Berlin as springboard

Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, Martin Kelly and James O'Neill - who perform under the name Martin and James - have all the credentials necessary for a successful music career: they're young, good-looking and talented. Even their Scottish heritage sets them in good stead. After all, their hometown produced musical heavyweights such as Franz Ferdinand, Belle and Sebastian and Snow Patrol to name but a few.

But while their peers on the Glasgow gigging circuit rapidly went on to bigger and better things as the city exploded as a major music center in the early 2000s, Martin and James always seemed to miss their shot at the big time.

That all changed in 2008 after gigging in Germany and catching the eye of representatives of Universal Music, who snapped them up for a recording contract. The inevitable move to Berlin soon followed and it was from their new base in Friedrichshain that the boys saw their long-awaited, self-titled, debut album released more than a decade after they first formed.

Taking a breather from their hectic schedule of concerts, rehearsals and press dates, Martin and James dropped in to the DW studio in Berlin to talk (and play) for Soundscape 100, DW- RADIO's Top 100 music program.

Deutsche Welle: It must be very exciting to finally have your debut album released.

James: Absolutely. We spent about two years working on the record so it's great to finally have the songs out for everyone to hear.

How did the connection with Universal Germany start?

Martin: We came to Berlin in Summer, 2008. Our manager had set up some gigs for us around Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain and we played and spent the summer in the city. Obviously, it was amazing to sample the Berlin lifestyle and we're still addicted to it. But everything happened very fast. We seemed to create a lot of interest in a short space of time. Before we knew it, we were at Universal talking about a contract, but it took a while to sort all that out - about a year, but we finally signed.

Do you think you might have made the move to Berlin as so many bands do if it hadn’t been for the interest from a German label?

James: I don't think so. We wouldn't even have come to Berlin if it hadn't been for our manager. She contacted us on the Internet and invited us over and that was the first time we'd been here. I think we would have come here to discover the city at some point, but I'm not sure if we'd have moved here.

Your first recording experiences in Germany were in Hamburg, weren't they?

Martin: Well, actually our very first was in Berlin. We recorded a demo here and Universal decided to make an album with us on the strength of that demo. But after that, we spent nine days recording in Hamburg. We lived in the studio. It was great and we love Hamburg. Actually, the desk we recorded on was George Martin's (producer of The Beatles) from the 1960s.

Speaking of the 60s, your album has a very retro sound. Have you been influenced by a lot of older music?

James: Definitely. We both grew up listening to singer-songwriters from that period and when we sit down to write songs together, that's what naturally comes out. People like Simon and Garfunkel and The Everly Brothers were our inspiration to sing together more.



What was it like gigging in Glasgow and how would you compare it to your Berlin experiences?

Martin: We played around Glasgow for around 10 years and it's really good because all the venues are close together compared to Berlin, so all the musicians know each other and it's a really close community. There tends though to be so many bands in Glasgow all trying to do the same thing and so much competition that it makes it hard to get ahead and to separate the good from the bad.

So presumably you were gigging around Glasgow at the same time that the city exploded as a new focal point for UK music?

James: All those bands sort of hit big while we were playing in the smaller places. I remember when Franz Ferdinand had their big breakthrough hit with "Take me Out" and the whole Glasgow scene exploded. Record companies started coming up to Glasgow more and more and it seemed like friends of ours were getting record deals every week. And you think, "Well, when are we going to get a record deal?" (laughs)

What's the best thing about being a musician in Berlin?

Martin: Well, we know virtually all the bar owners in Friedrichshain! Seriously, the lifestyle is great. You can live cheaply and actually make a living from music. Especially in summer, it's probably the best place to be in the world, I think. But mainly the best thing is the bars!

James: Yes, they don't have last orders here!

But it can't all be wine and roses here, so what would you say are the disadvantages of Berlin?

Martin: Dog crap!

James: I think we were lucky that things fell into place for us quite quickly and we didn’t have to go out and get part-time jobs to keep us going. Once we made the record we went straight on tour, so we feel very lucky to have been able to do so much within about six months of arriving here.

You guys first started working together back in 1999 and more than ten years later your first album comes out. Has it been worth the wait?

James: Definitely. We've grown as musicians and songwriters. You can't not when you work with someone for ten years.

What's next for Martin and James?

Martin: Well, we just finished our first headline tour of Germany and starting in June, we're going on a support tour for Bryan Adams. We were offered it out of the blue and we love keeping busy, love touring and we want to play Germany more, so this should be really exciting. We'll be playing some really big venues. And obviously one of our favourite songs is "Summer of 69."

James: It's everyone's favourite song, isn't it? (laughs)

Text: Gavin Blackburn
Editor: Louisa Schaefer
 

For more from the interview with Martin and James and to hear an exclusive live version of "Wrong Directions," check out this latest edition of Soundscape 100 on the link below.