INTERVIEW: XC-NN
- Bob Gajarsky
The English rock band XC-NN recently came on shore in the States to promote their self-titled debut album. We've been keeping on top of this hot band ever since we saw them perform live in New York in July and their compact disc release has kept the excitement going. Consumable Online recently caught up with them for a few words in New York City. Cons: What was the initial reaction about the band's name change, from CNN to XC-NN? XC-NN: (Neill Lambert, drummer) The initial band reaction was one of disappointment but grudging acceptance. As it has turned out, the band now prefer the name XC-NN. It seems aesthetically more symmetrical. The news network were almost certainly relieved that we stopped threatening them. No one at the audience level seemed to be bothered that we had to change the name. I was worried most that we might lose some of the fan base, but this didn't happen. C: What prompted the samples of songs such as "She Comes Through The Fair" and "All Things Bright and Beautiful", which offer a marked contrast to the selections they're mixed with? XC-NN: (Tim Bricheno, guitarist) "All Things Bright and Beautiful" is sampled in the song "Unnatural Passions" is loosely based around an AIDS conspiracy; the theory being that it was a government based virus to cut down the population. The hymn samples "All things" plays devil's advocate and suggests it is a "God thing". As for "She Comes Through..." - it's just a bile fueled backbite at my former cohorts in All About Eve - the line is a sample from one of their songs. C: Is the "Baby baby baby" backing on "Young, Stupid and White" an uncredited sample from the Cult? XC-NN (Neill) In the original concept for "Young, Stupid and White", the chorus section was to be comprised of as many "Baby's" as we could find. Soon after working on the song, we had decided that the Cult sample not only perfectly exemplified the sentiment of the song, but it also fit !
About one week from the release of the single, The Cult made it clear that they didn't want us to use the sample. By this time, however, a few copies of the "illegal" version had already gone to radio. At the last minute, samples were recreated and the song remixed. So, some copies have uncredited samples and others don't. C: We know what bands (Suede, Simply Red) are young and stupid. What bands positively influenced your lyrics and music? XC-NN: (Tim) XC-NN is often accused of being overly cynical about anything but thats all part of growing up and being British. Positive influences include the Sex Pistols, Velvet Underground, 2 Unlimited and David Lynch. C: What are the band's goals, either in the U.K. or the States? XC-NN: None of XC-NN are any good at football! C: (To Tim) What are the biggest differences, both positive and negative, between XC-NN and your previous groups (All About Eve, Sisters of Mercy). XC-NN: (Tim) Well, on the positive side, I made all my mistakes in All About Eve, some mistakes in Sisters of Mercy, which will hopefully leave me mistake free in XC-NN. C: To someone who's never heard of XC-NN - how would you describe your music? XC-NN: (Tim) We're disco rock/shite!
(Nick, guitarist) A Led Zeppelin / Sex Pistols combination of extraordinary merit and noteworthy notoriety.
(Neil) Venom, humor, groove, excitement - but, please, no sex! We're British...
And, with a wise-ass attitude and sickness (the author had the flu, as did David Tomlinson, vocals), XC-NN is off. But I'm not at all surprised by the attitude - it fits right in with the fun rocking spirit of their music. For a complete review of XC-NN live, a review of their debut disc and U.S. tour dates, check back issues of Consumable.
