We could safely call Rod Thomas a pioneer of Welsh electro – since electronic pop music is hardly stampeding its way across the Severn Bridge at this current moment in time.Born in the Welsh valleys, since settling in London he has perfected a brilliant, 90's influenced pop sound as Bright Light Bright Light – not to mention finding time to set up his own record label and keep up with his Ukelele practice. A true multi-tasker.
We sat down and spoke to Bright Light Bright Light and asked him questions about important things such as the state of the music industry and those ubiquitous wheels on the bus.
Hello Bright Light Bright Light. Is your name lifted straight from the film Gremlins?
Yes.
Good. We would have been very disappointed if there was a deep and pretentious meaning.
No. Not at all.
What happened to ‘Rod Thomas’?
Oh he died! I was working on music that was more pop, more dance floor, disco beats, more textures, but the thing is if you have a first name/surname moniker people presume you’re acoustic. So I thought I’d put my own name on the back burner. It’s nice to have a bit of distance so if people slag off your music it’s not you.
How many instruments can Bright Light Bright Light play?
*COUNTS ON FINGERS* 1. Guitar, 2. Ukelele, 3. Glockenspiel, 4. Piano, 5. Bass, 6. Recorder, 7. Flute.
You can’t have recorder everyone can play that.
Ok, discount that. All of those bar recorder, and then I do loads of programming as well.
Would you be able to do a one man band?
Maybe a tambourine and a ukelele. A tambourine under my foot, some cymbals between my legs, a ukelele, and a harmonica, and a drum. Yes, that would be fine.
Very good. So, as part of the new sound you’ve been working with Boom Bip? How did you get together? Was it the Welsh connection with Gruff Rhys?
(LAUGHS) He’s a bit of a Welsh-o-phile I think! I was a massive fan of his work and the Neon Neon record so my manager sent an email saying ‘Rod likes your stuff and would like to work with you...’
...And he’s a Welsh.
He didn’t know! He said ‘Yes, I really like the stuff. Do you want to come and work with me?’. So I did! I did two tracks with him. ‘A New Word To Say’ and ‘Disco Moment’. I did a lot of the production for ‘Disco Moment’ myself at home and then we got together and added loads of extra sounds and jigged it around a bit. He’s really nice and really talented.
And you’ve also been out to make lovely noises with the amazing Sound Of Arrows?
We played a gig together and we got on really well...So I went to Sweden. It was really spontaneous. When I was getting the bus to Stansted I was thinking ‘I’ve really only met these people once...', but they’re the nicest guys in the world. So funny and so lovely. We went to Stefan’s parents’ house on a lake in Sweden and just hung out. We went to a National Park and saw some Moose and Bears, and then they have a little cabin by the lake and we just messed around in the studio for a couple of days and wrote a song together
Were you writing for them or you?
For me really. We put the music together, then we produced it, then they did work on the production, and then on the bus on the way to the airport, it’s like four and a half hour bus, I wrote the lyrics.
Were there any lyrics about the wheels and the way in which they might have been moving?
No, none!
What about some lines on what the driver on the bus was doing?
He was very solemn.
Who else is on the Bright Light hitlist for future collaborations?
Gruff Rhys, but I guess that doesn’t really work with what I’m doing at the moment. Post War Years, I’d like to do something with them. I’m going to be working with a couple of the guys from Empire Of The Sun. Well, Pnau. And I’m working with Del from Scissor Sisters. Del’s solo stuff I really like so it’s a nice exchange and helping to rewrite his lyrics and he’s going to help me with lyrics for mine.
Our research informs us that you are a big fan of Ace Of Base. Why so?
A genuine love. They’re so catchy. Everyone couldn’t get them out of their heads. There’s something so amazing about that. When I went to work with Boom Bip he quoted Ace Of Base as really good song writing. Production as well. This is geeky, but if you’re putting together a song you have to have everything spaced so it isn’t too cluttered. You’ve got the beats, and the vocals, and you can hear everything perfectly. I mix ‘Same Old Lines’ with ‘The Sign’ and do it live.
RP exclusive download: Bright Light Bright Light vs Ace Of Base 'I Saw The Same Old Lines'
What’s your favourite food that comes in a tin?
Baked beans. I’m really, really addicted to beans on toast. I eat it at least 3 times a week
Is that indicative of the state of the music industry?
It was, it is cheap, but I find it really comforting. I would splash out on Heinz or HP though. HP three for £1, or three for £1.19, it’s gone up to now in the local. I won’t go with any other. I was on holiday with some friends when we were younger and we were really poor and we had chicken nuggets and beans in a tin. It was disgusting.
Well hopefully those days are behind you now. What’s the masterplan for the next few months?
Working on the album. I’ve got about nine songs finished. I want to get about sixteen or twenty and then whittle it down to eleven for the album. I’m doing loads of remixes as well. I’m really happy with a lot of the stuff I’ve got at the moment. So I guess the plan is to put the album together and put it out at the start of next year, and the single should be out end of this year.
So keep checking the shelves in your local
Bright Light Bright Light myspace
Self Raising Records myspace
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