Interview

Photo by Joel Chesterfildes

Anyone who still believes that good things come to bands that wait can't help but take heart in the story of Elbow. After 18 years hovering at the tops of critics' lists and on the fringe of the mainstream, the Manchester group has unexpectedly become a household name in the UK with their fourth album, the elegant and elegiac The Seldom Seen Kid. It's the definition of a sleeper hit: the album thrilled critics, then trickled onto the charts, thanks largely to the life-affirming anthem, "One Day Like This." The Seldom Seen Kid went on to win the Mercury Prize and sell 600,000 copies-no small feat in an era of lowered commercial expectations. Perennial underdogs no more, Elbow have suddenly became English pop's favorite uncles. Frontman Guy Garvey handles his band's recent triumphs with grace. "Fans run up to me in the streets, giving me a little wave," he says of his fellow Mancunians, to whom he's become a hometown hero.

It's the type of success story Americans love. Right now, Elbow's fanbase outside the UK is like that of so many British acts: small, loyal, and generally Anglophilic. But that description once applied to Coldplay, with whom Elbow has just begun a lengthy Stateside arena tour. Warming up for one of the most loved bands in the world is as unnerving an opportunity as it is promising, but Garvey is taking it all in stride. He knows this is a pivotal moment in his band's career, and they aren't about to waste it.  Elbow, he says, are about to "rampage through" America.

Interview caught up with Guy Garvey days before he left his home in Manchester, where he and his bandmates—brothers Mark and Craig Potter (keyboards and guitars, respectively), bassist Pete Turner, and drummer Richard Jupp—just played a two-day spectacular event with the legendary Hallé Orchestra. In the hands of composer Joe Duddell, Elbow's already orchestral rock was given the full classical treatment (choirs and all). It was one of the definitive highlights of the Manchester International Festival and a homecoming moment Garvey describes as the proudest of his life.

COLLEEN NIKA:  You once said that Elbow was the "last album band." Why was that?

GG: I said that last year, but in many ways it was a stupid thing to say. We aren't the last album band at all! But I do believe the best way to enjoy our music is in context. We make albums and prefer for them to be heard that way. Certain songs, like the singles we release to radio, are designed to stand on their own. Ideally, they will prompt someone to go buy a physical copy on CD or vinyl, play it on big speakers, and listen to it start to finish.
 
CN: How does downloading affect an album band like Elbow?

GG: It's a double-edged sword, digital culture. On the one hand, [illegal] downloading means the industry is in a little bit of trouble. But there are still more CDs being sold than ever before-don't let them fool you!  But projected figures are slowing down. At the same time, there's never been a better time for music: digital culture allows people to access our music straight away. We can market to them faster; we can get to our audience directly. So, it's the best of times and the worst of times.

CN: Is the upshot of the digital era the return to a DIY mentality?

GG: I think we'll see more fabulously original music coming out in the next few years than ever before. Through Garage Band or Logic or even straight ahead to ProTools--however they are doing it-- kids are finding ways to make beautiful music in their bedrooms again. They can spend £20 and make £2 million from it. Without the advent of home studios, a band like Animal Collective-my favorite band at the moment-wouldn't be able to do what they do; theirs isn't an album you could make in two months in a £1,000-per-day studio.

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Rebecca Bottone and Janis Kelley. All photos by Clive Barda

Sunday night, Rufus Wainwright's debut opera, "Prima Donna" closed out its premiere run at the Manchester International Festival, playing to another long sold-out crowd at the Palace Theatre, silencing the cynicism of those who thought the novelty of opera going pop would die overnight. It was a striking success after the project's shaky take off. Earlier this year, Wainwright was prepared for the worst. After commissioning Wainwright to write the opera, the Metropolitan passed on it. Twice.

With those early difficulties in mind, it was advisable for "Prima Donna" to have a discreet debut. The Manchester International Festival seemed perfect: the highly regarded but still relatively new biennial event successfully launched Damon Albarn's "Monkey" opera only two years before. The Festival would provide "Prima Donna" healthy hype but "if it bombed, no one would notice," Wainwright says.

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When menswear presentations concluded in Paris this week, Spring 2010's agenda was officially set: it's a season about movement, man's journeys and destinations. Plantation owners should be able to traverse their property with panache, after all—or in more practical times, cash-squeezed couture buyers might channel cultural supremacy of bygone eras. But Out of Africa it wasn't:Thinking pragmatically, designers explored the overlap of aesthetics and ergonomics, presenting luxury wear that is rarefied but versatile, allowing those with an active lifestyle to bridge the gap between work and play with spontaneity and ease. We saw the Parisian runways provide optimistic "design solutions" to color fashion's future a little brighter, more dynamic, and easier to navigate.  Whether a bike messenger (at Vuitton), a shadowy tourist (Rick Owens), or a seasoned globetrotter (naturally, Dries Van Noten), this season's man is on the move and in need of a streamlined wardrobe-to-go:

 
OUT OF AFRICA
If the Everyman of Spring 2010 is a cultural tourist, then Africa—at least in its idealized, pre-adoption-happy version—is that xenomaniac's dream destination. Riccardo Tisci's Latin American urban prince has grown up, taken a trip to Morocco, and wears hijabs as doo-rags. Meanwhile, John Galliano's recurrent Napoleonic theme focused on the little man's years misspent as a cohair in Egypt. There were headwraps galore, sandblasted denim military coats, harem pants, cuirass simulations, and way too many belts. Luckily, Miharayasuhiro weathered the desert storm with finesse, funneling inspiration from The Last Prince and sub-Saharan Africa. His battle-fatigued collection draped its way to rare verisimilitude, emphasizing a high waist, and multiple layering techniques--all major styling trends this season-to show, not tell. (LEFT: AT MIHARAYASUHIRO)

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Stills courtesy YSL

Tomorrow, Stefano Pilati premieres a new short film in conjunction with his Spring 2010 YSL menswear collection. What we know: It's called "Melinda," and shot by Samuel Benchetrit, "Melinda" looks like a moody piece in black and white. We've taken a look at the stills and will premiere the video Thursday: the visual theme, thus far, seems to be "boys pretending to be men"—a topic straight from the runway itself, but with biographical and autobiographical overtones as well. The protagonist, we've learned, is none other than Benchetrit's son, Jules, who is 11. In the stills, he seems, ostensibly, on some sort of mission: Is it a date? A criminal plot? An escape route? YSL won't tell.

A baby indie icon (long locks and all), Jules is adorably overburdened by adult-sized luxurious, silken tees, sports blazers, and tuxedo hats—garments that magically transform from comically oversized to preternaturally fit on the runway, of course. Will this sense of drowning in a uniform set a metaphorical tone for the menswear collection? Jules may turn out to be just a convenient, cute protagonist, but I'd like to believe he serves as a symbol of proverbial Peter Pans—of the immaturity of ne'er-do-well men. One thing is certain: at some point someone named "Melinda" will become central to Jules. Perhaps she'll come to his (real or imagined) rescue.

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