Downsizing is a phrase we hear all too often, but the need for musicians has been overtaken by synthesizers and computers, with guitars and drums replaced by mp3 backings.
However, as founding member Joe Greatorex says, Colin’s Godson’s move from a five-piece guitar act to an electronic duo (with keyboard guru Dave Gillies) was mostly born out of necessity,
“We had always joked about doing an obligatory electronic album,” says the band’s founding member, “and about a year and a half ago I moved to Reykjavik and I couldn’t bring any guitars with me so I just borrowed a USB keyboard, plugged it into my old laptop and wrote the album that way.”
However, despite being the saviour of the band, there is a downside to embracing new tech too much.
“I do worry that this instant free access to everything cheapens media and shortens the average attention span,” Joe agrees.
“When I was 12 I’d scrape together pocket money, go down to Echo on Byres Road and come back with an album and that was it for the next few weeks,” he continues. “That CD cost me a significant amount of money and it was all I had to listen to, so I suppose I valued it more”.
The band’s output – an album a year or so – usually has a sci-fi / geeky theme: ‘Colin’s Godson… In Space’ or ‘At The Speed Of Sound’. And the new release continues this theme with tracks including ‘The Amstrad Champion’, ‘Twitterbot’, and ‘Nokia 3310’.
”I liked the idea of using songs about retrotech as a sort of metaphor for our own existence. Much like the Amstrad CPC, you have your time, you disappear and if you’re lucky you might be remembered fondly after you’re gone. It’s inevitable.”
However, the band’s immediate plan is the ultimate act of shrinkage – their new album, the aptly-titled ‘In Silicon Heaven’, will be their last”. Mission accomplished?
“I think we’ve done everything we set out to do,” says Joe.
And the band are adopting that philosophy – as well as a download, they’ll release their new album on vinyl for the first time, with an 84-page comic book – and there’s even a cassette version.
Now that’s retro.
(This article originally appeared in the Kirkintilloch Herald, of all places)