An Interview with Robert John Godfrey of The Enid

Having been assigned the job of interviewing Robert John Godfrey, I was filled with a sense of excitement and anticipation. I knew that The Lodge Recording Studio was his baby and I also knew that he was the founding member and keyboard maestro behind legendary eclectic prog-rockers The Enid, but not a great deal about the man himself. I had vague visions of a reclusive Syd Barrett type - mysterious, aloof, wizard-like. I was looking forward to hearing what he had to say about the town, tunes and trends. He did not disappoint.

On arrival, I was lead to a studio room upstairs above The Lodge where I found Robert playing a beautiful ebony grand piano that looked like it had been fashioned from Kubrick's monolith. It was the perfect start.

He indicated for me to sit down, and before I'd really finished asking my first question about his upbringing, he very succinctly summed up twenty years or so in about twenty seconds:

'I was born in a castle and brought up by Indian servants. I came from a rich, aristocratic background of the late 40s/early 50s. I er, went to boarding school. Fucked up there. Was put into care. Learnt to play the piano. Went to the Royal College Of Music to learn to be a concert pianist... I then discovered acid and The Beatles.' Phew.

By the age of fifteen he had already performed the Brahms concerto. At RCOM he went on to establish a close relationship with German composer Hans Werner Henze, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten, whilst studying under concert pianist Malcolm Binns. Next, he worked with Barclay James Harvest after hearing them at the Roundhouse in London:

'I was with them for two years and that's where I learnt everything about recording (which is still relevant today) at Abbey Road Studios, where I did two albums with Pink Floyd producer Norman Smith - with whom I went on to have a long association with.'

The Enid was born in June 1973 and they released their debut album 'In The Region Of Summer Stars' on EMI in 1976. They've been described as the biggest cult band in Europe; banned by Glastonbury; investigated by MI5; and dubbed leftists and anarchists.

More recently, Time Out described them as 'The Orb meets Pink Floyd meets The Berlin Philarmonic.' The fatty-boombatty fraternity are twitching with exitement. These are the kind of comments that you yearn for as a group. A mythology that eventually writes itself. The band have notched up several albums and line-up changes since, but throughout their entire history Robert John Godfrey has remained the focal point:

'I formed The Enid in '73, which was the ragtag of the remnants of my care-home. When it closed I thought right, I'm a musician, let's have a band. So I formed the band with the lads there. We hadn't got homes to go to and had to do something with our lives. And I've been doing that one way or another ever since.' They intend to get back out onto the concert platform very soon.

The Enid currently features Robert, original drummer David Storey and a crop of younger musicians. They have a record deal with the Gerald Palmer Organisation (responsible for Spiritualized).

One of Robert's other passions is The Lodge Recording Studio on Abington Square in Northampton, which he runs with Chief Engineer Max Read. It offers excellent facilities, with the latest technology and digital recording techniques sat neatly beside classic equipment. The studio was moved to Northampton in 1993 after being relocated from the outskirts of the town. It was originally established in the Suffolk countryside in 1979 and seen artists ranging from Kim Wilde to New Model Army to Paradise Lost pass through its soundproof doors (plus local bands including The Departure, Orwell Music, Cave, et al).

Current residents in the living quarters of The Lodge are upcoming local band The Operatives, and they're causing more than a ripple of excitement in the local music scene at the moment. Robert's praise for the recent Seen Magazine feature band couldn't be higher:

'They came into our lives about five years ago, really as unmanageables. They were chaotic but brilliantly gifted. They have the spirit of Frank Zappa, but from a punky-indie background, with all the imaginative stuff. They need the freedom to develop. They've almost finished recording their first album... They will be massive.'

Robert inspires confidence. It was good to hear such a candid and articulate speaker on issues ranging from his own fascinating past to his in-depth knowledge of the town's history (just not enough room to print it all here), but he speaks most passionately about music and the scene in Northampton:

'I've got to the point now where I believe that this town is bloody brimming with talent but there's absolutely no interfacing whatsoever with the music industry. The town needs a place like The Square in Harlow, which is council-run. They've got a video suite, a recording studio and can stage high profile bands. We've got nothing like that in this town and it's a great pity. I want to do something about it... I would like to send a message to the musical community of Northampton to have more self-belief. There's a cracking potential in this town and it's really happening now.'


I insist you check out more @ http://www.theenid.com/ and http://www.lodgerecording.co.uk/

The Operatives - 'Wait No More'

Innovative and wildy-original new young band hailing from Kingsthorpe announce details of debut album Wait No More and live show. If anyone's going to put Northampton on the musical map, it's these sketchy fruits - they're a bit special.

The Operatives have been making ripples on the music scene in Northampton for a few months now, but up until recently had remained something of an enigma. There was the odd magazine article about them and every now and again a song would surface on one band/music website or another, offering a real tempting-taster for anyone who was lucky enough to stumble across them, but they weren't playing all the usual pubs and venues on the live-circuit, so this elusiveness only added to the mystique. This, apparently, is all about to change. They are ready to make a belly-splash landing with the release of their debut album Wait No More and have just announced details of their first(ish) live gig at the refurbished Rockinghorse (back room of The Racehorse) on Abington Square in early February.

The Operatives are the twisted brainchild of Matt White and Ali Hart, two abundantly talented multi-instrumentalists from the 'orpe - I'll resist emphasising the 'mentalists part... Shit, I just did. They are both in their early 20s and have been been writing and playing together in various bands for over 6 years before settling into their current guise. Their prolific writing style has seen them pen over 200 songs, 14 of which make the final cut of the album. The live-incarnation of The Operatives features Jason Ducker on bass, Max Read on keyboards and David Storey on drums.

At the tail-end of last year, The Operatives were nominated in 2 categories at the BBC Weekender Awards for Best New Act and Best Song (for Giro Day); they were inventively described as being unpigeonholeable - hey it's a new genre.

Album tracks Vuman, Giro Day and Vultures have all been aired on BBC Radio Northampton's Weekender show in recent months and can be listened to again online at www.bbc.co.uk/northamptonshire.

You can also check them out on the highly-respected www.garageband.com, where rising musicians get feedback and exposure for their material. Songs posted on the site are given a star-rating out of 5 by empowered, independent musicians/music lovers, and Giro Day gained an impressive 4-stars from a notoriously-tough, anonymous reviewing-rabble. The band can also be found online at www.myspace.com/operatives where you can listen to, and comment on songs, or make a friend request to be on their buddy list.

Working under the wing of BandTherapy Management, The Operatives have recently finished recording their eagerly-awaited debut 14-track long-player called Wait No More and it's bursting with joy.

It was produced and engineered at The Lodge Recording Studio by Max Read and the band themselves, and is an outrageously, infectious trip through Matt and Ali's warped musical minds - with the blackest of humour skipping happily throughout its 45-minute duration. At times sounding unhinged, the vocal-harmonising ranges from bright and brash falsetto to the darkest, most satisfying of growls. There are sweet-mangled melodies, killer chainsaw-riffs and pulsating drums that drive the songs precariously along a cliff-edge, occasionally veering off, only to land on a lower ledge (platform-game style) with a trail snaking back to the top again.

And higher.

There are laugh-out-loud lyrical exchanges between Matt and Ali that are always the right side of novelty and their versatility and technical skills seem effortless; the tempo-changes deliciously unexpected.

The songwriting is incredibly accomplished, beautifully contorted and peppered with the most addictive of ingredients.

At this moment in time, The Operatives are the most exciting band in town and are surely destined for bigger things...

It's time to put the vibrant Northampton scene on the melodious map and no other band are more obvious pioneers.

• The Operatives have also announced that they will be playing their 'debut' gig on the opening night of BandTherapy's brand new live-music extravaganza, Operation Thursday on February 2, at the newly-renovated Rockinghorse. The line-up also includes, The Retro Spankees, The Phil Collins 3 and Faye Gibson. Doors open at 8pm. Admission £4. It will at last give music fans the chance to check out BandTherapy's Robert John Godfrey and Max Reads' interior-decorating skills, but more importantly, the brand new, state-of-the-art PA and lighting facilities. The Rockinghorse has been transformed into one of Northampton's premier music venues that will be to the benefit of all who play there in the future.

• http://www.myspace.com/operatives