Mark Burgess
Hello , My Name is Mark
Photo : Mick Peek
M
ark Burgess would like to clarify one small detail about Where Are You ?, the brandnew comeback Metropole EP from his recently-reformed Manchester outfit The Chameleons , and its upcoming full-length followup , Arctic Moon . Sure , his atmospheric guitar group has been surviving by putting various permutations of its original 1981 lineup through its Greatest-Hits-Tour paces . Including their recent Strange Times juggernaut , the 40-year-old catalog classic was performed in its entirety . ‘ But it hasn ’ t taken me 20 years to write new material ,” swears the bassist / vocalist . “ It ’ s taken 20 years to find the right combination of people that I felt could take The Chameleons forward . When Reg ( Smithies , co-founding guitarist ) rejoined , that was a major step forward , and then getting Stephen ( Rice , guitar ), Todd ( Demma , drums ), and Danny ( Ashberry , keyboards ), all of the components that I felt were necessary fell into place . We didn ’ t want to make a record that borrowed heavily on the sound of our former guitar player , Dave Fielding , who left the group 20 years ago — we wanted to do something really fresh , and we all feel like that ’ s what we ’ ve managed to do .” Admittedly , Fielding ’ s chiming , Cure-sinister style — as heard on The Chameleons ’ first Steve Lillywhite-produced single , 1981 ’ s “ In Shreds ,” and its 1983 full-length followup Script of the Bridge — is still as addictive as it is fascinating . But Burgess refused to let it define or anchor his outfit ; “ Where Are You ?,” for instance , dials down the murky swoop in favor of cleaner , more traditional rock power chords and punchier vocals , all without losing any urgent Modern- English-retro spark . And it ’ s a sonic blueprint he and Smithies are applying to every new Arctic Moon anthem , which is piling up in the studio much faster than either musician expected and surprising true-blue fans when they hear something new and invigorating at shows . And that ’ s no mean feat — climbing into progressive , adventurous territory while maintaining your trusted classic-sound footing . Burgess himself almost can ’ t believe it — he ’ s excited about making music again , four decades on , and eagerly looking forward to a rosy Chameleons future . He paused long enough to explain himself …
IE : Interestingly , you and I share the same birthday , May 11 , but we are only one year apart . MARK BURGESS : Yes . And my friend Marty Wilson-Piper ? His birthday is in May , too , and a lot of my friends who are singers have birthdays that are also in May . But I don ’ t really think about it , to be quite honest , because astrology was something I was interested in as a kid , but I haven ’ t really paid much attention to it since I was about 15 . And especially now , with birthdays ? You get to my age ( 64 ), and they ’ re no longer very romantic .
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6 illinoisentertainer . com september 2024