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Tony Foster of BHOne interviews Chris from The Sables about their critically acclaimed Pilgrim Man EP.
The Sables seek Bournemouth eccentrics
Just two weeks ago The Sables' music had been heard by just a few friends and associates of the band. With no recorded music having been released and no gigs played, the band had basically consisted of one man, Chris Faith, assisted on vocal duties by Carlay and Valerie. Now, with the band's debut ep 'Pilgrim Man' just released, title track 'Baby You Don't Know' is being heard by potentially millions of listeners to the Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie Radio 2 show. The song is being played every day this week after it was voted for by the listeners as 'single of the week', not bad for the band's first taste of exposure.
'Baby You Don't Know' was recorded in a studio near Ladbroke Grove in London a couple of years ago, “I hired it out for a few days. It was mostly me experimenting. Val, who sings on the track was living in London at the time, it was her vocal and the basic track was recorded there.” The rest of the ep was recorded in slightly less plush surroundings, “It was recorded last year in my bedroom in my flat in Charminster. 'Sunbeam' was recorded three months ago. The whole things was done in a day; written and recorded, it just came. The songs with Carlay singing were done towards the end of last year.”
It came as a huge surprise to Chris to hear that the track had been played on the Radcliffe and Maconie show, not even knowing that they had been sent a copy. It was a comment on the band's Myspace page that first made Chris aware of the song being played, “It was by some band, Libero, who left us a comment on Myspace. I don't think we'd have known about it! I'm trying to think of someone else who told me 'I heard your record on the radio', there wasn't anyone, I think it was just that guy from Libero. Big up him!”
Not expecting such intense and immediate publicity only fifty copies of the ep were produced, and despite the huge amount of exposure the song is currently getting Chris remains realistic with regards to where it may lead. “The truth is that it's totally taken us by surprise. We have no plan, no PR agency, no radio pluggers, it's just myself and my friend Martin who runs our website who sent it to the Radcliffe and Maconie show. By that time we'd sent forty-five of the fifty out, we have five left.” There are plans to get some more copies pressed, although all four tracks are currently available for free download from the band's Myspace and website. The band's sights are set on an album release early next year, after releasing two more eps, the first of which, 'Hidden Index' set to be released this side of Christmas.
Plans are also being made for The Sables' first live performance, although things are made slightly difficult due to the location of Carlay and Valerie, “Val actually phoned me the other day, she's living in Paris at the moment. So I've got two itinerant singers, one in Paris and one in London. You can see the logistical nightmare.” Chris is now looking closer to home to find a few “fellow Bournemouth eccentrics” to bring his music to the live stage. No names yet though. There are also plans for Rough Trade to use two of the band's tracks on a forthcoming compilation, giving the band further nationwide exposure. For many The Sables are an unknown band, even on the local scene, however if 2008 continues in the same way that 2007 appears to be ending then this may just be the start of some exciting times for the band. Remember the name.
Tuesday 18th Dec 2007, 1:29pm |
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