On the day The 1975’s Notes On A Conditional Form is finally released, Jamie Oborne has told Music Week that the band will power through into a new era.
The Dirty Hit boss has his sights set on more new music from the band, both under their own name and in the form of collaborative projects, and is targeting a Glastonbury headline set.
We’ve already delved deep into the campaign and the band’s encounter with Brian Eno with the manager, and picked the brain of singer Matthew Healy in our special 1975 cover story. Now, it’s time for Oborne to reflect some more on a remarkable period for the band and look ahead to what’s next.
Read a brand new Q&A below.
How would you compare A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships to the new record?
“They’re two different statements, very different, for me personally. Notes… is a much more personal record. Early on, everyone was talking about how it would be an environmental record, which sounds bizarre, I don’t know what that would be like. Quite early on, Matthew identified that it was a record about life, that’s part of life now. This record is about life and all he has to observe at the moment is his life. I find it fascinating.”
How do you rate the lyrics on the album?
“I just think this kid is fucking, some sort of cross between Seamus Heaney and Mike Skinner, the kid is a poet, seriously. Matthew is one of the most gifted writers I know and I studied English literature. Honestly, he’s amazing. Prince would take really normal situations, everyday things, and give them back to you feeling so full of life and description of the human condition. I feel like Matthew does that, it’s so impressive. Him and George [Daniel, drummer and producer] have won Ivor Novellos and they both still think they’re rubbish. It’s crazy.”
What’s your next goal for the band?
“I want to headline Glastonbury. I know it’s such a soundbitey thing to say but it’s really important to us. I feel like they are a really important, great British band and my next goal is to do that with them. Hopefully it’ll happen. What band doesn’t dream of that? There’s not many who actually can do it. When we headlined Latitude, a lot of people were wanting us to headline a bigger festival, and I wanted Latitude to feel like the band belonged, could control that size of audience and we could. When we did Reading & Leeds I wanted to do that at that point because I felt it would be the right time to deliver a performance like that and they absolutely smashed it. Coming after The 1975, you need to be good. They set the bar again for British artists in the same way Arctic Monkeys did, absolutely crushing it. Or Radiohead before them.”
Now this thing that we do has been taken away temporarily, it makes you want to do stuff more
Jamie Oborne
And what about Dirty Hit? How are things looking?
“The reason we haven’t put back any of our records and continue to release music and make records and strive to be better and do more is because we’re a record company and we sign artists we believe in. I don’t think anything would stop that. We wouldn’t be a record company if we didn’t put out records. That’s what defines you. I always say to our artists that their work validates them, not what people write about it, or what people say. That’s the only validation you need, your creative statement.”
Can you give us any gossip on what music the band are working on?
“Matthew and George are already talking about new music. I don’t know. We were all ready to have a proper year off from The 1975, Matthew was actually excited about that, excited and a little bit scared. He’s always been terrified of it. He seems to spend some of the time in a happier place now, so he was maybe looking forward to putting some roots down somewhere. It’s almost like now this thing that we do has been taken away temporarily, it makes you want to do stuff more. There’s going to be a natural pause because it’s been exhausting, but then we weren’t expecting to not be doing anything for months. George has been producing a couple of things for Dirty Hit, Matthew’s been writing some music with another artist. We have a bunch of creative things we want to do with artists on the label that everyone’s really excited about. Even though we’re not touring this year anymore, we are going to be doing loads of things, being very productive making music with other artists, which is something George is most excited about. Later in the summer he’s going to be making a new Japanese House album, they’re amazing friends, so it’ll be two friends making music.”
* Subscribers can read The 1975 cover story in full here. The 1975 edition of Music Week is available in print and digital editions. To secure your print copy, please email Rachael Hampton on rachael.hampton@futurenet.com. Make sure you can access vital music biz information wherever you are by signing up for our digital edition here.
FOLLOW 
