North Atlantic Oscillation… Phenomenal

Interview: North Atlantic Oscillation

Published on July 2nd, 2013 | Jonny Abrams

Edinburgh’s North Atlantic Oscillation have followed up the recent release of their Chirality EP by issuing an extended version of their breathtaking second album Fog Electric, one of our favourites of 2012 as it happens.

With a show at the Garage in Islington coming up on Thursday July 25th, Rocksucker did that thing we do where we fire over some questions to a band we like and then reproduce the answers for you, thusly…

What brought about the re-release of Fog Electric?

Fog Electric is quite a topically and musically dense album. This means two things:

1. We wanted to give people another chance to become aware of it, as it’s a grower rather than an instantly accessible work.

2. Some of the remixes and unreleased material that came from the album sessions were too good to leave behind.

The album is characterised by some really off-kilter melodies and time signatures. Is this something you work hard at, or is it something that comes naturally?

I think if a band’s main agenda is to make off-kilter music, then they could probably create something better by simplifying their approach.

Our music isn’t that complex; it’s like a good salad with lots of morsels layered in unusual ways. Tasty.

Is album number three in the offing? If so, what can you tell us about it at this stage, and will you be playing any new songs on your tour?

Album three is currently being written. Once that is done we need to get together, learn to play the stuff, change and tweak it, then potentially perform it live before recording it.

In the past we have taken new material on tour with us, but I think this time the test-drive phase will be more low-key.

Did Tony Doogan have good stories about the bands he’s worked with in the past? Are you fans of those bands? And will you be working with Tony again?

We couldn’t possibly comment. Tony is a gent and very professional, so anything juicy stays behind the studio doors. We are fans of everyone he has worked with.

What was it like supporting Bob Mould? Did he like your cover of “One Good Reason”?

Incredible. He couldn’t have been nicer. If you are going to meet one of your musical heroes then I would suggest making Bob one of your musical heroes.

Our “reading”, as he put it, of “One Good Reason” was the reason he asked us out on tour. But we were stunned to find that he was already a fan and had been listening to our records for a while.

What music from 2013 have you been enjoying and/or is there anything yet to come out that you’re particularly looking forward to?

I was surprised to hear just how good the Daft Punk album was. It makes all their old stuff sound weak in comparison.

Now they need to go back and remake all their old material with the original musicians. Just goes to show what musicianship has to offer.

North Atlantic Oscillation, thank you.

Fog Electric (Extended Version) and Chirality EP are out now.

You can buy Fog Electric (Extended Version) on iTunes and on Amazon.

You can buy Chirality EP on iTunes and on Amazon.

For more information, please visit the official North Atlantic Oscillation website

North Atlantic Oscillation - Fog Electric

Artists: north atlantic oscillation

About the Author

Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.