I might be a little late with this new release by UK electronic kraut duo Thought Bubble. That is not on their account, it is just that every time I put on Weaving I feel myself slipping into a blissful trance blackout…
…and wake up inside a gigantic lava lamp. I can feel the rubbery bubbles pushing past my body as I hold by breath and try to swim upwards. It is not a frightening sensation, mind you. It is rather peaceful, floating in this glimmering cocoon of light and rubbery goo. In the background synthesisers pulsate and a human drummer attempts a wrestling contest with a frantically bleeping computer. Spinning wildly the bubbles seem to come from every direction and then suddenly stop. Weightlessly floating, sunlight breaks through the water as I open my eyes and slowly wake up…
Just a kind warning, Thought Bubble’s music can have this effect on your brain. It is psycho-electric (mostly) instrumental music like this that can trip you out even more profoundly than most analogue stuff. It is an audio sonic experience that makes the mind wander, and end up in the strangest of places.
I talked to just Nick Raybould, as his partner in crime Chris Cordwell enjoys a nice holiday in Croatia. It is good to catch up with the Thought Bubble tandem and see what they have been up to since we last spoke around the release of their previous album Nowhere. Let’s find out all we can about their latest creation Weaving.
Hi Nick and Chris! How have you been since we last spoke in October?
We’re both fine, thanks – well, to the best of my knowledge, at least. You see, Chris is currently wending his way down to Croatia with his wife on a big Summer trek and I’ve not heard from him for a week. Hence you’ll only have me answering your questionnaire this time. I could’ve pretended to be him I suppose, but that just makes me have to think twice as hard, so knickers to that. So, I’m speaking mainly for me me me, but trying to second guess what he’d probably say too.
I’d just like to say that my heart problems seem to have been successfully fixed. It’s now been over a year since all that business – and I’m gleefully scampering about the Shropshire hills like a new born lamb. And, back behind my drum kit and recording some great new work. In fact, much of this album’s drumming and percussion was done in that early recovery period. And the next one (ooooh) is almost done too.
How have you spent your time musically? I heard Nick was involved in more than just Though Bubble..? And you played live?
We still haven’t actually performed live in public as Thought Bubble yet, but intend to fix that with a set at this Autumn’s Space Chase Eclipse all dayer, in Cannock.
However, as a bongo bothering gun-for-hire (pop tart), I went straight out, after the operation and put myself about a bit. Last summer, putting my surgeon’s work to the test, I played with various friends and even strangers at a number of festivals. In fact our occasional collaborator Shankara Andy Bole invited my up to join him improvising around his lovely psychedelic ambient and groovy loops at a few festivals – and I then went on to perform at other weekenders as an occasional part of Rubber Bus and Tanglemist.
I intend to repeat all of the above this summer too. Festivals like Kozfest, Onboard The Craft plus a few others are in my 2023 diary.
What can you tell us about the creation of the new album Weaving? It must be a very different process than on Nowhere, right?
The recording process hasn’t changed much at all, really. Being free of the lockdown regime just means we can meet more often to discuss things and even rehearse together again. However, having found a way to successfully record without Chris’s painfully loud amps spilling onto my drum mics, by doing our parts alone in our separate studios means we can get things down in a state more suitable for editing and mixing.
I might point out that Chris has been continuing to acquire new gadgets and boxes, so some of his own processes may have evolved. I do seem to receive a lot more stems in our shared Dropbox these days – and they are labelled with names of what I assume are new instruments. I still do the production, mixing and editing his wonderful work into things that we both love, which I then play kit and hand percussion all over.
What is the album about lyrically?
We’re an instrumental outfit really, but there’s almost always at least one track with some words on our releases, somewhere. This album’s no exception. But, I find even on the purely instrumental tracks that I’m mixing, Chris’s keys pieces often have a sort of lyrical feel, if you get my drift. As the different instruments come in and maybe take a solo break, it affects me like a voice telling a story.
But yeah, there are actual verbal lyrics on the track ’Sounds Affect’. I decided in this instance to read and record them myself. The lyrics for this one are inspired by the process of writing and producing Thought Bubble music. That’s why I actually superimposed the words onto the video for it.
As with all the albums – the title of this one also appears somewhere in the lyrics. Now, folks can go off and explore all our previous albums, listening closely to find mention of “around”, “primal connection” and “nowhere” when they’ve a spare few hours!
What can you tell me about the label Woodford Halse and the fact that you are releasing a cassette this time?
We always try and find a reliable set of hands to help us release our albums. And Woodford Halse are no exception. In fact, they’re one of the coolest indie labels going. They get plays on 6Music and features in magazines and shops actually stock them! The coolest reviewers and DJs seem to be keeping a close eye on their output. And, of course, we were very flattered and chuffed that they approached us.
We have released a cassette album before of course. The electronic music specialists Dub Cthonic put our second album ‘Primal Connection’ out as a cassette. And they, just like Dirty Filthy Records and Echodelick Records are better at being record labels than we will ever be. So, rather than having to do all the stuff we’re not really cut out for, we instead leave that bit to them and can instead just carry on concentrating on the music. I might add, though… I do like to be involved in the packaging and video making side of a release. I’m an artist and graphic designer, after all.
What can you tell us about the guest appearances on the album?
More often than not Chris and I will create something that is just perfect as a two-header. However, I will sometimes be struggling to resolve the mix of some irksome track that’s too good to abandon, but isn’t quite right. Sometimes something extra is needed to fill a gap – y’know, add an extra texture, if you see what I mean.
Chris and I have known guitarist Shaun Bailey since we were both in the band Delphini with him. And, of course, I also recorded an album as part of his band MonkeyTrial too. So, he’s often a good sympathetic collaborator. However, we’ve now started building a little pool of players we can call upon. Sometimes they’re too busy and enmeshed in their own work to spare us the brain space. More often than not though, they’ll have a listen to where we’ve got so far and quickly know exactly what’s needed. Shaun’s like that – and so too is Shankara Andy Bole! He provided a track playing a sort of bouzouki / sitar instrument he’s developed. I should probably point out that there is already another album in the latter stages of completion and this one features a few new faces who we’ve never featured before.
If you could dream big, what would be the coolest thing you could do with Thought Bubble?
I always dream big – and given that Chris is continually lending me albums by some mad new discovery, I think he has equally ambitious dreams. I think we’d like to curate an event. But, as I said, when we were discussing how we sometimes rely on the capable sets of other hands to handle the admin and heavy lifting, we’d need proper grown-ups to help us realise that big dream.
A few years ago, just before the Covid pandemic scuppered it all, Harvey Bainbridge (Hawkwind) and his crew were organising a UK tour, taking on a different local support band – and then also joining forces, during his own set, with a different collaborator to jam with on each date. That seemed a great idea. I’d like us to do something like that. Keep it live and real-time. Improvise and let the audience see you thinking on your feet, rather than trotting out the same songs night after night.
How are you spending the rest of the year, and would should we anticipate as listeners?
Well, as I type, I keep checking back to the Bandcamp site to see how ‘sales of ‘Weaving’ are progressing – and this being the morning of its release day, I’m pleasantly surprised and quite relieved. As I said, I think there’s a lot of good will and faith in Woodford Halse and they’re doing what record companies used to do – alert their regular listeners to something they think is worth connecting to. And then, of course, furnishing them with something lovely to open and slip into their machines.
The rest of our energies are invested in preparing to play live and to get that follow up album ready for a possible winter release. More about those activities will be posted as when we’ve something more firm to say. Just keep on taking a glance at our Facebook or Instagram thingies.
What should the Weirdo Shrine readers do immediately after reading this interview?
Well, I’m sure every band you interview says the same, predictable thing here, so I’m gonna suggest the obvious, but add something. Take a languid listen to our album – but I’ll also suggest your readers do it through headphones, lay in long grass and maybe with something recreationally reckless at hand.
Weirdo Shrine 