Quick-fire Questions with Hard-Fi: a 10 minute reflection on the indie boom
In a thousand years’ time, when historians look back at Britain in the early 2000s, one phrase will leap out: three trebles for a fiver.
Somehow, in a paradox that defies my current disposition, where pints and panicky hangovers are, unfortunately, firmly acquainted bedfellows, I can still recall those early 2000s days with a chilling vividness. My feet stuck to the floor of Gotham like the wrapper to a warm Chewitt, as I stood sipping a questionable home-brand of vodka so vile that there were genuine fears that it might have been poison.
This sipping would continue for an indefinite period until it was declared time to move from the indie bar to the indie nightclub. Undoubtedly, someone wouldn’t make it. They’d be found adrift later that evening, surrendering themselves to copious garlic or chilli sauce, depending on their drunken palate. During the course of the evening, you’d be liable to hear Hard-Fi at least twice, pounding at deafening decibels from the pub, club or takeaway speakers.
The band and their house-adjacent indie beats were a firm fixture of the era. And somehow, the era is now 20 years in the past. So, with their debut album, Stars of CCTV, now heading into its figurative final year of uni, approaching the brink of being two decades old, we caught up with frontman Richard Archer to reflect on the boom, the bands that defined it, the unfortunate ‘landfill’ label that has now befallen it, and the dreamy days of T4 On The Beach.
Quick-fire Questions with Hard-Fi:
1. What song defines the 2000 indie boom best?
“I think ‘Take Me Out‘ by Franz Ferdinand seemed to herald the UK scene blowing up, we had The Strokes in 2001. Is This It seemed to bring guitar music back from that acoustic laidback thing of Travis, Turin Breaks and all that kind of stuff, and I was also listening to French house, and suddenly it was kind of cool to be in a band again, and you had The Libertines. But it felt like that Franz Ferdinand track was the first one of those guitar songs that had a big pop sensibility, which I think really marked what came next, so ‘Take Me Out’ by Franz Ferdinand.”
2. What was your wildest experience of the era?
“When we supported Green Day at Milton Keynes Bowl, they were doing two days there and it was sold out – 60,000 people each day – and we had been booked to play T4 On The Beach and it was our first appearance there and the only way we can make it back to do to do the Green Day gig was to spend our fee on a helicopter. We’d been playing shows to 200 people in clubs, and then suddenly we’re getting a helicopter across the country and walking out in front of 60,000 people in the Milton Keynes Bowl. That was pretty wild. I mean, we shit ourselves basically. It was pretty intense! But great. We picked up so many fans from that gig. So, we shit ourselves twice basically: once in the helicopter and once walking out on stage.”
3. How did Hard-Fi get their break back in Staines?
“I don’t really know if we got our break in Staines. We never really played in Staines, and people in Staines didn’t even really know who we were until our second album. We were just sick of trying to get people interested, so we started doing our own thing, that DIY ethos. We had rented a little room in an industrial unit that used to be a taxi cab office because it was cheaper to rehearse their than book a rehearsal studio for a couple of nights a week and we started recording there thinking let’s get on with it, let’s not wait for anyone to gatekeep what we can do, so we just started making our own music, recording it.
“We were signed to a small independent label, and the idea was always to try and take it to a bigger label, but none of the UK labels were interested. We just weren’t what they thought was hip at the time. But it found its way out to America, and when it got out there, they just seem to get it, and Rick Rubin said it was the best thing he’d heard all year.
“Suddenly, all the American labels are phoning up their UK wing and saying, ‘Why aren’t you on Hard-Fi?’, and before we know it, the phone’s ringing and they’re all interested all of a sudden. I think we were just getting on with it and trying to make things happen by ourselves, rather than waiting for someone else.”
4. What indie album inspired the band most?
“It’s difficult, but I’d probably say The Strokes album, Is This It, was a big influence just because it made us believe that people would be into that sort of thing again. That it could be done, and it could be done in a really raw, really DIY way, it didn’t have to be some sparkling thing, with immaculate production, it was just about capturing the songs and a vibe.
“So, probably it was that record, but I’d also say The Rapture at the time were making records where they were mixing up house beats with guitars; that was quite a big influence. ‘House Of Jealous Lovers’ certainly was, but if we want to choose one from that era, then I’d say it was Is This It.”
5. Why do you think some areas of the press have unfairly called the era ‘indie landfill’?
“It depends on what they mean by ‘the era’. There were some bands that came through that had success – bands like Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs, us, Maximo Park, The Futureheads, The Subways and then after that, a lot of bands were signed. That’s kind of how the record labels worked. They’d sign what they thought was popular, and people probably just got a bit bored with it, and someone coined the phrase indie landfill.
“It’s funny as there is probably plenty of generic, heard-it-all-before EDM, R&B, or rap records being made, but no one ever labels them R&B landfill or dance landfill, it’s just indie music is an easy target.”
6. Having said that, were there any records you would’ve put in a landfill?
“Possibly, but I wouldn’t name names because that is someone’s life’s work. It’s very hard getting signed and making an album. It doesn’t happen easily. It’s pretty rare and you spend a lot of time on it, you pour your heart and soul into it, and then some gobby git comes and slags it off… so I wouldn’t name any names.”
7. Stars of CCTV is now 20 years old, do you think today’s scene lacks anything from back then?
“I think on the industry side, it kind of lacks vision. No one is prepared to take a risk on anything. No one is prepared to invest any money. It’s all down to the artist to grow their social media following, to try and get everything done before a label might come in. So, a bit of vision, a bit of courage. I do think we miss weekly music magazines, and there were a lot more shows on TV that you could go on, but maybe that’s just not what people do anymore. Maybe that’s just not how people discover and consume new music anymore, maybe it’s all on social media, which makes it hard because there’s so much of it.”
8. Of all the bands you’ve played with, who is the best live?
“We did a TV show, I think it was in France, and we were on with Editors, and I was quite taken aback by just how good they were. But we’ve played with quite a few bands. One that was really important for us was supporting Kaiser Chiefs on their first major tour, and they were always great. Ricky was always a terrific frontman. But I would say Editors.”
9. Of all the bands you’ve played with, who is the best on the drink?
“The one that just pops into my head is this: we got asked to play Africa Express, and we were working with this guy called Mehdi Haddab. He’s a French Algerian oud player, but he plays it through a Marshall stack. He made this album, and it covered ‘Killing An Arab’ by The Cure, and we did it with him. We also jumped on stage with Rachid Taha, this legendary raï singer, and he rocked up at this gig just looking Immaculate.
“He had this amazing suit on, a fedora, wicked shoes. The suit kind of glowed. It was just incredible and had a bag with about three or four bottles of wine clinking in it, and that was pretty awesome to just be in his presence and then get on stage with him.”
10. Who was the most underrated indie band?
“Of the era, we did a few shows with The Subways, and I always thought they were really good. They did pretty well, but I thought they could have been bigger than they were maybe. So, I’d say The Subways, because they’re nice people as well.”
11. Who would’ve been your dream collaborators for Stars of CCTV?
“I’ve always really thought that whatever Damon Albarn does, I seem to enjoy. Blur, especially the Gorillaz stuff and the world music stuff he’s done, is always on point. So, I think it would have been pretty amazing to have worked with him. We were fortunate enough to have Mick Jones of The Clash come join us on stage at Brixton Academy.
“I’d worked with him before in a previous band with Paul Weller and Billy Bragg. Just watching them up close was amazing. But I think if you were in the studio, that would be a pretty incredible crew. Maybe also Jerry Dammers from The Specials. Some of the stuff that he came up with was kind of off the wall, so that would have been really interesting.”
12. What advice would you give for “skint” bands trying to break through?
“Well, it seems to be harder than ever now to get gigs. Harder to find anyone to invest in you. Being a band is obviously more expensive to take out on the road than someone just going out on an acoustic guitar or a laptop or whatever. I think really the only thing I can say, I don’t know if this is right or not, but if you can get together enough wherewithal to record yourself, even if it’s really basic, just try and capture the vibe and maybe try and build something in your local area.
“It’s hard trying to get gigs in London unless you have an agent these days, it’s hard to find a gig even at a small venue in London, so maybe get something going in your hometown, build from there, keep it affordable, don’t try and break the bank. But it’s hard, it’s really hard.”
13. Are the Arctic Monkeys underrated/overrated?
“They’re definitely not underrated, are they! But I wouldn’t say they’re overrated either. So, I’d say they’re probably about right!”
