'Disguises', the first album from Medals, solo project of Sucioperro frontman and one half of Marmaduke Duke, JP Reid, was released today. We were lucky enough to have the chance to ask JP some questions about the album, the inspiration behind it, the writing and production process, and the record label, Medals for Everyone, which he and other members of Sucioperro founded in 2012. 

 

 

WHERE DID THE NAME ‘MEDALS’ ORIGINATE FROM?

I dreamt the name 'medals for everyone' during the recording of a Sucioperro album called 'pain agency' in 2008/9. It was initially an acoustic project of demos on MySpace (RIP) that I decided to resurrect because it felt like the same kind of vibes.
 
IF SOMEONE HASN’T HEARD MEDALS, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?

Joyous Odd Soul Pop
 
WHERE WOULD YOU PLACE MEDALS IN THE INDUSTRY TODAY?

On a wing and a prayer
 
WAS IT A CREATIVE CHOICE TO EXPLORE A NEW SOUND SOLO AWAY FROM SUCIOPERRO?

It was a natural process of songs just appearing and needing to be recorded. I feel within Sucio and marmaduke duke i've explored various styles and sonics anyway so it didn't feel as much of a departure to me as I guess it may to a listener who compares something like 'river of blood' to 'disguises' but to me there runs a direct line thru early Sucio like 'dialog on the 2' and 'dissident code' thru duke 'silhouettes' to heart string Sucio like 'reflexes of the dead' thru to 'disguises'. It all hopefully reflects all sides, moods and emotions of my character. Obviously there are other people involved in theses projects but I would hope a big piece of my soul comes through in it all somewhere.
 
WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL WRITING PROCESS?

It varies. Usually the song dictates it. I've learned the best songs come from when I'm most open with my emotions and feelings. It can start with a melody I dream, a rhythm I hear, a lyric/title or just by playing a little on guitar or keys or with a groove. It's a state of mind and a spark.
 
HAS THIS EVOLVED WORKING ON THIS NEW RECORD?

I think I perhaps pushed myself more on song structure, harmony and melody than when working with Sucio because I wanted the songs not be dependant on me riffing so much or Fergus grooves which is a big part of how Sucio sounds. One area I focused on was for it to be joyous and uplifting but I'm always trying to write better songs, that's the thrill of the chase really.
 
WHAT WERE THE MAIN INSPIRATIONS BEHIND THE MUSIC AND LYRICS?

Truly an effort to transcend the apathy and darkness I was going through personally. To lift myself up and not to turn to dust. I had my heart broken last year on the eve of the Sucio 'fused' tour in October 2012 and I was really close to giving up. Not just on music, which always seem to be the wall my relationships have hit but on life, myself and love. I wanted to transcend my hurt with the pure joy of music. I became a recluse really, disconnected from the world. A symbiotic connection to the songs developed, I was really inside the whole machine. Part Brian Wilson, part Dewey Cox with not so much the genius or humour but in the spirit of. I let the music take over me and the whole album process was like a hole that you crawl in and hope to find a way through. Digging in the dirt, a great man once said. It was a pure, cathartic process that truly, in retrospect, has contributed to me gaining my self esteem and joy for life and healed me in part. Real alchemy and magic that is what is so beautiful about the power of music.
 
SOME OF THE SONGS SEEM TO EXPLORE QUITE DIFFERENT SOUNDS TO WHAT WE MIGHT EXPECT FROM YOUR OTHER MUSICAL PROJECTS, WAS THIS INTENTIONAL OR WAS IT JUST HOW THE MUSIC FLOWED WHILE WRITING AND RECORDING?

It was really natural but more focus was put on the sonics. I was hoping to capture as much clarity and tone as my skills allowed. My engineer Chris Mcmillan really made an effort with mic technique allowing me to immerse myself in the performance. He contributed so much to the overall sonics of the record, mix and master. We tried not to over process sounds other than to colour.  A great company called Sontronics also hooked us up with some beautiful mics which made everything sound a lot sweeter.  However the main focus was always on the feel of the performance and capturing some magic.
 
WHAT WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS OF ‘DISGUISES’?

Each song varied but I'd kick on the vibe with whoever was contributing. Listen to some great music while setting up. Chris would experiment with mic techniques and position of performers. We'd try to get into the heart of the song. I'd explain what it meant and how it should feel but all the performers improvised and brought their own vibe to the table and I would use what worked when editing later or let it take me in a new direction. For example with 'valleys' drum track I said to Fergus play something gospel, let it go, chop it up and within 3 takes he had us all totally speechless. A once in a million vibe. That was quite early on and that was the moment I really felt the soul of the big picture. Truly transcendent. I can't stress enough that although a 'solo' album without these contributions it would be a different animal now.
 
LISTENING TO THE RECORD IN FULL, THERE SEEMS TO BE A JOURNEY OF SOUND. WAS THIS PLANNED, RATHER THAN THAT OF AN ALBUM OF SINGLES?

Thank u. Yes this was planned. I deliberately kept the record short also. I recorded and finished 18 songs and wrote about 30-40 but I wanted it to feel like how albums used to be. A side 1 and 2 and a succint run time and a start,middle,end. No fluff! Basically how it ended up was the songs my friends and I thought were the strongest made the cut and I tried in every combination imaginable to find the best one where it felt like it had a natural arc.
 
‘DISGUISES’ WAS MASTERED BY LEGENDARY PRODUCER HOWIE WEINBERG, WHO HAS WORKED WITH ARTISTS SUCH AS NIRVANA, THE BEASTIE BOYS AND JEFF BUCKLEY. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS?

I had worked with him thru warners on marmaduke duke 'duke pandemonium' and my friend Alex at the label basically said if you're gonna be serious about the album get Howie on board. I had ended up chasing my tail trying to master myself and had played my masters to producer and friend Chris Sheldon and he pushed me in the right direction mix wise. I was over compressing everything and chasing volume. So before I sent to Howie I was well prepared. Honestly the first time he sent a master back I straight up cried tears of joy. It was such a relief that he got it. I was really pushing for more hip hop/r n b sonics more than rock and no one else I had tried out really got that. It was a great experience for me. It gave me confidence in my mixes and I learned so much from it.
 
DO YOU PLAN TO TOUR THIS ALBUM?

Maybe not a tour as such but definitely a few special events. The hope is to play some medals, some duke and perhaps Sucio with a bunch of friends. Perhaps semi acoustic first few shows then full band if it's going well and people want to see us. I want it to be magical for everyone. And that takes work and preparation. I've already scoped out a couple of venues and have started gathering the best songs for a set. But first I'll see how the album is received. I'm also planning to work on some duke and Sucio next year so hopefully be gigging sooner rather than later.
 
IS ‘DISGUISES’ WHAT YOU IMAGINED IT WOULD BE WHEN YOU STARTED OUT?

It's a truthful document of my emotional and musical journey of the spring and summer of 2013 and that's exactly where I'd hoped it would be. I'm very proud of it and I hope it deeply connects with people and inspires hope.
 
IS THERE A SONG ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF FROM THE ALBUM?

'Valleys' because it has 4 different drummers on it and percussion all playing different rhythms and multiples of lots of other instrumentation but it still sounds like one rhythm track.
Needless to say I probably spent 14 hours a day for a week on the drums only to make it feel like that but it's all built upon Fergus incredible performance.
 
IS THERE A STORY BEHIND THE COVER ART?

Yes it is based on the character of 'Norma Desmond' from the movie 'Sunset Boulevard'. Designed by my good friend stewart chown who has been responsible for all the Sucio art and also plays in the band and runs the label with me. There are a few references in the lyrics and titles. The most obvious in 'I used to be a dancer' which features her most iconic line 'I'm ready for my close up'. Like norma I had kind of shut myself away and became really inwards thinking. In a way her character made me face my own situation. Shut off from the world absorbed in my own mindset and the music. She helped flip that and pull me out of myself. A reverse mirror of sorts. There is also a deeper context and parallel with being part of the business (movie in Norma's case, music in mine) but that's perhaps going too deep. However it was another turning point in my outlook. I watched sunset boulevard so many times and it's a beautiful work and the magic in that film I hope resonates a little in these songs. (Prays!)
 
IS ‘DISGUISES’ A ONE OFF RECORD, OR CAN WE EXPECT MORE FROM MEDALS IN THE FUTURE?

There will definitely be more if I make stuff that's on the same trip. It's kind of my situation and the songs that tell me where to go not so much a conscious decision.
 
WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR EXPANDING ON THE TITLE MEDALS FOR THE RECORD LABEL (MEDALS FOR EVERYONE)?

Medals for everyone is just too hip for a band name but it's a hip record label name and I wanted something universal for the band name not another 'difficult' one.
 
WHY DID YOU WANT TO START YOUR OWN LABEL TO RELEASE THIS RECORD RATHER THAN WORK WITH AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED NAME?

Medals for everyone was already established for the last Sucio album 'fused' so we had a basic idea of what to do and we're thinking of the future too and ownership of our work so we decided to go ahead and set it up as a legit concern.

We discussed with a couple of labels during the summer about releasing disguises but were informed that although the songs were great it didn't really fit in with whats on the radio sonically. Kind of 'there's too much real drums' in a way, 'it's not current enough' vibes. In saying that I understand a labels position and we are essentially a 'new' band which isn't really a 'band' and has no strong image really so it would be working us from the ground up. Also I didn't want to go down the route of remixes for singles and planning strategies and marketing and waiting on the right time. I just wanted to get it out to people as soon as because it's who I am now. Of course this is the 'wrong' thing to do in terms of the business of music but I like to carve my own path rather than walking the usual routes. Eventually after being a little disheartened by the 'rejection' it actually gave me courage. I was proud it wasn't like anything else, thats a good thing. That's not to say I'm against working with labels if it feels right. I've had great experiences working with indies and majors and the future is an open door as far as I'm concerned. I still have active contracts and licenses with 14th floor/warners and Xtra mile for other projects so I count myself to be in a very blessed position.
 
IS MEDALS FOR EVERYONE PURELY A PERSONAL PROJECT FOR YOUR OWN MUSIC, OR DO YOU PLAN TO USE THE LABEL TO FIND NEW MUSICIANS AND BANDS?

At the moment it's purely an umbrella for my music in Medals and Sucio and another collaboration I made in 2011, Invisibles, will be available there soon too but we have plans to be using death row records and roc a fella records as a template somewhere further down the line.
 
WHAT DOES CREATING MUSIC MEAN TO YOU?

Quite simply everything. It's my vocation, it heals me, it's a compulsion, it's true magic, it's what I do.
 
WHO ARE YOUR MUSICAL HEROES?

There are many but the common thread is always people who go out on a limb and don't sound like anything else at the time. And also those who understand the beauty of pathos in music. If I had to name someone it would be Peter Gabriel.

 

 

 

 

 

You can buy 'Disguises' now on Bandcamp and listen two tracks from the album on Soundcloud. Make sure to check out our review of the album here.