The equipment isn’t always able to stand up to our onslaught. We had a power cut in Glasgow the other night – we were simply too rock ‘n’ roll and the fuse box couldn’t handle it,” recalls Christian Datsun, the shaggy-haired, tightly-trousered, wood and wire-weilding Antipodean behind some of the fattest riffs in modern rock.
Famed for their scissor-kicking live shows, ear bashing monster hits (‘Motherfucker From Hell’, ‘In Love’) and ‘Turn the amps up to eleven’ manifesto, such rock-induced technical mishaps are a matter of genuine concern for The Datsuns.
Tonight sees the band performing in London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts – a small gallery near Buckingham Palace with an appropriately dark and grotty performance space out the back, which, given a couple of hours, will be thronged with 200 moshing fans.
hotpress has it on good authority though that tonight’s power supply has been thoroughly Datsun-proofed: the gig is to be recorded for the John Peel Sessions, their third such endeavour, and with Mr Peel himself introducing the show, the band are on their best behaviour.
The show also marks the beginning of a six-month touring stint in support of their new album that will see them take in dates across Australia, New Zealand, Japan and America before heading back to the UK & Europe for yet more shows. “It keeps us in shape,” says Christian, of their hefty travelling schedule. “As you can see, we’re four skinny lads. It’s a bit of a workout.”
The album, Outta Sight/Outta Mind, was recorded in a converted barnhouse in the leafy surrounds of Farnham, a small country town just west of London, over the course of five weeks.
“9 to 5, weekends off!” laughs Phil Datsun. “It was a fantastic experience, everyone was really relaxed. You could just immerse yourself in the record.” Unlike for their self-produced debut, the band enlisted the production skills of an all-time-hero, Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, for the recording.
“He came to see us over a year ago when we played in London,” says Phil. “We met him briefly, he came to the show, it was all very nice, then later on he got interested in producing the record, so we had another meeting with him in the States. We had a conversation and it seemed like a good idea – he seemed to be into what we’re into and to want to make the same kind of record. We’d never previously considered working with somebody else, but we thought, ‘Well, if we’re going to work with anybody it might as well be John Paul Jones’. So we went for it.”
While the recording itself passed off smoothly enough, the band did succeed in riling the locals with a late night fireworks session.
“We did have a bit of a run in with some of the farmers from the area,” admits Christian. “We let off some fireworks one night and frightened all the horses. The farmers came round and they were really angry, telling us to go back to our city and stuff. But John Paul Jones calmed them down so it was all right. He’s a nice, older gentleman that they could relate to more than us young hooligans with our fireworks.”
Unsurprisingly, Outta Sight… does not diverge too far from the straight up rock ‘n’ roll blueprint of its predecessor, with songs still clearly built for live performance rather than bedroom dissection. While it is in possession of a firmer grasp of dynamics, the two speed (fast and faster) metronome and a love for riff heavy garage rock are still very much the backbone of the record. But while not a carbon copy of The Datsuns, it is a lot less different than the band would have you believe.
“Our second record is not radically different to the first, but it is different,” insists Christian. “We’ve thrown a few different things in, a few different spices and herbs, if you will, and we’ve cooked up a new batch of ingredients that you might know from the menu with a few other new things. And we’ve become better chefs in the process! This time there’re a few more chillies in there, a bit more punch. And a few more subtle flavours. Losing the kitchen analogies for a second, there’s a bit more groove there and a bit more space.”
Indeed there is; however the degree of progression is relatively small and seems to apply more to the production techniques than the songwriting. Still, the success of the current single ‘Blacken My Thumb’ is proof of the band’s ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ theory. The first track on the album, it saw itself blasted across the news section of many music magazines thanks to a head injury received by singer Dolf de Datsun while filming the video. Phil explains: “It was only a small cut. There were no comas, no hospitals, no falling off buildings, no huge scars. He was back doing takes of the video in half an hour. There was no drama.” While The Datsuns may prefer to downplay their antics, their live shows give an airing to their more exhibitionist side. However, they are quick to draw the distinction between themselves and bands who are known for their over-the-top cock rock showmanship as much as their music.
“I can appreciate that showman thing,” says Christian, “it works for The Darkness and The Hives. They have characters – when you meet them they’re very nice, normal guys, then they go onstage and they’re all confident and brash. It’s just a show they play. It is very entertaining and it does suit other bands, but it doesn’t suit what we do. People always ask us about tour stories and how much sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll we’ve had, but we don’t feel the need to build our profiles like that. This is just us being us.”