MARKS THE SPOT Chris Corner of IAMX
Jul 08, 2009
The flamboyant British songwriter isn't just a character.
BY GIL MACIAS
Some might call IAMX frontman (and erstwhile Sneaker Pimps member) Chris Corner an interesting "character," but to him, that word suggests that he's acting. While David Bowie had his Ziggy Stardust and Bono had The Fly and Macphisto, those were just stage characters. Chris Corner is himself. His ultra-glossy stage persona might seem like some sort of act, but it's not. His onstage appearance is the essence of IAMX, which is about art, theater and creativity. He's building a version of himself only to break it down and destroy it onstage. In fact, his offstage appearance is not much different, just a bit toned down.
The band stopped by Los Angeles while touring their masterful new album, Kingdom of Welcome Addiction and we were able to have an intimate chat with the mastermind himself. It was the night before his show, in a cozy hotel room and many things were discussed including his very personal new album, religion, what it's like for him onstage, and the future direction of IAMX.
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BLURT: So a big standout track on your new album is "Running." It's so bittersweet, moving and there's this sense of loss and abandonment in it. Is it about you or someone in particular?
CORNER: I think every song is about me and everyone else. Obviously, I am using me as the subject, and somebody else, but the conclusion is always about me. I don't want it to sound too much like I'm looking to be saved. In some ways, it's not necessarily about giving up, it's just about accepting where you are and who you are as a person. I wanted to leave it open. I didn't necessarily want it to be seen as a negative, like I need help or I can only do this by myself. In fact, the acceptance of that can sometimes be very therapeutic and just being lucky enough to write about that is sometimes enough to get me through it.
BLURT: I have a similar question about "I am Terrified." It's a very powerful and intense song about alcoholism. You get very personal on this album. At first listen, one might think it's about you.
CORNER: Yea, I think it's probably the first time I've been quite---I wouldn't say brave, but---had the balls to really expose that fragility or sensitivity. It is a combination of me and people in my life, the relationships I have been in. I think I'm a bit of a magpie with these songs. I take influences from many different things and wrap it up in this one song. It's partly autobiographical but it's definitely maybe observational about a general sort of malaise in the world or just a specific problem with myself. I think I write about stuff quite confidently knowing that other people will have the same problems. So in some sense, it's kind of a global issue rather than just my fight with hedonism [laughs].
BLURT: How did the duet with Imogen Heap in "My Secret Friend" fall into place?
CORNER: It felt quite natural, actually. I'm not very comfortable with collaboration. I don't really like to lose my control, but with Imogen, I was a fan and she was a fan---which was kind of strange, I didn't expect that---and she turned up at shows when we were playing in England, and she would be all kind of into the IAMX theme which didn't seem to fit with her music so much. I found that quite interesting. I think we kind of knew something would happen musically. I wrote this song at the very end of the album actually. It was a bit of an afterthought. I didn't really think I would use it, I really didn't know what I was doing with it. I just experimented with it. I had this vision of this incestuous brother and sister relationship. She would be the man and I imagine I would be this dressed up, weird girl prostitute or something. I just had this horrible vision of this weird relationship and she seemed to fit perfectly. She's really tall and physically she seemed to have that and obviously she has very strong character in her music. So I asked if she would like to get involved and she liked the idea, surprisingly. And we did it virtually over the internet. She sent the stuff back to me, I mixed it, and it worked really well I think. I'd like to make a video with her for that track. I think it can be quite interesting. Dress her up as a man and do some weird things with her.
BLURT: Now that you've collaborated with Imogen, do you see yourself collaborating with other musicians?
CORNER: Not really. All of the people I want to collaborate with are dead [laughs]. That's kind of depressing because, I don't know if it's just some fantasy that I created in my head because that they're dead, they're better. Also, I don't think I want to work with musicians. I think I'd like to do some film and maybe collaborate with directors, do some music for some crazy films, or maybe make a film. I do a lot of the visuals for IAMX so I'd like to get into making my own film as well. In terms of stage performance, I also want to take it into theaters. Maybe do some odd theatrical performance that isn't just a standard performance. What I'd like to do, which we're planning for February, I don't know if it's going to happen yet, is do an acoustic tour with just me and the guitar and some loop pedals and interesting effects and stuff and present the songs in a completely different way. Let's see what happens.
BLURT: You raised a question. If you can collaborate with someone dead, who would it be?
CORNER: At the moment it would be, the late and great Federico Fellini, the fabulous Italian filmmaker. I'd like to do a soundtrack to one of his insanely, out-of-control films.
BLURT: Your voice on this album seems to be at its best. It's noticeably stronger and more powerful than before. Do you ever take vocal coaching or are you self-taught?
CORNER: Well, thank you very much. I don't really notice. I don't have lessons, I never did. I think I learned a lot from just doing it. One thing about touring is that you constantly see what you're doing wrong. You forget about the stuff you're doing right. Every night I go onstage and think, "fuck, that's what I should be doing." And maybe the next night, I get it right, and I feel good about it. There's always something you can learn and I think when I get into the studio I take it very seriously that I have to get better and get stronger and just experiment with it a bit. The voice for me is really an instrument. I'm not precious about how it should or should not sound. I think it should sound good, but I would rather experiment with it and push it into places, if it can go there, to experiment with it in the way I would with a guitar, piano, or drum machine or whatever. It's the same thing for me.
BLURT: What's it like for you moments before going on stage? How do you prepare for a show?
CORNER: Once the adrenaline kicks it, it sort of prepares it for you. There is definitely a change of character; it's a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde thing. Obviously there's a bit of an adrenaline pumping feeling combined with, well obviously dressing up. The psychology of dressing up is quite important for me, because it gives me a place, a character---character sounds like I'm acting, that's not the right word---and something to build up that I can then destroy and that's very important for me. So dressing up and experimenting with style and fashion is important, drinking vodka is important, talking with the band, pumping each other up and doing that kind of football team thing is also quite important. But there's no strict circle, hands tied routine that we have---it's quite free.
BLURT: On your new album, in the song "The Stupid, The Proud" you sing, "God, is dead, we get to sleep tonight." On your previous album, in the song "This Will Make You Love Again," you sing, "your supermarket Jesus comes with smiles and lies." And on your blog you've been open about being an atheist. Do you have resentment towards organized religion and where does this atheism stem from?
CORNER: I think it stems from my search for reason and evidence in life. It's not that I don't think things don't exist if I don't have proof. It's just that if I say something exists, I think it should be based on some kind of evidence. The problem with organized religion is that most of it is not based on evidence. It's just not enough for me to put my whole confidence and faith in something that is not grounded on evidence. The only thing that really is kind of my religion is being creative. I'm not criticizing people for being religious, because it gives people a lot of hope. I just think, for me, it has to be based on evidence.
BLURT: So would you consider yourself a borderline agnostic?
CORNER: Well, the thing is, that is still based on something that's still unembraceable and untouchable. The evidence isn't there yet, so I don't want to waste my time on actively hoping that something exists. In fact, I think it helps me come to terms more with mortality if I don't put hope in something. I think it would be arrogant to think that I'm going to exist after this life. I'm a bit of a scientist as well. I grew up on science, being in college and going through that. I believe in that kind of evidence. I just don't waste my time, that's the thing. I'd rather spend my time on the beauty and awe of things that actually exist in the world, natural things like creativity, sex, human interaction, all of these wonderful, visceral things that you can touch and you can experience and not waste my time with things that I can't touch and don't really mean anything to me.
BLURT: You did a gorgeous cover of "Silent Night" in French, "Douce Nuit." In your blog you said you did it because you love the melody and that it sounded romantic in French. Was it hard for you to ignore the religious aspect of that song?
CORNER: I think I was just coming to terms with---not coming to terms with, but you know how you go through life and you grow up just accepting all of these things, and then at some point, if you have a wandering mind, you start to question those things. "Silent Night," I just loved that song. Obviously, there are many things that have been created by religion, like architecture, music and art that was always inspired and funded by religion. If you take religion away, maybe it wouldn't have happened. I think it would have happened, but in a different way. Art will always be there. The desire to create will always be there, it just happened to be that religion was powerful enough to motivate it. Using a song like "Silent Night," I just grew up on loving that. It just appealed to my melodic sensibility. I almost overlooked the religious connection. I wasn't playing with it. I wanted to make sure it wasn't a sarcastic take on it.
BLURT: So are the Sneaker Pimps behind you or will there more material in the future? Or is IAMX your new permanent home?
CORNER: It's my new permanent home. I think Sneaker Pimps might be behind me. I've said many times, I passed on the responsibility to the others to drive that project. When I found my home with IAMX, and I have some much to do, so much to experiment and explore with that, I wasn't going to waste my time trying to kick their asses [laughs]. They have to kick their own asses and if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. So, you should ask them.
BLURT: Do you still talk to Kelli Ali?
CORNER: No, I don't actually. Not that I wouldn't, I would be happy to do that. I have no idea what she's doing. Do you know what she's doing?
BLURT: She put out a new album not too long ago. It's called Rocking Horse.
CORNER: How is it?
BLURT: Very mellow. Complete change from her previous one that was more electronic. The new one is very acoustic, very slow. I was shocked it was even her.
CORNER: Wow. Ok. I should check it out.
BLURT: If you had the chance to have one song played all over the world, on every radio station at the same time, and it was your chance to be heard or maybe to get a message across---what song of yours would you pick and why?
CORNER: Aww, that's a nasty one [laughs]. God, I don't know. Maybe for shock value, "The Stupid, The Proud." I'm sure that a lot of people wouldn't be too happy about the anti-religious connotations. Maybe for fun, for general dance spirit, "The Alternative." "The Stupid, The Proud" and ‘The Alternative." I don't why they come in to my head at the moment. Ask me tomorrow, I'll say completely different ones.
BLURT: I'd like to add "You Stick It In Me" at that list.
CORNER: There you go! A bit of sex, a bit of fun. A little bit of controversy and provocation.
BLURT: Your first two albums are very electronic, the second one is especially darker and had more prominent dance beats. This new album is more raw, passionate, and personal. You seemed to favor acoustic guitars and piano over electronics and synths. So what's the next one going to be like?
CORNER: I can never really predict where I am going to go. Because I get quite pissed off with myself quite quickly. I usually contradict myself. So, what I'd like to do for the next 6 months is to drive this album and to experiment. What's great about doing this independent approach is that I can experiment with the tracks a bit more. I can do some remixing; I can do some different versions. I'd almost like to offer an alternative version of this album, so you have the album and then you have these kind of weird alternate versions. I don't mean in terms of having people remix them, I mean we'll do that as well, but actually me, myself remixing them so you have this more unusual version of the album. That's what I'd like to do so I can get all of the stuff out that I want to experiment with. Maybe some harder stuff, more electronic stuff, more acoustic stuff and some completely string-oriented stuff. I'm just full of all these things I want to get out. Maybe I should get it all out now, in the next 6 months, and then I can actually do something different in a year.
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