No Joy: Just last year we thought we'd heard the last of Niels Children... thankfully, you're back & you've brought James Hair back with you. What made you decide to reactivate this band?
John Linger: The impetus behind the reformation was the archiving of the unreleased NC material. Me and Brandon were working on the premise for some time, and during the talks for the project James contacted me through Facebook. I explained what we were doing, and he seemed really interested to be involved. It started out as writing sleeve notes for the first download and ended up in us planning to play some shows, concentrating on material from the period James was in the band, which was a good 5 or so years.
NJ: Will any songs on Visit/Revisited feature the other, former members of the band?
JL: The Visit/Revisited series will feature stuff from the full period of the bands career, so a good 13+ years. There's so much great stuff with both James and Keith which was, for one reason or another, left on the shelf. It's been so great re-evaluating those tracks again and realising that we produced a steady, solid stream of good music for so long. I challenge anyone to argue otherwise...
JL: I dunno whether there is a statement as such, but as mentioned, it's about re-evaluating our worth as a band. Sadly (or luckily) we didn't gain the commercial success of other bands of the period, but we ALWAYS did what we wanted, whether it was to our gain or detriment. Didn't matter to us either way. Revisiting the period of when James was in the band makes me (and I hope the others) more aware of the power and importance of the group.
NJ: Never one to follow fashion or bite your tongue, what do you think of the current state of independent music? Is there anything you're "into" at the moment?
JL: Funnily enough, there are a couple of bands I really dig at the moment. I love Tame Impala and Connan Mockasin, the new Jacco Gardner single is great too. I've be getting back into the 1960s psych stuff I loved when I was younger, so if it's a little odd, and a nod to that, then I'll give it a listen. But outside of that, a lot of stuff I hear I can't quite dig. A lot of current music still seems to be harking back to a post-Libertines guitar pop, or an overly musical, arranged sophisticated pop. People should let things breath and not worry about how much they can make a record sound 'considered'. Or maybe it's just me....
NJ: You've been producing & releasing excellent records for other artists (Electricity In Our Homes, Disconcerts, etc.) for a while now; is that something you plan to continue? What does the future hold for Structurally Sound?
JL: Well, we just released the new Goodnight and I Wish E.P, which is Brandon's project, and which I now drum for. So that's pretty exciting... it's a good record. Other than that I mixed an LP by a Russian band called Manicure last year, which I thought was really good. Sadly it's really hard for them to get exposure over here, what with the distance etc. I'm producing/mixing the debut single of a London band called Strangedays, which is great. They supported us at the comeback show and they have a lot of potential. Plus they are lovely people. I'd like to keep working with people who want to work with me. Outside of playing, it's the thing I enjoy most.
NJ: How will the return of NC & the continuation of EIOH affect The Drop Five, if at all?
JL: Sadly, the Drop Five are on indefinite hiatus. Not only for the logistical issues... as you mentioned Paul and Bon are so busy with EIOH, and I wouldn't want to jeopardise their career for all the tea in Yorkshire. Aside from that, although we all had big faith in what we were doing, it is too out of touch with what's going on musically in Britain at the moment. I listened to some recording the other day and I think for all people involved it's some of the strongest writing and playing any of us have ever done, in any band. I mean, who knows... but for the time being I don't think we'd slot in anywhere.
