52 .............................. Friday, June 5, 2015 1SM
By JIMGELLATLY
NEWMUSIC
LOTUS CRUSHWHO: Terry McDermott(vocals), Peter Klett (guitar/vocals), Island Styles (guitar/vocals), Mark Mattrey (bass),Scott Mercado (Drums)WHERE: SeattleFOR FANS OF: REM, FooFighters, FeederJIM SAYS: I first came acrosssinger Terry McDermott backin the 90s when I was workingat Northsound in Aberdeen.
He was in a band calledVerge, who’d formed at EllonAcademy in Aberdeenshire.
Terry and guitarist NickTyler went on to form Drive-blind. Moving to LA, theyreleased their debut albumthrough Geffen Records in2006. Sadly, it never workedout.
He ended up settling inNew Orleans with his youngfamily. He said: “I was singingfour-hour shifts in clubs and Iwas in musical wilderness. Ihonestly didn’t know whetherI wanted to keep going.”
Terry had struck up a friend-ship with Peter Klett from mul-ti-platinum Seattle rockersCandlebox when Driveblindtoured with them in 2006.
He said: “Pete and I talked alot about our shared love ofThe Verve, Pink Floyd andAmerican band The Shorewho were on Maverick at thetime.
“We hit it off and planted theseed for Lotus Crush. Pete
TAM’S ONHOLIDAY.SCOFF THEBALL RETURNSON JUNE 19
GIORGIOMORODER
4
EXCLUSIVEINTERVIEW
Déjà-Vu
time.
seed for Lotus Crush. Pete
I sawkidssingingalongtomysongs
By JACQUI SWIFT
PARTYING in Ibiza is notthe usual topic ofconversation with a 75-year-old man, but thatis exactly what I’mchatting about withGiorgio Moroder.
But Giorgio is not your averagepensioner. He’s the superstardisco king, back with his firstsolo album after 30 years.
Déjà Vu sees the veteran pro-ducer work with Britney Spears,Kylie, right, Charli XCX, Sia,Foxes and Kelis on an albumthat will reaffirm his status.
Sat with the legend in LA’sSoho House, where OneDirection’s Harry Styles ispicking up the most stares in theroom, it’s Moroder who has themost musical respect.
The writer/producer/composer/DJ has seven US No1 singles,three Oscars, three Grammys,and wrote the themes to threeOlympics — the 1984 LA, the 1988Seoul and the 2008 Beijing — andto the 1990 Football World Cup.
His long list of collaborationsinclude Donna Summer — whohe had a long and successfulworking relationship with —Blondie, David Bowie, TheThree Degrees, Sparks, Japanand Phil Oakey.
They begin with 1975’s Love ToLove You Baby and include thegroundbreaking 1977 I Feel Love— still regarded as one, if notTHE finest disco song of all time.
So why now?“There was a time when I
thought I’d never make anotherrecord,” says Moroder in hismixed Italian accent.
“These past few months there’sbeen a lot of work finishing thealbum, compared to the past 20years when I’ve had hundreds ofideas and a lot of golf.
Daft Punk gave me anew lease of life
“I’m often asked to DJ butthat’s not the same as composingwork, but then Daft Punk cameout of the blue and gave me anew lease of life.”
French electronic duo DaftPunk contacted Moroder to workwith them on Giorgio, a trackfrom Random Access Memories,their Grammy-winning album.
“Working with Daft Punkhelped me get here,” says Moro-der. “It helped me connect withyounger fans.
“Most kids weren’t even bornwhen I last had an album out.
“At first when I DJed, I wassurprised to see kids singingalong to my songs. But that’swhat my reintroduction by DaftPunk did. It opened many doors.”
So when it came to selectingartists to collaborate with onDéjà Vu, Moroder, his recordlabel and management drew upa wish list. “It was allabout who representednow and who I’d workwell with,” he says.
“Then, of course, see-ing who was interestedand which song wouldsuit their voice. It wasimportant to me that itwasn’t just a discoalbum. I wanted a vari-ety of pop and dance too.
“Charli XCX (whoappears on the track Dia-monds) brought the trackinto me whereas Right Here,Right Now which features Kylie,I wrote with songwriter and pro-ducer Patrick Jordan-Patrikios.
“Then Kylie, who had justmoved to LA, came and finishedthe track and made the video.
“She is an incredible artist andfantastic to work with. She’s agreat dancer.”
When it came to working withBritney Spears on the album,they agreed on a cover of the1981 Suzanne Vega song Tom’s
Diner. “I was upfor it after she
suggested covering that track.She sings incredibly. The tempois the same. The key is the same,but I added a mix between discoand EDM.”
Moroder is set to work withLady Gaga soon — both have hadto postpone a few times becauseof busy work schedules. Andeven though he’s worked withall-time greats, he thinks there iseven more pressure today to be agood singer.
He says: “It can be a littleeasier today because oftechnology. But the fact that live
shows are so popular, there’s noway you can make a lousy singersound great. They have to beable to get out there and singlive. They have to be good.”
Of all those he’s worked with,he says no one will ever replaceDonna Summer who he producedhuge hits for in the Seventies.
He recalls fondly: “I havenothing but great memories ofDonna. We made six albumstogether and over 100 songs,which she co-wrote the lyrics onmost of.
“She was very talented, a veryfast worker and a real profes-sional.” Today he rates Mark
Ronson as someone like him. “Imet him in France and what atalent he is. Uptown Funk is atimeless track — that’s the sign ofa good song.”
One track on Déjà Vu is titled74 Is The New 24. Did he everthink he’d still be writing andperforming (even DJing in Ibizaas he is soon) in his seventies?
“No,” he laughs, “I’ve lovedmusic at every age and differentstage and my audience includespeople of most ages.
“That’s the power of music. It’sageless and long may I continuewith it.”l Deja Vu is out on June 15.
Dinerfor it after she
was still touring with Candle-box so we had to be patient. Ididn’t realise we’d have to bethis patient though.”
In 2009 they finally gottogether to write. Terry flew toSeattle and Lotus Crush wasborn. With Candlebox drum-mer Scott Mercado also partof the line-up, Lotus Crushreleased their debut albumHalf Light Morning in 2011.
The following year, as theband were starting to gaintraction, Terry appeared onthe US version of The Voice.
He made it all the way to thefinal in front of a TV audienceof over 14 million, eventuallyfinishing runner up.
Then he recorded andtoured with his other bandTerry McDermott & The Bon-fires, before releasing a sec-ond Lotus Crush albumRabbit Hole in April. He said:“It’s a pretty dark record. Theworld is a pretty screwed upplace and it doesn’t look likeimproving any time soon so Ithink that pushed me to writeabout heavier subjects likesinister government and net-work propaganda. I saw BiffyClyro play the Crocodile Clubin Seattle in 2010 and it was sogood it hit the reset buttonand reminded me how goodrock can be. Seeing that showdrove me on to embrace aharder edge.”MORE: lotuscrushmusic.comlJim presents Drivetime on XFMScotland, Monday to Friday 4-7pm.xfm.co.uk jimgellatly.com
