Neil Finn - Interview, Part 1

Seven years ago Neil Finn sent the call out to a bunch of his mates. Come round to my place, play some songs, play some shows. Not much different from anyone anywhere really. Except that "my place" was New Zealand and his "mates" were people like Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway from Radiohead, Sebastian Steinberg from Soul Coughing, solo artist Lisa Germano and The Smiths Johnny Marr amongst others. Dubbed 7 Worlds Collide, the scratch band rehearsed for three days, played a couple of shows and sent all proceeds from the resulting album and DVD to international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières. A nice weeks work.

Fast forward to Christmas 2008 and Neil is welcoming Wilco's Jeff Tweedy at the airport. Families in tow, Tweedy has arrived with bandmates John Stirrat, Glenn Kotchke and Pat Sansone to relax over the festive period, go swimming and play some songs. Marr, Steinberg, Germano and the Radiohead guys are back in town, so too KT Tunstall, Bic Runga, Don McGlashen, Glenn Richards, Liam Finn and a bevy of friends and family. The same collaborative approach but the objective was different this time. To write and record an album in three weeks at Finn's Roundhead studios, with proceeds from the project going towards Oxfam. There were a couple of celebratory shows at the end of the sessions, but the lasting result is a double album titled The Sun Came Out (due September 4th), an album tagged as "in aid of Oxfam". But also, apparently, effortless pop music from some of the game's biggest names. And fun, as it turns out.

A generous Neil Finn was enjoying a UK morning when we called, preparing to play a rare, one off 7 Worlds Collide concert in Camden that night with some of his buddies. (Which the Telegraph went on to call "One of the most inspiring gigs of the year") We can't say we weren't a little bit thrilled; the man is responsible for some of the greatest songs ever conceived. We covered so much ground in our chat that we've split the talk into two halves. Here's the first, the second on its way tomorrow.

You're playing tonight is that right?

Yeah I'm playing tonight at Dingwalls, just doing a little show with four of the guys from the 7 Worlds thing. Just to, put the flag up the pole, y'know?

I guess you're going to have to have to fill in the parts for the people that aren't there.

Well we can represent a good half of the record I think. We've got a good sound, it's a pretty rockin' band. We've got Ed O'Brien on guitar, Phil Selway and Glenn Kotche on drums and John Stirrat on bass and me on guitar and piano. We can certainly give it a good old rockin' rendition. It won't be the same as some of the arrangements, but you know. We just felt it would be good to get as many (as we could) together to mark its release.

You've cut the wheat from the chaff.

Well it would've been nice to have everybody but it's just not possible with people spread out all over the globe.

Of course. I guess in the initial stages of getting the second edition of 7 Worlds Collide together that it must've felt like arranging a holiday with friends essentially. Was there a point where the fear kicked in?

I had some nerves beforehand because I didn't know everyone that was coming and there's always the potential in the wee hours of the morning to imagine disaster. You know, never trust a thought after midnight I don't think. And I had an underlying confidence and faith, especially after the last 7 Worlds project, which was a huge risk in a way as well, with only three days rehearsal. But it turned out so well. I was pretty reassured that when you get good people together with the strong will to make something work - you know, everybody's in love with making music - I knew something good would happen.

What's your (musician) selection process? Is it literally going through your address book?

Well the first 7 Worlds came about with a conversation with Ed O'Brien, that sparked it off. We were talking about people that we'd run into and on many occasion said it would be great to do something outside of our normal environment. Just as a one off for the hell of it kind've thing. And on our wishlist we were both really keen to play with Johnny Marr, both big fans, and I'd met him and got his phone number recently. So it's a random process in many ways and just following your nose on it. This time Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) couldn't come because his wife was having a baby. I knew we could actually accommodate a few extra people in the mix because there was a recording project and with two or three spaces here - well in Auckland.

I'm a big fan of Wilco, as is the whole family, and I'd seen them play in Wellington last year and I'd thought "Oh I'll send out a wishful email". It must've got them at a good time and (we) invited them and their families down for Christmas. They were able to get away from a bitterly cold Chicago and play music with people - as it turned out - they were keen on and thought would be compatible. I sent out a few other emails to people who were keen but just not able to make it. And yeah, it was just something that pieced itself together. I had a plan up to a point. It's like inviting people to a party and some people can make it and some people can't.

And some people stick around with guitars and sit around the fire.

Well that's right, everyone has that mentality at least, I can say anyway. And everyone was willing, loved making music and very open musically to what would happen.

Is there maybe an idea that doing this kind've thing in a low pressure, sort've controlled environment, that it's a safehouse for these accomplished artists to try and do things that they wouldn't normally try and do with their own band?

Um, well yeah I think it's just stepping outside that normal environment is a really appealing prospect for people. I mean it's not surprising that Wilco have done a lot of outside (stuff) - I mean they did the project with Billy Bragg. They collaborate a lot with people; they've just done something with Beck. They're open to musical experience, y'know, you get an invitation and you think "Well there's something to be had in that and something to contribute to". It used to be in my experience and often in the old days that bands used to be very insular. They didn't step outside of their own environment very much. And when you think about Radiohead and they've been together since they were at school. Thom's done a solo project, Johnny's done a few things but before the first 7 Worlds Ed and Phil hadn't really done else other than in Radiohead. So I think it was a great experience for them to have something with low pressure - well actually not with low pressure at the time but with no expectations of them building a career, you know, having to commit yourselves forever. To step outside. I think they went back with renewed vigor for their own band.

Maybe it allows some artists to get a different perspective on what they do for a little while.

That's right. I think it's a valuable thing and you get to hang out and chat, you know, feel that you're part of some community.



Was there ever a concern of yours that maybe they wouldn't pull out their great ideas, they'd save them for their own projects?

You know there's always an element of that probably. I had songs that were ringed for Crowded House at that point cause we'd already worked on them as well. I'm sure Wilco had a few, they had songs too, ready for their record which they ended up cutting the tracks for in Auckland afterwards. But y'know having said that the two songs that Jeff (Tweedy) wrote at the time for 7 Worlds are really strong. And in fact one them I think is on their record as well.

Which one?

'You Never Know'. It's on both records because they thought it might be good for that. So you know, I don't think that was the case. One of the nice things about this project is that half the songs were written on the spot. And those songs I'm particularly happy about, because they were borne of the time. And there was no way they were throwaways, people were really working hard to make them as good as they can.

When you do your own thing you tend to labour over it a lot more as well.

Well it can be like that yeah. We didn't have time to labour over things the process was quick and there were a lot of people to lend support and we could tag team quite a lot. So somehow it became a very quick and productive process.

I've watched a lot of the YouTube clips from the sessions. It gives the impression of this giant, Dr. Suess-like house with all these different sessions and people  and kids running round and people wandering from room to room with a guitar on their back...

That's kind've what it was, yeah. The building that we've got the studio in is a fantastic space and I did have a fantasy when we got it that something like this would happen. That we'd be able to occupy the whole place, and have a happening and that's really what it was. So what comes across is probably pretty realistic. People were really hungry for work, they wander from room to room. You'd have to fight to get one of the studio spaces because people were so camped out wanting to do the vocals on their track, or get Johnny in to play guitar. Phil was writing his song on the stairs, we had people working in my wife's chandelier shop (downstairs) just looking for space to work.

Who knew that Phil Selway would have such a sweet voice?

I know, I know. It was one of the big revelations of the project. He performed on stage at the shows like an old pro and that was his debut.

From memory I don't think he sings at all when Radiohead play shows.

I don't remember him singing much at all, no. Maybe he sings the odd backing vocal I can't remember. Ed O'Brien covers most of them. But apparently in the early days before Radiohead and even in the early days of Radiohead he was contributing songs. And he had a band of his own at school. So it's nearly his debut. Certainly in modern times.

Post-analogue.

Exactly.

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PART 2 OF OUR NEIL FINN INTERVIEW: In which we discuss some of the key tracks on The Sun Came Out, the future of the 7 Worlds Collide project and the forthcoming Crowded House record.