Sonic Democracy: An Interview with Barney Matthews from Quade
Rock bands often follow a default stage setup: the posturing frontman takes centre stage absorbing full crowd adoration, the equally egocentric lead guitarist stands slightly to the side allowing full exposure to his fret wanking solos, meanwhile the bassist, drummer, and other lesser members are relegated towards the back - mere functionaries in the cabinet of rock’s pecking order. This pyramidal hierarchy can breed resentment amongst those relegated to the background. Drummers might dream of solo percussion-only albums, keyboard players plan wild hotel room escapades as payback, and bassists scheme to leave the band after the next album to pursue a peaceful life on an organic sheep farm in Tasmania.
It’s only when more “democratic” forms of rock music take to the stage that this hierarchy is flattened. Can’s horizontal formation, best captured on this footage from 1975, speaks to the egalitarian nature of the band where no member carries more importance than the other it is the sum of the performance that is what matters to the foundational German experimentalists. Similarly, post-rockist pioneers Tortoise favour a circular formation, best seen here on their rooftop performance for Pitchfork, where the subtle exchange of nods and glances dictate a communal production of music rather than the solipsistic enterprise of traditional rock performance.
It's clear that Bristol's Quade are keen students of this decentralised form of staging. Having seen them perform three times, their dedication to creating a communal, rather than individualistic, rock music experience is unmistakable. One of their recent performances at Strange Brew's bar area was particularly memorable. The band played in a tight circular formation, surrounded by an audience entranced by the enchanting sonic tapestry they wove from their debut album. As a unique prelude, Bristol's percussive maverick Dan Johnson treated the audience to a thirty-minute gong bath, dissolving any expectations of a traditional rock show.
Quade, a quartet of childhood friends from Bath, have emerged as one of Bristol's most promising bands in recent years. Their journey is marked by kudos gathering high points such as extensive airplay on NTS and the inclusion of their debut single in a Dior catwalk show in 2021, and culminated in the release of their debut album, 'Nacre’, the tail end of 2023. The album, mixed by Bristol's own Larry Bruce McCarthy and released on the revered AD93 label by musical talisman Nic Tasker, showcases the band’s lush fusion of ambient textures, post-rock and psychedelic experimentalism.
The nominal “frontman” of the band Barney Matthews kindly agreed to meet with me and chew the fat. Walking into the cosy interior of an Easton boozer Matthew’s classically handsome visage certainly qualifies him to be a traditional “front and centre” frontman. Facially reminiscent of a young Rufus Sewell, Matthews sits down to a pint of Guinness and quickly dispels any notion that he might want to take a leading role by discussing the utilitarian nature of him taking the role as bassist and lead singer in the band….
”We started during lockdown in 2020. Initially, it was just three of us (Matthews, Drummer Leo Fini and Violinist Tom Connolly). Matt, was going to move to France but we convinced him to buy a synth. Leo, and I spent about a month playing in his shed. I don’t know why we were fucking terrible at the start but we kept going. At some point, we realized we needed a bassist. I had just watched an interview with Jah Wobble and decided I wanted to play bass. We had tried using synth bass, but it didn't work well. Playing bass felt more natural to me than guitar, which I had learned as a kid. It’s simpler, with fewer strings and no chords, making more sense in my brain.”
Bass takes a central place in Quade tracks; a robust low end co-mingling with the delicacy of Conolly’s violin, the sorcery of Griffith’s synth and tape treatments and Fini’s serpentine drumming. But yet again Matthews issues an explanation for the foregrounding of his instrument that eschews any notion of ego driving decision making and instead highlights the collective purpose of the band to make music in service to their pursuit of cohesive sonic statements….
"When you don't have a guitar, the bass fills up more space in the arrangement, which is great. I mean our original sound came from the instruments we used, like stripped back to just violin, synths, bass and drums, and this defined our music; stripped back but full sounding as well.”
The band have garnered healthy support from a coterie of NTS DJs including Zakia, Trevor Jackson,Nathan Gregory Wilkins and Ivan Smagghe all of whom have given regular airings to Quade’s music since 2021. This is coupled with a significant amount of local support both in terms of radio play from a broad sweep of Noods Residents (Alice Jennings. Tilly, Schwet, Squid, Dan Thorman, Accidental Meetings to name a few) and bookings from local promoters. Such support has been critical to building confidence in a band uncertain of how they would be received operating in an interstice between dance and rock music…
"By the time Balance came out we had never performed live and received no feedback before. So when Nathan Gregory Wilkins played our track on NTS and the Alice Jennings featured it on Noods it gave us a big boost. Hearing our music on respected radio stations gave us confidence in what we were doing.
The fact that Quade ended up in the gap between electronic and rock camps is largely down to the band members peripatetic musical upbringings. The band host a number of differing experiences ranging from classical training on violin through to standing in the middle of a dub reggae sound clash immersed in trouser flapping bass. What seems to unite these disparate strands is the shared experiences the friends have enjoyed as a tight knit group. They are named after the pet name they gave to a van that allowed them to travel across France and when writing tracks for Nacre they took in trips to rural Dartmoor and Wales; with shared sightings of the beauty and decay of nature served as a communal muse.
Perhaps the most insightful expression of the bands eclectic footings can be viewed in one of their shared heroes, the iconic Andrew Weatherall, who they dutifully honored on Nacre by sampling a Weatherall interview on the track Circles. Weatherall’s catholic taste which saw him forever have feet in both rock and electronic camps without any discomfort is another significant inspiration for the band.
The production of Nacre saw the band reach into the Bristol music and art worlds. The list of production credits for the album is a roll call of west country talent. Recorded at the legendary Louisiana music venue, engineered by Jack ‘Bingo Fury’ Ogboune, produced by the dazzlignly talented electronic producer and performer Larry ‘Bruce’ McCarthy and adorned with photography and artwork by Hamis ‘Kinlaw’ Trevis and Alice ‘Mugwort Maiden’ Jennings respectively.
Aside from ensuring it was built on local labour the album proved challenging, Matthews explains that..
Writing without guitars has been challenging. We've written more songs with guitar now; Tom plays acoustic guitar well, and I play some textual stuff. It's hard to write rhythmic, quicker songs without a guitar."
Such difficulties are not apparent on the finished product. The music of Nacre glides unhurriedly towards exciting crescendos; each player working in service to the song. This is democratic and egalitarian post-rock music with no space for pomp and ego. Truly horizontal music…..
As a way to round out our conversation I asked Matthews to give me 10 tracks that are meaningful to him as the bassist in the group.
Lifetones - For A Reason
In 1982 the hugely experimental rock outfit This Heat found themselves overheated and in need of an indefinite hiatus. From the ashes of the group rose a number of side projects formed by the members of the band but perhaps the most anomalous is the one that Charles Bullen formed in the following year with his rastafarian neighbour Julius Cornelius Samuel who would be later known as quintessential UK reggae producer Dub Judah. Lifetones was a one album project that saw Bullen subdue experimental impulses in favour of a widescreen fusion replacing the desolate post punk sound palette and embracing the sunnier lilt of reggae and flashes of influence from world music including Greek bouzouki music and Arabic modes.
The whole album for Matthews is a revelation but the title track stands out by dint of it’s dynamic reggae bassline that has that relentless slightly drunken sway that makes for an intoxicating rhythmic hook for the listener. Overlaying this is all manner of gentle dubwise sonic flourishes with the bursts of the guitar track and skittering drum set subjected to the classic drops and delays, presumably courtesy of Samuel’s expertise on the desk. The vocal serves as a wonderful and contrasting adjunct, Bullen’s yearning vocals providing a dreamy counterpoint to the rich and lithe backing.
2 & 3. Scientist - Dangerous Match /// Sly and Robbie - heart made of dub / Black Uhuru- Shine Eye Gal
“Dub is also really big influence on my bass playing without me really knowing who all the key players are” says Matthews “Obviously there are the famous players like Flabba Holt, Family Man and Robbie Shakespeare but I’m sure there are loads more who I like but just don’t know who it is playing on the records”
When asked what it is especially about the sound of dub reggae that is so intoxicating Matthews responds “The tone I think that's one of the reasons that I like it. There's a lot of emphasis on the tone and the clarity of the sound, That’s something that Tom who plays the violin goes for, he is very focused on obtaining a full tone to his violin and I think the reggae guys have that singular focus with the way they get their bass and drums mic’d up and recorded”
Scientist’s stripped back reworking of Johnny Osbourne’s “Love is Universal” showcases the full essence of Flabba Holt’s bassline and Style Scott’s minimal drumset. Elsewhere the two Sly and Robbie cuts reveal the deadly simplicity and tonal elegance that the Rhythm Twins achieved working both on their own, see “Heart Made of Dub”, and with the group Black Uhuru, see Shine Eye Gyal”.
4. Maximum Joy - Silent Street
Now MxMJoy Maximum Joy’s Silent Street might be there best known single and exists within that strand of post-punk music that set off a depth charge in the record store mixing a mutant strain of funk, punk, pop, jazz, dub, soul, afrobeat and reggae.
Maximum Joy was formed by Glaxo Babies multi-instrumentalist Tony Wrafter and 18 year old vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Janine Rainforth. Soon they enlisted additional Glaxo Babies veterans in the form of drummer Charlie Llewellin and bassist Dan Catsis, along with guitarist John Waddington, fresh from The Pop Group. The heavy influence of dub and reggae from their Bristol surroundings shapes the moody skitter of “Silent Street”. Rainforth’s bright sing song vocals drifting across the dense rhythmic interplay going on beneath her.
5. Parris - Burr / Lionel’s dub
Circles from Quade’s album Nacre features dialogue from the late Andrew Weatherall spliced in alongside Matthew’s vocals. The band site Weatherall as one of their heroes and indeed acknowledge electronic music as a huge source of inspiration. Both Matthews and Griffiths used to DJ and put on club nights together. In particular they identify the period of UK dance music where longstanding steppers dub nights where cross-pollinating with dubstep club nights as a hugely important experience for them as they became aware of the physical presence that a sound could have.
This pair of tracks from Bristol’s own bass music wunderkind showcase Matthew’s appreciation of both dance music and the physicality of bass with both Burr and Lionel’s Dub being heavily indebted to dub reggae sonics courtesy of thick subby b-lines and the fragmented surfaces of dubwise treatments.
6. PiL - Poptones
For a man who accredits taking up the bass to Jah Wobble it seems like a no brainer to include a PiL track. Before his departure from the group Wobble put to tape some of the finest post punk basslines that made clear the connection between dub sonics and rock sensibilities.
For Matthew’s the playing on Poptones is exquisite with Wobble’s spritely bassline shining amidst the squall of Levene’s overdriven guitar and the thresh of drums and Lydon’s disquieted vocals. In fact Barney goes as far to say that “it has got to be one of the best basslines ever. Maybe only 4 years into in his bass playing Wobble lays down this bass. I sometimes measure myself against that”
7. Bark Psychosis - Hex (full album)
Matthew’s and the rest of Quade are very much about tone. Of this album Matthew’s says “There’s an album by bark psychosis. They are a post rock band from London who were around in the 90s. There first album is called Hex.
I actually discovered them by people saying that quade sounded like them and I had never heard them so I picked up their first album I was really pleased by what I heard The base tone on the whole album is just incredible So deep and warm Very dub influenced yet very soulful at the same time. I strive for my tone and playing to be more like what I hear on this album, A lot of the playing can be very simple but then they will chuck in little harmonic notes that take it somewhere else but also keep it very simple and foundational without taking the spotlight It can be a bit hit or Miss for some people but undoubtedly the instrumentation I think most people would find it is class “
8 Tortoise - Tin cans and Twine
Tortoise's predominantly instrumental music challenges simple classification, and the band have garnered an almost deity like clout since their inception. Hailing from Chicago's vibrant music scene Tortoise stood out as one of the pioneering American indie rock groups to blend elements of Krautrock, dub, minimalism, electronica, and diverse jazz genres, diverging from the traditional rock and punk influences that had long characterised indie rock. It’s understandable why Matthew’s is such a fan.
Tin Cans and Twine from their self titled 1994 debut album pairs Doug McComb’s hefty and insistent bassline to measured bursts of guitar, drums and gentle synthetic treatments. It’s notable that in the 80s pre-Tortoise bassist Doug McCombs (bassist with Eleventh Dream Day) and drummer John Herndon initially wanted to establish themselves as a freelance rhythm section (like reggae legends Sly and Robbie listed earlier!.
9. Can - Vitamin C / Mother Sky
When asked to think about bass influences Matthews mind quickly turned to the playing of the cantankerous Polish born musique concrete trained bass player for Can Holger Czukay.
With Can it’s not really bass that is the hallmark of their music Matthews said
I read an interview where the drummer Jaki Liebezeit told Czuky that he was a terrible bassist and that the electric bass is not a real instrument but I think the base playing in can is really unique. Holger had this twiddly style thumb and finger style with ascending riffs and motifs but he can also be really pummelling and repetitive. Mother Sky is just basically an octave playing for ten minutes.
Equally impressive for Matthews is the bass playing on Can’s unlikely b-boy classic Vitamin C with Czukay’s simple line anchoring in the frenetic breakbeat, tense guitar lines and Suzuki’s impassioned non-sequitur lines.
10 Leon Thomas - The Creator has a Master Plan
An interesting fact about the bassist who played on this track, Cecil McBee, litigated and lost against a Japanese company Delica Inc., which owns the popular Cecil McBee chain of stores, claiming the company stole his name. Delica attorney Todd Holbrook said that Delica Inc. didn't steal the name from the musician, but rather chose the name for its pleasant sound, and that the situation is nothing but a coincidence.
Legal battles aside McBee was a fine bassist and has played on sets from all the greats running from Alice Coltrane to Woody Shaw, This track from Leon Thomas’s 1969 debut album features McBee’s considerable double bass chops set against the other players unleashing a spiritual jazz bounty.
11. Unwound - Sensible
Vern Rumsey was widely regarded as one of the best indie bassists for the time he spent with dead-eyed post-punk group Unwound. Their album Repetition rejects the major label signing spree of the mid-’90s entirely, training its hulking focus on haircut hardcore, white belt Jiujitsu, and frenzied feedback.