Interview: Silent-K’s Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor in the atrium of Fact. ichbingen

Monday I find myself passing through dazed and confused crowds that had descended on Liverpool on an uncharacteristically hot day to satisfy the retail itch. The air is clammy and sticky. It’s reminiscent of being squished in the crowd at the Liverpool Olympia after Silent-K have finished their slot supporting The Lightning Seeds. The crowd that night was somewhat in disbelief of what they had just seen, the angular moves and sounds coming off the stage charged the atmosphere, it was electric. Though today its not electric, its sweaty and I’m late. I’m running to meet Chris Taylor the enigmatic mastermind behind Silent-K.

The night of the Olympia was my first time meeting the band. I had been a massive fan of their single ‘DOORSTEP’ which had been recommended to me at a house party, a drunken random guy showing me the accompanying music video as inspiration for their own musical project. I was struck by how catchy, rhythmical and interesting their sound is, it’s complex without being obnoxious or bloated. Their sound is direct, full of pop hooks and for my ear has a great amount of psychedelic flurries to make a unique and interesting soundscape.

A few months later I was being ushered backstage at the Olympia. The Olympia is a grand venue built in 1905 which was purpose built for circus shows, it used to feature a 80,000 gallon water tank for aquatic shows and a lift mechanism to lift the elephants into the auditorium from under the stage.  The roof space still holds pulley, and wheel mechanisms used by trapeze artists including the Henderson family made famous by The Beatles.

So it was no surprise that I was met with a carnival of activity as the dressing room door opened, the band dressed in their customary white stage outfits and a cavalcade of friends enjoying the festivities. As a photographer it’s a dream, strong imagery and chaos, the sort of environment I love to be a part of.  The party atmosphere was then cut by a call “Right! Everyone apart from the band fuck off! We need to get ready” came a shout from Chris who had been quiet and polite for the time I had spent in there. I shit myself but respected it, having played in bands myself for years sometimes you need that space to get ready for a big gig. It was the moment I knew this band took playing seriously and we were in for a good show.

Silent-K at the Olympia, Liverpool. ichbingen

On stage Silent-K are something to behold, a vast sprawling ensemble with so many members it feels like a house party on stage, each bring their own unique presence to the performance, at times its hard to know where to put your eyes or in my case the camera. Every moment that I’m shooting one side of the stage I can see in my periphery that I’m missing something else. The tone is set by Chris who zips, glides and contorts in manners that I didn’t know a human body was capable of until that day. Even after seeing them now countless times the energy still surprises me and how they can always reach another level.

I meet Chris in a coffee shop in FACT located in the Ropewalks, I had spied this venue two days earlier and thought it would be a great location for a shoot with him complete with in white stage regalia. And to do something out my comfort zone an accompanying interview! Why do I do these things to myself? This is my first interview and it turns out if you record on your phone in a coffee shop that the audio will be nearly impossible to hear over the clanging of cutlery, the clinking of glasses, the moving of chairs and the ambient sounds of David Grey. So what follows is a mix of memory, paraphrasing, memory, sheer luck, muddled transcript, memory and maybe an accidental verse of Babylon.

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Q: What first got you into music?

Music was always around growing up, but I didn't really understand it at first. Michael Jackson was the big thing when I was a kid and I remember thinking, what even is this? It wasn't just songs, it was these little films, these massive videos. I didn't really get it, but it was always there. ‘Bad’ was the first album I ever bought with my own money. It was on cassette from Asda in Huyton  I remember the inlay it had diagrams of how to dance like him .

Then like everyone else, I started listening to my parents records. The Kinks, all the classics... it was just part of growing up. You don't really think about it because it's always in the house. I remember getting a ghetto blaster for my birthday at one point and used to walk round with it on my shoulder, hair gelled back, listening to Guns N' Roses, thinking I was the coolest kid alive.

But the real turning point came when Oasis happened. Suddenly music didn't feel untouchable anymore. It sounded simple, but brilliant. You could hear how the songs were put together and think, I could actually have a go at making this That opened the floodgates. From there it was The Stone Roses, then I started hearing individual guitar parts, drum parts, bass lines. Then it just became everything Funkadelic, James Brown, rock and roll, psychedelia. Once that door opened it never shut again.

Q: Your music blends catchy melodies with more psychedelic and experimental ideas. How did that come to be?

A: I love pop music, I love those memorable melodies. I want people to hear a song once and remember it. At the same time I love psychedelia and music that takes you somewhere unexpected. Ideally the songs have a hook that draws people in, but then they keep revealing more the longer you listen.

Silent-K live at the o2 academy, Liverpool. ichbingen.

Q: Supporting the Lightning Seeds introduced your music to a different audience. How did that feel?

A: It was a brilliant experience. On paper we're quite different, but I think people who love music are open-minded. I wasn't sure how the audience would react beforehand, but they really got behind us.

Q: The band's line-up has changed a lot since the inception, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the same line-up. Not sure that’s a question, but how do you find that?

A:The original line-up didn’t last that long. I think it was maybe one gig. Then the guitarist changed, the drummer changed, and it just kept evolving. I think I’m up to about 22 members now. But the thing is, the identity of the band stays the same. I always wanted it to be like Funkadelic, where you see them live and there’s just loads of people on stage. Maybe one day we’ll get everyone back who’s ever been involved and do something like that. That would be amazing.

Q: Your live shows have a huge amount of energy. Where does that come from?

A: Once I'm on stage I don't really think anymore. You're busy getting everything ready beforehand, but the second the first song starts it's like a switch gets flicked. The energy just takes over. Afterwards I sometimes struggle to remember the show because you're completely in the moment. That's how live music should feel. I’m the only member of the band that hasn’t seen the band play, I tried at my wedding to get Dave McCabe to sing the song Space Texan as we had wrote it together but it didn’t end up happening.

single artwork for “coming up”. ichbingen

Q: The band has a strong visual identity. How connected are the music and the art?

A: I don't really separate them. I'm obsessed with colour, shapes, light and patterns, and those things naturally find their way into both the artwork and the music. The songs feel visual to me, they have angles, movement, stops and starts. I don't sit down with a philosophy beforehand,  I just make things that feel good to me.

Q; Was there a particular point where you felt you found your own voice?

A: Yeah, actually. There was a trip to New York that really changed something for me.

The place we were staying was Sean Lennon’s. John and Yoko’s old place in New York. Sean was putting out some of the music we were involved with, so we ended up staying there for a week.I didn’t really know what to expect from New York, but being there did something to me musically.There was just a feeling about the place. The city itself. The energy. The influence just from walking around and being there. It was different.

I ended up going into this old record shop and basically spent the whole day there. It was absolutely pissing down with rain, so when the guy finished work at the record shop he said, “Do you want to come back to our practice room and have a jam?” So we went back and played for hours. I don’t know, four, five, six hours maybe. That was the first time I properly started singing. Not proper lyrics or anything, but just finding melodies and feeling confident enough to use my voice. Before that I was always thinking about it too much. But being in that room with those New York lads, just making noise and having fun, something clicked. That was a turning point.

We finished rehearsing, had a few beers, and I’d just finished mine. I was looking for a bin because I didn’t want to leave the can lying around. As I walked out onto the street, there was a police car there. They jumped out straight away. “Open container?” I was like, “What?” They said, “You’ve got an open beer container.” I said, “I’m literally looking for a bin.” They weren’t interested. One lad I was with ended up getting arrested, taken away, spending the night in a cell, and I got a caution. But I never paid the caution or did anything about it. So now I’ve always wondered if I’d go back to America and get stopped at customs.

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Q: Your lyrics often touch on politics and society. Is that something you consciously set out to do?

A: Music gives you a platform, so it feels important to say something worthwhile, I like writing lyrics with double meanings that let people interpret them for themselves. Politics affects everyone's lives whether we like it or not, so it's difficult to ignore completely. So it’s good to say something good.

Q: So what’s next?

A: We've got loads of songs ready. Rather than waiting to release another album, we're planning to release a steady stream of singles.That gives every song its own moment, and it's also a chance to showcase different members of the band. We've got songs coming up with Nick and Amy taking lead vocals, which I'm really excited about. I always feel like the next project is waiting. As an artist you're rarely satisfied for long. As soon as one thing is finished you're already thinking about what's coming next.

Silent-K’s debut album Wonky Punk is available at all good record stores and to order or you can stream or buy on Bandcamp.