Dancin’ the Light Fantastic

Rip It Up, Issue 93, 1 April 1985, Page 16

Dancin’ the Light Fantastic

Vicky Bogle

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Great whooshes of sound are coming from the practice room Auckland's Progressive Studios. Ah, if these waves of tune are anything to go by then the new Dance Exponents album should certainly attract attention on a much wider scale. There’s plenty of enthusiasm in the Dance Exponents too four hours pass before I can coax them away from their instruments for a coffee or beer break. Dance Exponents have been busy all round of late. Having just completed two video clips with Australian film director (and Manuel of Fawlty Towers lookalike), Salik Silverstein, they are now in the studio practising with stand-in drummer Eddie Olsen for next month's national concert tour. Expectations is the name of the

new album and ’My Love For You’ will be the first single from it in New Zealand. Australia has gone for 'Greater Hopes’. Hence the need for two videos. But both clips will be screened on television here, and having spent some time studying the production of the two I can guarantee they will be among the most exciting videos to be made in this country. Salik escaped back to Australia before I had a chance to talk to him. What’s his background? "He did the 'Sex and Agriculture’ clip as well,” says guitarist Chris Sheehan, chewing away on his string of black beads. "Mushroom introduced us to him in Australia. We interviewed all these people to do videos for us, all these freelance video directors...” “He was the best table tennis player” interjects bassist Dave Gent. "What happened was we thought of an idea for the clip and then in-

terviewed all these different sorts of people who wanted to do it,” Chris continues. “And they all came along and said exactly the same thing that we’d imagined with the house and the bloody fields of hay. And then Salik came along and said what everybody else had said, but then said that he had changed his mind that morning and decided to do something completely different.” "And he had the picture board of what he wanted to do all written out ...” continues singer Jordan Luck. "He was a good talker, basically," Dave concludes. Do you know anything about the film Salik made to do with rape? “Groping ... it's good," nods Dave. You saw it? I thought it was banned. Brian: "It was, because some women thought it was encouraging or glorifying rape. There were women who actually went out and protested about it.” Chris: "It’s stupid when you think

of Salik, because he's the last person in the world who would do a sexist sort of movie.” “But it’s not,” adds Brian. "It’s sort of sick in that it’s so real.” "What, like 'The Boiler’ is lyrically?” asks Jordan, who hasn’t seen the film. (’The Boiler' is a terrifying song about rape as told by Rhoda Dakar of the Special AKA.) Brian: “Yeah, but even more so because it’s really gory and horrible because you’re seeing it on film. It’s really weird.” Dave: "And it’s so surreal as well that it may look as if he could be trying to exploit it.” Salik’s a fairly surreal bloke isn’t he? "That’s his favourite word, really,” says Jordan. Of the two videos, the one for 'Greater Hopes’ was shot at night, outdoors, while 'My Love For You’ was done in the studio. The band members say they’re happy with the finished products and are adamant that the two are as good as each other. "Both clips suit the songs,” ventures Brian. “And they’re both completely different,” concludes Dave. And it took two weeks to do two videos?

Chris: "Yeah, but it’s not the time that matters, it’s the money. We were lucky that Salik could get two done for not much more than the price of one.” It’s interesting to note that the Dance Exponents do come up with most of the ideas you see in the videos, although Jordan says that Salik "pretty much does the lot." He also says: “It’s either someone who is really adamant that they do it all or someone who is really flexible. And that's a good thing, because when we were working with early clip makers like TV New Zealand and that, we didn’t have that opportunity. It was basically very much them.” Dave: “You just don't do your own clip.” "Yeah,” Jordan continues. “And they also made you feel as if (puts on a sleazy sort of voice) ‘Jeez you’re lucky to be able to do this,' as if you’re very fortunate people to have a clip made for you. Whereas Salik is jammed full of ideas so that if you don’t like one, he’ll just bring another one up." Brian: "We make music and he makes film clips and we trust his ability to make our film clip because we’ve seen his work and we-know what he’s aiming for and his ideas suit what we’re doing.” Dave: ‘‘And even if it’s not as good

as what you may have thought it would be, it’s worth it for not just trying to have a glossy clip or a stupid story-line clip like everyone else. I mean the chances are you might do something a bit different and then even if it doesn’t work it’s still useful." Today is drummer Eddie's first practice with the band and while the interview continues he bashes away on the other side of the wall. “The reason we’re playing with Eddie is because he’s such a good drummer that we know he can walk in and do what’s necessary," Brian explains. "And we don’t have to think about that he’s playing, you just have to think about what you’re doing yourself,” adds Dave. Back to the clips were you conscious of putting across a particular image in either video? "Just us, hopefully,” Dave ventures. “Just what we want to look like," Chris adds. “Everyone just wears what they wear anyway." Dave: "Yeah, we were wearing different clothes every night, depen-, ding on on what was going on. It was at the stage where as soon as

Salik came along you'd just go out the door in whatever you happened to be wearing and that was it for the clip.” Jordan: "What I hope is that the clips themselves are more distinctive than what the band are actually wearing, or what pretensions people seem to think the images

should be, because the clips are so distinct that I hope that is what comes across, not what you’re wearing or what our haircuts are, or whatever." Would you use lan Taylor as a record producer again, given the opportunity? Dave: "Hopefully we will keep

moving forward all the time and for us, recording overseas is definitely the next step." Jordan: “The next one has to be something that you know you're going to be happy with. And obviously if we did something with lan again, wed have to change. lan was not happy, but that's why I think he’s a great producer, because to get

what he got out of Mandrill, when a lot of people would have just walked away, was fantastic.” thing is when you're producing you want to try and keep your standard. You’d never want to do anything that’s not as good as the last thing you’ve done. So when he gets thrown into a demo studio, in a sense, for him normally, and he’s got to do something better than the last record he did which was in England or Scotland somewhere at some big studio, that is really putting him on the spot. He has to work twice as hard." "And that’s why we really liked him, ‘cause he did," adds Brian. Jordan: “I guess it’s a challenge initially, but towards the last couple of weeks it was a bit tiring for him.” "Yeah," Dave agrees. “He would’ve just been counting down the days till when he could actually go to Australia and mix it, just to pull him through, because it was pretty hard towards the end.” He has a very distinct sound as a producer, doesn’t he? "He’s got a real sound of his own,” agrees Brian. "And even when you listen back to Romeo Void, which was a few years back, you can tell it’s got lan Taylor on it." Jordan: “T think this album sounds really distinctive. You know I toss up between thinking that it’s really so far away from normal and then I think that it is normal. My mind keeps changing." Dave: “It’s the type of record that you put on and you think ’Ooh, it doesn’t sound very good,’ and then you listen to it for another 10 minutes and it sounds really good. It just has a different sound to other records in a lot of ways." "It sounds a lot less like anything else than ‘Sex’ did," offers Chris. There is a possibility that ‘Sex and Agriculture’ will be released in France, but the record company there is just waiting to hear the album first. In any case, the album will definitely be released in Australia, followed by a tour if it has any success there. In the meantime, however, the band will do an extensive tour of this country, starting May 10. The support acts are not completely finalised. They have yet to decide who will support them in Dunedin. Three bands who will definitely be doing some dates with them are Eddie Diehard’s new band Grey Parade (who have former Exponent Mike Harrilambi on drums), South Island band the Punch and Auckland’s up-and-coming Birdsnest Roys who Dance Exponents all consider stunning.

Brian reckons they will be "the next Swingers. They’ll be whisked overseas and signed in America." Ksu re,'/doubts DavaJ§P|g3§S “Nah, I wouldn’t be surprised,” insists BriarPJQpHBBBM "Yep, they’re the best,” Chris agrees. They haven’t been written about yet though,have ey?J33J(fIH Dave: ‘‘They’re not from Dunedin, that’s why." And everyone always says that nothing of any worth comes out of Auckland ... Dave: “Well, a lot hasn’t...” (Here Jordan laughs very loudly, an astonishing sound.) Brian: “Well, a lot as in quantity, but the quality of a band like,that' makes up for the last few years for me as far as anything else coming out.” Dave: “There are a lot of good bands in Auckland, though." Was that some kind of hint? "It only takes one or two bands to change things, doesn’t it?" says Chris. "And then it makes it easier for everyone else.” Dave: “It’s a really good period right through the country at the moment. Like you’ve got bands like the Punch and that down south, and in

two or three years there is going to be a whole new drop of major bands in New Zealand." (Jordan says he “can’t wait.") "And Goblin Mix were the first Auckland band I’d seen in ages," Chris continues. "And I though they were just amazing.” All the above is something Id have to agree on. One just hopes there will be enough people here to witness it. Even Hunters and Collectors remarked that this country is the best place to be, and they weren’t the only ones getting angry at the many whom they encountered who are blind to the vastness of talent that’s blooming away here. Those who see nothing but Britain before them. Expectations should hopefully both earn the Dance Exponents a bit of money, and a lot more credibility than they’ve been known to get in the past. It’s an aptly named album. It contains absolutely no synth, Fairlight or computer. Chris plays piano on one track, but apart from that there’s just vocals, drums, bass and two guitars. Brian reckons he can sum it up: “Full on."