With their return to Brazil scheduled for November, the Scottish band celebrates the good reception of their 10th studio album, ‘LA Times’; to Rolling Stone, bassist Dougie Payne dissects the album’s production and attacks the music created by AI: “it’s not f*cking content”
The announcement of a show in Brazil on November 5th caught fans of Travis by surprise here. Firstly because the performance puts an end to a hiatus of almost exactly 11 years since the group’s first visit to the country at that distant festival Planet Earthin 2013; secondly, because it puts the Brazilian public on the route to one of the most interesting works in the history of the Scottish quartet.
Released on July 12th, LA Times (BMG, 2024) is the band’s tenth studio album, and one of the most celebrated since the success they experienced with albums like The Man Who (1999) and The Invisible Band (2001). Produced by Tony Hoffer (platinum veteran of names like Beck, Air It is Belle & Sebastian), the album succeeds by coordinating in its little over 30 minutes a series of sound innovations to the quartet’s classic identity – a real treat for those who have followed them for decades.
It’s also a deeply personal album, he explains. Dougie PayneTravis’ charismatic bassist Rolling Stone Brazil. Lyrically, LA Times is described as an album about the vocalist’s experiences Fran Healy living in Los Angeles over the last decade – with the city as an allegory for the fast-paced, controversial and deeply polarized times we live in.
“Whatever happens in Los Angeles, California or Hollywood, that’s a warning of what’s going to happen everywhere else 20 or 30 years down the road,” explains Payne – himself living in the UK, far removed from Healy’s LA hustle and bustle, as are his fellow bandmates. Andy Dunlop (guitarist) and Neil Primrose (drums). Without making a distinction or raising any moral flag about the tone of the record, the bassist simply says: “I think it’s realistic. I don’t think it’s really pessimistic or optimistic. It’s about appreciating the now.”
“And now everything is very polarized. There’s immense wealth and enormous poverty, with not much space in between. And everyone is atomized, going to these distant places with very little connection to each other. It seems like that’s where we’re headed – living in polarized times. So LA Times seems appropriate. It’s the curse of living in interesting times – we could have called the album Interesting Times also [risos].”
These are the interesting times that appear in the construction of more or less complex soundscapes, of tracks like “Live It All Again” in which themes such as loss and overcoming are revealed in melancholic and surprising chords; and in others, such as “Alive” or “Gaslight” [ouça acima]where Tony Hoffer’s work appears more vibrant and shiny:
“[Hoffer] was as important as Nigel Godrich was The Man Who It is The Invisible Band. He brought so much detail and musicality and atmosphere to the songs, seeing things, little things in the songs, and elevating them. And that was phenomenal,” says Dougie.
“Art is not a bad word”
The bassist’s celebratory tone, which runs throughout most of the interview, only finds resistance when he talks about the current phenomenon of music created by artificial intelligence – or transformed into “content”:
“I hate that fucking word. Art is not a dirty word. It’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s food for the soul and a necessity – both for the one who makes it and the one who consumes it. It’s not a fucking piece of content. [risos].”
Return to Brazil
These are interesting and fast-paced times for the band and the bassist. Without revealing details about the performance in Brazil – the interview took place before the announcement -, Dougie limited himself to praising the Brazilian audience, which he also defined as “phenomenal”.
Before rushing off to the soundcheck of one of his sold-out shows at The O2 Arena in London, Payne simply promised to return. “That’s it – we’re in a rush,” he said, not without first guaranteeing, before announcing the return: “But we want to go back to Brazil.”
Check out Travis’s interview with Dougie Payne below:
Rolling Stone Brazil: LA Times talks about Fran Healy’s experience living for a decade in Los Angeles – and the rest of you, where is it?
Dougie Payne: The rest of us are in the UK, I’m in Glasgow, Scotland, Andy [Dunlop, guitarrista] is in Liverpool and Neil [Primrose, bateria] is in the north of England. So Fran is the one who is out of place – he’s the one who makes everything difficult, you know? [risos] But yeah, we all went to LA to record. LA Timeswe were there for a month. And the record… well, we draw from a lot of life experiences to write the songs, and you direct some of them, but they tend to come in a more abstract way. So the record is obviously about friendships, about the experience of living in LA for almost a decade, a lot of that ends up being there. But it’s always been a very personal record, that ends up bringing up some specific themes, with this common thread, that wasn’t done deliberately.
Rolling Stone Brasil: It’s as if, by dealing with the idiosyncrasies of life in Los Angeles, you were talking about broader themes – a testimony of our time, would that be it?
Dougie Payne: You’re absolutely right! That’s exactly it. It’s funny, because Los Angeles, and particularly Hollywood, is almost like the story of the canary in the coal mine. You know – miners used to take canaries into coal mines to test if there was any poisonous gas ahead. If the canary died, they knew to get out of there. It was a cautionary tale. And that’s what LA is. Whatever happens in Los Angeles, California or Hollywood, it’s a warning of what’s going to happen everywhere else, 20 or 30 years later. So you had the golden age of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. And then 20 or 30 years later it happens in the rest of the West, in the 1950s and 1960s, there’s all this optimism, and money, and wealth, and the pursuit of cultural interest in the second half of the 20th century.
And now everything is very polarized. There is immense wealth and enormous poverty, with not much space in between. And everyone is atomized, in their little cars, going to these distant places with very little connection between each other. And this seems to be spreading in societies, it seems like this is where we are heading – living in polarized times. So LA Times seems somewhat appropriate. It’s the curse of living in interesting times – we could have called the album Interesting Times also [risos].
Rolling Stone Brasil: And how would you define the band’s vision of these times – is it optimistic or pessimistic? Or just realistic, maybe…?
Dougie Payne: I think it’s realistic. I don’t think it’s really pessimistic or optimistic. It’s about appreciating the now. You could say it’s a prediction of what’s happening now, but the thing is, when it comes to songs, to music in general, we’re always optimistic. Not lyrically, or formally speaking, but it’s optimistic – just making music is an optimistic act, a pure form of faith in humanity. Because it’s pure. It feeds the soul. My mother once said to me, “I’m so glad you’re making music, you’re a force for good.” And I like that. And I really believe it.
As long as there are real people making real music – not AI [risos]let’s stay away from that talk – but real people making music, making art and not treating it as content, treating it with the real respect it deserves… see, it’s not content. I hate that f*cking word. Art is not a dirty word. It’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s food for the soul and a necessity – both for the one who makes it and for the one who consumes it. It’s not f*cking content [risos].
Rolling Stone Brazil: LA Times is Travis’s tenth studio album. It’s an interesting milestone. Where do you think the new record fits within the band’s discography?
Dougie Payne: I know that probably every musician you talk to will tell you that the record that’s coming out is the best they’ve done yet. But I really believe that this album is among the best we’ve ever put out. Musically speaking and in terms of performance, songwriting… I think it’s up there with The Man Who (1999) and with The Invisible Band (2001). It’s certainly something we’re proud of.
And there’s no way to talk about how the album sounds without mentioning Tony Hoffer, who is incredibly important. Just as important Nigel Godrich was The Man Who It is The Invisible Band. He brought so much detail and musicality and atmosphere to the songs, seeing things, little things in the songs, and elevating them. And it was phenomenal. So fast, so musical and so precise. Sonically, it’s among the best things we’ve ever released.
Rolling Stone Brasil: So tell us a little about the recording process.
Dougie Payne: It was fantastic. Tony is great at getting good performances out of people, great at understanding how he can manipulate performances and take, say, a great drum performance from Neil. And then he’ll modernise it, sample it, add some stuff… We all record it together and then we’ll tweak it and improve it, you know? Throw things around and see what works. So there wasn’t a wasted day, it was a great time. We were in a great studio called Dave’s Room in LA and it couldn’t have been better. We all loved it. He [Hoffer] He challenged us, you know? He made me play double bass, which I had never played before, which was… interesting. [risos]but I liked it. It’s good to try new things after playing for so long. It’s challenging.
Rolling Stone Brasil: You came to Brazil in 2013, at Planeta Terra – I was there, it was a great show. Do you have any memories of that visit or of the Brazilian audience?
Dougie Payne: We remember it because it was the only time we played in Brazil. It was at that festival in the car park, right? I remember it very well. I remember the crowd being phenomenal. And I don’t know why we couldn’t get back. So we’re coming back to you. I don’t know exactly when – there’s a lot going on, with the record coming out, plus the European tour… you know The O2 Arena in London? I’m right next door. [risos] [mostra a arena pela janela]. We played there with The Killers last night. We’re going to do five more dates with them, then I’ll be leaving soon except for the soundcheck. That’s it – we’re in a rush. But we want to get back to Brazil.
Listen to LA Times below:
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
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