Interview with Darren Hayman
0 Comments Published by Nat Lady on Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 10:08.
Darren and his band the Secondary Modern have just released a new self-titled album and, fresh back from a brief six-date tour across England and Scotland, Darren talks to Indie Mp3 about the new record, ukeleles, musical highlights from the past year and his fondness for Girls Aloud..........Why did you decide to call the band Secondary Modern? There's quite a lot of school references in some of your songs...
Secondary Modern was the originally the title of the song Art and Design. It works on a few levels. I like the Table for One and Secondary Modern link. It fits the songs about school and it also fits the theme of the next Secondary modern album, Pram Town.
Will you continue to make music with The French and, if so, what do you have planned?
No, I think The French is over, although we do have a lot of unreleased material. The French re-issue, which is coming out in late 2008 or 2009, will have a whole CD of unreleased songs on it. There is also a second album which remains unreleased, although some of those songs have appeared re-recorded on Table For One and Secondary Modern.
You have three very different music projects now- how do you fit it all in?! And did you make a conscious decision to move towards a more folky sound again?
Decisions like that are never entirely conscious or unconscious. I’m surrounded by more acoustic musicians and so I find myself naturally drifting towards that. However there was a conscious acknowledgement that people who like my music tend to like the more organic sounds.
How was the recent Secondary Modern tour? And are there plans for any more gigs soon?
It went well, people came to the shows - we rocked - but in general I’m looking forward to a long break from playing live.
You still play a lot of Hefner songs at your gigs- have you got any plans to reform at all?
No, none at all. And people make the mistake of thinking this is my decision alone. There are other members of Hefner who would also prefer not to reform.
Do you feel like you've moved away from Hefner lyric territory now?
I think the lyrics I write now have some connection to the words on We Love the City and Dead Media, but I feel quite removed now from the lyrics on Breaking God's Heart and Fidelity Wars.
What have been your personal musical highlights this year?
Well, I never feel a compulsion to listen to what’s current. In fact, I often find it easier to judge something a few years after the hype. For instance, I‘ve only just started listening to the Strokes. However, I have loved becoming a friend and a fan of the Wave Pictures this year, and - if the music press and public can stomach something truly unfashionable - then they may have some success. I also like to listen to things outside my genre so I really like the production and writing on things like Girls Aloud. I really like Kate Nash, but the song Dickhead is so bad it almost puts you off her completely.
Darren is actually playing a few gigs before Christmas, which you can read about here.
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