Meeting The Eels

This at-ease attitude for recording music could be coming about from the conditions Everett and co. record in; “We’ve recorded almost everything in my basement…Shootenanny being an exception”. Shootenanny, Eels’ fifth album proper, was recorded in a mere ten days and received critical acclaim. It was released because it worked. It seems that E has standards, but it doesn’t matter how or when an album was recorded - as long as it’s good it should be released. It’s not like he’s in his own special bubble or anything, he is unsurprisingly well-informed about the way it all works.

While talking to Gigwise he praises the new PJ Harvey record, rightfully so. Working with PJ Harvey on the record was John Parish; the man who many believe brought ‘Souljacker’ – arguably E’s most daring project, to life. “I’d definitely work with him again” he exclaims to Gigwise’s delight. Any record that showed as much guts as ‘Souljacker’ would take the music scene by storm, doubtless. To try and get that little bit more out of the (slightly monosyllabic) man on the new record, we ask him if he’s inhaling any modern day influences but E explains “because I’m always working on my own music, it’s rare that I am exposed to new music”.

The musician has a vulnerable side though, exposed late on in the interview on the subject of illegal downloading on the internet. “The only thing I’m really against is illegally releasing music” he states with an added sensitivity in his voice. Continuing to say, “I don’t care about live bootlegs, trading and stuff like that, but I do take it very personally if someone’s downloading unreleased studio material of mine.” Red Hot Chili Peppers will be remembered last year for their reaction to their new album being leaked, the likes of Los Campesinos! and Blood Red Shoes have already suspiciously discovered their debut albums to be on the iPods of thousands of teenagers.

Opening up, E proclaims “(Illegal downloading) really fucks my life up and complicates things in terrible ways. If they knew how much damage that was causing me, maybe they wouldn’t do it.” Pressed about another high-profile issue in the UK, ticket touting, E responds in an original manner once more: “For me, the idea of seeing someone I want to see standing in the same room as me, I think I’d be willing to pay a lot for that.” Embarking on his very own UK tour next month, prices are of a respectable value, especially for someone of his calibre. Tickets for the shows that were announced originally are already sold out, being sold for profit on eBay, but like illegal leaking of albums, it’s something Everett and all of us have come to accept, it’s inevitable. Recent complaints have also emerged concerning the prices of Radiohead tickets for their new tour, but the man with all the knowledge exchanges his view saying “It’s funny if your fans complain about your ticket prices and then people can sell them for a whole lot more”. He’s right, as ever. The man should write a manifesto of sorts, on how all musicians should cope with being rock-stars, on how they should respond to such pressing matters.

Wise and effortlessly cool, whatever you want to call him; ‘E’, ‘Mr.E’ or Mark Oliver Everett, expect his name to reign for another decade or more.