FEATURED INTERVIEWS

i Like Trains

Haunting, beautiful and expressive.
By: Gian Erguiza - - December 27th, 2007 -7:00 am PST



The haunting sounds of i Like Trains is fantastic. Their sound is best described as Dark and Melodramatic. Just the way Frantik likes it. Frantik checks in with the boys to talk about their signature sound, Elegies, and uplifting music.

Hello iLT! Could you guys please, enlighten our readers as to what iLiKETRAiNS is all about, where the name originated, and how you guys got started?

Myself and David met and played in a band at school but it wasn’t until we came to university in Leeds that we met the others and starting working on iLiKETRAiNS. Our music centers around History and we try to give it a sense of location, I suppose we follow in a long line of British eccentrics. The name is tied in with that, but there are lots of reasons behind it, so let’s just say that we have a fondness for the Great Age of Stream.

"Elegies to Lessons Learned" is haunting, different and fresh from what's out in music these days. What went into making this album as far as production, songwriting, and sound?

After releasing Progress Reform we were able to start from scratch creating a record that had underlying themes running through all of the songs, both sonically and in subject matter. We tracked the album ourselves in an old chapel in Leeds, as we find that the creation of the album is an extension of the song writing progress. The sound of this space comes across on the record, providing the ‘haunting’ sound that you refer to. We drafted in the help of producer Ken Thomas when we came to mix as he has made a lot of our favourite records. It was a pleasure working with someone whom we all really respect and has so much experience in making good records. Hopefully our record isn’t a black mark on his career!

Out of all of the fantastic tracks on "Elegies," which one is a crowd favorite and which in turn is the band's favorite and why? Livewise?

I think that Spencer Perceval is the biggest crowd favourite. It is the song we finish our shows with so we always tend to ‘let go’ a bit which really gets everyone into it. As for band favourites, they vary from person to person. Mine is Death Is The End as it was a lot of fun getting the choir together and I think the end result is quite beautiful. David’s is We All Fall Down, Alistair’s is We Go Hunting, Simon’s is The Voice Of Reason, Ashley’s is Come Over, Pete‘s(our sound engineer) is Death Of An Idealist and Keir’s (tour manager) is Come Over.

Why that title? How did you guys pick out the album title? It paints a real dark and cold picture but nonetheless, it works!

The underlying theme of the record is how Mankind never seems to learn from its mistakes, and each song tells a different story from history illustrating this point. The title of the record alludes to this, but hopefully gives the listener something to think about.

The video for "The Deception" is great! Who came up with idea and the concept for the video and why did you guys go with that song?

As it was to be the follow up single to Spencer Perceval, we thought we better put out a song that was shorter that nine minutes and a little more up-tempo! I think The Deception was the obvious choice, and the story behind it is one that really captures the imagination. The video was masterminded by Ashley, he is in charge of our graphic design, videos and live visuals.

If you guys got the chance to headline a worldwide tour and they gave you the choice to pick out whichever band to bring along the tour, which band or artist would you guys choose?

That’s a tough question, I think Radiohead would be an amazing band to play with, they have always been an inspiration to us since we first started playing in bands. Although if we going around the world I think it would be fun to bring all of the bands that are close to personally.

"I often find that the most uplifting music is the music that people generally write off as miserable."

What are you guys currently listening to? What's in your Ipods? Any recommends?

We are on the road at the moment and in our van we usually listen to compilation CDs that we all make. We pick a theme for a CD and then scour our iTunes for fitting songs. It makes long journeys a bit more interesting if nothing else.

Any tour plans for the U.S.? Anytime soon, maybe?

We have just come back from a week in New York City where we played a handful of shows for the CMJ conference which was really great. Hopefully we’ll be going back early next year for SXSW.

What is a good day for the band and what is a bad day for the band? How do you guys deal with the bad nights?

We are currently on tour through Europe so a good day is one with a short drive, a good sound check and a full venue! A bad day is the opposite of this.

Cold and Dark. That was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard you guys the first time and don't ask me why but when I listen to your music now, it actually compliments my misery in a good way and it is completely the opposite. What is the biggest contributing factor to your haunting sound?

We all listen to a lot of Dark music, our favourites including Nick Cave, Scott Walker and Joy Division. I often find that the most uplifting music is the music that people generally write off as miserable.

Your music is in its own world, what are you guys musical influences and what other type of influences or emotions do you guys draw upon when writing your music?

Bands and artists such as Sigur Ros, Godspeed, Radiohead, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Scott Walker, Joy Division have all played their part in inspiring us to make our music. When we write songs, we tend to start with a Historical story and we research this quite thoroughly so that we can get into the heads of the people that were involved. From there we start piecing together music that we think fits the atmosphere of the story, and slowly but surely a song is born!

What do you guys do when you guys are offstage, not making music, or recording? In other words, what do you guys do to pass the time or what do you guys consider to be good times? Relax?

I enjoy my garden, its quite therapeutic to get outside and tend the greenery. As a band we spend most of our time indoors in venues, buses, studios and rehearsal spaces, so doing anything in the open air is always a good way to unwind.

What can we expect from iLiKETRAiNS in 2008?

I think we will continue to Tour Elegies throughout the year, hopefully we’ll get out to a lot of festivals over the summer, and then in autumn we will probably started work on the next record.

Thanks Guys!

  I Email to Friend  I Print

RELATED CONTENT

i Like Trains - "The Deception"


Need more info about this band?
iLT Official Site
i Like Trains Myspace

---

What do you think of Frantik Mag? Tell us your thoughts!

---

JUMP TO: NEWS BLOG I ARTICLES I INTERVIEWS I CROWD PARTICIPATION I ADVERTISE I UNSIGNED SPOTLIGHT I FRANTIK CLIPS I FRANTIK GIRL FASHION I POISON I LIVE REVIEWS I FRANTIK FORUM