More On Freebass

In a lengthy recent phone conversation with Pitchfork, Peter Hook Hook spoke candidly about the demise of New Order, discussed the various Joy Division and New Order releases just hitting shelves or on the docket, and fondly recalled 30-odd years of "dodgy haircuts."

He also filled us in on the status of his current projects, including his work as a professional DJ, the bassist supergroup Freebass (whose latest prospective vocalists include Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke and Oasis' Liam Gallagher), this weekend's "Tony Wilson Experience", and a recent visit to the lost archives of Joy Division and New Order, which may well yield even more posthumous releases from both bands.

Pitchfork: [Laughs.] So now that we've touched on the past, on to the future. Obviously you're keeping quite busy lately. Where's Freebass at right now?

PH: Freebass is coming along quite well, really. If I didn't have to work for a living as a DJ, it'd be done a lot quicker because DJing can be quite arduous. I enjoy it a great deal, all of us do-- Mani, Andy Rourke, and I DJ professionally, and we do it a lot. And we're trying desperately to fit Freebass in between, which is proving to be a little bit annoying now, because as it's sounding better and better, we're more desperate to finish it. So it's coming along quite well.

We now have a vocalist, Gary Briggs from a band called Haven from Manchester. He's done great. We've done four tracks already with him. And we've got three, four guests probably. I'm one of the guest vocalists. We've got eight tracks finished, and hopefully in the next couple of months we'll have another eight finished and then we'll be ready then. Thank the Lord!

Pitchfork: So you think you'll have a record out by next year, hopefully?

PH: You know what? If we haven't got a record out by next year, I'm hanging my fucking boots up. I'm desperate to get it finished. I want to get it finished for February or March in the hope that we can do the festivals next year, because to be honest with you, while I enjoy DJing immensely, there's nothing like strapping on the old bass and hobbling around the stage!

Pitchfork: Ah, so it's definitely going to be a live outfit as well, then?

PH: Oh God, yeah. I mean the whole reason that Mani and I started the band was to play live. We're looking at the song as a hurdle that is stopping us from playing live, so the idea is to get the songs done so we can play live.

Pitchfork: I've also heard that you were trying to get Billy Corgan to sing?

PH: Yeah, Billy offered his services, and was provided with a couple of tracks. I'm still waiting, so if he's listening out there: Billy, get on with it!

We actually have a few guests. It was quite easy, really. Both Mani and I have a lot of friends in this business, obviously, and when we're working together I think a lot of people are really very interested in what we're doing. So people like-- [Charlatans frontman] Tim Burgess has done a great vocal. [Wah! guy] Pete Wylie's done one, [celebrity ex-drug dealer] Howard Marks has done one, and at the moment we're waiting for Billy Corgan. The guy from Bloc Party's doing one, Kele [Okereke]. And Ian Brown [ex-Stone Roses]. And Mani keeps saying to me that Liam's going to do one, Liam Gallagher [of Oasis], but he's proving very difficult to track down.

Pitchfork: Ha, I can imagine. So that's pretty much a who's who of British music over the last 20-odd years, apart from Billy Corgan.

PH: It's just a compliment to us, really, that people are willing to help, which I can't thank them enough for. I mean I also think that, groupwise, it's very important to have your own identity. So while having eight fantastic singers is a real luxury, you need to have your own core and your own heart. I'm pushing Gary very much to form the backbone of Freebass.

Pitchfork: Speaking of backbones, do you all play bass?

PH: Yeah, on four tracks, actually, all three of us play bass. Which is quite funny because when we originally plotted this project, everybody was laughing so hard at the fact that three bass players were together. I'm delighted to have proved them wrong, to be honest.

Pitchfork: And your playing style has certainly always been a lot more melodic than most...

PH: It works really well. Mani and I work together very well. Andy Rourke brings a different dimension. He and Mani work together very well and form a really interesting backbone. Andy's very funky. Mani's quite rocky, quite Northern soul-y. And obviously I sort of float up there, I float above it with the melody and the high bass. So it does, amazingly, work.

Pitchfork: Are there drums and guitars and other instruments?

PH: Yes, oh yes. It's a normal format. Andy Rourke plays a lot of guitar, and the tracks-- as I said, there are three or four tracks where we all play the bass. There's quite a lot of reggae in it, which I said to Mani, "Where did that come from?"

Pitchfork: How soon will we get to hear some of it?

PH: We're just putting up a Freebass MySpace page at the moment with the finished tracks and the demos. I don't see any reason not to put the demos up so people can hear the music before the vocals; then when you get the vocals, you can hear a big difference.

Read the full intereview with Peter Hook here.

Source: www.pitchforkmedia.com