Australian Interview With Noel Gallagher

"F**n' hell ' you're making us look like Bon Jovi," yells Noel Gallagher at the photographer as all of us in the North London photo studio try to suppress a chuckle, in an effort not to encourage Noel, so that the photographer can get on with his job. It's not an easy job, taking photos of someone who can't be arsed.

More photos, more interviews - Oasis are on the promotional trail for their new album Dig Out Your Soul, and Inpress has been granted access to the band's amusingly cheeky and immodest spokesman, Noel. The new album is an independently funded recording, and is once again produced by Dave Sardy, who worked on the last Oasis album, Don't Believe The Truth. Boasting all the melodic qualities that have become synonymous with the band, the album also treads new ground as a result of further lyrical exploration, tempo changes, and musical innovation (interesting drum patterns, et al).

Always quick with a slicing quip - especially in the direction of his brother - Noel has jumped on the sofa and is ready to chat about Dig Out Your Soul and the world of Oasis. There is little doubt that there are few interviewees who are as entertaining as Noel, so without further ado...

Coldplay said that they brought in a hypnotherapist to their recording sessions. Did you guys get involved in the new age science for the new album?
"I'm afraid not, no. Is that true, or were they joking?"

No, that's what they told me - honestly.
"They brought a hypnotherapist in to hypnotise them?"

Apparently so. They told me it was to help with self-awareness.
"What? He hypnotised them so they could become more aware of themselves?"

Yeah. It was a friend of (producer) Brian Eno.
"Ah, yeah, well that's (what) you get for working with Brian Eno, innit? That, and a lot of lentil soup, one would imagine."

Is there any weighting in accordance with the group structure when Dave Sardy selects songs to record for the album?
"I don't expect preference. It just so happens that I tend to be far more brilliant than anybody else. It's a f**g curse I've had to live with, for a long time."

Tell us about the first single, The Shock Of The Lightning
"That song wasn't even written when the album started. We had a weekend off and I went home, and that song fell out of the sky and landed right in my lap, and I just wrote a few words that rhymed."

There's also the 'magical mystery' Beatles reference in there... Did you do it consciously?
"Oh yeah, you gotta get a Beatles reference in there now and again - the Japanese love that. It was only pointed out to me when I started doing the promo a few backs back that there were some Beatles references in the new music, and I was like, 'Where?'. It didn't dawn on me when I was doing it."

I'm Outta Time has a touch of the Beatles too, right?
"The John Lennon sample you can't hear?"

I heard it.
"No you didn't; you can't hear it. What does he even say then?"

Err... I don't know... but it was obviously Lennon.
"There you go then."

So it's not a posthumous duet then?
"What, like Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole? No."

Ever thought about doing one?
"What, throttling Liam, and killing him, and then doing a duet with him when he's dead? The idea has suddenly become very appealing."

Waiting For The Rapture is a pretty sexy track, isn't it?
"It's about meeting an angel on a night out at a club called Space in Ibiza. Some would say I was taking drugs, or it was a dream. It did happen a long time ago - eight years ago to be precise."

If you were inclined to have sex to your own music, would that be the one?
(Laughter) "Unfortunately, if I was inclined to have sex to my own music I'd be distracted by the bass drum, thinking, 'F**k, I could have got that sound better'."

How are you preparing psychologically for being on the road together for your upcoming world tour?
"There's two buses - Liam's in charge of one, and I'm in charge of the other. My tour bus is very calm: card games, scrabble, a bit of knitting, maybe watch some old documentaries about whittling. Liam has drinking games on his bus, and people setting fire to their own farts. Our worlds don't collide on tour - I see him onstage and that's enough."

Give us the word on this supposed feud you had with Jay-Z regarding Glastonbury.
"This won't come as any surprise to you, but the British press just grabbed the wrong end of the stick, and then beat about the bush with it for six weeks."

Did you feel you had to defend yourself?
"No, not at all. I never said anything. I made a comment about ticket sales at Glastonbury, and then all of a sudden it was like I was saying, 'How dare a rap artist come to our country and infiltrate your children?'. I never said that. It was ludicrous, to be honest."

What is it you want people to get from this record?
"That I'm still - after 15 f**n' years - a f**n' genius."

Do you promise that the wheels won't fall off the tour bus before it gets to Australia?
"No, not at all. There's too much money involved for the wheels to come off these days. I'll be there regardless, even if I have to come with ukulele and a f**n' bass drum on my back."

Source: Inpress Magazine