| 
Feature: Jack Foley
LIKE all the best rock’n’roll groups, The Duke Spirit
are born outsiders - and that’s never been more apparent
than right now.
As the UK is once again gripped by a new strain of Britpop, The
Duke Spirit stand tall and proud, presumably feeling increasingly
like the Velvet Underground did halfway through the Summer of
Love.
"We feel no affinity for that kind of British music at all,"
laughs guitarist, Luke Ford. "It always just seemed too laddish
and homogenous to us.
"We were far more interested in British groups like My Bloody
Valentine and Stereolab, and also artists like Bjork and Nick
Cave… I guess what we’re offering people is a refuge
from that whole Blur revival thing that seems to be going on at
the moment…"
Ever since their inception in 2002, The Duke Spirit – a
five-piece from London - have been a band apart, locking themselves
away, fashioning their own unique and jagged vision of rock’n’roll.
The first public notice of their intentions arrived in 2003,
when they released a critically-acclaimed mini-album (Roll,
Spirit, Roll), which showcased a scuffed and soulful guitar
aesthetic, redolent of everyone from The Shangri-La’s and
Spiritualized through to The Gun Club and Patti Smith.
Everything about these records - from the arcane supernatural
imagery on the sleeves (drawn from 17th Century English woodcuts)
through to the rawly instinctive recording techniques used to
capture this initial sound - underlined that here was a band for
whom a sense of distance from their contemporaries was vital.
"We want our music to be redemptive," explains singer,
Liela Moss. "We want to expose emotions without spelling
it out.
"I want a generosity of spirit there, a baton for people
to hold onto."
Adds Luke: "We just wanted something that captured the healing
power of rock'n'roll music.
"When we thought of it, we were listening to things like
(Jonathan Richman's) Roadrunner, (The Lovin' Spoonful's)
Do You Believe In Magic? and (The Velvet Underground's)
Rock'N'Roll.
"They're all songs that immediately make you understand
how music can change your life in an instant."
The Duke Spirit (Luke and Liela are augmented by Dan Higgins,
guitar, Olly Betts, drums and Toby Butler, bass) are one of those
fortunate groups for whom this music comes entirely naturally.
Their debut album, Cuts Across The Land, was recorded
sporadically over the best part of a year, first with ex-Cocteau
Twin, Simon Raymonde, and then with the legendary producer Flood.
|
 |
It is billed as 'a coruscating force
of nature, flicking wildly between the tranquil (Lovetones,
Bottom Of The Sea) and the stormy (Lion Rip, Love
Is An Unfamiliar Name)'.
Musically, it’s a dark and occasionally malevolent; best
compared to the third Velvet Underground album with Nico still
fronting the band or '60s soul singer Irma Thomas fronting The
Rolling Stones.
"The lyrics are about looking at things that get you down
and make you fearful, those emotional dark pockets that everyone
has, and turning them into something positive," suggests
Liela.
"I've felt genuine heartbreak and spiritual poverty in my
life, but I've always managed to reassemble my emotions and discover
a new boldness."
In fact, the very act of songwriting has often been instrumental
in that process.
Continues Liela: "I feel sometimes too that there are a
lot of prophetic lines in the songs I write.
"There's always something that I don't really understand
and then later on, it becomes totally obvious to me. I find it
very weird. There are lines that predict intense sadness or catastrophe.
Things that ultimately get resolved in the end..."
For the rest of this year, the band will be spreading their message
across at least three continents having already hooked up releases
in both America (via Interscope) and Australia (where Speak
‘N’ Spell will be releasing their first EP) to
fit in with their British activity.
In the UK, having already built up a formidable fanbase via tours
with the likes of British Sea Power, Mercury Rev, Mark Lanegan
and Razorlight, they’re set to play their biggest shows
yet at the special request of Kasabian (including one night at
Alexandra Palace), as well as undertaking their own headline tour
at the end of May.
Live is where the band feel their power really lies, and like
every other facet of the group, it's something they're keen to
perfect all the time.
"We've always had strict rules about our live show,"
says Luke. "Liela could have learned to play guitar, but
we wanted to get away from that.
"We wanted Liela to perform like great soul singers used
to perform to their audiences."
Adds Liela: "I've got a really high regard for vocals as
an instrument, so why would you try to play two instruments at
once? I just decided if I was going to do this, I was going to
do it brilliantly and that I was going to give all of myself to
it."
"That's what The Duke Spirit are all about," concludes
Luke. "There are no compromises or half-measures. We're not
forcing or pretending. It's who and what we are..."
|
