Interview: Youthmovies

Youthmovies interview - “The idea is: We don’t have an idea.” by Becky Hawketts

During my interview with Oxford-based band, Youthmovies - held high-up on the roof-balcony of the Arts Picturehouse - the band casually arrange a gig at this year’s Leeds Festival with Philip Ilson, one of the Shortfusion programmers for the Cambridge Film Festival, co-director and founder of the Halloween Short Film Festival based in London, and programmer for a music and film tent at the Reading and Leeds music festivals this year. “I think I’m the one who’s supposed to be dealing with Leeds, and as far as I know you’re playing there this year. We’ll sort it out this week I guess.” “OK, cool,” agrees Graeme Murray, Youthmovies’ drummer and vocalist, “oh, and I think we’ll have five drummers playing together for Leeds too…” He wasn’t joking either; for the band’s improvised gigs, in which they collaborate with other artists creating live soundtracks accompanying projected films, anything - potentially - goes. On Tuesday night at the Film Festival, they played at The Junction with fellow Oxfordshire band, Jonquil, improvising with big sounds and haunting melodies that reflected and intertwined with the film clips dramatically screened behind them.

This isn’t the first time Youthmovies have played these unrehearsed film and music collaborations. In the past few years they’ve performed a number of similar gigs, often working with Philip who helps to organise these events. The band recollect the first time they attempted the concept: “We hadn’t really taken into account what we’d agreed to do until the day itself. Then, yes, there was quite a bit of panic. But we went up and well, it just worked. It was amazing; we came off stage afterwards with a real buzz from doing it - just playing without preparing.” Ever since that gig the band have been enthusiastic about similar projects and welcome the chance to express themselves musically, and visually, in a style very different to their other concerts playing songs from their recorded albums. “It’s always a real pleasure for us to do this improvised stuff. We always thought that everything had to be so tight and rehearsed. It doesn’t always work though; we had one improvised gig that didn’t work so well. But then that’s the gamble - that’s what makes this concept so exciting,” explains Andrew Mears, the band’s guitarist and vocalist.

For the Cambridge Film Festival they decided to create the film visuals for the gig themselves. Previously, they’ve played to a backdrop of some more serious films, usually chosen by the event organisers. But for Tuesday’s gig, they compiled and edited clips from over 300 DVDs in order to create an hour-long montage of some of their favourite film scenes, paying jovial homage to the likes of Steven Seagal, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Willy Wonka. “A lot of people kind of operate under the misapprehension that maybe we’re artier than we are, or more serious than we are. Actually, tonight is a compilation of all sorts of films we find funny.” Although the visuals are selected, edited, and ordered by the band themselves, the improvised, interactive nature of the music is reflected in the plan the band made before the gig - a small piece of paper with, ‘Kisses = slow, Psych = Speed, Action = Heavy’ scrawled across it in marker pen. Graeme commented afterwards, “We began with the plan, but the middle bit we just went with whatever felt right with the films.”

With, in-total, eleven musicians on the stage, including two drummers, many guitarists, a trumpeter, flautist, and a violinist, the soundtrack created was sometimes loud and powerful, other times quieter and atmospheric, and always complexly layered and textured. The music was fantastic, and the film the band had created was both amusing and awesome, the two mediums mixing particularly well at the end during a five-minute loop of a clip of Willy Wonka’s turbulent chocolate river.

Like Michael Nyman’s performance for the opening of the Festival, this unique event demonstrated how exciting and stunning collaborations between film and music can be. With the music and film work of the Youthmovies, “The idea is,” remarks Andrew, “that we don’t have an idea.” The electrifying combination of film and live improvised music can be a gamble, but when it works - as it did on Tuesday - the results are spectacular. My only concern now is whether I’ll be able to get my hands on a ticket for Leeds.