Air Traffic In Control

By: Brett Merle

Monday April 07, 2008

Finding their way...
Air Traffic just might be the next big thing to come out of the English music scene. Often compared (deservingly) to fellow Englishmen Radiohead and Coldplay, the band sets itself apart with its own unique style of Brit Rock. Their first full length album, called Fractured Life, was released on July 2, 2007 with Tiny Consumer label and peaked at 42 on the UK album charts.

The band is comprised of members Chris Wall, David Ryan Jordan, Jim Maddock, and Tom Pritchard. Featuring bombastic like beats, heavy emphasis on piano, and soaring melodies, Fractured Life was arguably one of the best rookie releases of the 2007 season.

Recently, we were fortunate to ask frontman Chris Wall a few questions about the band and what they're all about. Wall, who did most of Fractured Life's song writing as well as vocal and key duties, gave us an informative panorami view into Air Traffic. Here is what he had to say.


Brett Merle: Your songs sound like collaborative harmony, how do you go about writing them?

Chris Wall: Songs are like rain. Sometimes they just come. Sometimes they come fast and sometimes they don't come at all; but you can't force it. I wrote most of the songs from Fractured Life while sitting at the piano, but we(the band) still worked on the structures together and everyone writes their own parts, which makes the songs what they are. It's quite open really, if you think what someone is playing is shit, you just say so.

'Time Goes By,' 'I Like That' and 'I Can't Understand' came from David. He'd play them to me and I'd throw in a mid 8 or something. When that happens he'll usually sing me a bit of a melody too and a few lyrics to go by (which usually end up staying).

How long has each of you been playing music?

I've been playing music since I was 3. My father was given a keyboard for Christmas and I was definitely encouraged towards it… but I was never pushed. I asked to have lessons when the old man was having them.

As potential heirs to the Brit rock throne, how do you feel about the comparisons to other big British artists?

I've always had a soft spot for Brit Rock so it's great to feel like we could be stepping into the shoes of some of our biggest idols. Some comparisons, obviously, are better than others. I don't like lazy comparisons, like comparisons to Keane: Yeah, we have a piano, but I don't think Fractured Life actually rings that similar to their sound. Being compared to Radiohead or Muse is flattering as hell but, again, it's not their paths we're following, it's our own. I don't want to be a second rate anything, I want to become "Air Traffic."

Chris, I read that your celtic roots originally influenced your writing style, are there any artists you could mention specfically as having a more paticular influence?

There aren't really any artists I can say who specifically influenced my music, it's more the fact that I was surrounded by that kind of stuff as a kid as my uncle is a well known modern folk writer in Ireland (Jimmy MacCarthy). My earliest memories of live music were definitely of going to his gigs and shows in the bars and halls of Cork and Dublin. When I was about 5 or 6 I went to the studio for the day with him and completely fell in love with it.



Fractured Life features complex arrangements without the burdens of over production, how was it working with producer David Kosten?

Working with David Kosten was like eating cheese in a windmill: Different than anything I'd done before and completely weird. While I had the feeling that it was a bit of a laugh, the cogs were turning and work was being done. It was our first real studio experience and studio time can get very heavy (held up for two months with 6 people), but David always made sure the atmosphere was light and comfortable.

Is there a fundamental concept or theme behind Fractured Life?

The songs on Fractured Life are a chronicle of leaving childhood and entering into something that is quite different. That wasn't the intention but now it's so obvious when I rationalize it. The songs were written while I was between 17 and 20 years old and during that time I (we)experienced a whole spectrum of situations and subsequent feelings. I'm not one of those people who sits down to write about something, but usually when I look back at what's on paper I'm going, "oh yeah, that's what I was thinking!" It's like a dream… I don't control the torrent of words, its just spews forth and I try to understand it afterwards.

Why was the video for 'No More Running Away' filmed in Romania?

Cheap extras, free holiday. I'm not going to lie!

Well, there is no shame in that! So, did such a heavy emphasis of Piano come naturally to your sound? or was it something you guys have worked hard at fitting in?

It's a question we get asked a lot… I still don't really understand it. It's just the instrument I play best. We don't have to 'fit it in' because most songs start there. The piano has a really full sound and I think it is often overlooked or misused. Matt Bellamy (Muse) knows how to use a piano, one day I hope I'll be half as good as him.

'Empty Space' is such a somber song, what is it about?

Death, I think. I'm waiting for a psychiatrist to tell me actually… as I said before the words just come out and that song was one that I could never really explain. But a death was on my mind at the time.

Setting modesty aside, are you guys surprised at the success you've acheived so far or is it something that you knew you were destined for?

I'm caught in a bit of a loop with this. I know we're good enough, so I'm not surprised (surprised we're not bigger, maybe? ha) but I also know how hard this is to achieve, and how many people never make it. So, I'm surprised when I look at it that way. We've had some lucky breaks but we've had some really bad luck too, so to have the opportunity to release our album in the states is incredible and I'm itching to get out there!