I can’t decide what sets the rakes apart from other bands, yet somehow they are greatly refreshing. Maybe it all amounts to to fundamental fact that what they’re doing is being done with sincerety. Musically they may sound like 80’s riffing garage/moodiness, but their lyrics point toward the more topical and mediocre story telling of city life. Add a little style and dash and you’ve aquired something special not so much Joy Division heavy so enough with the comparisons (although, that’s not considered a bad thing by most). I met up with the band at Old St. station and we carried on down to what could be described as a bit of an old mans drinking pub. The perfect setting.

How did you all meet?

Mathew: Me and Jamie worked together in a shop with Lesse’s sister so we met Lesse through that. Me and Jamie had been in a couple of bands before and Alan is a friend of Jamie’s through college.

Did you grow up in London or did you move here?

Alan: I grew up here
Lesse: I’m from Denmark.
Jamie: Glostshire
The Rakes debut single “22 Grand Job” was released through Trash Aesthetics on the 3rd of May this year and was acknowledged to great esteem as being “ Like a tooled up Jam trading flick knives with The Fall” by NME. Their second single is a lovingly compiled track co written by Mathew and Alan of romance and escapism to the same musical effect due for release on Sept 20th through City Rockers.

Alan and Mathew, you co wrote the song ‘Strasburg’. It seems quite political and romantic.

M: Mmm. I’d say probably romantic than political…more romantic than coming from a political point of view.
J: More romantic I’d say.
M: Yeah, and that’s it really. Set in that particular time (which could have been set in any time really) sort of setting the backdrop as people moving away, you know, trying to escape really.
Trash Aesthetics released your last single and your new single is released by City Rockers?

M: That’s right. Um, that label (Trash) is just run by two or three people and we were their second signing - Bloc Party were their first, but that’s the kind of label that don’t put out a whole lot of tracks or an album.
L: And they only do Vinyl.
M: Sort of, again, that DIY approach.
L: Very limited.
M: Yes, limited editions.
A: City Rockers are slightly more established, lots of distribution, lots of CDs, blah, blah, blah…
M: Yeah. Do you know Warlocks? Are they Canadian?
L: They released (with City Rockers) as well.
M: I think they might be American. I don’t know, but I just know that that was a record put out by City Rockers last year. I think they’ve just sort of regenerated the singles out put putting out singles by a few bands every few weeks. Like one a week basically.

Whose idea was it behind the wounds in your photographs?

J: I guess bands in London are so boring to look at so we decided to do something kind of a bit exciting and original (laughs).
M: It’s more from an image point of view cause when you’re starting out it’s nice to make an impact and, um…we don’t wear those anymore but it was good for the first few gigs.
J: Shocking.
M: Yeah, shocking. Funnily enough in one of our first gigs we did some blood splattering shirts and we thought “this looks pretty good” and literally, the next day we looked in Q magazine and The White Stripes had a photo shoot splattered in red paint, so we had to put that out the window. Complete coincidence.

You all appear really nicely together – somewhat matching, how did you come up with that?

J: We’re in a band so we just wear the same clothes.
M: I think when we’re not in the band we do dress somewhat differently. We sort of just want to look sharp really when we’re on stage. A lot of bands, um, say, The Specials (someone like that) had a really good, sharp image and I think we talked about how we were going to look. (In my mind anyway) that was always just a special cord. Definitely, yeah.
J: We’ve always made an effort to be anti Brit pop an a way. No un-tucked shirts and baggy jeans just because…
L: We always made a point of escaping the whole kind of Strokes/Libertines shabby sort of mess. We really don’t want to look like that.
M: Still I think Garage rock is all about that scruffy rock look.

In other articles I’ve read about you it’s been said that you sound like Joy Division but it seems you’re quick to point away from that direction.

J: Well none of us really have any Joy Division or know anything about Joy Division.
M: Well, I’ve got one record by Joy Division. Further more I suppose our guitar riffs sound, like, from that era, but I think it’s a comparison between the way Alan moves on stage. I’d say that’s where that comes from.
A: Do you?
M: I think so. Yeah.

But you have amazing stage presence and I think that people can tell when you’re doing something with sincerity and not copied, so personally, I wouldn’t say you’re like Joy Division in that regard.

M: No. I wouldn’t at all.
L: Same here. I think a lot of people draw to that conclusion who have seen a photo of Ian Curtis and Alan sort of looks like him.
J: I think people are really quick to compare. People like to or are ready to compare you to someone all the time. And no matter what you do you’re always going to be compared to someone - you can’t escape that it’s impossible. Um, and Alan does look a little bit like the guy from Joy Division which isn’t a bad thing because he’s quite an attractive guy!
A: Yeah, but before I was in the band people used to say I looked like Jarvis Cocker, or, you know…that’s just not what we’re about and you can’t change what you are.
J: (Laughing) Tad short for Jarvis Cocker! That or Ian Curtis! You can’t win really.
A: (Agreeing) Yeah.

What do you think of all the new bands happening in London right now?

M: Great, yeah.
L: Definitely.
M: Very good for us. Works for us… a little DIY - works in our favour.
L: But it also works in the favour of everyone coming out. It’s really nice. People go out and listen to bands rather than listen to music they have no idea where it’s coming from.
A: There was a period where I didn’t really go and see bands. A lot of the bands were really heavily American influenced and a lot of them sang in American accents. And leather jackets and whatever. And it’s a shame to sort of lose identity.

People back in Canada – say they don’t know anything about where to go in London, where’s a good place to see a gig and get smashed?

A: Ah, The Windmill?
L: Definitely The Windmill.
A: The Windmill in Brixton, in Lemon Gardens, in, um, 22.
L: 23!
A: …(taking on commentary voice) And it’s open throughout the year, available for hire and it’s available for Barmitsvahs too at this number: 074841…(Laughter) Um, no, The Windmill in Brixton. It’s like this privately owned sort of Irish pub, very good to their bands there, and, um, very dingy, dark, just at the end of the street – little bit out of the way.

Been there a few times?

A:Yeah!
L: We’ve played there about three times.
M: None of us live anywhere near there but we’ve played there around three or four times.
J: And the people who go there really are kind of music lovers, I’d say.
L: They’re one of the few venues in London that are more not like a big major venue like Barfly or something (he means not a chain venue). The Windmill you can’t easily get a gig there. A lot of venues in London you send a tape and they say “yeah you can play this and this date” at The Windmill you have to bring something like minimum twenty people and you have to sign a contract saying that you can never play there again if you don’t.
M: Yeah cause when we started out, or any band really, we started off trying to get people along. I remember calling the guy and saying “did you get our demo?” and I spoke with him for about 40 minutes on the phone about music and stuff and what we sound like as a band – more sort of a personal thing really, not just how many people you can bring in. Because, obviously, when we started out we couldn’t bring anyone except a few mates really.
A: Well actually we did pack it out the first time we played there.
M: Yeah, with our mates.
L: That was only our second or third gig though.
A: (Getting back to the point of the question!) Yeah, I think The Windmill just because it’s privately owned and, you know, small venue. Very nice.
L: There’s a good Barbeque!
M: Yes there’s a good Barbeque, which is very nice.
A: And there’s a dog on the roof.
M: There are two dogs!

In NME they say your combined weight is 39 Stone. How many pounds are there in a Stone? Like 12 or something?

M: That’s what they use in Canada isn’t it?
L: What about kilos? I use Kilos.
Point being, in other interviews one of you is described as being “round” and “obtuse”

L: That’s him! (Points to Jamie)

How can that be?! If you only weigh 9 Stone each?

M: Well, he (Jamie) weighs 30 and we weigh 2 each! (Laughter)
A: Jamie’s the fat bloke.
J: I’m a bit rounder than the others.
L: The joke is, basically, the name has two meanings, one of them being skinny as a rake…
M: In England we have the saying “Skinny as a rake” you might not have that?
Yeah, we do.

M: Alright. That’s where that comes from.
(For the record all of the Rakes are skinny as ,er, Rakes)

What were you doing before you were in the band?

L: I’m a Carer.

Yeah, I heard about that.

L: Oh, you heard about that.
M: Yeah, guess who has got your job now? It’s another band person.
Patricia, she plays with Soho Dolls.

L: Yeah, Patricia. Yeah, I know that, she looks after the kids I used to look after.
M: He knows everybody.
A: And everything.
L: Because that’s Kate’s brother’s girlfriend.
M: Is it?
A: What’s that guy’s name?
L: Guy.
J: That guy who worked with us?
M: Yeah.
L: He’s called Guy.
J: He didn’t do anything! His sister owns the company so he just…(Alan points to tape recorder still recording) oh yeah…
M: Me and Jamie would be in the cupboards stacking shirts, hottest day of the year, sweating, and he’s be chatting up all the girls! (Laughter).

After the interview The Rakes kindly invited me along with them on a gig trip to Brighton on an old double decker red bus due to leave the next day. The trip was like a summer holiday with the lager on board, georgeous weather, singing karaoke out at the pier, lounging on the beach with vodka (thoughtfully supplied by Neil’s Children who were also on the bill that night along with Negative For Francis) and one most memorable peformance. Check out the pictures from the magical not such a mystery tour!

Elsewhere

By Amy Hanson
Photos : Amy Hanson
Published : November 15, 2004.