In this interview, Bedlam 1547 dives into creative independence, punk-era philosophy, collaboration, and the restless ideas behind “Summoning Mind” exploring honesty, AI anxieties, and the raw instinct driving the project forward.
1.
Bedlam 1547 is essentially your solo project. What inspired you to take full
creative control, and how does that freedom shape the music?
The songs inspired
me. But what really encouraged me was much more practical. The band I had just
done an EP with were concentrating on their own individual projects. So I
thought fair enough life is short and we have to do what works best for us, So
I thought okay I’ll do the same and the good thing is then all my ideas can
come into consideration for the project.
2. You mentioned that once the riffs and lyrics were written, you brought in
several respected musicians to help complete the songs. How did collaborators
like Dog Tired, She Burns Red, Solar Sons, and King Witch contribute to shaping
“Summoning Mind”?
Actually Summoning Mind is something I wrote last. Everything, I had mapped out
riffs structure and lyrics. Jamie performed both guitar and bass as well as
adding solos. However, prior to that Naz from She Burns Red had been involved
with the project for a number of years on and off outside of commitments and
helped with some arrangements and demos as well as playing on ‘Always Ends The
Same’. Luke from Dog Tired helped again with arrangement on unearthly strangers
and also with the song as yet unreleased You’re County’ Watching You’ , where
he performed Guitar and Bass. Keith (dog tired) and Pete (solar sons) helped
recording drums, for which I’m very grateful. All dudes are top players &
top geezers.
3. Your influences range from 1976–80 punk to classic rock and metal. What
is it about that era of punk that still resonates with you creatively today?
At that time punk was a cultural movement not a uniform. Look at how diverse it
was from the Cortinas to talking heads to wire to Duffo, suburban studs, 999,
Adverts, Slaughter and the Dogs. Electric Chairs, stiff little fingers, Ian
dury, Ultravox, Squeeze, Eater, Television, The Tubes and just so many many
others. They brought their own sounds and look and they were all completely
unique as themselves. It was a great time where bands coalesced around a way of
thinking not a way you had to dress or a way you had to sound. But forget those
examples as my mate Jim Thornton (and original drummer for Bedlam 1547 years
ago) pointed out when I was chatting to him about this, just look at the major
acts. The pistols , Stranglers, The Damned, The Clash, The Buzzcocks exactly
the same point just how far apart were they? What still resonates is be
yourself and if you have artistic talent to express it - do so. And of course,
another commonality is don’t expect to make any money out of it.
4. You’ve said creativity has to be honest or it will “definitely be shite.” How do you ensure that honesty remains intact when writing and recording?
You have to be vulnerable - don’t hide a vocal idea or a lyric if it is how you feel if it is your impulse then make that qualitative decision and fuck what people think ….be honest be who you are - as Kant once noted ‘lies follow liars like their shadow’ audiences are smart people they see shadows and smell bullshit.
5. “Summoning Mind” has been described as mirroring the disruption of modern
times. What themes or anxieties were you channeling into this track?
Two. A resurgent of idealism disrupting the materialist’s paradigm. The fear
that all explanations, and the careers built on them, might be rendered
instantly worthless is both amusing and enchanting. The second being of course
AI. Star Trek episodes and 2001 A Space Odyssey (among many others) predicted
this years ago - now it’s coming so we’ll see …is it a force for good or
something terrifying that will cause chaos to the way we work, consume, provide
for our kids, and ultimately, by definition, the ramifications AI has for state
authority. The ideas are couched in an ode to all things 50s/60s sci-fi and its
ability to disrupt the everyday. Summon an inner longing to be somewhere else
at another point in time; an escape to a past future as nearly all the machines
and devices of the future are things we have already long surpassed like 60s
transit vans with Daleks! …but we don’t care… we forgive.. because it summons a
way to think. Escape hints at something profound something that may be true.
6. You prefer layered meanings in your lyrics rather than being didactic.
How important is ambiguity in your songwriting, and what do you hope listeners
bring to the interpretation?
This matters to me. I’ve always thought artists are ship builders but where the
ship sails is up to the viewer/listener. John Foxx was the master. ‘Ha ha ha’
and ‘three into one’ are pure genius at conjuring and summoning individual
minds to visit unknown or secret places in their imagination. But I’m not
religious about this approach if a song is obvious it is what you want to say
and if it works do it - for example our 4th single ‘ain’t no law’ is an
in-your-face rant about the ills of people twisting and spinning shite for
their self-serving agendas. But generally I tend to go for two maybe even three
meanings. There is the surface adventure but what it’s really about is more
hidden. Like they say in script writing if the scene is about what it is about
… rewrite it.
7. The track was recorded at Jamie Gilchrist’s studio in the Scottish Borders. What made that environment the right place to bring Bedlam 1547 back to life?
Struggling artists don’t have luxuries but they do have requirements. Basically it has to be as good as it can be and practical. Location, cost, quality - get it right - but act…don’t fuck about waiting for everything to be perfect - no punk bands did that and that’s often why the those records sound so good. I also got lucky. Jamie happens to be a genuinely superb guitar player who I get on with in the studio. He was happy to play my riffs and then add solos that and polish touches here and there. But as Jamie is a musician and shares a love of Black Sabbath and punk approaches it wasn’t too difficult for us to get along in the studio! I certainly had a laugh and hopefully he did too.
8. You decided to handle the vocals yourself after trying other singers. Was that a difficult decision, and did it change your connection to the material?
I spent too long looking for the right singer so in that sense it was difficult. But that made it fucking easy to make the decision as I was so bored of listening to other people fuck it up. I’m not saying I got it perfect but it ain’t bad and it only helped consolidate the material as it was written for how I sang it. It comes back to the punk attitude of let’s not hang about to find the right person bollox - if you got something to say.. say it….or..even better, record it.
9. Musically, Bedlam 1547 blends punk attitude, hard rock power, and
alternative metal scale. How do you balance aggression with strong melodic
hooks?
You write the song - keep it honest, say what you want to say, and that balance
will take care of itself.
10. “Summoning Mind” is the first of four recent singles, alongside “Always Ends The Same,” “Unearthly Strangers Roam,” and “Ain’t No Law.” How do these tracks connect thematically or musically as part of the bigger picture?
They are connected in the sense they are in the same project and will form part of album. Hopefully they resonate as such. But you just write songs and then decide if it fits Bedlam 1547. There is no grand vision or concept they have to fit.
11. At the moment you’re focused on writing the rest of the album. What direction is the full record taking compared to these singles?
The album, will be pretty much more of the same - But I hope it will be a journey like good albums should be - so there will be more room for the odd longer number and/or structural nuances but there will not be any album fillers I don’t like em never have!. Basically it will be anything from the palette of my influences with the guiding principle being do I like it.
12. You’ve spoken about that instant rush when a song just clicks — like hearing Alice Cooper live for the first time, or classics from Iron Maiden and The Doors. What would it mean to you if Bedlam 1547 gave someone that same feeling?
Pleased, helped!….resolved? I dunno but somewhere in that zone. I’ll never really feel what someone else feels. But as long Bedlam 1547 gives me that feeling when I write the idea or hear the final mix, then there must be a chance that it will do something similar for someone else, and if so , job done.
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