The xx: “There Were Moments Where We Completely Lost All Sight”
--
There’s only a few hours to go until The xx step up for their headlining slot at Splendour in the Grass, but vocalist Oliver Sim is displaying no hint of nerves.
“I’m actually doing okay,” he laughs, when I ask whether jet lag is hitting him hard. “Jamie [xx, bandmate] and I got in on Wednesday, and our mission was not to fall victim to jet lag. So as soon as we arrived we got out and went for a swim in the sea and just powered through. So far, it’s worked.”
He might be here to play Splendour, but we’re on the phone to discuss another Australian tour. In January, he, Romy Croft and Jamie Smith will return to our shores for a run of headline dates. With the band set to play huge capacity venues — including Sydney’s mammoth Domain, in what will be their biggest Aussie show to date — it’s kind of a big deal for the trio of school friends.
In the lead-up, we talk touring, the new album, and finding the natural highs.
You’ve talked a lot about the need to break out of your comfort zone on I See You. What spurred on that decision?
I think the whole process of making [2012 album] Coexist was a real incentive to change things up this time around. I’m proud of that record, but the whole process was much harder than we ever spoke about. It was the first time we ever made a record to an audience. When we made our first record no one knew who we were. No one cared. There was a lot of thinking like: “what do people like about us? Let’s hang on to that and let’s push it even further.”
That way of thinking made it a claustrophobic experience. We completely shut out the outside world. There were moments where we completely lost all sight. So I think for the sake of not doing that again and for the sake of just doing something different, the whole process has to be changed up. We got outside of London. We let other people into the studio. We were just more open to the world.
Previously, you would limit your instrumental arrangements so they could be played live, but you didn’t do that for I See You. Why did you decide to completely abandon that?
I think working on Jamie’s record was an eye opening experience. It was the first time we’ve made music not as The xx. We didn’t carry on with the rules we’d set for ourselves. It was just a lot of fun. We were very militant about that rule in the past, that everything had to be played live exactly as you’d hear it on record. I’m glad we let go of it. I thought there was a lot of freedom in having a lot of rules because it was something to work within. Then I realised we were closing ourselves off quite a lot.
So how are you going about constructing the live shows, when there are now a lot more instrumental parts to deal with?
It’s been an absolute nightmare. Seriously, it’s been an absolute nightmare. I will be honest, a lot of it has fallen on Jamie. I wish people could see what Jamie has got at the back of the stage. All of the different instruments he has… he’s got a world of things. He is kind of an octopus. If you ever watch him on stage he’s kind of like darting from one end to another playing as much as he can. He’s an absolute legend. It was kind of something we didn’t worry about in the studio, but it came to kind of bite us in the arse later.
You three have also become a lot more extroverted on stage recently. What has that journey been like — learning to become a bit more open on stage?
I think we’re a lot more extroverted, but we’re still not extroverts. If I think back to my first time ever performing it was so painful. It was really painful. I was so self aware. I couldn’t look up. My leg was painful from shaking so much.
“When Romy played ‘Test Me’ for me in the studio, she turned her back to me because she didn’t want to look at me. I could tell it was hard for her.”
Some people are really at ease on stage and really love it from the get go because they’re a natural born performers. That just wasn’t us. It’s taken time to really enjoy it. To just relax. The more we were relaxed the more we could enjoy it. Now I just love it. I love it.
Being in the studio is such a slow burning satisfaction, but performing and seeing peoples faces is a real instant excitement. I just really enjoy myself now.
Is this the most uptempo your shows have ever been?
Yes. The shows are more dynamic, there’s a lot more light and dark as opposed to primarily dark, which is nice because we can really build a story. A real kind of journey. Especially at festivals. At festivals not everyone knows who you are. You have to win people over. To have them have those kind of upbeat moments is definitely useful.
You guys have always been exceptionally personal and vulnerable in your lyrics. Has there ever been a time where you’ve been scared to put that in the public space, or even sing it to each other?
Yes, definitely. There have been a lot of those moments on this record.
When Romy and I don’t write a song together, but then play it to each other…sometimes that experience can be brutal, because for me I feel a lot braver in songwriting than I do in conversation. There’s a detachment in writing something and then just handing it over — you can turn your back.
There’s a song on the record called ‘Test Me’, that Romy wrote. I remember when she played that song to me in the studio, and she turned her back to me because she didn’t want to look at me. I could tell it was hard for her.
The relationship between the three of you is at the core of this album. You’ve been together so long — what’s the biggest change in your relationship since The xx started?
Most of the changes come from just growing up. It’s the whole idea of having to work at friendships, which I’ve never realised before. When you’re a kid and when you’re in your early ’20s you’re just kind of free floating, and you’re having fun, but I’ve realised I have to put work into friendships.
“There were moments in the past couple of years where I felt that maybe me Romy and Jamie weren’t speaking enough.”
There were moments in the past couple of years where I felt that maybe me Romy and Jamie weren’t speaking enough because we just assumed that the other person knew how everyone felt, and a lot of wires got crossed.
I have just learned to vocalise how I’m feeling a lot more with my friends. The whole idea of working on a friendship sounded so silly. I thought that sounded like marriage talk. But I think it’s been a good lesson.
Do you think you know each other better than you know yourselves a lot of the time?
Yes, definitely. I can tell that they can have a lot more perspective on what’s going on with me than I do sometimes. They can realise what’s going on before I can.
What’s your favourite thing about Romy and Jamie?
I think they’re two of the most creative people I’ve ever met. They’re just amazing to be around. It kind of spurs me on a lot. Yes, I think their creativity is my favourite.
‘Replica’ is one of the standout tracks on the record. Can you talk about how that song came together?
That song we wrote and recorded in LA. We’d just done a whole road trip from Seattle up the coast to LA. We were listening to a lot … I think an ongoing theme in this record is road trips and listening to as much music as we can. That’s my favourite way to listen to music is just staring out a window on a journey. Yes, we arrived in LA and that was the first song that we wrote.
I try not to go into too much detail in explaining songs because I wouldn’t want to ruin someone’s ideas but I think it’s a very personal song. It’s a lot more based in reality I suppose to fantasy than ever before. It’s one of my favourites as well. Unfortunately, when I was talking about songs how to figure out how to take them live that has been the biggest challenge. We still aren’t playing it yet. We played it a few times in different arrangements. It’s quite a full song — maybe the fullest song we’ve ever made. I’m sad that we don’t have it yet but hopefully we will.
You’ve been particularly open about the fact that these shows are some of the first you’ve done in a while where you’ve been sober. What has that experience been like?
This was like a real tour for me in that it helped me feel a lot more happy, feel a lot more at ease. Being drunk on stage got rid of a lot of nerves but it also dampened a lot of the highs. Coming back and performing has been intense, really intense. I’ve been able to connect a lot more, and I’ve been able to remember a lot of the shows, all of the shows.
It’s just been a lot more rewarding. I think performing live is the best high of all and I think I got in a lot of trouble with my drinking because we stopped performing and I was trying to kind of substitute that excitement I got from playing. It’s brilliant.
When you come off tour you tend to keep drinking as a celebration thing and eventually the celebration isn’t there but you’re still drinking.
Yes, that was definitely my big excuse. I’m celebrating, I’m celebrating. Then a year on still celebrating.
Tickets to The xx’s Australian tour go on sale noon local time on Friday, August 25
—
Jules LeFevre is Staff Writer for Music Junkee and inthemix. She is on Twitter.
—
Article image: Alasdair McLellan