PENTAGRAM MAN: Our feature on DC Fontana's 2012 EP 'Pentagram Man'! Featuring reviews and interviews!

 

Below if our feature on DC Fontana's 2012 EP 'Pentagram Man'! The feature includes a review of the EP from AB Records, a track by track in which bassist Mark Mortimer talks us through each track from the EP and some excerpts from our interview with Mark from last year!

 

To stay up to date with future interviews like our facebook page at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

 

PART 1 - "AB SAYS..."

 

"DC Fontana's 'Pentagram Man' EP is a superb collection of six songs that leaves the listener wanting more. The tone of the EP shifts from psychedelia, to funk, to pop, to rock 'n' roll and back to psychedelia again. However, it also has a mysterious undercurrent to it as well. It sets this feeling out effectively with the mysterious sampling of the spoken word vocals on the opening two tracks and it does not stop there! The eponymous opening track is a masterpiece with a catchy, almost funky chorus and exceptional instrumentation from the band. 'DevilAngel' features a well conducted brass ensemble and the song has anthemic tones throughout with hints at the band's more psychedelic edge. The chorus itself will surely bring a new highlight to DC Fontana's live show and will surely entail huge singalongs. This is followed by 'What Would It Take?' - a folk ballad with heartfelt vocals set to some John Martyn/Bert Jansch-esque acoustic guitar picking. A definite highlight. Meanwhile, 'Satisfied (Part One)' seems to shift between DC at their most psychedelic and progressive and DC at their most funky, featuring some bongos and congas for percussion. This combination is no bad thing at all and when the percussion kicks in it sounds not too dissimilar from madchester legends The Stone Roses or The Rolling Stones a la 'Sympathy For The Devil'. The atmospheric 'Sighed DC' follows featuring a reprisal of the mysterious spoken word vocal. The EP is then concluded with a re-recording of the title track in which they recruit in Sorrows legend Don Fardon to sing lead. Overall, a really top notch collection of songs and one that leaves us impatient for the new album in 2014. Rock on DC Fontana!"

 

 

PART 2 - "DC SAYS..."

 

Here, bass player Mark Mortimer talks us through the 'Pentagram Man' EP track by track!

 

"Pentagram Man"

 

"The song came to me while I was sat in a traffic jam on the M40 motorway en route to a London gig! Funny how songs come to you when you’re least expecting them. It’s about an imaginary character from Birmingham who’s fooled himself into thinking he’s a serious magus of consequence. He wrongly thinks he’s related to the occultist Aleister Crowley, is convinced he fought in the Vietnam War and lives his life at a frenetic pace because he’s terrified that if he slows down someone will laugh in his face but no one likes to be humiliated do they? This delusional loner, whose interest in black magic stems more from reading Dennis Wheatley novels than any real esoteric knowledge, is ostracised from his neighbourhood because he doesn’t fit the bill, has no friends, no money, lives on the outer periphery of society and is sad when people take the piss out of him. He could be your uncle or old school teacher or the sad, silent drunk who sits in the corner of your local boozer. He might even be you. The song was allegorical, lamenting humanity’s ability to fool ourselves about all manners of things while also celebrating eccentricity and sticking up for those who live and turn far from the mainstream of society’s usual orbit. It was recorded in Balsall Heath, a suburb of Birmingham where you can see lots of pentagram men wandering the streets in this former red light district. On the main version of the song we decided to leave the horn parts out, partly as a conscious signpost that our sound is evolving and partly so we could use them on the alternative version featuring Don Fardon on vocals. To promote the song we shot one of our allegorical short films using a number of actors and it was filmed at Tamworth’s ancient Norman Castle, out in a field in Leicestershire and also in and around the Custard Factory arts quarter in Birmingham."

 

"DevilAngel"

 

"This track seems to gain a lot of attention as it has its own sound really. On one level it’s a twisted love song while on the other it’s about the paradoxes within us all: good and bad, the dark and light, the yin and yang I suppose. It’s about dealing with those contradictory forces and the interconnecting and interdependence of them with everything around us. I wrote ‘DevilAngel’ about personal matters of the heart as well as another means of plugging myself into the ancient grid and feeding off it. I am wary of talking about this because I don’t want to sound like a fool but there’s something of a heathen element, underpinned by the chant in the middle of the track which name checks some of the old deities, namely Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali and Inanna. Sonically, I am always curious to use different sounds - it’s no different to an artist wanting to mix and match colours and collide ideas. We used a really unusual collection of instruments on ‘DevilAngel’ so you get the usual guitars, drums, retro organ and horns plus a cimbalom which is a Hungarian hammered dulcimer famous for the theme tune of “The Ipcress File”, a Chinese yangqin, autoharp plus orchestral reeds like cor anglais, oboe and flute. This desire to keep using different instruments and textures was something I picked up at an early age from listening to the Beatles among others. We filmed a fairly 'straight' promo video by our usual cinematic standards and did a performance shoot inside a studio with the only acting involved from two performance artists, one who dressed up as an angelic figure and the other as a demonic figure."

 

"What Would It Take?"

 

"This was a lovely skeletal acoustic tune which in many respects is a modern day anti war protest song and it’s centred around some beautiful finger picked guitar. We added some accordion, flute and even used a saw being played with a violin bow! It was another unexpected musical turn from us and I have to be honest I enjoyed the fact the song was so sparse and stripped back compared to some of our much bigger productions."

 

"Satisfied (Part One)"

 

"This was written and sung by our keyboard player Scott Riley and in fact was the first version of this song, a live favourite with our followers. But the second version we recorded (i.e. 'Part 2') came out first when it appeared on our debut album ‘Six Against Eight’. The one on the first album was all about dynamics with dirty hammond, thundering horns, a screaming guitar solo and lots of quieter moments but this first version is a much more stripped back and organic affair. In fact when we came to mix it I suggested we remove the drum kit, electric guitars and most of the organ parts so we could de-clutter and give it a more vibey feel. There is some beautiful piano on there played by our good friend, the incredible Italian jazz musician Oscar Marchioni and his partner and regular DC collaborator, Kicca Andriollo also added some haunting vocals. I love the doomy cellos that add lovely drones to the tune and there are some lovely congas played by Nigel Horton while Scott plays the acoustic guitar parts as well as the remaining hammond and accordion part. There is an overall lazy jazz element and I really like that."

 

"Sighed DC"

 

"This is our 'Revolution No 9' moment! It is DC Fontana at our most experimental so far and it is an abstract piece of lysergic musical sound scaping. Part ambient and part twisted, the track was pretty much a collaboration between myself and our producer Donald Skinner and Scott. Actually the idea for this came from a friend of mine Rob Cross who was a member of nineties indie band Mr. Ray’s Wig World - he was messing about doing a sort of remix using some elements of piano and guitar parts from our first album. Donald then did a 'bubble and squeak' thing and introduced some unused orchestral string parts that were left over from the album and we built it up from there. The clock effect that lasts through most of the tune was actually Donald tapping his autoharp and the lovely trippy wah-wah guitars were played by Scott. We added some mellotron and celeste and our video director friend Martin Copland-Gray recited a mediaeval magic spell from the Galicia region of Spain relating to the queimada drink and that sounded suitably odd. Donald and I chose random words from a dictionary to add further idiosyncratic vocal snatches and he sculpted the tune into three distinct sections giving you the sensation that the song is moving forward always. I wrote another very experimental piece for our French and Italian sung album ‘La Contessa’ called ‘Les Fantômes du Père Lachaise’ so ‘Sighed DC’ is another in this tradition and provides more evidence that we are never content with writing and recording the obvious. As for the title, that was Rob Cross’ idea and a fun play on words - obviously referencing Arthur Lee and Love’s 'Signed DC' song!"

 

"Pentagram Man (Don Fardon Vocal Version)"

 

"It’s been great performing live with Don Fardon, the former Sorrows singer and I was very pleased when he happily agreed to record an alternative version of the title track. He is still a superb singer and the finished vocal is pretty much a full live take two...his first take was sung an octave lower because the key is quite high for his voice and the second one was a 'let’s go for it and see what happens' effort and that was the one we used. Working with him in the studio was great - he hadn’t recorded for a while but got straight into the vibe..."

 

 

PART 3 - THE INTERVIEW

 

Below you can read some excerpts of an interview we did with Mark last year!

 

...

 

What was your earliest musical memory and what pushed you towards pursuing a career in the music industry?

 

"Earliest musical memory would be hearing my mum’s Everly Brothers and Jim Reeves records then getting into the Beatles aged ten and totally immersing myself in the outbreak of punk a year later! No one but myself pushed me towards the music industry - my parents had a typically old fashioned view and actively discouraged me from making a racket which of course only served to make me more determined to make a bigger, louder racket."

 

 Had you been involved in any other band prior to DC Fontana?

 

"Sure did - most of my earliest bands were just group names and make-believe...most were just band names and never even met but in the eighties I was in The Dream Factory who had a minor flirtations with the charts when we signed to northern soul label Inferno, run by Neil Rushton. I have never been outside of a music-making project in my adult years. Scott Riley, who is the DC organ player, was a member of Spectrum and E.A.R., the offshoot projects of Pete Kember’s Spacemen 3, whereas Donald Ross Skinner was Julian Cope’s long term right hand man, guitarist and producer."

 

 How did DC Fontana begin?

 

"The band evolved from a previous one called The Lovebirds in the nineties and was initially just an excuse to socialise, write songs and have some fun with my hometown mates. In fact our story doesn’t follow the norm and it took quite a while before it really became a serious band. We have continually evolved and enjoyed different line ups which have helped keep the project totally viable, fresh and ever moving forward. The blueprint remains constant but it is constantly and freely re-designed."

 

 Where did the name DC Fontana come from?

 

"Our original guitarist Neil Jones came up with the idea to name ourselves after Dorothy Fontana, the “Star Trek” script writer from Hollywood and she recently contacted us to say she is honoured we did so - in fact she lectures at the American Film Institute these days and often wears her DC Fontana shirt which is great!"

 

 How would you describe the sound of DC Fontana?

 

"It’s turned-on music to shake your hips and pluck your heartstrings but I don’t see it as being any particular genre really or allied to any kind of movement. We filter the joy and pain of everyday life through a kaleidoscope of an ever-changing sonic arsenal and the music is as urban as Harry Palmer and as pagan and hallucinatory as Lord Summerisle."

 

 

The interview excerpts in Part 3 are taken from an interview conducted with Mark Mortimer last year! To read the full interview click here - http://aldorabritainrecords.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/devilangel-our-interview-with-amazing.html

 

All images and photographs were provided by DC Fontana.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this feature on DC Fontana! Check out our previous feature on Kartica!

Check out DC Fontana here - http://www.dcfontana.com/

Get your copy of 'Pentagram Man' here - http://www.dcfontana.com/shop.html

 

You can also like our facebook page to keep up to date with all future interviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB RECORDS

DEVILANGEL: Our interview with the amazing DC Fontana!

 

PART 1 - "THE INTERVIEW"

 

1 - What was your earliest musical memory and what pushed you towards pursuing a career in the music industry?

 

"Earliest musical memory would be hearing my mum’s Everly Brothers and Jim Reeves records then getting into the Beatles aged ten and totally immersing myself in the outbreak of punk a year later! No one but myself pushed me towards the music industry - my parents had a typically old fashioned view and actively discouraged me from making a racket which of course only served to make me more determined to make a bigger, louder racket."

 

2 - Had you been involved in any other band prior to DC Fontana?

 

"Sure did - most of my earliest bands were just group names and make-believe...most were just band names and never even met but in the eighties I was in The Dream Factory who had a minor flirtations with the charts when we signed to northern soul label Inferno, run by Neil Rushton. I have never been outside of a music-making project in my adult years. Scott Riley, who is the DC organ player, was a member of Spectrum and E.A.R., the offshoot projects of Pete Kember’s Spacemen 3, whereas Donald Ross Skinner was Julian Cope’s long term right hand man, guitarist and producer."

 

3 - How did DC Fontana begin?

 

"The band evolved from a previous one called The Lovebirds in the nineties and was initially just an excuse to socialise, write songs and have some fun with my hometown mates. In fact our story doesn’t follow the norm and it took quite a while before it really became a serious band. We have continually evolved and enjoyed different line ups which have helped keep the project totally viable, fresh and ever moving forward. The blueprint remains constant but it is constantly and freely re-designed."

 

4- Where did the name DC Fontana come from?

 

"Our original guitarist Neil Jones came up with the idea to name ourselves after Dorothy Fontana, the “Star Trek” script writer from Hollywood and she recently contacted us to say she is honoured we did so - in fact she lectures at the American Film Institute these days and often wears her DC Fontana shirt which is great!"

 

5 - How would you describe the sound of DC Fontana?

 

"It’s turned-on music to shake your hips and pluck your heartstrings but I don’t see it as being any particular genre really or allied to any kind of movement. We filter the joy and pain of everyday life through a kaleidoscope of an ever-changing sonic arsenal and the music is as urban as Harry Palmer and as pagan and hallucinatory as Lord Summerisle."

 

6 - Your recent EP is called ‘Pentagram Man’. Where did this title come from and why did you choose it?

 

"The EP is named after its title track, a song I wrote about an imaginary character from Birmingham who fooled himself into thinking he’s a serious magus of consequence. He wrongly thinks he is related to the occultist Aleister Crowley, is convinced he fought in the Vietnam War and lives his life at a frenetic pace because he is terrified that if he slows down someone will be able to laugh right in his face but no one likes to be humiliated do they? So a speedy life keeps the chavvy haters at bay, at least so he thinks. This delusional and eccentric loner, whose interest in black magic stems more from reading Dennis Wheatley novels than any real esoteric knowledge, is ostracised from his neighbourhood because he doesn’t fit the bill, has no friends, no money, lives on the outer periphery of society and feels sad when people poke fun at him. He could be your uncle or your old school teacher or the sad, silent drunk who sits in the corner of your local boozer. He might even be you. The song was allegorical, lamenting humanity’s ability to fool ourselves about all manners of things while also celebrating eccentricity and sticking up for those who live and turn far from the mainstream of society’s usual orbit."

 

7 - ‘DevilAngel’ is an anthemic track from this EP. What influenced this song and what is it about?

 

"On one level it is a twisted love song a drawn from my own personal experience while on another it concerns itself with the paradoxes within us all: the good and bad, the dark and light, the yin and yang that affect the human experience. It’s about dealing with those contradictory forces and the interconnecting and interdependence of them with everything around us as well as plugging myself into the cosmos. I get wary of talking about this because I don’t want to come over like a pretentious tosser but there' an ancient heathen overtone to the lyrics underpinned by a chant in the middle of the song which name checks some of the old deities, namely Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hekate, Demeter, Kali and Inanna. We used a really unusual collection of instruments on the track which makes it stand out a little so you get the usual guitars, drums, retro organ and horns plus a cimbalom which is a Hungarian hammered dulcimer famous for the theme tune of 'The Ipcress File', a Chinese yangqin, autoharp plus orchestral reeds like cor anglais, oboe and flute. We are always keen to use different sounds."

 

8 - You are currently working on a new album. What can fans expect from this?

 

"Well it’s right at the earliest stage so we’re still developing it but the record will sound radically different to the first album ‘Six Against Eight’ and we’re definitely pushing back the boundaries and striking out. Of course we have a different line up to that on the debut record and DC Fontana has always been about evolving, never standing still and staying fresh and viable so no two records of ours will sound the same. The first thing people will notice is it will be less brassy than previous records and it’s fair to say it will be a natural progression from the ‘Pentagram Man EP'. The songs are more organic and rooted in an earthier vibe, more guitar-orientated plus we are using quite a bit of mellotron and people will hear plenty more vocal harmonies. There’s more magic flowing and as with all DC records there will be many twists, turns, unexpected flavours and surprises as we have always enjoyed experimenting and refusing to stick to cosy little generic expectations. We are hopeful of having at least one major surprise on the album. I’m proud we’ve got this reputation of putting out really well recorded, well-written and produced material and I’m very excited with the new stuff - it’s a lysergic leap forward. Having our producer Donald now playing a heavily active role as our new guitarist will reap dividends & anyone who knows of his work with Julian Cope will clearly hear that across the new album. Songwriting wise the tunes are from me and Scott plus Donald and we have a very large pool of tunes being recorded right now."

 

9 - Do you have any 'rituals' before you go on stage?

 

"If you believe some of the hysterical press we’ve had you’d think we might sacrifice an animal or drink a chalice of blood or something equally satanic and deeply rock 'n' roll haha! But actually no, I can’t think of any regular rite we get hooked into. Personally I like to find a little space for a minute or two of peace to clear my head a bit before I go on. Tuning the guitar often helps too."

 

10 - Any live dates coming up?

 

"Because the band has been going through personnel changes in 2013 and because I’ve had a difficult time in my personal life we’ve had our quietest ever year yet but 2014 will be a much busier, happening time for us and we will be on our travels again. That said we have a handful of gigs between now and the end of the year so people should check out our website for more information. It will get much busier as we build to the next record plus we are going to be doing some more gigs with former Sorrows singer Don Fardon joining us on stage."

 

11 - Any new songs in the pipeline?

 

"Speaking personally I am writing more songs now than I have ever done. Most never see the light of the day as we do have a good sense of quality control but the creativity flowing among myself, Scott and Donald right now is electrifying. The songs for the next album are without question the best DC tunes yet."

 

12 - When can fans be expecting the next release?

 

"Difficult to put any approximate release date on the next album as we’ve only  just begun recording it and like most bands out there we’re struggling financially and fighting against an imploded music industry. But we are hopeful that it may be ready for public consumption next summer or autumn - watch this space!"

 

13 - Who would be your dream collaboration?

 

"Scott Walker."

 

14 - Who would be in your dream supergroup?

 

"On vocals Nico and Scott Walker on different tunes! On guitar and vocals Syd Barrett of The Pink Floyd, on guitar Will Sergeant of Echo & The Bunnymen, on bass Larry Graham Jnr. of Sly & The Family Stone, on drums Pete de Freitas of Echo & The Bunnymen and on keys Brian Auger. I'd also have backing vocals from The Dedrick family (The Free Design) with regular guest spots from Jason Pierce (Spiritualized), Tom Verlaine (Television) and Lætitia Sadier (Stereolab)."

 

PART 2 - "THE QUICKFIRE ROUND"

 

1 - Favourite Beatle?

 

"George."

 

2 - Favourite band?

 

"Echo & The Bunnymen."

 

3 - Favourite new band?

 

"Plastic Palace People."

 

4 - Favourite song?

 

"Passionate Friend - Teardrop Explodes."

 

5 - Favourite album?

 

"Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (The Pink Floyd)."

 

6 - Vinyl, CD or download?

 

"Personally vinyl as I like the tangible piece of art aspect of it, the size of the sleeve etc. as much as the sound but DC release all our music on all three formats to keep all satisfied."

 

7 - Style icon?

 

"Norman Wisdom."

 

8 - Favourite clothing brand?

 

"I don't have one."

 

9 - Favourite film?

 

"Daisies (directed by Věra Chytilová)."

 

10 - Favourite TV show?

 

"The Prisoner (Patrick McGoohan)."

 

11 - Who would play you in a film of your life?

 

"McGoohan if he was alive!"

 

12 - Favourite food?

 

"No number one fave-rave but I am a committed long-term vegetarian."

 

13 - Football team?

 

"Aston Villa."

 

Hope you enjoyed this feature on DC Fontana! Check out our previous feature on Groovy Uncle!

 

Check out DC Fontana here - www.dcfontana.com

  

You can also like our Facebook page to keep up to date with all future interviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB RECORDS