Bastille’s Dan Smith has just released & (Ampersand) – an intimate record he started after the band returned from touring last year. Here, he talks us through the unique process that brought the project to life…
INTERVIEW: Miranda Bardsley PHOTO: Gregg Houston
Ampersand is a solo project exploring the stories of other peoples’ lives, whilst being under the Bastille moniker. What was the inspiration behind it?
“We’ve been making Bastille albums for over 10 years, and whilst we’ve done them, we’ve had these other strands to what we do. We’ve had mixtapes, re-orchestrated shows and releases, a documentary and collaborations I’ve done with other people. But I’ve always wanted to make an album that was different, that felt much more intimate, so when we finished touring last year, I got home and started picking up the threads of some songs that I’d begun. I’ve always written songs about other people, history, different cultures, mythology, and have always been interested in looking at subjects from different angles, so I got in touch with this amazing writer Emma Nagouse – who I now have a podcast with exploring the depths of the people in the album’s songs. She started sending me people from history who have been forgotten or remembered wrongly. It was so inspiring and really fun; she’s fucking hilarious. Then I decided to formalise it as its own project... Ampersand.”
You’ve described the creative process as artistically freeing for you. How so?
“Getting to make the Ampersand record, at home, writing most of the songs on my own, I loved it so much. I was a bit more settled, I had my own space and it was the first time really since the first Bastille album that I was able to wake up excited about a project and work on it throughout the day. There’s something about Bastille’s music which has always been quite escapist – a lot of it was made in my bedroom or in producer Mark Crew’s studio, so it was all about imagination and things would tend to get quite energetic; maybe this record is a slight reaction against that for a minute. I wanted it to be different, more chilled out, warmer, which spoke to the kind of music I listen to: Laura Marling, Adrianne Lenker, stuff that feels dreamier. I worked on the demos with friends like Moira Mack, and having the encouragement from people around me like Jonny Abraham from Public Service Broadcasting, Mark Crew and Charlie Barnes, my lead guitarist, and all these musicians was so helpful. It was important not to have too much going on sonically, and the whole process was just so easy. It felt like I did it for myself.”
How do you think this album will fit within the ‘Bastille canon’ when the band comes back together for your next project?
“I feel like Ampersand is something I’ll just keep working on. If we’re going to play a Bastille festival show, people might be disappointed if they hear these beautiful meandering Ampersand songs! [Laughs] But for me, there’s space for both, and I’ve always been quite good at compartmentalising things I’m working on. So I think it’ll be fun, and the next Bastille album will hopefully be all the better for it, more interesting and exciting, because it might be something that sits in opposition to this project, in a way. I’ve had a bunch of different albums that I’ve been working on, and this just happens to be the one where it feels like the right time. It’s been lovely. And I’m super excited for the next Bastille album.”
It’s been 11 years since you released your debut. What do you think has been the key to your sustained success as a band throughout the years?
“I’m not particularly forward thinking in that way, I’m just always focused on what I’m making next. But I do have this slightly pathological need to be constantly writing, whether it’s for Bastille, a song for someone else, a soundtrack, something no one knows I’m involved in! I just feel so lucky to still be able to make music and that people care about the band and have followed us genre-hopping and trying things out. I’ve never wanted to do one thing and I still don’t really understand the music industry – for me it has always been about keeping my head down and working on things that help me see the light of day.”
