Remember ‘The JCB Song’? The duo behind the masterpiece that evokes such childlike nostalgia have done so much more. Playing together since the age of thirteen, Nizlopi (consisting of Luke Concannon and John Parker) released their debut album in 2001. At the same time as the release of Half These Songs are About You their friends and family created a record label specifically for them, and the band stuck with FDM Records throughout their success despite offers from major labels. This was perhaps due to the political thought that inspires many of the bands best songs.
That’s not to say that Nizlopi are a band that just write radical protest songs. The band have a magical ability to capture some of life’s most intimate moments in perfect musical form. In case that isn’t a good enough reference, you should probably know that Ed Sheeran claims them to be one of his biggest musical inspirations, having previously been their guitar tech. Unfortunately after a couple more EPs and a second album the band decided to call it a day. Five years later they reformed, selling out two consecutive nights at London’s Borderline and tearing through multiple incredibly successful UK tours, recording and releasing a live album and working on new material.
Here comes the truly heart-breaking part: they’re splitting up again. John Parker plays for almost every up and coming folk act in the UK right now, Luke Concannon has his solo music to focus on, and they have decided they don’t have the time to fully commit to the band right now. They’re currently in the middle of their final tour where they’re co-headlining alongside Folk/Avant-Garde specialists ‘The Moullettes’ and on 6 November they played Nottingham’s own Rescue Rooms. I was fortunate enough to get to sit down with the band and talk to them about the decision to take a break, their career and their next steps.
So, let’s start with the elephant in the room, you guys are taking a break again, what made you make that decision?
Luke: Yeah what we’ve said is that the next two years we won’t be touring or releasing and we felt that we should give people clarity. That’s because I recorded an album that I’m really proud of and that I really need to get out there and do. At the moment doing both things isn’t working and I need to be focused.
So, are we likely to see Nizlopi back together again at some point?
John: Well, we are doing a couple of festivals and quite a few weddings/private gigs so we’ll still play together, we sort of said two years as quite a flexible thing, because you don’t really know where we’ll be in a week’s time, so in two years, who knows? In two years with this solo project he (referring to Luke) could be the next taller Ed Sheeran who knows. Being serious you just don’t know and also from my side, I’ve toured heavily since we were kids so I’d like to go away and practice and sort out some technical issues, and have a break. I bought a house so I’m settling down, it feels like the time is right for a bit of a break.
So this is the final tour for a while, what can we expect tonight?
Luke: Well, we really want to write on this tour because we don’t get to see each other much, so maybe there will be a new song ready by the time we go on stage, we started one the other day. (There was, it was fantastic). We talked the other day about putting in this folk song that we worked on in the spring.
You guys only have an hour tonight, do you think that will cause any issues?
John: Yes. We’ve gotten much better at not getting our tour manager or ourselves into trouble, but we do push it because we want to play. You drive for hours to get somewhere and everyone comes out to see you play and you get to play for say 45 minutes and everyone thinks, well the tickets were quite expensive for that. People like Bruce Springsteen or Rory Mcleod that we really like, are good examples, you want that bit more and we always try to give it. The best bit is the playing not sitting around drinking oat beer and driving everywhere.
Luke: The thing about folk music is people try to be as generous as possible. This can be really unhealthy as well, if you look at those two musicians they have become quite burnt out trying to give and give, so it’s difficult. I think there is a way of playing, for example there are African drummers that will perform ceremonies where they drum all night, for thirteen or fourteen hours. If you or I drum for five minutes our hands will be red and sore, but they breathe and let go, so there is a way of playing that can be generative. We’re just going to have to figure that one out at some point soon, before we die. Often at the end of the gig, after an hour, I’m like *Luke flops into his chair* ‘What just happened to me?’
You’d have to find a venue that would let you play for that long
John: I remember, in Wolverhampton, there is a civic hall where they opened the doors at the back of the crowd to let them out while we were still playing on stage. I was like ‘oh god’. At the big shows you can get fined too.
When you guys reformed a few years ago you spoke about a potential new album and a few new songs made it onto tours and online, will we see anything of those songs at all?
Luke: you’re an angel sent to ask important questions that we would otherwise not discuss with each other.
John: My gut feeling says I’m not sure that they will survive.
Luke: Let’s discuss this.
John: *Jokingly* I mean the bass parts are really survivable but the rest is lacking. No, I think ‘Home’ is one we still include in the set now. We tend to just write to keep it fresh and to play out ideas, we’re not really writing for the sake of a record and so, I can’t see them surviving.
Luke: These are questions we really need to discuss.
John: *To me* Have you ever thought of going into therapy?
Luke: What’s interesting about this lifestyle, is that you’re so occupied that we just haven’t even discussed that yet, so John doesn’t know what I think about it.
John: He’s not having my bass parts. That’s a legally binding verbal contract.
Luke: Yeah we did say that we should actually document those songs but we probably won’t be recording them.
John: The purpose of the break is for Luke to do his thing and for me to get some sleep. So I couldn’t see us, not that I’m opposed to the idea.
Luke: Maybe I’ll just have to do them on my own.
“What’s interesting about this lifestyle, is that you’re so occupied that we just haven’t even discussed a new album yet”
So, talking about your solo project, can we expect to see some new material from that, or will you be working on getting the first album out there for now?
Luke: Yeah, I’ve been writing some new stuff, I want to write more, but what I really want to do is just be quiet this winter and get a sense of where to go. It’s been really good playing house concerts, which is strange because a lot of musicians would want to play bigger venues. I love playing the big venues, but I also really love the more simple, rootsy things.
John you play with a fair few bands, have you got plans with anyone in particular lined up?
John: Well, I’ve got a lot of offers for tours and I’m playing with Maz O’Connor in February, but other than that I’m thinking of just taking some time to study. You won’t be seeing a John Parker solo tour, because that would be awful.
Luke: I’d like it.
John: John plays the hits of Michael Jackson.
Just the basslines
John: haha, just the basslines, staring at the audience!
This last tour is co-headlining with The Moullettes, how did that come about, had you heard of the band beforehand?
Luke: Yeah they got in touch with us, and told us what they were doing. They liked the idea of a double headline tour and it seemed to fit well because it brings in both our audiences together to see both bands. It fits because basically we’re all just a bunch of weirdos, we don’t fit in many boxes really. Although obviously we’re in the Ed Sheeran genre.
“We’re all just a bunch of weirdos”
How has it been sharing the stage with them so far on this tour?
Luke: It’s been really good.
John: They’re lovely people. It’s funny with bands, there’s quite a competitive thing about touring together with swapping headliners. We toured with Jamie Cullum and there was an edge to both acts, wanting to take it to another level. By the end of the month the poor audiences must have been going ‘Fucking Hell, stop’, but we all get on. Oli and Jim (of the Moulletes) get up on a couple of our songs and we’ve been getting up for one of their songs, it’s very collaborative. There’s no pushing for attention which is quite rare.
You haven’t been afraid to make political statements through your songs, do you think more artists should make politically aware music?
Luke: I think music should be kept completely separate from Politics and it should just be a consumerist distraction. It should just give you vague feelings of warmth that numb you to the destruction of the world, the alienation of communities and the loss of human rights. With the refugee crisis we should just distract people from it with meaningless pop music.
John: That was a really mean answer. I can only agree.
Luke: I feel we have shied away from politics because it took until 2008 to write England Uprise and release it. It was scary because we are schooled in being nice and polite, not upsetting anybody and not rocking the boat. It’s important that we share our truth, I think that’s what the arts should do. The reason we like underground/edgy artists is that they’re sharing something that mainstream artists aren’t often allowed to share. I’m ranting now haha.
If there was one message that you could convey as Nizlopi, what would it be?
Luke: be who you are and do what you are really about. Find out what you believe and go for it.
John: I agree.
A lot of people know you from the huge success you guys experienced with The JCB Song, has it ever been frustrating to be referred to as the guys that wrote that song?
John: I think we’re very proud of the song, it speaks to a lot of people and it can be so much more than what it is perceived to be which is just some one hit wonder. I find it kind of funny that people sometimes see it as that. It means a lot to a lot of people, a lot of people had it played at their funerals and it makes a lot of people think about their family life. It’s an important song, if I can say that without sounding like a prick. We’ve always been proud of it. There were a few times during the promotion of the song, where the sincerity of it gets called into question because it was really being marketed and that’s the only time I think that’s ever been a problem. It’s not a song we’ve ever wanted to not play.
If there were to be one other song of yours that could gain that attention, what would it be?
Luke: I wish more people could hear ‘England Uprise’. I wish it could connect everybody. Everyone around us at the time were very worried about it, telling us not to promote it, because it was a bit of a hot potato. We should have been braver and pushed it down peoples throats. In fact, we did! We played, who’s the tall bloke that works with Ricky Gervais.
Stephen Merchant?
Luke: Yeah, we played his radio show and they told us to play start beginning and another ballad. We got on live and played start beginning and then changed into ‘England Uprise’, we were just like ‘Don’t care if they don’t want it we want to play it’. That can be what it takes with a politically motivated song. People also love the song about my nan: ‘I want to be Free’. I’d love for more people to hear that one.
Many thanks to Nizlopi for their time
Liam Fleming
Liam’s review of Nizlopi and The Moulettes headline show in Nottingham available now on IMPACT Music
