Tom Roche has spent years building a catalogue of songs under the name Man & Machine, long before he had anywhere to put them out. That changes when Fruits de Mer Records release Earthman, his first vinyl release, a 10″ combining electronics and downtempo textures. Roche’s route to the label started with a Facebook friend’s tip about a Pretty Things EP, and grew from there. Here he talks through the local library studio that started it all, the friends who shaped the record, and what it means to finally hold a Man & Machine release in his hands.
Before Man & Machine existed as a name, what got you playing music?
A love of pop/rock music ,mainly because my parents never let me listen to any growing up, and of course, it being forbidden just made me want to hear it more. True story…when my brother and I asked my dad to buy us guitars….he said they were too dangerous and bought us air rifles instead…not sure what his thinking was, maybe he was more worried about us being electrocuted than being shot…anyway, to be fair to him, he did eventually buy us guitars !
Who are your influences and has that changed over the years?
The Beatles, like a lot of folk, are my biggest influence in music…the Red & The Blue albums started my fascination….and of course their fellow greats, The Kinks, Stones, Bee Gees. Pink Floyd…all the usual suspects…..wasn’t much of a prog man, but with Fruit de Mers help, I know dip into the genre and appreciate it more, especially the more instrumentally themed tracks.
You supported the Screaming Trees and Catatonia in your friend’s group. What do you remember about those gigs, and what was the scene like for a band getting those support slots?
My friend Andy Bollen knew a few Glasgow promoters from being part of the scene, so his band Boomerang got a few good support slots which were always interesting…meeting a tipsy Cerys Matthews and not meeting a very quiet and private Mark Lanegan…we also played King Tuts and The 13th Note on a regular basis and played on the new talent stage at T in the Park one year …there was a good scene in Glasgow at that time, plenty of venues to play.
When did the band days end, and what made you call it a day?
A few record companies had expressed an interest but nothing came of it…a couple of the guys left so things just came to a halt…I’d started recording my own songs and was more interested in recording than playing live… and a amazing opportunity came for Andy when soon after he was offered the drum position for Captain America who toured with Nirvana….what a gig ! Myself and half of Airdrie got to see them courtesy of a massive guest list.
When did you first start recording Man & Machine material?
A library opened in my area just a few hundred yards from my house and in that library was a small recording studio open to all residents to use for free !!! So I started recording there and built up a collection of original tunes. Unfortunately the library closed, not big readers in Airdrie, but fortunately the studio stayed open, and upgraded to a fantastic facility, now called Beetroot Studios ..it’s a busy studio ( no longer free of course) and many a good Scottish band have recorded there…The Bluebells, Fay from the Rezillos and some cracking up and coming bands.
Tell me about working with Stuart MacLeod. How did that relationship start, and how has it influenced the Man & Machine sound?
Stuart was in charge of the recording studio, still is, and I’d known him from his time playing in The Wild River Apples, a band who we’d followed about. As well as being a brilliant guitarist and adding some great solos, he had a great feel for the songs and translated my vague ideas into reality, entertaining all my psychedelic fantasies, backward guitars and general way outness….and he introduced me to Sam Waller who played drums on the tracks so brilliantly…also on the album was my good friend Andy Lawrie who played keyboards and who sadly passed away last year…a great musician and human being..
I understand the two instrumentals on the EP owe a lot to Stuart’s ideas. Can you walk me through how one of those tracks came together?
Listening with Stuart to the tracks without vocals certainly inspired us to make instrumental versions with added sound effects…and by then being a FdM fan, I felt these tracks would certainly appeal to the members…so with a bit of studio wizardry and a lot of randomness , we’d fill the instrumentals with various loops and backward tapes…though there was nothing random on his guitar part on “Otherworldly”….was great to see him play along and come up with such a brilliant part for the song.
What’s still sitting in the Man & Machine vault, and is there a chance we hear more of it?
There are a few tracks in the vault that were possibly a bit poppy for FdM..including the vocal version of “Otherworldly”….They’ll definitely be released some time, even if it’s just on downloadable tracks on Bandcamp….but another EP release can’t be ruled out…
What was it about Fruits de Mer that hooked you as a collector?
A Facebook friend tagged me on a post he made knowing I was a big Beatles fan…it was an EP on the label by The Pretty Things covering some White Album tracks…some great versions and that sparked my interest in the label, even though as I’ve said I wasn’t a big Prog fan…it felt great being a fan of the label, there’s a nice community feel, people bonding over music and helping and promoting each other.
What does it mean to you to finally hold a Man & Machine record on vinyl?
To have an official release on FdM like the bands mentioned, all whose vinyl I’ve got, and indeed be part of the label, however small is fantastic….having had a track on a members CD was great, but to be on vinyl is something I always hoped for! It’s a great label and a joy to be a member of it and an artist on it!
Futher information
Man & Machine, Earthman, 10″ EP, Friends of the Fish 94, on sale late-September 2026
