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X-clusive: Muse On Reading, Inspiration & The Future

added 30 August 2006 at 14.42

Muse have been speaking to Xfm about how they felt about headlining the Reading Festival, recording ‘Black Holes & Revelations’ and what their plans for the coming months are.

Speaking from backstage at the Carling Reading Weekender where they headlined on the Saturday night, bassist Chris Wolstenholme explained how much topping the bill means to the band.

“We’ve been doing a few European concerts recently, but it’s always good to come back and to your home country it’s always a bit special,” Chris explained, “But especially Reading, which was the first festival I ever came to, about eleven years ago, and I’ve seen some classic performances over the years, and to be up there is kinda strange. I had a dream about opening the main stage when I first came here, so to be headlining is great.”

Hear the interview [listen]

With their album ‘Black Holes & Revelations’ shifting an amazing 600,000 copies since its release in July, Chris also explained, how the eclectic style of the record was down in part to its birth in a variety of recording environments.

“We’d spent eight weeks in a place in France called Miravel [Studios in Southern France]” Chris continued, “Which was basically an old building right in the middle of a vineyard, miles away from the nearest town, totally secluded. And we didn’t; really leave there for eight week, we were stuck there, which was great for the creative process but after a while the cabin fever thing kicks in a you releases you haven’t left the building for weeks and weeks and weeks.

“So we went to New York, which was totally different vibe. New York sped things up completely. Just going out after the studio was great, as we couldn’t do that in France. There it was, ‘Okay, let’s drink a bottle of wine and watch the bats fly about the place’ but in New York it was, ‘Right! Let’s go out to a club and listen to some music that’s not us’.”

Chris on the success of ‘Black Holes & Revelations’ [listen] and on choosing singles from the record [listen]

As for being nominated for a Mercury Prize, like most nominees, Chris was humble about his band’s chances.

“Its one of those things, the obvious choices never win it. Its always the underdogs which is good I think, It shouldn’t be about how big a band is, and that’s what always been good about that award, its about the music, not record sales, or how many people you can play to. It’s about the music, and that’s its how it should be.”

As for the band’s future plans, Matt Bellamy’s previous comments about either planning a two-month residency at Shepards Bush Empire or a night at Hyde Park, seem a little premature.

“This initial tour will be all arenas, but that’s just the first little run, up to Christmas. I but I don’t know what we’re doing next year,” he confessed, “But there definitely something really nice about the smaller venues.

“But we haven’t really though that far ahead. I think you have to be pretty f**cking big to play Hyde Park, that’s beyond The Premiership man. Man, we don’t plan that far ahead!”

Chris on Muse breaking America [listen]

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