Kerrang! Magazine, October 1999
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On the set of "The Chemicals Between Us"
The sign on the gate reads 'Religh Studio's', but this Hollywood back-lot is begining to look more like a global village. Japanese girls in traditional clothing giggle as they race passed adults dressed as Maoris, Hare Krishnas, Arabic belly dancers and representatives of dozens of other less identifiable cultures. Bush drummer Robin Goodridge regards it all with an amused expression. His band have relocated to Los Angeles for 3 days to film a promotional clip for 'The Chemicals Between Us' - the first single from the band's much anticipated 3rd album The Science of Things. For Goodridge, today is the usual exercise in non-stop time-wasting. "We did a shoot the other night in a dodgy part of east LA, where it was just us playing in the middle of a dark, wet street. Today's kind of the opposite of that with this bizarre garden setting. It looks very Zen. It's like two videos in one, if you know what I mean."
Today Goodridge and his band mates are fully fitted out in kung fu-type clobber as they're put through there paces by director Stephane Sednaoui, who has worked with Garbage and REM. Rossdale, as expected is at the centre of the action, giant fans sending his newly orange-streaked hair flying across his face. "It's a video of stark differences," the vocalist reveals during a break in the proceedings. "We wanted this timeless, placeless environment, so we created this infinite white space with a few pretty trees in there to signify a little bit of life. And we wanted all these different people from different backgrounds. All of us, the band and all the extras , we'll be together and then we'll all turn into silver..." He suddenly realises the sheer ludicrousness of what he's saying, and pauses for a second. "It's deep" he grins, "but in a fun way."
Rossdale looks understandably heathly and happy. These days the singer maintains a permanent home in London. He also manages to spend time in CA with his girlfriend Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, who also adds her vocals to the track 'Spacetravel'. More importantly he knows his band are back to full strength after recently completing a string of low key US club dates and an apperance at the Woodstock '99 festival. After concluding the Razorblade Suitcase tour, the quartet went their separate ways for sixmonths. Guitarist Nigel released his debut album Heavenly Toast On The Paradise Road, Robin Goodridge took an extented sojourn to the south of France, amiable bassist Dave Parsons travelled around New Zealand in a van, and Gavin Rossdale retired to a mansion on the Irish coast. Despite his initial intentions to "lead a mook like existance", he ended up writing more than 25 songs which he then sent to the rest of his band for their contribution.
"I took loads of books with me to inspire me," he remembers, " and didn't get around to reading any of them. Books on painting, architecture, photography, the collected works of Marcel Proust...which ended up becoming a wonderful door-stopper." Rossdale reveals that the songs on the new album are filled with his most wide-ranging topics yet. "It's full of big themes, love, death, isolation and chocolate. Plus there's a few about pollution. 'The Disease of the Dancing Cats' deals with a Japanese Mercury poisoning that occured in 1957. They'd dump 80 tons of mercury into the bay, and later all these cats started foaming at the mouth and spinning around in circles. That's why they called it the disease of the dancing cats." Another song 'Dead Mea't deals with the subject of revenge. It was inspired, says the singer, by a film entitled 'Star 80'. "It was based on Dorothy Stratton. It's about a girl who comes back down to earth to make someone pay for what she's been through. I wanted to write a song for people seeking revenge."
The Science of Things also marks the return of Sixteen Stone producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanly after the blisteringly raw Steve Albini production of Razorblade Suitcase. Dave Parsons suggests that this stemmed not from any great desire to replicate the slick, hook-filled sound of their debut, but instead from a desire to continue what Bush consider a fine working relationship. "I think the album we did with Steve Albini was really good - a raw and live sounding. We didn't want to do that again, so that ruled him out to a certain extent. Since we like to work long hours in the studio, it's easier for us to work with people who we are familiar with."
Robin agrees: "I think it's a lot more colourful and textured than the last album. Razorblade Suitcase was pretty veiled, I thought. You had to peel away a few layers to get your head around it. This one is more accessable."
Gavin's take on matters is slightly different from his bandmates. "Musically it is as stark as Razorblade Suitcase, possibly more so, we put a lot of information down on the tracks and as we were mixing we started to take a lot of things out. I always wanted the sound to be as pared-back and thinned as possible. I prefer one guitar, and with Nigel being so brilliant it's usually him who remains on the tracks, but I get some in there too."
Back on the set, Bush are needed again, and the tedious begins anew. The band are being asked to keep the floor of the sound stage spotless, so they're forced to wear ridiculous plastic boots on there feet. Gavin mentions that their next video will be helmed by Hype Willians, famed for his hip hop clips for the likes of Missy Elliot. There's an eager air in the Bush camp. The quartet are aware that the record company politics have kept them out of action for far longer than necessary, and The Science of Things promises to propel them to greater glories than ever. The trick is in attracting those who might have had their reservations about Bush as well as satisfying their long time admirers.
"I think this album will pull both all those people, it won't alienate any of our fans - there's plenty of rock songs, plenty of speed. Anyone who likes us already will be excited by the new record, and it's not that so far-reaching that it leaves behind what it was that made us successful." And if it isn't, at least he'll be able to catch up on his reading.
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