SNH Interviews...S I X . B Y S E V E N

Six by Seven are back, but not as we know it. Our readers will remember them fondly for their loud, slow building vs exploding sonic guitars trademark style, before they went on hiatus in 2008. Lead man Chris Olley has been busy on various musical side projects as well as touring 92 English and Welsh football stadiums and then writing a book about it, and releasing his own line of boutique guitar pedals in the shape of Coopersonic. We managed to catch up with frontman Chris Olley, and he explained what's different this time round, why they're playing again, what to expect at their forthcoming shows, and his favourite football ground of course. Ed - This interview requires a special thanks to Ollie Birtill. 

How come you have decided to reform now?
We were doing The Death Of Six By Seven which was essentially six by seven without drums and it was developing into it's own thing and we did a few gigs and an album. When Steve joined us on the drums it went really really well and afterwards after that first rehearsal, we were in the pub and Steve suggested we lose the Death Of.. bit. We agreed, it was a group not a band. We wanted to start something new though and even though the name is the same none of us feel like we have reformed the band, we feel like we are starting a new band albeit with the same name, which is:  S I X . B Y  S E V E N

How did the drummer from Placebo get in touch with you? Did you take much convincing to ‘reform’?
I was going down to London to sell some of our Coopersonic pedals to a music shop called Vintage And Rare in Denmark Street. I phoned them up just to make sure the guy was gonna be there the next day to give me the cash and I googled the wrong number and ended up talking to someone else at Vintage guitars or something. We chatted and he had a look at the Coopersonic website and then said, "Are you Chris Olley from Six By Seven?". Turns out this guy was the guitar player in Steve's band Love Amongst Ruin. I went down to London the next day and met them both in the pub opposte Denmark Street where the Astoria used to be. They had just done a cover of So Close and we played it in the pub over their speaker system! Anyway, Steve remained in touch after that meeting and I asked him if he would guest on my next album a few months later, you know, play drums on a track. He said, "I'll play on all of them if you like!" So I sent him a whole bunch of songs and he threw his drums in the car and drove up to Nottingham 3 days later. We've been rehearsing together every week ever since!

How does it feel being back doing the band after such a long break?
I don't know, it doesn't feel like anything. I've been releasing music through Cargo and through my website all the time so for me it's just a continuation of what I do. I don't really take breaks, things just happen to cause change and force you to think in different ways. Life!

You seem to have kept busy, but did you miss S I X . B Y  S E V E N, or was it more like a natural pause?
I missed being in a loud band. I missed the weight of the thud of the drums. It doesn't matter how good you are at writing songs, it just isn't Rock n Roll without a great drummer (Ed-agreed).

You have a new album imminent, were these ideas that had brewing since the original split, or brand new tracks?
They were all songs I had written during the last few years. All of them had been released in demo form or home studio recordings for internet only releases. It's my fans I have to thank, they have kept me going. They are the ones responsible for these songs being written and this album being made. All the people on my mailing list will already know all the songs on the new album. Crying is at least 5-6 years old.


What can fans and newcomers alike expect from the new material?
It's very big and bold and graceful, typical S I X . B Y  S E V E N build ups and sonic explosions. Someone told me it sounds like an orgasm. Lots of atmospheric keyboards and epic guitars and feral drums. I think lyrically it's about letting go, letting go of family and all the trouble that can cause. It's the best thing I've ever done.

Artwork for upcoming record Love and Peace and Sympathy be released on 8th July.

You have a very refined approach to sound ie creating your own pedals, tuning organs... Is there any specific techniques or unique effects/distortions/recording techniques you've applied to the new recordings?
Not really because we did it all live, very simple. All of us, including amps, in one room and drums in the other room. 5 songs were take 1 and the rest take 2 or 3. We rehearsed it for 4 months and then went into the studio and just banged it all down in two days. We spent the rest of the week mixing, doing vocals and overdubbing little bits here and there to make it sound like a posh Peel session! When you buy the album and go and see the band live you will get one and the same thing. I like that, The Pixies were like that.

And I have to ask, the one guitar pedal you couldn't live without?
Colorsound Overdrive. You might be shocked to know it's actually the only pedal I use aside from standard Wah Wah and a tuner! Although I do use a bit of Electro Harmonix small clone Chorus on the guitar solo of Crying!! Cheat!!!

Has the break changed your approach to the band?
No. I'm in it for the music, nothing else matters. If everyone works together for the good of the music and leaves their ego outside the door, you won't have a problem with me, that's my approach to being in a band, always has been. Many people don't like me because of that and leave, I think that's ok.

Apart from the new ones, what is your favourite S I X . B Y  S E V E N song?
So Close.

What’s the strangest place you’ve ever heard a S I X . B Y  S E V E N song?
Radio One in the afternoon.

Do you see yourselves touring regularly again, or will it just be shows here and there?
That depends on how many people come to see us! If no one comes, no promoter will give us a gig. WE WANT TO PLAY, COME TO THE SHOWS!! Don't come 5 years later asking for songs we played 5 years before!!!

Who else of your contemporaries from the late 90s would you most like to reform?
I thought they all had already reformed? Who's left, The Farm maybe or perhaps Sultans Of Ping?

Looking forward to Glasto?
YEAH!!! I hope it pisses down. I've played there every year in some form or other for the last 12 years or so. We are playing Thursday night, we are opening the darn thing! I reckon I should be in and out and home by Friday in time to watch it on the telly, the only sensible way to watch it and get a real feel of the festival. Lauren Laverne and cold beer and a nice warm bed in the evening and an opportunity to actually see all the great bands!!

Here's hoping

Will you ever play New Year again? You definitely should.
Probably not. We did give it a go in the rehearsal room a couple of weeks back though. We played that song a lot in the old days so why should we do it again? If you missed it the first time, tough luck, you should have been there. We got better songs now and I like to keep moving forward.

What’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked by an interviewer?
"Why are you always so miserable, do you have a big cock?"

What's the most impressive football stadium you witnessed when creating 92 Stadiums?
Arsenal. Sometimes my Sat Nav used to take me to the old grounds and they were boarded up waiting for the bulldozer. Not so with Arsenal. Highbury now has people living in it and the pitch is divided up into allotments. It's a tribute to the history of football in this great nation, the game we invented and gave to the world. Gone are the Baseball Ground, Roker Park, Layer Road.. you name it, all replaced by faceless flat pack ring road stadiums. Not so at Arsenal, and the new stadium is right where it should be, across the road from the old one. I hope West Ham do the same.  I bet they move to the Olympic Stadium and knock The Boleyn Ground down and build student flats on the site.

S I X . B Y  S E V E N release their new record Love and Peace and Sympathy 8th July. They also tour the UK, get yourself down there. Do not leave it five years, you'll regret it. TICKETS

JULY 2013

22 Club Ifor Bach Cardiff

23 Bristol Louisanna

24 London Lexington

25 Exeter Cavern Club

26 Manchester Soundcontrol

27 Notingham Rescue Rooms

28 Leeds Brudenell Social Club