ANDY BELL OF RIDE
Hi Andy and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology.
Firstly congratulations on the new album. You are returning in 2019 with This Is Not A Safe Place after a two year break from Weather Diaries. A two year stint similar to that of Nowhere (1990), Going Blank Again (1992) and Carinval of Light (1994). We had to wait a long time till Weather Diaries (2017) but so often the 24 month period is one that marks the time between records. Is there a creative reasoning behind this and during each of the breaks between records, has the returning approach always been the same?
Thank you. No, it’s just how long it takes. We would have got this one out sooner but we needed to wait about three months before Alan Moulder was free to mix it.
The lead single off the album Future Love features a great film clip in a photo booth. Did you storyboard a few different concepts before arriving at this idea or was it always what you had in mind to accompany the single?
It’s a great video but our only input was approving one treatment out of a selection our management provided. We all like the film Buffalo 66, that’s why we chose this one.
Of the twelve tracks on the record both R.I.D.E! and 15 Minutes in particular stand out. R.I.D.E! for its wholehearted embrace of electronica and 15 Minutes for that quintessential signature sound that is so characteristic of Ride. Is it fair to say that these tracks highlight the dichotomy of genres you wanted to oscillate between on the album?
Nice that those two stand out for you. All these contrasts might be a bit subjective though. There’s an equal amount of electronics on either track and if you asked me to say which feels more like the archetypical Ride sound, I would have chosen R.I.D.E ! Not saying you’re wrong or anything, it just goes to show it’s all in the ear of the beholder.
In terms of the writing and lyrical content, was there an overarching narrative tying the album together or an assortment of topics and inspirations that zig zag throughout the record?
Some of the songs share a narrative but there’s quite an assortment over the whole record.
Some familiar faces feature on This Is Not A Safe Place including remixer Erol Alkan and sound engineer Alan Moulder. With Erol and Alan knowing Ride and your sonic history, was this a key dynamic in terms of being able to accentuate and further explore what is fundamentally the Ride sound as well as new electronic directions because of the long standing relationships you have with gentlemen?
It’s really because Weather Diaries worked so well, that we decided to use a pretty much identical team on the new record.
The album artwork for Ride has always been iconic and Nowhere is an instantly recognisable album. There is a little nod to this on the new record. Was that an intentional idea to close the circle between it and This Is Not A Safe Place some thirty years down the road?
Yes.
The influence of your albums have reverberated throughout the decades much like that of Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and Disintegration by The Cure. Of all your works what tracks / albums are you most proud of in terms of where they sit in the musical landscape and the personal satisfaction they continue to give you?
For me I think it is Nowhere.
Having meet and performed with so any different musicians and artists over the years, during that time, has there been any defining moments or words of wisdom that were spoken to you which really resonated with you and in turn altered the way you approach your craft?
Not exactly but everyone I worked with in the years while Ride were apart taught me so much.
You will be touring Australia later in the year on the back of your new record for which you obviously will be performing a lot tracks from This Is Not A Safe Place but peppering the set will be back catalogue songs from previous albums. This begs the question that when pairing older tracks to accompany the new, does it say more about bout their sound, style and meaning because of the ones you have selected?
The set does feel different with new (post reunion) songs in it. We have settled on a formula of about 50/50 pre and post reunion songs for our gigs. It seems to work pretty well and bring out the best in both.
