It was on a sunny late morning that we met Neil Hannon, who talked to us about the rainy Sunday afternoons he spends working on his project, The Divine Comedy. His thirteenth album, Rainy Sunday Afternoon, confirms the band's obsession with quality and control, which it has developped throughout its 36-year career. An interview with guaranteed British humour and no AI.
What is the question you have been asked too many times and are tired of answering?
(Laughs) My goodness, there are so many (Laughs)! No, but I'll try to focus on one question.
It's probably, ‘Are you a Britpop band?’ (Smiles)
If I'm feeling down, I tell myself it's time to make a new album: it cheers me up!
And we won't ask you that. After ‘Office Politics’ in 2019, then the compilation ‘Charmed Life’ and your work on ‘Wonka’, what motivated you to return to a new studio album?
I don't need motivation: I just do what I do, knowing that there will always be another album. If I feel down, I tell myself it's time to make a new album (laughs): it cheers me up! Making music and albums is like my hobby!
If music is your hobby, what is your job?
My job is to survive! It's literally going to the supermarket to make sure all the dogs get their pills (smiles). Making music is easy compared to all the everyday tasks!
The title ‘Rainy Sunday Afternoon’ evokes a contemplative atmosphere, a moment suspended in time. Is that the feeling you wanted to capture throughout the album?
Sometimes it's good to be able to focus on a detail of life that songs can't fully cover. There are many parts of life that artists don't seem to want to talk about in their songs, which is why I do it on my own (laughs)!
How did the recording go at Abbey Road? Do you think this legendary venue influences the energy or concentration of a project like this?
Yes! I did it because I didn't want to die without ever having made an album at Abbey Road (smiles).
Now that's ticked off the list...
Exactly, on my bucket list...
There aren't many things I haven't done.
In that regard, is there anything left to tick off your list?
I don't think so! I'm very happy. I had the opportunity to do a major tour with an orchestra in 1997. But unfortunately, we did it because we didn't know how much it would cost. I didn't have a concept of money at the time - I didn't have a mortgage or anything like that - it didn't concern me.
Today, a tour like that is much more expensive, I couldn't afford to do it again knowing that it didn't make any money and it would mean my death (laughs)!
But to come back to your question, there aren't many things I haven't done: I've met most of my musical heroes – I'd love to meet Kate Bush, but I don't think it'll happen...
I've always been obsessed with control, ever since I was very young.
You wrote, arranged and produced this album entirely yourself. Was that a desire to control every nuance or a way of staying as close as possible to the emotion?
That's the story of my career. I've always been obsessed with control since I was very young. I think it's because when I started in a band – at school – I didn't understand what we were doing. All I knew was that their songs were terrible and mine were good (laughs).
We were in London and it was awful when they announced they were leaving the band to go to university. It was probably a good decision. For my part, I made my first album and it was a revelation: I could do whatever I wanted and no one could contradict me. Throughout my career, I've tried to maintain that sense of security (smiles). However, I can leave responsibility for certain areas to people I know are better than me in those areas, but I still need to have an overview...
“Achilles” opens the album with a mythological figure plunged into modern warfare. Why did you choose this, and how did you construct the link between ancient poetry and contemporary memory?
It's quite hard to remember what I was trying to do because this track was written ten years ago. I was 43 at the time and feeling old, and I read this beautiful poem by a poet who died very young. I was twice his age and I thought to myself that I was very lucky to have been born at the right time.
In fact, there are three layers to this song: Achilles, to whom Patrick Shaw-Stewart's poem is dedicated, the poet to whom I respond in this song, and the layers of time.
You say you wrote this song ten years ago. Why release it now?
It's a long story. I wrote this song at the same time as the album ‘Foreverland’, which ended up being an album about relationships, and this track had nothing to do with that album. I thought it would be for the next album, but the next one was ‘Office Politics’, which is crazy with the place technology has taken in the world of work and the fact that machines are slowly killing humans. We had recorded Achilles for that album, but it didn't sound right, it didn't work. It wasn't the right time for it. But when this new album came along, I thought it would be on it and even be the first track (laughs)!
In that regard, how do you conceive your albums around a concept and then write the songs, or is it the other way around? In the case of this album, would it revolve around the title “Achilles”?
No. In fact, if there was only going to be one song, it would be “I Want You”, which I wrote last July and which sounded really good to me. I could see myself recording it at Abbey Road with strings added, and it would be incredible. I thought I'd try to make an album that would sound really good when recorded in that studio. I'd never done that before. And I thought “Achilles” could work in that context.
I've always been annoyed by music that boils down to a single feeling
Several tracks, such as “Down The Rabbit Hole” and “The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter”, delve into a kind of absurdity, dreaminess or parable. What role does fiction play in your writing?
My work has always been a mixture. I've always been bored by music that boils down to a single feeling: sadness or joy... it's terribly boring (Laughs)! I like it when there are extra layers like an illusion, a metaphor, a narrative... anything that allows me to move away from anything egocentric.
Your songs always strike a balance between seriousness and elegance, emotion and detachment. In “I Want You”, this tension is particularly noticeable. Is this contrast something you strive for?
It's nice of you to say that. I probably do, but it's unconscious.
I want to do things that are honest, but I also want them to be beautiful.
Come on, it's the part of the interview where you lie down on the sofa and tell us everything...
(Laughs) I want to do things that are honest, but I also want them to be beautiful. On the previous album, Office Politics, I was consciously doing ugly things. It's not something I do often, but I guess I wanted to represent sick subjects as they are (laughs). But that's not the case on this album, I just wanted it to be beautiful... My only concern is that it suits the vinyl format: I think people will appreciate it more if they buy the vinyl...
This record is more subdued, sometimes whispered, with an almost confidential tone. Is this a new aesthetic direction or a way of refocusing after more expansive projects?
To be honest, all my albums are expansive, but in different directions. I suppose the lyrics and the feeling are meant to be intimate, and the music can be quite grandiose. I'm very comfortable exposing personal things as long as they're embedded in a massive context. To me, it's like a large neoclassical painting depicting peasants picking carrots; the whole thing is still absolutely grand and beautiful (smiles).
The piano and acoustic guitar play a central role on this album, as if they were supporting the narrative. Was the choice of a more understated orchestration intended to better serve the literary power of the lyrics?
I don't know. Maybe? That's a very good question.
That'll be the only one in this interview...
No, they're all good. You know when I go into my little room – with all my equipment – and plan and record the demos, I record everything as it should be, but it's not necessarily appropriate. It's like a preliminary sketch: all the elements are there, but they're not necessarily all good (laughs)! And when I'm in that room, I don't really think, I just... do.
But today, you have a little more perspective...
Yes, all the experience I've gained is inside me, but I don't want to think... I just know that when I do something, I know I probably won't make the same mistakes twice.
I've always avoided realism because reality is pretty boring.
“All The Pretty Lights” and “Can't Let Go” deal with bittersweet feelings, between nostalgia and lucidity. Does this album reflect autobiographical elements or do you remain in the realm of stylised fiction?
I've always avoided realism because reality is pretty boring. I see my music more as a kind of dramatic scene filmed in a kitchen but directed by Steven Spielberg (laughs)!
In ‘Invisible Thread’, which closes the album, there’s a sense of connection or intimate continuity. Could this be read as a kind of artistic testament, or a peaceful reflection on the passing of time?
Yes, the song is about letting go of those you love. If you love them, set them free, as Sting so aptly put it. My daughter is pregnant now and she doesn't need me at all anymore. It's cool, but there are moments when you wonder what my purpose is now.
To satisfy your audience?
Yes, but that's not enough (laughs)....
Or to buy pills for your dogs?
Obviously, someone has to do it or take them to the vet.
But no, you have to keep going. You know, like I told you, making albums is my favourite thing to do, and I also love being on stage.
This very introspective album feels like a culmination. Is it a breather in your career or the start of a new creative cycle?
I don't know (laughs). It's just the new album. I know you guys – journalists – like to see big arcs with developments between each period. But the reality of being an artist is completely different, you just make the next album and hope that everyone will come to the concerts (smiles).
The more the music industry goes in one direction, the more I go in the other!
Your music takes its time to tell a story, to create pastoral atmospheres and elegant narratives, far removed from the current format. Do you think this ‘narrative and contemplative’ approach is still in tune with our times, when music is often listened to in a fragmented way, in playlist mode or on the fly? You mentioned that you wanted your audience to listen to this album on vinyl, which is no longer the trend...
You know, the more the music industry goes in one direction, the more I go in the other!
Today, I feel like it makes sense. Back then, I was just doing what I thought was right... and I also wanted to be popular. The more time passes, the less I think about the audience. I really want people to like my albums, but first and foremost, I make the album I want to make.
The more time passes, the less I think about the audience.
That's exactly what Steven Wilson said to me recently...
I think the older you get, the less you care what people think. History will prove me right (laughs)!
You'll soon be in Paris for a series of concerts. Will the new tracks be performed as they appear on the album or rearranged for the stage?
I think we'll try to stay true to the album. But obviously, a lot of the musicians who are on the album won't be there on stage. But I hope it'll still pack a punch.
Have you already worked on this aspect, or even just thought about it?
I can't stop thinking about it. It wakes me up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.
The only thing I care about is quality!
Does that mean you're still nervous about performing live, that it still puts you under a lot of pressure?
Yes, because the only thing I care about is the quality!
And how do you judge your live performances?
It's much harder to judge a live performance because I've never seen The Divine Comedy play live, so I don't know (laughs).
But some of your performances have been filmed, I suppose?
Unfortunately, I've seen some of them and all I wanted was for the viewing to stop (laughs)! But it seems that some people like these performances, which is rather reassuring (smiles)!
But I'm constantly trying to improve these performances and make sure that what we do does justice to our music, but it's difficult and it costs money...
We started the interview with the question you've been asked too many times. On the contrary, what question would you like me to ask you or what question would you dream of answering?
I'm afraid I don't have any questions. I'm often asked at the end of an interview if I have anything to add, and my mind goes blank (laughs). I don't know what people want to hear or what interests them.
Don't believe in artificial intelligence!
Artists usually tell me that everything that needs to be said is in the album. But I wonder if you had a particular message you wanted to convey and are afraid your audience won't understand...
The thing I really want to say is, don't believe in Artificial Intelligence! There are certain technologies that should never have been invented.
But you say we shouldn't believe in AI. I hope everyone is aware of that. But how can we tell the difference between what's real and what's fake when it's created by AI?
That's true, and that's why we have to stop it!!!
We should, but on the contrary, the trend is accelerating despite the warnings... It's quite frightening...
Yes, but some people will laugh at you and think you're paranoid. But I think they're the ones who are very naive. The British government is pushing for AI development because it believes it will help promote growth. It could promote some growth, but it will mainly promote massive carnage, including the end of employment.
So we can conclude that there is no AI in this album?
Oh no, of course not, and there's no AI in my videos either...
or on the cover...
No (laughs)!
Thank you very much!
It was my pleasure. Thank you!
And thank you to Calgepo for his contribution...