"THEY'RE SOULFUL!"

PAUL WELLER ON THE "MUTUAL RESPECT" HE SHARES WITH SYD ARTHUR.

“I FIRST HEARD about them when I read a review of them, possibly in your magazine. I thought their name was intriguing. A mutual friend of ours turned up wearing a Syds badge so I checked them out and got into their album [2012’s On An On]. Then they came up to the barn [Weller’s studio, Black Barn] and we got to spend time together. “I really love what they do. They have a different way of making music. People label them as prog because of the fact that they come from Canterbury and the associations with the music that comes from there, but they go beyond that. They’re hip to so much musical stuff and they play in a really unique way. “When they came on tour [in October 2013] I watched them every night and I thought, How the fuck are they doing that? They’re so clever in how they construct things, but they’re soulful too so it’s not just muso crap. I love Liam [Magill]’s voice too. He’s incredible. “There’s mutual respect between us. They play me their new music and I play them mine too, and we listen to what we have to say to each other. I can’t really teach them anything because they know so much about music. It’s more of a friendship thing. They’ve definitely smartened up since I first saw them, but I hope they don’t get too smart. I’d hate to see them wearing three-piece suits because they’ve got their own vibe. “The new album [Apricity] is hard to describe but people should be prepared for something that sounds new. And be prepared to listen to it with an open mind because there’s lots of different flavours on there, and they’re getting better as songwriters all the time.” As told to Phil Alexander