ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Radium88 INTERVIEW Charity Van Deberg

Perhaps it is an evil ploy to conceal their true otherworldly origins, or maybe they just want their listeners to focus on the sounds and not the back story. Featuring piano, keyboard, guitar, harmonica, autoharp, mandolin, violin, cornet, and cello blended with hypnotic extraterrestrial rhythms, sound effects, and robotic voices, Radium88's fifth album, Only Science Can Tell Us the Truth has a sound unlike any other.

INTERVIEW Radium's atomic number is 88. As a band, do you feel that this fully describes your sound, or would you agree that the 25, the number of isotopes, is far more important than the atomic number?
Thwaites: Radium's atomic number is 88? Wow, that's an amazing coincidence! Some people think numerology is just silly, but that makes you think. No, we were actually named after an urban myth or conspiracy theory we heard. It seems that in the town of Radium, PA, there was a group of people who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, 88 of them, men, women and children, never seen again. The full story is on our Web site, if you're interested.

Your new album, Only Science Can Tell Us The Truth, tells a beautiful story through melody and unconventional sounds. What was the story going through your head when you composed it?

Thwaites: I'm afraid the process is a lot more vague and intuitive than that. I guess I start from feelings expressed musically, ordered into a sort of emotional narrative at the same time as collecting ideas—lyrics and titles—and then eventually it all sort of crystallizes together in a way which I find meaningful on an intuitive level but couldn't necessarily explain rationally. I actually am quite distrustful of programmatic music, where you start with a clear story and then interpret it sonically. I think it's one of several places where 20th century classical music went wrong.

You've combined so many different elements to produce a very modern yet gorgeously alien-infused sound. When creating the music, how do you approach your intended theme? Do you have it in your mind that you would like to produce an album with a certain feel, or does it just happen to turn out that way?

Thwaites: Music and creativity generally are, for me, all about the interior world, the emotions, the spirit, whatever you want to call it. You try to write something that makes you feel so that people who hear it feel something. I suppose that's pretty obvious. I seem to write more that's moody and sad than happy and jolly, though I wouldn't claim to have experienced more than my share of sorrow and misfortune. Though as Oscar Wilde undoubtedly never said, 'If you haven't experienced some angst by this point in your life, then you obviously aren't trying hard enough.' At the same time, I do believe that as well as reasons for despair there is also hope, wonder and joy in the world, and I'm optimistic enough—just—to think it's possible to journey from one to the other, but you'll probably have to negotiate some strangeness, chaos and mystery along the way.

How do you feel that it compares to the other four albums you've released?

Thwaites: I think technically it's the best, as in best-sounding, best produced. We've suffered a little in the past, trying to include too many elements—dub, hip-hop, punk, ska, electronica, world, gospel, gypsy etc.—I've got a philosophy that all boundaries between musical genres are illusory—but it's quite difficult to pull off successfully without it sounding a bit crammed and busy, though we had huge fun trying. Also, it's really hard to market; labels reasonably ask who is going to buy it or which radio is going to play it. It's also the most coherent-sounding, and the first one we've done which sounds like a complete whole, something we tried to do with Metamorphosis but I don't think succeeded quite so well.

How does each member of the group contribute during the creative process?

Thwaites: These days I initiate things, recording and programming the basic chord/texture/rhythm ideas, then ask for specific contributions from the others while trying to give them as much freedom as possible to interpret that. So the sci-fi/spy guitar on 'Nostalgia' is all Matt's creation, but the piece was written with that type of thing in mind. Sometimes with the strings and brass, I make up parts and write them out; other times I'll give Clare or Mike the vaguest of suggestions, then let them do whatever they want. Then I'll mix it, with Matt generally lending an ear and helpful suggestions.

When you are performing live, do you feel that you have the freedom to improvise a bit, or do you feel that you must stay true to the recorded version? Do you ever surprise yourselves with the outcome?

Thwaites: I must be honest and say we haven't played live since we calmed down and moved closer to a sort of orchestral/electronic sound. We wanted to do an album without any kind of constraints apart from musical ones, then worry about how to do it live if there was a demand for it. Seeing guys playing back recorded music while they nod over their mixing desk is actually pretty boring unless it's accompanied by an eye-popping light show, like Orbital or the Chemical Brothers. So of course we can hire string and brass sections to bolster Clare and Mike, but then a lot of the album is just synths, treated beats and piano. I personally wouldn't pay to watch me playing solo piano to a backing track, handsome fellow though I am, but I have no doubt we could do it really well with a bit of a budget in a larger venue, and we have worked with film makers in the past to provide accompanying visuals, so there are all sorts of possibilities. Four of the five of us are involved in folk or jazz projects, so improvisation is very natural to us as musicians, and I'm sure we'd do as much improvisation as is possible, given that we'd be using preprogrammed beats and song structures.

How does the energy differ between live shows and the studio?

Thwaites: Well, last time we played live we were a different kind of band, but I don't think you actually need fast beats and distorted guitars for an emotionally intense experience. I think conviction is enough. I always say there's only really two kinds of music: music you mean and music you don't mean. We'd always try to do the first kind, in whatever context.

What are your goals for Radium88? Would you like a contract with a major label, or do you prefer the freedom to make what you love?

Thwaites: I don't actually think it's that likely a major label would sign us, then try to turn us into Dido or something; that's more something that happens to young glamorous rock/pop types. That said, there is always an audience for musical music; I reckon people who like Moby could well like us, and we're certainly easier on the ear than a lot of Orb stuff, so who knows. I think that labels often don't give audience credit for being able to get stuff that isn't bland and obvious. Technology really does make it possible to do great-sounding stuff and get it out there, so in some ways you hardly need labels any more, just for marketing, making sure people know about it. Although the Internet has levelled the playing field, it really is quite crowded out here, so we could use a little help getting noticed!

Will you be touring in support of this album?

Thwaites: Only if we get the chance to do it properly.

What projects are coming up next? Will you being doing any more remixes, like what you did with Banco de Gaia's 'Seti1?'

Thwaites: We'd be delighted to have a go at remixing anything, although because we started this as musicians and songwriters rather than as DJs, our instincts are on the whole to make things more musical, whereas what's typically required from a remixer is to make the track more linear and dance floor-friendly in some recognizable genre, something we'd be fairly clueless about.

How did you end up working with Banco de Gaia?

Thwaites: We've always been fans of Banco. Matt spotted on his Web site that he wanted to sign some bands to his label, so we sent him a demo, which he liked. He invited us down to his studio and tweaked a couple of our tracks, which was definitely an interesting experience. As luck would have it, the download/piracy revolution was just beginning to take hold and sales were generally down, so he decided to stick to promoting his own stuff, quite understandably, since that was the reason he set up the label in the first place. He invited us to do the remix subsequently, which was cool. His newest album Farewell Ferengistan is really great, by the way.