“We knew people would love it or hate it, and reading some of the reviews, that’s what happened.” Nail Tolliday, one half of the Nottingham electronic duo, Bent, is talking about their most recent record, ‘Ariels’. A watershed album for him and partner in crime, Simon Mills, released last October, it saw these kings of comedown step off the straight and narrow path they’d walked with their two previous albums, ‘Programmed to Love’ and ‘The Everlasting Blink’. Instead of nicking samples and cutting and pasting away in the studio, they decided to record it… as a band.
Nail’s right about the reviews. Upon the release of ‘Ariels’ which features the voices of Kosheen’s Sian Evans, Rachel Foster from Weekend Players and long-standing collaborator, Katty Heath, the BBC labelled Bent “one of the most happening bands in the living room”. On the other side of the coin, magazines like Uncut were hardly as kind, ruling the LP ‘a disappointing move into bland, dinner party- backdrop territory.’ “It’s what we expected,” explains Nail matter-of-factly. “We could have made another archetypal Bent album and our fans would have liked it but that would have been it. [Ariels] was a challenge, and you’ve got to do that for yourself. Otherwise, you don’t really learn.”
Of course, a lot’s happened since then, and the mixed reviews are distant memories for Nail. Bent followed up ‘Ariels’ with a five track EP in November called ‘Flavour Country’ and far more immediate and important right now for the duo, they’re heading to Australia to tour. For the first time ever. And we’re not talking a series of small time club shows. Bent will be joining the Scissor Sisters, Mylo and a host of other red-hot talent for the Good Vibrations festival roaming the country in February, kicking off this Saturday in Brisbane. Fellow Nottingham locals, Crazy Penis and Neon Heights, have been recommending our fine country to Nail and Simon for a while, but it hasn’t been until now that the duo have been so lucky. “We’ve heard such good stuff,” says Nail with a thrill in his voice. “We’ve been told there’s a wicked scene, great weather and awesome festivals. We’ve been trying to get over there for four years…”
But what are Bent, percolators of beautifully brewed Sunday morning electro, doing at a hot and sweaty outdoor festival? No worries, Nail and Simon have been spending the last few months re-jigging tunes off all three albums in readiness for their evolution from the loungeroom to the live set. “We make them a little beefier and play the more upbeat songs to keep it lively,” explains Nail. “Plus we’ve turned the kicks up a bit!” Recording ‘Ariels’ as a band led to the logical progression of playing it live as one too. A task made easier by the fact that the six piece band (which also includes the two vocalists Rachel and Katty, a percussionist and a bassist that looks like “Emperor Ming”) helped record it in the first place. And they’re all from Nottingham. The live band set-up, which they road-tested supporting Faithless in the UK in December, is just the next step in the Bent story and one integral to their ongoing evolution. “We couldn’t try and do an album like that with all its intricacies and then reproduce it live as two guys behind keyboards with some visuals. It wouldn’t do it justice.”
Now, all Nail needs to do is find his inner rockstar. If you’ve seen it, please let him know. “I play rhythm guitar and a bit of keyboards on-stage, but I was quite happy before being hid behind a bank of keyboards,” says Nail about his relunctantly necessary increase in stage presence. “Now we have to make a show of it, so I’ve moved the keys to the right so you can actually see my legs.” Asked whether he prefers festivals to club shows, he comments that he’s up for both. But usually he’s got more important things on his mind. “To be honest, on-stage, I’m too busy trying to relax and look like I’m enjoying myself.” Nerves aside, with a new band and a slew of new re-worked tunes to show off on one of the country’s most chilled and glamourous dance festivals, Nail and co. are anxious to hit Aussie shores. And after that and a few gigs in Turkey, Nail and Simon are hungry to get back into the studio. ”We’re kinda inching [to get into it], especially now after the Christmas break. I had to tell myself ‘no, I’m not going to go to the studio. I’m going to stay at home and have some quality time, just relax in front of the telly’. It was hard to do…” Of course, as you’d expect from Bent, this time around they’ll be setting a new course all over again. “We’ve spoken about it and it defintely wont be ‘Ariels’ part two,” says Nail steadfastly. “We’ve been doing stuff separately on our laptops when we can, and early indications show it won’t be as laid back.”
Could Bent, masters of the chill out tune, be breaking out of the loungeroom? Will those kick drums remain turned up for good? And will Nail’s legs take on a starring role? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Look out for Bent coming to a town near you on the Good Vibrations Festival, or related sideshows. Don’t forget to also check out their new album ‘Ariels’, out now through Ministry of Sound/EMI.
Sat 12 Feb, Brisbane – Good Vibrations Festival (BUY TICKETS)
Sun 13 Feb, Melbourne – Good Vibrations Festival (BUY TICKETS)
Thu 17 Feb, Sydney – Metro Theatre w/ Mylo (BUY TICKETS)
Sat 19 Feb, Sydney – Good Vibrations Festival (BUY TICKETS)
Sun 20 Feb, Perth – Good Vibrations Festival (BUY TICKETS)
