In Conversation with

‘SoPhIe'S pIgEoNs’

(Recorded lived 25^th May 2007

in Cornerhouse Bar, Manchester.

Transcribed by Andy N

June 2007)

A little background:

As much as I love doing interviews viva email

There is a strange sort of buzz that can only

Come from doing a interview live.

To date over my travels as ‘Rising Sun’

And ‘Setting Sun’ – I have done four live

Interviews – the first was a unpublished interview

With ‘George’ which came just as ‘Rising Sun’

Folded in the summer off 2001 and by the time

I got going again as ‘Setting Sun’ in 2003

Was un-useable.

Two more interviews followed with ‘Octave

Sounds’ and ‘Laymar’ over the next few

Years – both of which I had a great laugh

Doing and in the Laymar case resulted

In.

Sophie’s Pigeon who are the band in question

Are very different from any of the three previous

Acts interviewed live, although perhaps akin

To ‘George’ in the sense of they throw everything

Into the mix.

On their myspace.com page they are described

By Mitten Records as a ‘genre busting musical

Collective revolving around pianist and singer

Sophie Nelson.

According to their press notes they were hatched in

Moss Side Manchester, in a dusty loft space.

Their notes also advise their ‘is one of an great tale.

One became two, then three and then the fourth came

swooping down to form this feathered collective.

This collection of musicians created a sound thats

toe tapping, fingerclicking, erratic rocking - wearing

down the rocking chair. Hands clapping, feet a stomping,

new voices filling up the smoky air. ‘

I stumbled onto them through one of my annual

Journeys through myspace.com and was spellbound

By what I heard.

This really was something cool.

So of course I dropped them a line and when I discovered

They were a local band, this live interview came about.

Quite quickly.

Sorry to the band for the delay with the transcribition

Here.

Make sure you check them out on their myspace.com

Page as they are always gigging and are looking for

Gigs through-out the country.

They can be contacted at:

http://www.myspace.com/sophienelson

Thanks to all of them for the interview.

Regards

Andy N

Setting Sun:

First of all, can you all introduce yourselves?

Sophie:

I'm Sophie, I write the songs and play the piano

and sing.

Sam:

Hi, I'm Sam I backing sing and try to keep

in time and play the frog.

Phil:

My name is Phil and I play the Melodian and the Harmonium , Drums and Percussion.and Sometimes I play rap too...

Marie:

I’m Marie, play Violin and also Percussion. ,

Setting Sun:

Can you next tell us a little bit about the history of SP? What started you off?

Or as I like to say ‘who fired the starting pistol?’

Sophie:

I was doing it solo for a bit, I did a demo recording in the Zion

centre and I did a gig at the green room and my friends came along,

I got introduced to Sam who was in another band and she said,

"I'm a backing singer, can I sing with you" and that was it,

jamming in Moss Side! Classic!!

Sam:

Weird story Phil was living next door to Sophie and when

Phil moved out I moved in Phil’s room and we both lived

near Sophie, so we all say we are from Moss Side?

Setting Sun:

Can you next us what are your musical influences and what are you

listening to at the moment?

Sophie:

I have fell back in love with Tori Amos again! She understands

everything I go through – she get’s it!

Setting Sun

I love her too!:

Phil:

We got a lot of comparisons with Tori Amos and Regina Speckor….

I think we get compared to it because Sophie’s song writing is

quite of that ilk… I think we try and add a bit of a handmade

feel to it by swapping around instruments and it’s more like of

an experimental feel on that place.

(Sophie agrees)

Setting Sun:

I can certainly see that in your recording In particular on

your two songs on myspace.com.

Sophie:

It was to jam in, I just play my songs and everybody

just comes up with little bits and bobs.

Setting Sun:

It is good to see you play regular gigs.. How does

gigging compare to your recordings – is their one you

prefer over the other?

Sophie:

Giggings’ better but recording is fun.

Phil:

We have lots of fun with both. Recording is

emotional though.

Sam:

I must , if we had to record it in a studio

it would take so long because nothing has

it’s set time. It would be a nightmare

for a producer.

Sophie:

It would also be a nightmare for sound

engineer.

Phil:

We’re very relaxed because we’re all mates.

Setting Sun:

Do you have a mixing desk at home or an eight

track or do it do it live?

Phil:

Gawd, we don’t do it live.

Sam:

We all record it in our bedroom.

Setting Sun:

So you have your own little studio?

Sophie:

Tiny little bedroom. Soundproof fibres and

mattress on the walls.

Sam:

Gaffe Tape and microphones to the bed.

Phil:

There’s some air on the CD is the heating boiler.

Sam:

I play the Bass with a bit of clean fill tube.

You play the Box don’t you?

Phil:

Yeah I do… Personal project

Sophie:

We like to play a variety of instruments.

Setting Sun:

Can you next tell us a little bit about

‘She Sucks Lemons’?

Sophie:

It’s about one of my friends where I am

originally from it’s basically about being

emotionally dependent on the male species

being romantically linked.

Phil:

It’s not about being a Lesbian isn’t it?

Sophie:

Not its not.

Phil:

The Song name has that kind of connotation

Setting Sun:

Can you next tell us a bit more about ‘Naked Bitch’

is about also?

Sophie:

Naked Bitch is about another err.. friend who is

also dependent on men and flirts her body and

talks about herself a lot and changes herself a

lot for men.

(PAUSE)

We tell them. We don’t think they realise though

this song is about them.. We see them dancing them a

lot at our gigs – ooh I love this one, oh dear…

Setting Sun:

What’s the inspiration behind your name as a band?

Phil:

I don’t know where it came from but it sounded

brilliant, it seemed really original at the moment, but

there are a lot of bands with similar names like the

Pigeons but we were first – Sophie’s Pigeons. I did

find out there was a song wrote called by Cyndi Lauper

called ‘Sally’s Pigeons’ so some people may think we

took it from that but we didn’t.

Setting Sun:

What’s next for you all? I notice you are always gigging

which is always good to see but you have any more

releases planned etc?

Sophie:

We are really working hard to get our name out –

We have really being only together since June / July last year.

Sam:

We are playing a gig soon with Ivan Campo,

who are an amazing band.. We really compliant

each other’s sound really well and one of our big

aims are to go on tour together…

Sophie:

We are next playing In a Crypt under a church –

supporting Anni Rossi In Skipton.

Sam:

We think we would live to get gigs in

Liverpool and Brighton and maybe London

and start getting ourselves out of Manchester.

Sophie:

We are just hammering Manchester to get a

base as a good start before spreading our wings..

We do want to write new stuff, but there is no point

in writing new material in going to different places

playing new stuff when the new place doesn’t

know your old stuff…

Setting Sun:

Good to see you also from reading your press

releases, you also like doing cover versions?

Sophie:

We do ‘The Smiths’ – ‘There is a light that

never goes out’ that’s really good and Justin

Timberlake ‘Sexy Back’ that goes down

well which Phil sings.

Sam:

We played a indie kind of venues in

Leeds and we found either play love

it or hate it (The Smiths’s song) in

those kind of venues, and there was

these two guys who were dancing and

just didn’t get it we had made it ours.

Setting Sun:

Did you change the chord progression?

Sophie:

No the chord progression is the same, we

slowed it down and it is a bit different in the vocals,

the harmonies, the violin, the harmonium and

there was no drums.

Phil:

I think some people were expecting a

football chorus – it’s one of those sorts of

songs – our version is a bit more delicate.

Setting Sun:

Couple of daft questions, to finish off with..

What do you all do when you are not in

SoPhIe'S pIgEoNs’?

Sophie:

I direct films.

Phil:

I teach one day a week and I am also

part of a 20 strong arts collective.

Sam:

I am a producer of live art and

contemporary performance.

Setting Sun:

Two jokey questions to finish off,

what would you like to be doing when

you are 60?

Sam:

I would be dead.

Phil:

Hopefully I will have trapped somebody

into a marriage.

Sophie:

I will be the crazy lady who goes to all

of the open mikes with all of my demos.

Setting Sun:

What will you be doing when you are 60?

Sophie:

The Pigeon’s will still be going!

Sam:

We’ll still be caning those open mike nights!

Phil:

I’m still be a musician!