The Legendary Pink Dots | Interview | New Album, ‘The Museum Of Human Happiness’
The Legendary Pink Dots recently released a new album, ‘The Museum Of Human Happiness’ via Metropolis Records.
Formed in London in 1980, The Legendary Pink Dots operate well outside the mainstream and have built and maintained a fiercely loyal cult following worldwide, sustaining a lengthy career that has seen them release over forty regular studio albums as well as a myriad of additional recordings. Ka-Spel (vocals, keyboards) and group co-founder Phil Knight [aka The Silverman] (keyboards, electronics), are joined by guitarist Erik Drost for ‘The Museum Of Human Happiness’, the trio’s follow-up to 2019’s ‘Angel In The Detail’.
That album had been promoted with a 40th Anniversary tour in early 2020, the initial European leg of which ended with a sold-out show in London shortly before the UK shut up shop. Ka-Spel recalls that “the pandemic reared its ugly head as we criss-crossed Europe. Just a few days before much of Italy locked down, we were in Milan. A few days later, the destination was Cologne where we stayed in a hotel in the countryside. It turned out that we were one village away from the most lethal outbreak of the virus in Germany. The tour eventually finished at The Moth Club in East London, which has a worryingly low ceiling. There were hugs, a real feeling of togetherness with a truly lovely audience. Then the World stopped. It was the last time The Dots were in the same room”.
“It’s a miracle of cyberspace”
‘The Museum Of Human Happiness’ is your latest album. Was there a particular concept you were looking for?
Edward Ka-Spel: Hi Klemen. ‘The Museum Of Human Happiness’ was everything to do with the circumstances we found ourselves in for almost the whole of 2020 and 2021. We had just finished a European Tour when COVID-19 was gathering a disturbing momentum. I distinctly remember sitting in an impromptu dressing room in Milan reading about an outbreak 60 km down the road and from there things went downhill. Friends would turn up at shows coughing and wheezing, places we just visited declared lockdowns. At darker moments we felt a little like the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, spreading the malaise.
The last show was in London. It was packed and it felt like most of the audience needed hugs. Then life stopped.
For a while, in the early days, it seemed like everything became better – the air was cleaner, we could actually hear the birds.
But then an expert would spoil it all by reminding us that the planet was still destined to fry even if the lockdown lasted for years… a scenario where we were not just locked in but trapped underground. At least we could create a museum dedicated to the illusion that everything was perfect… before…
My youngest daughter Alice suggested the title when she wrote a poem entitled “The Museum of Happiness”. It resonated massively with me… I added ‘The Museum Of Human Happiness’. Songs poured out as if there was to be no tomorrow… I guess that was also the fear…
Is happiness in today’s society even possible?
Ask me again when people start talking about peace rather than war, when we have learned not to vote for monsters, when we have kicked away the borders and learned to share and cherish all life. It’s possible but we need to work on it.
Would you like to share some further words on the recording and producing process for ‘The Museum Of Human Happiness’?
It’s a miracle of cyberspace. We were not allowed to meet, share a studio space or even share a curry. We were also separated by the North Sea. I tended to write the songs with all that glorious time and send the recordings across to the guys in The Netherlands. They added their parts, and sent them to me. I mixed the contents of the pot and asked for suggestions to refine it all. At last we reached the point where everyone was a little ecstatic with the way it turned out.
“The complexity was a result of visiting the material daily for months”
The album itself is quite complex. Was it difficult to get all the material together?
Initially there was an absolute deluge of material and I’d go through it all with my wife Alena. She actually suggested the songs that made a coherent whole, and she was absolutely right. The complexity was a result of visiting the material daily for months, always refining and looking for new angles. I confess I’m obsessive when it comes to those little details.
How’s this last year under lockdown been for you? Have you found the isolation creatively challenging or freeing?
In reality, a bit of both, but I have enjoyed lots of support from my family as well as the good souls across the World who support the Dots through thick and thin.
It’s really hard to follow everything you’re working on. Would you like to share what are some of the latest projects you worked on or are still currently working on?
Hmm…that’s a hard one. Lots of projects are bubbling under but my main focus in the last year has been to produce a kind of audio diary with an album (solo) almost every month. It’s demanding, but hugely satisfying.
If you could work with any other current artist who would it be?
I cannot really answer that. Lots of great artists I admire and love to listen to but it doesn’t mean I need to work with them.
Looking back, who influenced your music the most and did influences change during the years?
Psychedelic music from the early 70s probably played the biggest part. Still I remember the day at school during a drama lesson when we were allowed to play records and then discuss them. Someone brought ‘Ummagumma’ to the lesson and life changed. Then there was Faust, listening to the John Peel Show with a transistor radio pressed to my ear under the bed sheets; ‘Tago Mago’ by Can, ‘Hymnen’ from Stockhausen, White Noise , ‘666’ ‘from Aphrodite’s Child. Later, Mutantes, ‘OK Computer’… always keep the antenna raised.
Let’s end this interview with some of your favorite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?
There is a lot of great music out there. Must mention Lucy Liyou, Claire Rousay and all the recent releases of Phew. I have loved her music since the 80s but the last albums have been stunning. I tend to discover a lot through Bandcamp… it gave us all the shots in the arm we desperately needed.
Klemen Breznikar
The Legendary Pink Dots Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp
Metropolis Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube
