INTERVIEW

Camera Obscura are Scotland’s contribution to underground indie, the band who produce a sixties-influenced resonance with sardonic soprano. The six-piece have just played their last UK date for their tour of the new album, Lets Get Out Of This Country. We take a few moments of Camera Obscura’s sound check to talk to lead vocalist and guitarist Tracyanne Campbell.

Since forming in 1996, the band have never played the predictable Rock venues. Instead they have chosen to play coy venues with character, such as Hyndland Church Hall. Tracyanne explains this is because “I don’t think we felt comfortable playing the usual circuit. We were happy to play in places we thought we’d have a nicer time.”

Stuart Murdoch, of Belle and Sebastian, helped produce the bands earlier single Eighties Fan. This has resulted into the continual comparison of both bands, however this seems an easy observation if one was to look deeper there are more artists akin to Camera Obscura’s music, such as Nancy Sinatra. When pressed on this issue Tracyanne exclaims that, “I listen to music because it makes me feel something. It’s a strange thing for me to assume that you can only ever be inspired or influenced by another group.” For someone who clearly has such a deep relationship with music it is important to understand Tracyanne’s sentiments on the current music scene: “I think I’ve totally found my enthusiasm for new music again after not being too interested. I really love Midlake, My Morning Jacket, El Perro Del Mar, The Tiny and Sleepy Jackson.”

We now see the interview take a more personal tone. It’s a common fabrication that doing what the likes of Camera Obscura are doing is the ultimate dream, this myth needed to be dispelled or confirmed. Tracyanne admitted playing the same material religiously is hard, but having a bigger catalogue of songs helps overcome this void of motivation; “you can really get bored playing songs but I’ not bored playing the new stuff, and because of the new stuff we’re not bored of the old stuff because we don’t have to play it every night.” She then adds that she was pretty much ready to call it a day before the band made the last album if things didn’t change but she informed us “things seem to be changing”.
Until now Camera Obscura have never worked with a producer, but for Let’s Get Out Of This Country they decided to fly over to Sweden to work with Jari Haapalainen; producer behind the likes of The Concretes and Ed Harcourt. Tracyanne averred this great experience allowed them to learn how to be a better band. “There’s no bullshit with him, if he doesn’t like something he’ll challenge you. He’s got a lot of integrity. One of the first things he said to me was ‘Yeah, you’re records are alright, but you’re quite a boring singer. It’s nice but it’s nothing special.’ But I like that.”
Writing Let’s Get out Of This Country had a therapeutic consequence for Camera Obscura as it helped them get over a lot of worries and changed the nature of the band. So for such an outcome it is important for the band’s audience to understand what the single is about. Tracyanne explained that she was fed up with the group, and fed up with being in Glasgow. But mainly fed up with feeling, not like she was wasting her life, just not really living it. “It’s a song about changing, having the courage to change, and to sort of think more about the importance of being alive. So many people live their lives and don’t really think about it; they just get up in the morning and go to some crap job that they hate. They never think about being selfish and doing what they really want to do. And I wanted to change, and do what I really wanted to do. “

Often bands differ greatly in live and studio performances, an interesting point to consider is to what extent this difference, if any, affects the band in question. In a moment if admirable honesty Tracyanne shared that the band are now finding their feet after being uncomfortable playing live. She then goes on to say, “I wouldn’t really like to compare because I don’t think it’s important when a band don’t sound exactly like their record. I used to obsess about that and think that’s why we had such a hard time playing live. It’s hard to see yourself on stage and feel confident you’re giving people what they want.”

So what can Camera Obscura fans expect in the future? Well, the band intend to make another album, and are hoping to do a Spanish tour at the end of the year, then they’re back in America for six weeks, after that they are going to New Zealand, and want to do another British tour. Somewhere in between this busy, yet reputable, agenda they have to write songs to do it. After all being in a band isn’t about touring the same album for two years, in Tracyanne’s words, “You don’t do this to play the same songs every night. I need to express myself.”

Rikki Roche

http://www.camera-obscura.net/