Q) Is there any chance of you working with Toni again and do you think you will remain in contact?
Dean) We'll always be in contact, it's not a nasty split as we've been through a couple of those and it's not nice, it's more a life change thing you know move on to other things give each other breathing space to work on whatever rather than Just Curve..it's a strain for both of us but Toni more than me ....We are going to do a last tracks recording session at some point in the near future to kind of tie things up and also to see what lurks in the never ending box of dats we've acquired over the years...
Q) What's the aim of that recording session? Are we going to get one last Curve CD?
D) We want to do a last few tracks kind of thing...not enough for an album but as I’ve said we’ll always be in touch and probably do more recording as time goes on...but for now we just want to put it to bed.
Q) If we begged do you think we could have a one off goodbye show? Some of us have never had the chance to see you perform, I for one am sad that Ill never have the chance; I became a fan too late to see Curve on stage.
D) I’m sorry you never got to see us live we did a lot at one stage for a couple of years but it made me go a bit mad. Short sharp blitzs around the main towns are much more fun but I can’t really think what would make Toni want to get back on stage with Curve, so I would say there’s very little chance of it happening...Toni hasn’t wanted to perform or tour with Curve for some years now so I don’t see her changing her mind at any time soon....which is a shame as we are fucking awesome live.
Q) Can you elaborate at all on Toni's decision to call it a day? Was she happy with Curve's more recent material?
D) I think she's just fed up with it and me simple as that...it's not all plain sailing and sometimes people are at different stages in life..when we're on the same track or we have a focused thing to get done we enjoy dealing with it but when you get one to many knock backs you just end up going fuck it...I can't deal with it anymore, leave me alone I want to go to bed, that sort of thing. I think Toni feels that the most recent work wasn't finished or up to scratch but I don't think she hated it or anything...it wouldn't be available if one of us hated it...it's more to do with not having funds to do it properly...You know, record labels and that ol' chestnut.
Q) Will you be steering clear of labels for a while then?
D) Don’t know...Have to see how things pan out ??
Q) Do you think that if you'd produced more poppy tracks like Cold Comfort or more dancey tracks like Answers you could have gained more mainstream success?
D) Maybe...I don't know, we always write pop songs if it happens to turn out a bit more easy on the ear generally we tend to fuck it over so it's got a grating element otherwise it seems wrong...maybe if we turned it all down and took out the "fat' it may have broader appeal, but there seems little point to that...lets leave that to others.
Q) I’ve heard a fair amount of Curve in movies and on television (Top Gear used a fair amount in the last series) do you get any say in who can use your material? I think I asked you this before but what's your favourite use of Curve in TV or film?
D) We clear all the requests, Toni likes Top Gear so we punted for it, seems we got a good play out of it. The mini disc add with Chinese Burn was bling and Spiderman 1 was cool, Curve music fits well with cars and fast motion. I liked the use of On The Wheel in the Doom Generation...Yes more of that please.
Q) Is there any chance of an "Open day at the Hate Fest Volume 2" so we can hear good mastered copies of tracks such as Cold Comfort, Worst Mistake, Some Good Some Bad and Let it Go? Or higher quality MP3's? I could also apply this question to your Dog Lab material.
D) Not sure...We like the fact that they're raw. It would be good to get them all mastered to CD but then again it's cool just to have them available as is, for what they are...outtakes and oddities...but I get you, it would be good to have them on a CD with all the trimmings...same answer re Dog Lab
Q) Is there any more unreleased curve material gathering dust that you'd be happy to release?
D) Have to dig into the box to see what's left. There are a few things I'm sure The Box is a bit buried at the moment but it will be looked into.
Q) Do you think there'll ever be a chance of a DVD of promo videos and live recordings or is all of that tied up in too much red tape?
D) DVD is always an option, it’s down to BMG really, they said they wanted to do one depending on how THE Way Of Curve sold...I think it’s done Ok so they may want to put something together. Thing is we don’t have that much to put on it, none of the shows were ever recorded (DUH !!).... We should have had someone with a camera permanently on but we didn’t so there’s not much point other than to put all the videos and some odd TV stuff which was either a terrible Dome session or an episode of the Beat...Not very much. Which is a fucking drag because had there been someone recording all the stuff that went on in-between everything we could have cut it into something very watch able....OH Well.
Q) How does working without a vocalist effect your output with Headcase and Doglab?
D) It doesn't seem to effect my output at all...I think subconsciously I'm always aware of a voice within the music as I arrange and construct the track...generally the tracks all work with or without a vocal that's the key I would say...
Q) How much time to you devote to writing/recording on an average day, do you try to keep reasonable hours or do you mind yourself working into the early hours? You do seem to produce a large amount of material.
D) Depends I like late recording binges and I like noisy day sessions that only go for a few hours. I would say that rarely a day goes by without some kind of recording or another. I’m still keen. I still love writing and playing. I’m enjoying the new technologies and how things are moving and progressing. Things that used to take weeks to edit can now be done in 2 seconds... It’s editing gone mad !
Q) Are you happier when the music is the result of collaboration, or do you enjoy going solo just as much?
D) I'm happy when it sounds good...how you get there is very much the luck of the day. Collaborations are crucial to me otherwise I end up going insane from not speaking with people...then again I quite enjoy a bit of insanity
Q) Do you foresee any of the collaborations in the Dog Lab becoming more solid, or do you enjoy taking time to work with different people at different times?
D) All and everything and as much as possible, with whoever where ever and with or without 'tea'
Q) Do you have any interest in performing live with any of the people you have been collaborating with?
D) Love playing live...might do some dog lab experience shows maybe go and play with other people, haven't done it for some time, but always open to suggestion and offers...
Q) I think the stuff I heard with you and your daughter sounds great, is there more in the works?
D) Yes...we love writing together, I've was recording her as soon as she could make a sound, I've got lots of mad stuff on tape. We'll always write and record no matter what...more on the way ? Yes as much as possible ! After all she is amazing and very talented....But I would say that wouldn't I.
Rose) Defiantly!! From being very little I've always looked up to my dad and I've always wanted to follow in his footsteps. I couldn't think of anyone better to be working with! ROSE X
Q) I take it you’re a fan of your fathers work then, what are your favourite tracks that he has produced or worked on?
R) There have been so many amazing tracks over the years but I think my favourites would have to be Chinese burn, hell above water and joy.
Q) Is there going to be an album in the not too distant future?
R) Defiantly! we’re trying to get on the case with some more songs but being the typical 15 year old that I am my social life seems to get in the way.
Q) All of your stuff is sonically adventurous, how much of the sound is recorded "as is" and how much added at mixdown? For instance fuzzy bass sounds, recorded fuzzed or recorded clean and dirtied up later? Do you have a sound in mind /find a cool sound and go with it, or record "flat" and experiment later.
D) Everything is recorded 'as is'...I can't deal with the 'We'll sort in the mix' thing. Like fuck you will..NO !! make it sound as you want it straight away no question, always record the sound as you want to hear it...flat is how it sounds...FLAT no I want unflat, as unflat as possible please.
Q) Do you use direct input of guitars much or do you prefer to mic up an amp?
D) Both ways are good whatever works for you... But there's nothing like the
rattle of a Vox AC30 or cranked Marshall stack, Ampeg Bass rigs and the like recorded with the best mics in the world going through the best compressors in the world... But I'm not sure my next door neighbours would feel the same. So we crank in other ways. Volume is obviously the best effect ever.
Q) Which guitars or other gear could you not live without?
D) The Fender Jazzmaster guitar..my black music man bass and my mac lappy.
Now a few standard interview fillers:
Q) What's in your CD changer at the moment?
D) Spitfire by the Prods
Q) Who do you most admire in the industry?
D) Brian Eno
Q) What television shows do you enjoy?
D) Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, The Simpson's ,Futurama ,The Osbornes because they are all fucking brilliant.
Q) What's the last book you enjoyed?
D) Porno, Filth and Glue by Irvine Welsh and The Liar by Steven Fry
Lastly I’d like to thank you and Toni for some of the greatest music ever produced, I know I’ll be leaping about the house like a nutter, cuddling on the sofa or blasting it from my car stereo for many years to come, as I’m sure many others will be.
Love from Curve fans the world over
x
Dean) Cheers to you all !!
Interview by Phild with questions from Mark Lopez and Adam Savje. Originally posted on forums at www.curve-online.co.uk