After four years in the making, India Electric Company present their third album Pomegranate, when they play Lighthouse on Friday 20 September. Here, the band – Cole Stacey (vocals, mandolin, guitar, percussion) and Joseph O’Keefe (piano, violin, guitar, accordion, bass, bodhrán) - answer a few of our questions...
The music of India Electric Co is nothing if not diverse, what should newcomers to your sound expect to see and hear at Lighthouse?
We’ll be bringing our traditional folk roots, dalliance with electronic analogue synths along with rhythms cultivated in lands further afield and an unadulterated love of pop. Drummer extraordinaire Russell Field will be joining us for the show as well as our usual plethora of instruments ranging from accordion to mandolin, tiny keyboards to bass pedals.
How does it work? Do you consciously decide to incorporate certain instruments and sounds and explore different elements of your music; or do songs evolve and develop over time?
Songs and sound evolve naturally and that’s reflected in our albums and live sound which began in our folk club acoustic guitar and violin days. This new album was made slightly differently from our previous albums. We started writing it in the heart of the pandemic, without even thinking about playing it live. Everything was written using borrowed samples, a tiny keyboard and we focused on creating the vibes we wanted to feel, despite being locked inside. It’s resulted in a more energetic album, inspired as much by acoustic textures as drum and bass.
How do you know when a piece is finished; or at least ready for the next stage, be that performance or recording?
For live it is probably always changing depending on the surroundings, the audience, the instruments at a particular show which is constantly changing and so if people have heard the same song 10 times, they will have probably heard 10 slightly different versions! It’s one of the joys of doing shows like this and getting to turn up and use your piano for example, we can adjust the songs accordingly, or that’s certainly the plan anyway!
The Midge Ure tour must have been quite an experience – not just its length – what did you learn about the music, the songs, the business? How was he to work with?
It’s been an extraordinary joyful learning curve working with Midge for 10 years now. Just learning his extensive back catalogue, picking his brains about songwriting and learning about all the synths would’ve been incredible, but coupled with touring the world it really has given such a solid grounding in what it’s like to tour properly, night after night. He’s incredibly kind to us and puts up with our mess and coffee paraphernalia on the tour bus and in dressing rooms.
When you’ve been immersed in someone else’s music for such a long time, how easy is it to get back into your own groove?
The two go hand in hand, they might be different textures and venue size but it’s still ultimately about that connection with an audience, be it live or in the studio, it means we get to come and play both venues at Lighthouse, which we love!
What’s next for India Electric Co?
We’re very much looking forward to getting back out on the road and bringing this new album to live audiences properly for the first time after four years in the making. We’d like to try and capture one of these shows with a proper recording and offer people who maybe can’t get to a concert the chance of hearing the songs live so that’s on our to-do list for the autumn!
:: India Electric Co are at Lighthouse on Friday 20 September. Tickets available at India Electric Co. – Lighthouse (lighthousepoole.co.uk)
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