Dave McLean, one of the creative forces behind psychedelic wonders The Chemistry Set, talks to Jason Barnard about his mindbending solo release, ‘Faintly Blowing.’ With his latest single, a mesmerising rendition of the Kaleidoscope classic, McLean not only pays homage to ’60s psychedelia but has added his own distinct imprint.
What inspired you to cover ‘Faintly Blowing’ by Kaleidoscope?
I first heard ‘Faintly Blowing’ back in 1987 and bought a copy from Zippo records in Clapham Park Road (excellent record shop) A few of us used to get together most weekends, to enjoy a lysergic Saturday night and this album was always being played and we used to lose ourselves looking into the cover. The album has the right mix of uniquely English psych with great melodies, hooks and arrangements, That song stayed in my head and when The Chemistry Set started, we were practicing some covers in the rehearsal room as we learned our craft. ‘Faintly Blowing’ was one of those covers that we played in the rehearsal room but never recorded. So after all those years, I thought “let’s have a go”.
Peter Daltrey mentioned that your version has its own stamp. How did you approach making the song your own while staying true to the original?
On the original version, there are just a couple of guitars and I really wanted to create a bigger soundstage and layers of different guitar sounds. In the end there are about 12 guitars doing something. I wanted the overall sound to be big but dreamy. The recording started in the bedroom and then went no further than a rehearsal room, where I added the loud guitars and drums. This was the first record I have made since the 80’s that wasn’t made in a recording studio. The drums for example only had one microphone directly overhead. It was not because I wanted to achieve some primitive drum sound but because the room only had two mics and one of the mic stands was broken and wouldn’t stay in place. So I just used the recording from the one mic.
Another thing, is I am obsessed with Brian Jones style of Mellotron playing, he has a unique, arabesque style and when I had finished recording all the guitars, bass and vocals, the idea came to me to add a Brian Jones style Mellotron to the song. That came at the 11th hour. It is great when you get inspired like that. I wanted a kind of modern Syd Barrett meets The Misunderstood meets Brian Jones LO-FI sound (not sure it exactly sounds like that, but that was the kind of inspiration). It took some time to mix as I had 33 separate tracks. When I was in the rehearsal room I recorded everything I could think of and even more, so that when I came to mix I had enough sounds to work with.
‘Faintly Blowing’ is being released as an 8″ lathe-cut single with a stereo version on one side and a phased mono mix on the other. What led to the decision to release it in this unique format?
The turnaround time for making vinyl is anything from 6-12 months now, because the major record companies are using all the pressing plants for making vinyl releases of their big artists. I wanted to get ‘Faintly Blowing’ out sooner, so I contacted Keith from Fruits de Mer records and discussed doing a lathe project, as they can be made in less than a month. Because the song is over 5 minutes, that interestingly meant it would need to be 8 inches instead of 7 inches. Normally lathe cut singles are one-sided but when I was mixing the Stereo version, I thought it would be fun to mix a Mono version and add some phasing to a part of the track. I am really pleased that both mixes are distinct and you can hear different things in both mixes. So the poor lathe cutter has to listen (in real time) to each and every A & B side.
How do you feel vinyl releases, like the lathe-cut single, contribute to the overall experience of your music compared to digital?
I have a friend of mine in Madrid (Jorge Torrens) and he makes custom made record players and he asked if I would like one. He takes the carcasses of old 1970’s German record players and then encases them in 1950’s sci-fi type white housing. He uses a 3D printer for that and the overall sound and look is amazing. The experience of listening to vinyl is unrivalled, selecting a vinyl, putting it on the deck and then sitting back and listening to the whole side (if an LP) is a joy. Also there is nothing better than a good record sleeve, the artwork, information, smell, a proper product.
Can you tell us about any specific challenges or creative decisions you faced while recording ‘Faintly Blowing’?
The biggest challenge was having to do everything myself. Where normally I work as a duo with Paul and we have worked with the same sound engineer for 16 years and he is the best engineer I have ever come across. I always love to be part of the mixing and production process but there are always some things that only the engineer knows how to do. So, on the single I had to do everything and it was a fantastic learning experience. In the end I took a month to mix it. Not 8 hours everyday, a few hours here and there and I think the final mix was version 12. It was fun and also because I had recorded everything either in the bedroom or a rehearsal room, it needed a lot of work and time to give it a sound that I was happy with.
Considering your involvement in The Chemistry Set, how does your solo work differ in terms of creative process and musical direction?
To be honest, it is nice to work with someone else, who can tell you when something sounds great or not and can also take your ideas and move them in a different direction. That is the way that me and Paul work. We either individually have an idea and then share it and work together and by the time it is finished it will have gone in a different direction to the original idea. Or like on ‘Pink Felt Trip’ we sat down and wrote songs together from scratch. When you do something solo you do not have the checks and balances and need to be careful not to get too over indulgent.
As you reflect on your music, what has been the most rewarding aspect of creating it over the years?
First and foremost, it is the people we have met since we returned in 2008. The world has become a whole lot smaller with the internet and I must say much friendlier than when we were playing in the 1980’s. There is a sense of togetherness and support from our extended family that was not there before. We really appreciate that.
We have managed to receive good feedback from the print media such as The Sunday Times, Mojo, Record Collector, Shindig etc but equally importantly we have managed to spread the word and got great support from blogs/internet sites (big and small) all across the globe (thank you Jason for all the support you have given).
The most rewarding aspect of all, however, is when you get feedback from someone who really likes your music and there are many people who never heard of us the first time around. It is also a great pleasure to hear from our original fans from the 1980’s and they continue to enjoy our music. Music is about sharing and enjoyment. If you reach one person or a thousand and they like it, you have done your job.
Further information
Dave McLean, ‘Faintly Blowing’, 8″ lathe-cut – Friends of the Fish 79, limited to 100 copies on sale April 1st
