Folk-In' Around

James Skinner chats to acclaimed purveyor of ‘folk-tronica’, Adem Ilhan, and finds out about; his wonderful new album and forthcoming UK tour, his fêted Homefires festival in London, and all sorts of other interesting things

By James Skinner

When Adem’s debut album, Homesongs, was released on the über-hip Domino label in 2004, it’s fair to say it caught a few critics by surprise.

Formerly the bassist in London-based post-rock trio Fridge (along with Kieran Hebden, better known as Four Tet), his first solo release led to comparisons with folk luminaries Nick Drake and Vashti Bunyan, helped coin the term ‘folk-tronica’, and became a massive word-of-mouth success.

Cut to April 2006, and I’m speaking to a sniffly Adem over the phone, days before he is due to embark on a UK tour in support of his fantastic second album, Love and Other Planets (reviewed on page 30 of this very magazine). Since the release of Homesongs he has toured extensively, been involved in numerous musical projects, and even put together the revered yearly Homefires festival in London that, over the last two years, has featured UK performances from José Gonzalez, Joanna Newsom and Willy Mason as well as stars such as Badly Drawn Boy and Beth Orton.

Returning to his first album though, Adem was ‘amazed’ with the positive reaction it received: “I think because I had no preconceptions – no idea what to expect, nothing to measure it by. So I was really, really pleased.”

However, far from inspiring confidence in terms of approaching its follow up, he was keen to avoid repeating himself and “making Homesongs two”. This is something he has emphatically sidestepped: in Love and Other Planets he has created what is surely one of the albums of the year thus far, a record both sonically adventurous and lyrically accomplished.

Thematically concerned (as its title suggests) with the idea of the universe and human emotions being very much intertwined, the basic concepts of love, friendship and optimism in the face of adversity that permeate his first record are all present and magnified here. But… space?

“After writing four or five songs for the record, I realised that like Homesongs, there was a really strong thematic link running through all of them. I decided I was obviously trying to say something, so I wanted to explore that and see where it took me. And that’s when I started looking at space, and the themes of space… not just as cosmic space, but the space between people, the space inside us; the space of time and the gaps between things.”

Asked to pick a key song from the album, Adem struggles: “The first track is important as it’s an overview of sorts, whereas in Spirals you’ve got someone at the centre of a very tiny feeling, looking out into the hugeness of it all and equating the two – so there are different perspectives and interpretations. You’ve got Crashlander where someone comes into your life, then you’ve got Launch Yourself where someone leaves your life. I think to pick one song would kind of negate the point of it.”

Further discussion of the differences between his two albums reveals that where Homesongs was built to ‘stand the test of time,’ Planets is “built to grow, like a seed; it relishes repeated listens. The more you explore it the more you’ll discover. I really pushed that with this record.”

Talk of influences on his work reveals that he’s “more influenced by my friends and the people around me than any specific sort of music” – something that makes a lot of sense given the intimate lyrical content with which he deals.

Coughs and sneezes notwithstanding, he is animated about the forthcoming tour: “I’ve got a fantastic new band together – a five-piece, all swapping round, with loads of different instruments, everyone singing – we’ve got a bass, a double bass, glockenspiel, guitars, auto-harps, bells, shakers, violins, viola… all manner of things.” Rather than chance to ask what an auto-harp is, by this point I’m genuinely in awe of the enthusiasm Adem holds for his music (he is never just excited about something, or even ‘really’ excited, but always “really, really” excited), which spills over into another passion of his, the Homefires festival that runs over two days in London’s Conway Hall.

But before getting to that, I am keen to see what he makes of the ‘folk-tronica’ tag that he is so often labelled with (for better or worse, even at the start of this feature): “It’s a bizarre one isn’t it? New-folk, old-folk, anti-folk, freak-folk… I don’t know. I don’t have much time for labels to be honest. It makes it easy for people to know what to buy sometimes. I think the problem with this kind of music is that when people describe it they’re not particularly clear about what they mean – it’s definitely not ‘folk’ as such, but is it ‘new-folk’? The singer James Yorkston says – it’s a dirty word – but he thinks that we’re all singer-songwriters. And I think he might be right.”

So then, what of the Homefires festival? “Basically, it’s an excuse for me to watch all the bands that I’m really into – all in one go – and at the same time give other people an opportunity to hear the music I’m loving.” I can’t help but splutter out “that’s pretty cool” round about here. “Yeah,” Adem replies, “it’s great. I always try and think of myself as a kid, and think what I would have liked to have seen or liked to have done, and try and make it affordable and all this sort of stuff ‘cause… that’s important to me.” It’s commendable stuff, indeed.

Our interview nears its end with the happy revelation that he and former bandmates, Kieran Hebden and Sam Jeffers, have reunited, with prospective new Fridge material out early next year. How does he feel about this?

“Really, really excited. It’s sounding great, and it’s been an absolute joy to hang out with my mates again.” (The three began making music at school together.) “We’ve all been so busy that having something like this is just a reason to get together and have some fun. All three of us have been totally off the map, so it’s been fantastic.”