1. “We’re very pleased to announce that Muse will be headlining this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals. The band will close the main stage on Friday August 26th in Leeds and on Sunday August 28th in Reading.
At the festival, to celebrate 10 years since the release of Origin Of Symmetry, Muse will be playing songs from this album alongside others spanning their career to date. Not only this, but they’ll also be bringing a whole new stage production that will only be used for these two performances.”
At the festival, to celebrate 10 years since the release of Origin Of Symmetry, Muse will be playing songs from this album alongside others spanning their career to date. Not only this, but they’ll also be bringing a whole new stage production that will only be used for these two performances.”
2. Muse to play ‘Origin…’ songs for the ‘last time’ at Reading And Leeds Festivals
Muse have said they are likely to play some songs from their ‘Origin Of Symmetry’ album for the “last time” at this year’s Reading And Leeds Festivals.
The band were speaking in the new issue of NME, on UK newsstands tomorrow (March 23) or available digitally. They are joining My Chemical Romance in headlining the August events, while The Strokes and Pulp will play co-headline slots.
Frontman Matt Bellamy said that the band want to mark the 10-year anniversary of ‘Origin Of Symmetry”s release in some way at the shows.
“It’s probably the last time some of these songs will ever be played live again,” he said of the 2001 album. He explained that the shows would see the band “drawing a line under one phase of our career”.
He added: “It was on the second album ['Origin...'] that things really started happening for the band, and when we focused on the live side of things much more. So it’ll be like coming full circle: we’ve gone off on one a little bit, and now it feels like the right time to pull it back and remind ourselves of what we were doing 10 years ago.”
Get the new issue of NME for the full interview with Muse, as well as chats with the other major players heading for the festivals.
The Reading And Leeds Festivals take place on August 26–28. Muse headline the Friday night (26) at Leeds and the Sunday night (28) at Reading.
Muse have said they are likely to play some songs from their ‘Origin Of Symmetry’ album for the “last time” at this year’s Reading And Leeds Festivals.
The band were speaking in the new issue of NME, on UK newsstands tomorrow (March 23) or available digitally. They are joining My Chemical Romance in headlining the August events, while The Strokes and Pulp will play co-headline slots.
Frontman Matt Bellamy said that the band want to mark the 10-year anniversary of ‘Origin Of Symmetry”s release in some way at the shows.
“It’s probably the last time some of these songs will ever be played live again,” he said of the 2001 album. He explained that the shows would see the band “drawing a line under one phase of our career”.
He added: “It was on the second album ['Origin...'] that things really started happening for the band, and when we focused on the live side of things much more. So it’ll be like coming full circle: we’ve gone off on one a little bit, and now it feels like the right time to pull it back and remind ourselves of what we were doing 10 years ago.”
Get the new issue of NME for the full interview with Muse, as well as chats with the other major players heading for the festivals.
The Reading And Leeds Festivals take place on August 26–28. Muse headline the Friday night (26) at Leeds and the Sunday night (28) at Reading.
3. Interview with Chris Wolstenholme
English Translation by AquanteRiver from .mu:
“We’ve always liked trespassing”
Seven readers interviewed Chris Wolstenholme, bassist of the English group that will play in La Plata tomorrow and Sunday. Matt and Dominic showed up for photos and autographs. Once again, just like with the Finnish Tarja Turunen and Calle 13, a small group of Sí! readers had the privilege of getting close to their idols and interview them face to face. On this occasion it was Muse, who will support U2 in La Plata tomorrow and Sunday, and who gave a spectacular show on Wednesday.
The seven fans are gathered anxiously in a meeting room at the Park Hyatt Buenos Aires. The interview will be with the bassist and spokesman Chris Wolstenholme – who was also a drummer – and together with the singer/guitar player Matt Bellamy and the drummer Dominic Howard, formed Rocket Baby Dolls, Muse’s embryo.
The 32-year-old English musician shakes hands with each fan and then sits at the table. His admirers are so nervous that during the whole interview (20 minutes), none drink even a drop of water.
Chris – who sometimes plays harmonica and keyboards – sits, and so does Pablo Landaida, who will open the first round of questions. Nervous, he thinks and starts us off.
Pablo L: “What did you feel the first time you played in Buenos Aires, and why did you wait so long to come back?”
Chris W: “We wanted very much to play in South America again, the last time we came to Argentina (23 and 24th of July, 2008 at the Gran Rex) was one of our best shows of that tour. We spent a lot of time getting to know the city, it’s a great place and we’re excited for tomorrow’s show.”
About returning to the country, he adds:
Chris W: “We were touring for The Resistance for 18 months. It was a lot of time in the States, after that we needed some free time, we were all very tired. I think that for the next album we’ll do another show in Argentina. We want to play in a stadium.”
Florencia M: “What’s the relationship like between Muse and social networks? I follow you on Twitter and you have thousands more fans.”
Chris W: “I love it, it’s very smart. I wasn’t a great fan of Facebook because it seems invasive to me, but Twitter is awesome because you can communicate with the fans, there is privacy and they don’t have access to your personal life. With only 140 characters your fans can ask things that you can answer in half an hour. I think that means a lot to my [Twitter] followers.”
Nahuel: “What is it like to play with U2, and what have you learned from them?”
Chris W: “It’s splendid, something that may never happen again. There aren’t many bands today with a 35-year trajectory that are still together. A lot of them lost all the cool they had. With U2 you hear current music, they let themselves be influenced and they stay young as a group. You have to get inspired by new things.”
Florencia B: “In Uprising, you sing “Rise up and take the power back…”, where did that come from?”
Chris W: “That song is interesting because of the things that happened in the world since it was written. A lot of our songs have lyrics dealing with battles against the government, they are against the elements of power that surround us all the time. Uprising is about individuals that hold the power. I believe that no one should live a forced life because we all have ideas that should be respected. People should have the right to express their concerns. The song was like a prediction of what happened in Libya or Egypt: fragile and fatal situations about to explode. And they succeeded. ”
Pablo S: “What can you tell us about the next album?”
Chris W: “Nothing, we haven’t had time yet (to compose). In my free time I only worked on some beats. We finished our tour in December and were going to do a few shows, but not a lot. The goal is to start recording in October, to start writing and work on the songs So we don’t have anything new yet, but there are always ideas flying.”
Natali: “In your last albums you’ve made progressively more danceable beats, something accepted by the rock fans as well as those who like dancing. Do you feel that on the stage?”
Chris W: “Starting with the third and fourth album, we started to experiment with simple drum beats, drum and bass and groove, and trying to simplify things rather than make them more complex. When you have something like that, you feel like you could dance and jump on stage as well as off it. And we were very interested in that as a band.”
Natalia: “Muse’s sound is a fusion of many styles of music. Which genre would you pick if you had to choose one?”
Chris W: “I think we’re basically a rock group, a guitar band, but we’ve always liked to trespass into other areas. We also have classical and electronic influences. We were never in the same place long enough to be defined by one thing. When you’re a live band, you have to do something potent if you want to stay that way. And rock has that.”
We have to close up the interview, and a lot of questions end up unasked. Dom and Matt are waiting for autographs and pics with their fans. Between hugs and kisses, Muse makes them happy.
Bonus Track
Natali: “What is the strangest thing that happened to you when you played live?”
Chris W: “I don’t know, there are a couple of stories, like when the power went out. That’s always a strange situation, when you have a lot of people watching you and then the sound doesn’t work, and you’re on the stage with no instruments and all you can do is give the people fruit. And they like it.” (laughter)
Pablo L: “You recorded a song for the movie Eclipse. Did that make you change anything in the way you face music?”
Chris W: “No, I think there was a lot of confusion about that. I think that having a song in a movie helps bands a lot, it’s hard for a band to become known just by recording an album, and bands do many other things to show their music. A lot of people don’t buy albums anymore, a lot of people do it through the radio, so you have to do things like put your music in movies, video games, or wherever. I’m okay with that, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think people listen to music in different ways now, so there’s nothing wrong with being in a movie, I’m happy and open to that, I think the movies and music have always been very close, and that’s how it should be.”
Florencia B: “Why do you wear such colorful pants on stage?”
Chris W: “I don’t know, I think that when we play sometimes we feel a bit far from the fans, so we have to wear something so they can see us. When you’re in a big stadium and look out and can’t see anyone, well, it’s the same for them looking at us. We have to wear something bright and colorful. Besides, the stage is the only place where you can do that, you can’t do that in your everyday life.”
Florencia B: “What do you think of your fans, and the generational variety among them?”
Chris W: “Our fans have always been very loyal, a lot of people that got tired of following bands chose to stay with us. The majority of our fans have been following us for many albums, and that’s great, it’s not very common. The public keeps coming to the gigs, and that’s something to be proud of. In Europe we were surprised to see a lot of older people in addition to the young ones. I’d been told that people our age would like us, not sixty-year-olds.”
Reporter: “The word Resistance is very relevant in the current situation in the Middle East and Libya and Egypt. What do you think about that?”
Chris W: “There’s a lot of conflict all over the world right now, and it’s hard to say who is right and who is not. There are lots of opinions about what’s happening in Libya. I think that where there are people, there is conflict, and it seems like it’s increasing, or maybe we just find out more because we have news all day. I think that there is too much going on in too many places at the same time. It’s incredible after the song came out. It’s hard. You have to be well educated and informed, there are a lot of contradictory things and religions. There will always be conflict where religion is involved…I don’t know if that’s an answer.”
Reporter: “What is Muse’s muse?”
Chris W: “I don’t know, I think life, everything that happens to you, every song you hear, every movie you watch, every relationship you have, every person you meet, the family, everything influences your life, and that’s what it is. What happens in your life, you translate into music.”
“We’ve always liked trespassing”
Seven readers interviewed Chris Wolstenholme, bassist of the English group that will play in La Plata tomorrow and Sunday. Matt and Dominic showed up for photos and autographs. Once again, just like with the Finnish Tarja Turunen and Calle 13, a small group of Sí! readers had the privilege of getting close to their idols and interview them face to face. On this occasion it was Muse, who will support U2 in La Plata tomorrow and Sunday, and who gave a spectacular show on Wednesday.
The seven fans are gathered anxiously in a meeting room at the Park Hyatt Buenos Aires. The interview will be with the bassist and spokesman Chris Wolstenholme – who was also a drummer – and together with the singer/guitar player Matt Bellamy and the drummer Dominic Howard, formed Rocket Baby Dolls, Muse’s embryo.
The 32-year-old English musician shakes hands with each fan and then sits at the table. His admirers are so nervous that during the whole interview (20 minutes), none drink even a drop of water.
Chris – who sometimes plays harmonica and keyboards – sits, and so does Pablo Landaida, who will open the first round of questions. Nervous, he thinks and starts us off.
Pablo L: “What did you feel the first time you played in Buenos Aires, and why did you wait so long to come back?”
Chris W: “We wanted very much to play in South America again, the last time we came to Argentina (23 and 24th of July, 2008 at the Gran Rex) was one of our best shows of that tour. We spent a lot of time getting to know the city, it’s a great place and we’re excited for tomorrow’s show.”
About returning to the country, he adds:
Chris W: “We were touring for The Resistance for 18 months. It was a lot of time in the States, after that we needed some free time, we were all very tired. I think that for the next album we’ll do another show in Argentina. We want to play in a stadium.”
Florencia M: “What’s the relationship like between Muse and social networks? I follow you on Twitter and you have thousands more fans.”
Chris W: “I love it, it’s very smart. I wasn’t a great fan of Facebook because it seems invasive to me, but Twitter is awesome because you can communicate with the fans, there is privacy and they don’t have access to your personal life. With only 140 characters your fans can ask things that you can answer in half an hour. I think that means a lot to my [Twitter] followers.”
Nahuel: “What is it like to play with U2, and what have you learned from them?”
Chris W: “It’s splendid, something that may never happen again. There aren’t many bands today with a 35-year trajectory that are still together. A lot of them lost all the cool they had. With U2 you hear current music, they let themselves be influenced and they stay young as a group. You have to get inspired by new things.”
Florencia B: “In Uprising, you sing “Rise up and take the power back…”, where did that come from?”
Chris W: “That song is interesting because of the things that happened in the world since it was written. A lot of our songs have lyrics dealing with battles against the government, they are against the elements of power that surround us all the time. Uprising is about individuals that hold the power. I believe that no one should live a forced life because we all have ideas that should be respected. People should have the right to express their concerns. The song was like a prediction of what happened in Libya or Egypt: fragile and fatal situations about to explode. And they succeeded. ”
Pablo S: “What can you tell us about the next album?”
Chris W: “Nothing, we haven’t had time yet (to compose). In my free time I only worked on some beats. We finished our tour in December and were going to do a few shows, but not a lot. The goal is to start recording in October, to start writing and work on the songs So we don’t have anything new yet, but there are always ideas flying.”
Natali: “In your last albums you’ve made progressively more danceable beats, something accepted by the rock fans as well as those who like dancing. Do you feel that on the stage?”
Chris W: “Starting with the third and fourth album, we started to experiment with simple drum beats, drum and bass and groove, and trying to simplify things rather than make them more complex. When you have something like that, you feel like you could dance and jump on stage as well as off it. And we were very interested in that as a band.”
Natalia: “Muse’s sound is a fusion of many styles of music. Which genre would you pick if you had to choose one?”
Chris W: “I think we’re basically a rock group, a guitar band, but we’ve always liked to trespass into other areas. We also have classical and electronic influences. We were never in the same place long enough to be defined by one thing. When you’re a live band, you have to do something potent if you want to stay that way. And rock has that.”
We have to close up the interview, and a lot of questions end up unasked. Dom and Matt are waiting for autographs and pics with their fans. Between hugs and kisses, Muse makes them happy.
Bonus Track
Natali: “What is the strangest thing that happened to you when you played live?”
Chris W: “I don’t know, there are a couple of stories, like when the power went out. That’s always a strange situation, when you have a lot of people watching you and then the sound doesn’t work, and you’re on the stage with no instruments and all you can do is give the people fruit. And they like it.” (laughter)
Pablo L: “You recorded a song for the movie Eclipse. Did that make you change anything in the way you face music?”
Chris W: “No, I think there was a lot of confusion about that. I think that having a song in a movie helps bands a lot, it’s hard for a band to become known just by recording an album, and bands do many other things to show their music. A lot of people don’t buy albums anymore, a lot of people do it through the radio, so you have to do things like put your music in movies, video games, or wherever. I’m okay with that, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think people listen to music in different ways now, so there’s nothing wrong with being in a movie, I’m happy and open to that, I think the movies and music have always been very close, and that’s how it should be.”
Florencia B: “Why do you wear such colorful pants on stage?”
Chris W: “I don’t know, I think that when we play sometimes we feel a bit far from the fans, so we have to wear something so they can see us. When you’re in a big stadium and look out and can’t see anyone, well, it’s the same for them looking at us. We have to wear something bright and colorful. Besides, the stage is the only place where you can do that, you can’t do that in your everyday life.”
Florencia B: “What do you think of your fans, and the generational variety among them?”
Chris W: “Our fans have always been very loyal, a lot of people that got tired of following bands chose to stay with us. The majority of our fans have been following us for many albums, and that’s great, it’s not very common. The public keeps coming to the gigs, and that’s something to be proud of. In Europe we were surprised to see a lot of older people in addition to the young ones. I’d been told that people our age would like us, not sixty-year-olds.”
Reporter: “The word Resistance is very relevant in the current situation in the Middle East and Libya and Egypt. What do you think about that?”
Chris W: “There’s a lot of conflict all over the world right now, and it’s hard to say who is right and who is not. There are lots of opinions about what’s happening in Libya. I think that where there are people, there is conflict, and it seems like it’s increasing, or maybe we just find out more because we have news all day. I think that there is too much going on in too many places at the same time. It’s incredible after the song came out. It’s hard. You have to be well educated and informed, there are a lot of contradictory things and religions. There will always be conflict where religion is involved…I don’t know if that’s an answer.”
Reporter: “What is Muse’s muse?”
Chris W: “I don’t know, I think life, everything that happens to you, every song you hear, every movie you watch, every relationship you have, every person you meet, the family, everything influences your life, and that’s what it is. What happens in your life, you translate into music.”
4. Muse in Chille
March 25, 2011 from the Supporting U2 360° Tour
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2 comments:
wowwwww..stage setting u gilee ahhhh..have never seen such thing before ahah.
Edge talking about Muse. ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOpg_k746hg
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