John Mitchell – Lonely Planet/It Bites – Uber Rock Interview Exclusive
Written by Johnny H
Sunday, 08 March 2015 04:00
Not exactly being what you might call “a fan” of the progressive rock genre, one of the real surprise packages of 2015 has been Lonely Robot’s ‘Please Come Home’ album. This a record that has seldom been off my stereo since its release, largely because it is a spellbinding exercise in melodic rock for the thinking man, woman or err automaton. The man behind Lonely Robot is singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer and general all round top bloke John Mitchell and here I gets to chew the fat with him about why this record is perhaps his best work to date…..
John I wanted to start by saying as a non prog fan how much I enjoyed ‘Please Come Home’, it really is a splendid album. You must be very pleased with it.
Thank you very much, that’s very kind of you. Yes, I’m very proud indeed. It’s certainly the most fun I’ve had recording an album since I was sixteen years old and mucking around with a 4-Track recorder in my bedroom
I think what works best for me is the fact you’ve got some truly memorable pop songs contained with the makeup of the record. Was that something that was thought out beforehand or did it just happen…so to speak?
Well I think if you set out to write a prog album and you forget the basic essence of what that is then you’re going to fail miserably. The basic essence of prog in my mind should be a memorable tune that’s run amok. (laughing) A LOT of people think that stringing together a bunch of complicated mismatched musical passages is prog, and I think that’s one of the reasons it gets a bad name. Melodic topline first, cleverness second should be the thought process.
The record has also got a very contemporary feel to it production wise, something I don’t normally warm to, especially when voices are processed as on say ‘God V’s Man’, but again here it all seems to work perfectly. Is this something you’ve developed a love of from the many other bands you’ve worked with at Outhouse Studios?
Well yes, I like to think that the nature of what I do as the ‘day job’ has somehow kept my production head in a vaguely contemporary place. I’ve certainly tried to keep the Moog and the Mellotron at bay as much as possible on this recording. (laughing)
How do you think this record stacks up against your recorded legacy so far?
Well I think of it as a new chapter. It’s a very different thing doing an album on your own instead of the context of a band. I’m proud of most things from my past and until now, ‘Map Of The Past’ by It Bites was a highlight, but I think this may well have trumped it!
There’s a strong 80s pop presence on ‘Please Come Home’, which includes the likes of Nik Kershaw and Nick Beggs guesting on guitar and bass respectively, but for me the trump card is Peter Cox singing ‘The Boy In The Radio’. How did that collaboration all come about?
I met Pete at Rewind a couple of years back, we got on like a house on fire pretty much straight away and since then became good friends. I basically asked him and he said yes. He’s a top, top bloke, really down to earth and very much interested in other people. Regardless of his vocal on the track, I’m happier that I’ve made a good friend.
I think it’s great to hear him sing more rock orientated music again…..
Well the first thing he said when I played him the mix was “I’m not used to hearing that much reverb on my voice these days, but the track sounds epic!” (laughing) Reverb or no reverb, rock or soul, the man is a bloody good singer.
I totally agree there John, but I also don’t want to take anything away from your performance on this record either as I actually think vocally you have a great mix of Gabriel meets Seal going on within your voice especially on the epic ‘Lonely Robot’, how do you feel about those comparisons?
I feel very flattered. You’ve basically named two of my three favourite singers, PC being number three. The Gabriel reference gets mentioned a fair bit but Peter is world class and I’m a guitarist having a crack at singing. I’m Tesco’s Value Peter Gabriel (laughing)
I have to mention the drumming of Craig Blundell too he turns in a mighty fine shift on the whole record. He sounds like he has eight arms on some of the tracks (laughing)
He played an absolute blinder. He did all the drums in one day and what you’re hearing is first or second takes. I would say that a great deal of the energy on the album is down to the drumming and I don’t say that lightly.
In my review – which I’m glad you enjoyed reading by the way – I didn’t want to go into the concept behind ‘Please Come Home’ because I used to love coming to my own conclusion about tracks/albums meanings growing up. Were you the same?
Absolutely. The less said, the greater the intrigue.
I’d sometimes be gutted when one of my musical heroes would come out and dispel these musical myths I’d accumulated about them. Gene Simmons does it all the bloody time for me. What about you…?
Well music is supposed to be escapism. Rock mythology equally so. Gene telling us he was too busy to play bass on this track or that track is a bit of a betrayal but I think we all already know his barnet is fake, it looks like an escaped forest critter.
One of the recurring lyrical themes I picked up on throughout the album is that people don’t seem to have this ability to think freely these days. What’s your thoughts on what is going on our beautiful planet in 2015?
Same as my thoughts have always been. Human beings are a virus to the planet. When a human gets a virus, their body heats up to rid themselves of it. The planet is doing the same thing. We should all go home from whence we came.
Coming back down to earth, so to speak, will you be taking Lonely Planet out on the road anytime soon?
Yeah sure, if anyone buys it and it has an audience. It’s going to have to be a pretty special show though. I don’t want to do Pink Floyd on a Blue Peter budget. (laughing)
And what about a new It Bites album? Is this work in process?
Not really. We’re back in hibernation again. I’ll let you know when we come out
Thank you again John for taking the time to talk with me, before we finish is there anything else you’d like to add that I’ve maybe not touched on here?
I know, it’s only rock and roll, but I like it….Ha!
All the best John
You too mate.
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Photographs courtesy of http://rebeccaneedmenear.co.uk/
To pick up your copy of ‘Please Come Home’ – CLICK HERE
