Spiritualized‘s Jason Pierce doesn’t seem to have had the best of times during this summer’s festival season, and has criticised bands who use the events to massage their egos.
“I know everyone has started thinking that festivals are the way you see bands now, but I’ve always said bands are the least important part of a festival,” he has told Drowned In Sound.
“Yet bands, in their wisdom still soak up the glory, like they’re worth THIS many people. Or worse, when you get those awful singalongs, and a band’s ego kicks in when the crowd sings their words back. It’s as if they’re standing on stage thinking ‘This is what we’re worth’ and really the audience would sing We’ll Meet Again if it was playing. There’s something about a communal sing-song that’s inherent in people. People love it. So yeah, it’s been a long old summer playing festivals.”
Pierce also discussed his plans for the follow-up to this year’s excellent ‘Sweet Heart, Sweet Light‘ album, revealing the improvisational music he has been witnessing at London’s Café Oto has made him want to ‘do something freer’ next time.