marc adds “Vocally it has been a challenge to sing a couple of the pieces, some of the words are delivered quite fast especially the William Blake words and it stretches my vocal range but I love a challenge. The whole experience of developing and recording the album has been exciting. When John played me the finished mixes I was knocked out. The hard bit is learning the songs but I think live they'll breathe a bit more.”
“Watching the songs come together gradually through Marc's lyrics and beginning to hear how all that fits together into an album and show is really exciting”, say Harle “but I think that we'll eventually find that the live shows are the most rewarding aspect of the collaboration.”
So what about your own musical influences? “That's a big question for someone like me” says John “so here's a list - make of it what you will! Pink Floyd, Pentangle, Harrison Birtwistle, Brain Eno, Peter Maxwell Davies, Duke Ellington, Soft Machine, King Crimson, Daphne Oram, Delia
Derbyshire, Steve Reich, Pat Metheny, old-fashioned Test Card music, Quincy Jones, Raymond Scott, Joe Meek, Herbie Hancock, John Zorn, Viv Stanshall, Manfred Mann, Laurie Johnson, Michael Nyman, Gavin Bryars and Rudy Wiedoeft.”
And from Almond “I love Jacques Brel the way he delivered a song with such emotion and energy, David Bowie with his re-invention's and covering musical genres but not afraid to take risks, Peter Hammill (of Van Der Graaf Generator) his powerful vocal delivery and how he's so inventive and prolific and Marc Bolan for his Pop Glamour to name just a diverse few..”
Finally, how would you describe the music on the album? “It should feel like a dream - surreal -subconscious elements vying for dominance - surprising and ultimately both fun and uplifting” says Harle. “The music is for everybody - despite being dark, there's no 'explicit content' warning on the show! Anybody who's heard of at least two of the musicians on my list in the influences question should love it! And of course people who love the emotional and theatrical voice of Marc Almond!”
“Watching the songs come together gradually through Marc's lyrics and beginning to hear how all that fits together into an album and show is really exciting”, say Harle “but I think that we'll eventually find that the live shows are the most rewarding aspect of the collaboration.”
So what about your own musical influences? “That's a big question for someone like me” says John “so here's a list - make of it what you will! Pink Floyd, Pentangle, Harrison Birtwistle, Brain Eno, Peter Maxwell Davies, Duke Ellington, Soft Machine, King Crimson, Daphne Oram, Delia
Derbyshire, Steve Reich, Pat Metheny, old-fashioned Test Card music, Quincy Jones, Raymond Scott, Joe Meek, Herbie Hancock, John Zorn, Viv Stanshall, Manfred Mann, Laurie Johnson, Michael Nyman, Gavin Bryars and Rudy Wiedoeft.”
And from Almond “I love Jacques Brel the way he delivered a song with such emotion and energy, David Bowie with his re-invention's and covering musical genres but not afraid to take risks, Peter Hammill (of Van Der Graaf Generator) his powerful vocal delivery and how he's so inventive and prolific and Marc Bolan for his Pop Glamour to name just a diverse few..”
Finally, how would you describe the music on the album? “It should feel like a dream - surreal -subconscious elements vying for dominance - surprising and ultimately both fun and uplifting” says Harle. “The music is for everybody - despite being dark, there's no 'explicit content' warning on the show! Anybody who's heard of at least two of the musicians on my list in the influences question should love it! And of course people who love the emotional and theatrical voice of Marc Almond!”
The Tyburn Tree is released on Sospiro Records.
For more information visit the artists websites at
www.johnharle.com
www.marcalmond.co.uk.
For more information visit the artists websites at
www.johnharle.com
www.marcalmond.co.uk.