Iain Archer Interview
For some reason Bangor has produced no end of music talent in the last few years. Snow Patrol (nearly Bangor), Foy Vance, Steve Jones and by no means least Iain Archer. Iain has proven himself to be a talented performer and writer releasing his latest album ‘To The Pine Roots’ quietly on his website. 
We caught up with Iain to discuss his career to date and the ‘Pine Roots’ release.
When did you start playing guitar, What was your first guitar and what influenced you to take it up ?
I started playing when I was about thirteen. My dad plays very well, and at that time he had a black tele. I’d tried a few times before but didn’t quite have the attention span, but around this time I had a lot of time on my hands. I’d parted company with all my then-friends as we’d managed to get ourselves into a little ‘bother’.
So the combination of lots of time on my own, a black tele and a dad who is a great guitar player (and teacher into the bargain) set me off. Needless to say I got the bug in a big way, and my social life didn’t improve that much because I played alone perpetually for years. The first guitar i owned for myself was a Westone Concorde II. It was red and white with two single coil pickups and i thought I’d never need another guitar in my life when I got it. Wish it was still mine.
We’ve seen you play a range of acoustic guitars but when it comes to electrics your blonde telecaster has been a loyal instrument, what makes this guitar a favourite ?
Telecasters are amazingly versatile. I travel light, with an acoustic and an electric. The electric needs to be able to do a number of jobs – from searing squall to tiny slapbacked chime. As a rhythm instrument tele’s act a little like air – they occupy every space but in the subtlest and most useful of ways.
When you play in a 3 piece band, the tele spreads wide, it has breadth of tone, and it makes use of the sonic space in a graceful way. I’d tried using a jag, which seemed to bunch up, sit in the mid range, and nothing sounded open enough. I’d used a jag a great deal with Snow Patrol and it worked because there was already a tele present, as a rhythm instrument, laying the foundation.
So the tele was a natural choice. It’s also robust, plays beautifully, and I’ve had it fitted with custom wound pickups from SHED, which took it into another stratosphere. I can depend on it. I’ve had a few too many idiosyncratic electrics in the past, if you know what I mean.
You have hosted a number of Mac and guitar seminars with Apple does the computer play a central role in your recording set up ?
i guess its central in the sense that its the final destination for everything and it’s an incredibly useful tool. But I continue to learn that its more about what I do outside of that box than inside it that will truly influence a great recording. It’s so great to see and learn what’s possible production-wise with a computer – but its important not to let that entice you away from the writing of a song.
Is your live rig computer based or do you opt for a simplified live system ?
For live electric guitars, I only use amplifiers. i know there’s much talk of people plugging through the mac, but my world will remain flat in that regard. I find amplifiers the most exciting thing about playing electric guitar in a band – and i love the response and the interplay between the instrument and the amp, and the fact that you can burn your fingers if your not careful.
We first met when you were playing acoustic gigs in the early 90s with songs. You had a really unique acoustic style that inspired a number of acoustic artists do you ever revisit songs like “wishing” ?
No, that’s not one i often play these days. With whatever song i play, i’ll choose to play it because I can find something of myself in it. There are some songs that no matter how hard you look, there isn’t really any of you left in them anymore. You have to follow these irrational intuitions I think. That’s not to say I wouldn’t enjoy hearing someone else sing that song.
Bangor to be seems to have produced a number of great artists, Foy Vance, Steve Jones, yourself ? it sort of stands out was there a strong music scene or is the water ?
I really don’t know, other than the fact that in Bangor there were opportunities to play, even at a young age. There were places to perform and there were lots of bands all playing the same small gigs, and lots of kids coming to the gigs.
There was a venue called the Boulevard, which was basically a dilapidated milk shake bar from the 50’s that was run by the local Presbyterian Church, and it was a hotbed of great hair, great dreams and great music. You had a big psychobilly scene all hangin out there, alongside folkies, and trendy kids and goths and the list goes on. Maybe that had an influence.
I didn’t know Foy until much later, but I knew Steve from way back. He was a couple of years below me in school and I remember the first time I heard him play I wanted to leave, go home and burn my guitar. He has always been a very very gifted musician. He’s also a great web designer and put together my current website.
There’s also something to be said for being surrounded by great writers and musicians – it forces you to improve. maybe this was also part of the bangor thing – so many people making music that it makes people work harder and learn faster.
You did a stint with Snow Patrol writing part of “Final Straw” (winning a Novello Award) do you prefer being a solo artist ? or do you think you would consider band opportunities in the future ?
I’m always into playing in bands. I’ve played in other bands since, including Fionn Regan’s band for a spell, The Amazing Pilots, Sadpaw, Juliet Turner’s band for a tour. I loved playing in all those outfits and will continue to play with bands along the way. I also love writing and performing songs, probably most of all. But diversity is a wonderful thing.
What music are you listening to at the minute ?
I’ve been enjoying Fleet Foxes, Foreign Slipper’s EP ‘Oh Death’, Burning Codes, Julie Lee ‘Will There Really Be A Morning’, Peter Case ‘Let Us Now praise Speepy John’, Davy Graham
If you could work with anyone who would it be and why ?
Maybe Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – beyond the obvious reasons I think they could really do with the introduction of a vowel – then they could be CASNY or SCANY of SCYAN – actually SCYAN is cool.
Magnetic North was a massive success with beautiful songs such as Soleil ( a personal favourite). Do you have a favourite from the release ?
I like the secret track best ironically – ‘You Make Me Forget Myself’. I think this is maybe the strongest and best written song on the album alongside maybe ‘Luke’s Point’ which i love to play live.
Like Foy, one of your songs ( ‘Canal Song’ ) was featured on Grey’s Anatomy, despite the financial benefits how does it feel to know your song is being used worldwide in such a way ?
It attracts some attention and it seems to qualify you as an artist – it elevates you in some people’s eyes. I’ve never seen the scene that canal song was used in so I don’t really know how it looks or feels. But its certainly a good thing to know that the music is being heard. I also think that music in a strongly emotional visual context can be really powerful, and I’m pleased to think of this or any of my songs making people feel something. That’s fulfilling I think.
The new album “To The Pine Roots’ is now available through your website. You have gone for a quiet release this time is this a deliberate strategy ?
It’s deliberate in the sense that it feels right. i think a lot of energy is wasted on creating a fanfare around an album at the point of its release. The relative success of any of the records I have released has seemed to have had little to do with drumming up a storm around its arrival, and more to do with people genuinely discovering it.
This includes album buying public and the media. I’m interested in genuine responses in both these areas – not something galvanised or even coerced by over-saturation and the exchange of stupid amounts of money. There’s an emerging healthy anarchy in the way albums can be released and it’s exciting not to have to jump through these hoops that have always felt like some punishing rite of passage.
So I thought about all this and figured I’d just post the album on my website for a while, let people come and find it, talk about it, see if its something they genuinely like that will find a place in their lives. It’s not press or advertising that makes that happen.
What does the next year hold for Iain Archer ? Do you have any Belfast gigs planned ?
I play Ards guitar festival on the 18th of Oct and I’ll be lining up some more shows for early next year.
A massive thanks to Iain for taking the time to talk to us. Iain’s album is playable online via his website for registered users.
Links:
Iain Archer Official Site
