FEATURED INTERVIEWS

People In Planes

Mayday! Mayday! The People In Planes have arrived from beyond the horizon!
By: Gian Erguiza - - September 23rd, 2008 - 2:43 pm PST

People In Planes' latest release is an awesome spectacle of a record. The combination of great songwriting, great vocals, and great arrangements make this band a sure stand-out from the mainstream crowd. Infusing different elements of rock music, 'Beyond The Horizon' gets musically diverse without losing integrity. Peter Roberts lends us a hand into understanding their latest release and why they thrive on their live shows.

Greetings People In Planes! For our beloved readers who have not heard of People In Planes, Could you please do me a favor and give our readers a quick history lesson on the band and how the band’s journey into music began?

We're a five piece alt rock band from Porthcawl which is a seaside town on the south coast of Wales. We formed in school as a four-piece and were influenced by the brit pop bands of the mid-nineties, classic songwriters Neil Young and Bob Dylan, and the alternative sounds and textures Beck and Portishead. Our history took us through many name changes coinciding with changes in our professional situation. Firstly we had a double A-side single that came out on a red 7" vinyl as 'Robots In The Sky', and off the back of this we got signed to EMI and changed our name to 'Tetra Splendour' because of the apparent confusion with there being a band in the UK called Robots In Disguise. We put out a record called Splendid Animation with EMI, and then worked on our second record with Sam Williams who had previously produced the indie/punk classic 'I Should Coco' by Supergrass- Gaz and Pete's favourite band- which was a huge honour and inspiration in our progression into a five-piece (Sam convincing Gaz to stop playing keys and introducing Ian Russel in that role). This second record was picked up by New York based label Wind Up Records which is where we've finally clicked and are building our fan-base with greater success. That first record for Wind Up was called 'As far As The Eye Can See' (2006) which featured the single 'If You Talk Too Much My Head Will Explode', and we've just released the follow up to this "Beyond The Horizon' which we're currently on tour with Stereophonics to promote.

Thanks! So what’s new? What’s new in the world of People In Planes? What are you guys cooking up in the lab at this moment?

What's new is re-mixing. I've just started getting into doing the odd re-mix and alternative versions of songs. I think this kind of developed from doing an 'Acoustic Ep' that had 4 acoustic versions from the first record. Now I've taken it a step further and just done completely different versions with a totally different vibe and arrangement to the originals, and my latest thing is like a dance-floor mix. It's a bit our of my realm but lots of fun.

Your latest recording is one hell of an album. You’ve got great melodies, arrangements and the overall vibe is great! What was most challenging about recording this album and how excited are you guys to play it live?

I think most challenging was trying to tie it altogether into a coherent sound as we worked with four producers in total on it. We did the bulk of the record and lots of clever post production to help tie everything together sonically with the great and soon to be legendary Dan Austin of Bath, England. Had a lot of great times with him, and he and I did a lot of the work on lap tops in my house pausing occasionally to sleep and eat fish finger sandwiches. Playing it live is going great! The record came out yesterday and we played New York last night to a packed out Webster Hall with the Stereophonics. That was fun!

The title track, “Beyond The Horizon,” is the best track off the album in my opinion. The whole album’s great but that one takes the cake! What is behind the meaning of this song and how did you guys come up with the album title?

Well 'Beyond The Horizon' is about optimism versus pessimism with regards to looking to the future. What is beyond the horizon? When I was writing this, it was even more literal than that, as we'd just been signed to Wind-up and at last, we were going to fulfill our dream of coming to tour in a foreign country. So the song has these two opposing narratives one being my perspective of beyond the horizon is this wonderful opertunity, versus the small minded attitudes of some people who are fearful of taking chances.

In the context of the whole album, the positives in the record are the same as the song beholding a positive attitude and focus on the potential for good to come out of a situation, and examples of the negatives are 'Get On The Flaw' inspired by James Lovelock's 'The Revenge Of Gaia' which gives really interesting and harrowing detail of how absolutely and diabolically fucked planet earth and humanity actually are due to climate change; and 'Tonight The Sun Will Rise' about when I looked at the news paper when North Korea were doing their nuclear bomb testing and seeing that majestic mushroom cloud on the front page.

The songwriting on this album is pretty intrinsic. I can tell that you guys put a lot of thought into each song and how they fit together as one on the album. How do you guys piece all the songs together and what’s the main drive of People In Planes songwriting?

Songwriting is an ever evolving art. It's something which you can tap into for a few moments at a time and something magical will happen and you're not sure how. We did lots of re-writing the songs and parts of songs which helped to improve them massively. Virtually every song has about 5 demos of different versions.

Should we be expecting a U.S. tour anytime soon? Bet your fans would love it!

We have tours confirmed till the end of October currently with Stereophonics, Filter and Toadies. Then in November and December we're looking at going to Canada again and our long-awaited return to Britain.

The video for “Pretty Buildings” is pretty awesome and=2 0this song is definitely a beautifully written song. How did this concept come about and who came up with the idea for the video?

The video was made by Walter Robot. We really liked the stuff they'd done with Modest Mouse, and the concept and execution was entirely their. It reflects the concept of not talking about your problems and the turmoil that creates very well, and we particularly liked their visual style with all the cool animation.

How much do you guys take pride in your live shows and what’s the most crucial aspect of your live shows?

"Songwriting is an ever evolving art. It's something which you can tap into for a few moments at a time and something magical will happen and you're not sure how. We did lots of re-writing the songs and parts of songs which helped to improve them massively. Virtually every song has about 5 demos of different versions. "

Live is where it's at. We thrive in bigger venues because we have a lot of layers of sound going on which can sometimes be a wall of indistinguishable noise if we're too loud!! We're not really a throw and go sort of band. Part of our dynamic is that we're dynamic so you're rocking one minute, dancing the next, then mellowing out then rocking etc etc! We've supported Pilate, the Bravery and Seether so we're proud to able to fit with any band.

Good times! It seems like a lot of bands have forgotten how to have fun onstage and the disease is spreading! What is the most gratifying thing about getting onstage night after night and how do you guys keep it fun for your own amusement?

It definitely fluctuates. Thats just being a human. When the sound is great on stage, and you know it's cooking it's the best feeling ever so it's easy to transmit that to the crowd. When you're fighting the sound it can be a struggle but I suppose you have the Sword of Damocles over you when you're trying put over a complex sound. The sampler helps immensely. I can't wait to do a punk side project with one distortion pedal!!

Let’s talk about your fans. Do you guys have any fan stories that can either be classified as weird, strange or just plain old odd? Please do tell!

It's a strange concept having to sign your signature for someone. Like it's only use is to prove you met someone, therefore everyone must have a low estimation of how much their friends will take their word for it! Also some people ask you for an autograph and then don't look that bothered when you give it to them. That's a bit weird. It's nice to give people pleasure with what you do though, and form a community of people who have a common ground. Yeah. I'm not too sure really!

Alright guys, give me the 5 best rock phrases of all time or 5 best albums of all time?

I Should Coco, Odelay, After The Goldrush, OK Computer, Dummy.

People In Planes is in love with ___________________________.

People In Planes is in love with Polynesian music or anything utilizing hollowed out coconut shells.

Music has really extended its arms and now there’s a wide array of different music all over the world. Where do you guys fit into the musical landscape and what are you guys thoughts on the current state of the music industry?

We think there's not enough music which inspires Polynesian women to hypnotize the world with grass skirts, and carefree attitude. If this transpires in the near future I think we'll have a much better chance of fitting into the music industry.

LOL! So what else can we expect from you guys for the rest of 2008 going into 2009?

We're touring hard core until we make the next record. We were off the road for way to long last time which isn't fair on anyone.

Any additional comments or shout-outs?

This is a shout out to the memory of Natasha Schneider who we worked with on two songs for this record and was the most incredible musican and inspiration I ever worked with. RIP.

Thanks Pete, my condolences and see you guys out on the road!

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