What may have come as a surprise to even the most ardent of Ryder Jones' fans though was the direction he decided to take upon his departure from The Coral in 2008. Expanding on the string arrangements he put together on Roots and Echoes, his final outing with The Coral, he opted against the safe, conventional singer songwriter solo route and instead composed the score for Laurence Easeman's Leave Taking.
This was no mere dabbling in film soundtracking however. Scores for the short films It's Natural to be Afraid (2010) and Bed (2011) followed before If . . . , Ryder Jones' debut solo album proper was unveiled in all it's splendour to overwhelming fanfare and acclaim. A musical adaptation of Italo Calvino's 1978 novel If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, with each track representing a different chapter of the book, the album was as breathtaking as it was ambitious. Wanting to know more about his passion for film scores and what the future holds, The Soul Kitchen caught up with the Merseyside Morricone for a chinwag.The Soul Kitchen: Along with If . . . there seems to have been a revival in film scores recently, most notably the Drive soundtrack that drew so many plaudits and Dangermouse's Rome album last year. Why do you think this is?
Bill Ryder Jones: Well to be honest I don't know whether that's true or not. I know a lot of my friends love the Drive soundtrack but I'd have to take your word for it. I didn't really like the Dangermouse record though. It sounded like an indulgent record nerd's pet project, which it probably is. It sounded like a big blag y'know? You can't just go to Rome and use the same players that Morricone used and end up with a great piece.
TSK: Push comes to shove, what's your favourite film score of all time?
BRJ: Once Upon A Time in America every time. It's my favourite record and has my favourite piece of music of all time on it in 'Deborah's Theme'. I first watched the film driving back from France with Nick (Power, Coral keyboardist) and Lee (Southall, Coral guitarist) and the whole experience is something I treasure from those days.
TSK: How difficult was the decision to part ways with The Coral? After enjoying so much success together was there any trepidation on your part in becoming a solo artist?
BRJ: It was difficult but I think everyone had been expecting it. It was probably a bit of a relief for all involved really. Also I didn't leave for any career like reasons so there wasn't any thought or trepidation about becoming a 'solo artist'. When I left I didn't have a clue what was going on or what I was going to do. Perhaps later on when I was making the record, thoughts of The Coral and the Coral fans and how they would react to me singing and things like that popped into my head from time to time. In the end I just thought "fuck it, you're 27, make the record".
TSK: Are you set to continue your solo work in the same vein or is there a return to more conventional songwriting on the horizon?
BRJ: I've just finished my first feature soundtrack which I think is similar to If . . . but the next record will be more song based yeah. I've been struggling with trying to get it through to people that I'm not a 'songwriter' or a 'solo artist'. Those words really can affect me and even stop me from writing. I've got to get over it though as it doesn't matter to anyone else. I feel like someone who writes music, most of the time it's string based as that's where my passion is but every now and then there'll be some songs.
TSK: You list Syd Barrett, Nick Cave and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci as major influences on your work. That's quite an eclectic bunch. What is it about them that inspires you?
BRJ: I guess they all struck a chord with me when I was younger, when it's most important to find other and older people to relate to. Those things stay with you I think. They're the kind of people who probably had to be in art for the sake of their sanity and happiness and I think that was comforting for me. It's always going to be hard to sum up those kinds of things isn't it? I think that's probably why people like us find what we want in music. You find your opinions fully formed in music don't you? It's all so obvious, you like, dislike or don't mind a tune in a matter of minutes. I think music is always going to be less challenging than other arts. I guess that's why I made the records I made.
BRJ: I was aware that it could be seen as pretentious but that's who I am. I'm interested in interesting things, I didn't want to make a record that said nothing or was just a collection of nothings. I listen to classical music and read history books, y'know. I'm not really into psych nuggets, in fact I'm massively turned off by a lot of the music I used to listen to. I think a good artist should be who they are, make the music they hear and surround themselves with the things they love. The minute you make a record for other people you're fucked. I think if you listen to my string arrangements on Roots and Echoes then there's a pretty direct line that you can draw. I was saying in an interview that if you think of someone as a guitarist in a band on Tuesday then they're writing an opera on Wednesday then fair enough that's pretty drastic but it's not really like that at all. It took three years of subtle change for me to see myself as someone with something to say musically and as someone who can write, y'know?
TSK: Has the grandeur of an album like If... opened any new doors to you in terms of live performance?
BRJ: Not really, I'm not really interested in performing. It takes a certain type of person to want to perform for people. Every now and then I'll be in my house and I'll think about it and want to do it but the reality of it isn't as nice. Also it'd be a nightmare getting it together and it'd be too expensive for us to put on I reckon. Having said that if someone came up with the money it'd be a shame not to have a live recording of it for when I'm old.
TSK: Finally, if you could choose a film to score, whether it be something that's already been released or something upcoming, which film would you choose?
BRJ: That's a cool question, I don't have an answer for it though. I'd like to keep doing different things. I'd like to work with a younger writer on something, maybe soundtrack some more novels.
* Bill's album If... is currently available through Domino Records.
Until next time,
Keep on Keepin' on,
Baia
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