FELT (Go Kart Mozart, Denim)... Lawrence is amazing!

thank you for reminding me to read this. enjoying it so far!

At sixteen I acquired my first electric guitar. It really was an amazing event, as I could now learn techniques and conjure up sounds that hitherto had been out of reach. It was at that time that I encountered a fellow villager named, Lawrence.

he really knocks the answer to "what was your musical vision?" out of the park!

Glad to read his side of things for once. So much frustration.

His ego is so massive he makes Lawrence look humble in comparison

Seems like a fairly troubled individual? He hasn't done anything since Felt at all, has he? Over 30 years ago.

by the end i found myself wondering the same thing
wondering what he had been up to if he only made one solo album since then
(and he was a very enjoyable guitarist to listen to, but i haven't heard his solo album -- nor do i expect it to be "indie" lol)

Not as good as Vini Reilly, I'm afraid to say.

if you like the instrumental stuff on the early felt albums you'll probably enjoy his solo record (which was made when he was still in felt).

he made this one song with saint etienne

I really like Inner Thought Zone! It's got a few tracks reminiscent of early Felt (The Watery Song, Golden Hills, Dance of Deliverance) and some other more classical guitar-type stuff that's really great but slides into kinda new age treacliness (which I don't mind at all) like So Serene and a Tale from Scriabin's Lonely Trail

wow the Spanish tv video linked in the Deebank interview is great, hadn't seen it before. it's better quality than that awful official live DVD from 15 years ago or so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUcw_CkIkT8

yeah, that was posted above.

i feel bad for maurice. but he will live forever.

slides into kinda new age treacliness (which I don't mind at all) like So Serene and a Tale from Scriabin's Lonely Trail

those tracks you singled out (and a couple of others) were recorded for the album's cd release in 1992.

Interesting that Golden Hills is from 1992, it sounds to me one of the most Crumbling-like tracks!

Listened to the remixed tracks from "Ignite The Seven Cannons". I think I'm just too used to the original versions, these don't seem like an improvement at all.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Sunday, March 4, 2018 12:37 PM (one week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

heh, I'm on my first play and I've got the exact opposite view. it's a huge improvement for me

Fair enough. I didn't listen to them back-to-back, maybe that will give me a different perspective.

A nice look back at Forever here: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/felt-forever-breathes-the-lonely-word/amp/

Nice. That was my first Felt acquisition (well, the twofer with Poem of the River) almost a decade after its release, and seems destined to be my favourite forever. The "Cherry Red/Deebank >>>> Creation/Duffy" talk at that time seemed overwhelming so a piece just straight out stating that Forever is their best record is fine by me.

“a wave crashed on rocks” might be my favorite felt song

Surprise guest appearance by an ILX0r in that writeup.

"Denim On Ice", love that album, the songs are so catchy and the lyrics are stupendous.

I had the first two songs from that stuck in my head for weeks last year. A headband over the ocean! Great stuff.

I've only recently gotten into Felt and got into Ignite the Seven Cannons through the remaster/remix. Man, the original version is so different. I know it's somewhat unpopular (well, it appears to be somewhat unpopular), but I think it's pretty fascinating and even a bit enjoyable after fully submersing myself in the remaster/remix. I think the mix definitely gets in the way of the songs, particularly something hooky like 'The Day the Rain Come Down,' but it totally works on another songs.

I adore the original "Seven Cannons" and was quite taken aback by the new version. Which songs to you think benefit the most on the new version?

I definitely prefer the originals to the de-guthrie’d tracks, love all that shimmery icing...

but I think it’s cool on the new disc because it sounds more like Felt, the band, playing. maybe more of a direct line to the creation records

the first two felt albums are like tapestries that just kinda unfurl forever, a ribbon that ties around the whole earth. deserts, snowy tundras, the pacific ocean, all that

I'm going to listen to them all morning

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0539/8839/3128/products/SummerSmashcan_480x480.jpg?v=1623140724

https://carnivalbrewing.me/blogs/news/lawrence-takes-over?fbclid=IwAR0f1U5EatmF4k4QSYbwy06NE7dfGgPO30DwetK4ODXbr4S7AmZJFAZOYcU

https://carnivalbrewing.me/products/summer-smash-honeydew-melon-juniper-and-mint-sour-3-7?fbclid=IwAR1m-DgzEhXZhcIqx6VGz15DGqdwH2MZvZF4qP5gf4MGsoSvI0XTeoqfjrU&variant=40114676760744

I really appreciate that it is low alcohol in contrast to these rancid Special Brew-strength ales that are all the rage these days

I love both Lawrence and Wreckless Eric so it was a surprise to only find out now that Eric had done a response song to The Great Pub Rock Revival. It is quite something. Apparently they later made up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_mlFyn_1w4

We're gonna make a record and put it out on Record Store Day.

Not much of a song but it looks like Lawrence has a lot of the same records as me.

Lawrence interview in the guardian today

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/27/lawrence-interview-felt-denim-mozart-estate

Hidden away in there is the news that he will have a new LP out under the name "Mozart Estate"

i feel as if i have read a version of this article every few years for the last two decades. as a Lawrence agnostic it's still always interesting to read but i do wish they would get over the 'should have been / could have been famous' schtick, every single time.

Was going to say exactly that. Also, I think the main photo was almost identical to one featured in a previous article of maybe a decade ago ago.

yeah really not a great article, but nice there's a new LP on the way

Also, I think the main photo was almost identical to one featured in a previous article of maybe a decade ago ago.

You aren't wrong. Here he is from 2011:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/20/lawrence-of-belgravia
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Music/Pix/pictures/2011/10/19/1319037517163/Lawrence-of-Belgravia-007.jpg?width=620&quality=85&fit=max&s=03b5935f966a6f8e7f800017649c2ba9

And from 2014:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/01/lawrence-felt-denim-go-kart-mozart
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/2/26/1393422193018/Lawrence-011.jpg?width=620&quality=85&fit=max&s=e34c5d5aa3418d706d68a4f0da3dddcf

And 2022:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/27/lawrence-interview-felt-denim-mozart-estate
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/bf6feccce5c6cf744d7f6e7fdebb0e3ce0985d82/0_287_6612_3967/master/6612.jpg?width=1020&quality=85&fit=max&s=6e48138d9f91db121abc0970d54eab7b

Perhaps his right side is his best side.

I feel a bit weird about hearing the "you can't use the toilet" thing so much - if its a genuine thing (that Lawrence would find it actually distressing) and I've no reason to believe it isn't, then it feels weird to write about it (unless in a really compassionate way). And if its anything else, it just feels a bit ... repeated.

Was he always a bit camera shy, or is it "getting old sucks and I don't want to show too much"?

i'd like to know what's up with Maurice Deebank?

He did this interview a few years ago - https://www.outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=1528

I finally watched ‘Lawrence of Belgravia’ the other night, thanks BFI Player! Was interesting if a little depressing. I think I already knew everything it contained from various interviews and articles around it.
One thing that struck me was that, yes, Lawrence has not achieved the level of fame and fortune he desired, but does he recognise that, at least with Felt, he’s got a greater artistic legacy than a vast percentage of the people who ever play music?
I’m sure he talks about the Go Kart Mozart material he’s working on at the time of the film being very pop, but it’s a refracted version of the pop of his youth, not the pop that will get him where he wants to be. But I guess it’s the gap between ambition/delusion and reality that’s meant to be captivating?

Xp I’ve already read that one! I’m curious what he has been up to since.

I think leading a quiet life outside of the business, and you can't blame him.

If I were interviewing Lawrence I'd ask about how he reclaims sounds which are considered tacky and cheap and foregrounds them to expose their hidden qualities and make us think about how / why we ever decided they were bad in the first place, that seems to have been his practice for the best part of 30 years, but nobody asks him about it and he doesn't seem to want to talk about it either. Maybe it just isn't interesting to anyone.

I feel a bit weird about hearing the "you can't use the toilet" thing so much - if its a genuine thing

It is, by the way.

I just love MD's guitar playing so much that I want to know if he is making music or not and if not why not

No idea what y'all are talking about wrt toilets, do not care tbh

The thing is, for 40 years visitors to his flat have been given The Toilet Chat

I still need to watch Lawrence of Arabia and wonder what else people watch on BFI Player.

i feel as if i have read a version of this article every few years for the last two decades. as a Lawrence agnostic it's still always interesting to read but i do wish they would get over the 'should have been / could have been famous' schtick, every single time.

― stirmonster

Yeah, this is the same theme for every interview I've read of his for the last 20 years now. There's no doubt he's some bad luck in the industry, but some of it has to be his own doing too. I remember him being on Mark Riley's show in 2012 and he was complaining about how he couldn't play live because nobody wanted to book him. As the interview went on, Mark mentioned how a number of people had called in from music venues saying they'd love to have him and to get in touch. He just kinda brushed it off and nothing came of it. The guy who made the documentary also says how he used to disappear all the time and he must be like that too when planning his career.

I'm not sure how much more mileage he can get from the Summer Smash/Diana story too. I seem to remember seeing an advert at the time for Summer Smash in the NME or Melody Maker that said it was coming out August 24th, a week before Diana died. I'm sure I cut it out and put it on my wall (along with all my Mansun and Boo Radleys pics). Maybe it got put back last minute as singles did at that time. As great as the song is, I'm not convinced it was going to be the breakthrough hit he was expecting. I don't remember hearing it on radio at all and I was desperate to hear it. I heard It Fell Off The Back Of A Lorry a number of times the previous year.

As I mentioned up thread, jeez, more than a decade ago, if Summer Smash had actually been released it would have been his worst single.

I was a teenage Felt fan in the 80s, and even then I found him an awkward sod. Every new release or gig was a costly gamble. And the thing that always made me doubt the toilet story is that it was commonly told about Kenneth Williams bitd.