Album 6 - Violence

When did you start writing for the new album?

RL: Straight after we finished playing last year’s festivals in August. We had two weeks off then went straight in the studio and we’ve been working on it pretty much ever since.

EL: It was always our plan to spend as much time as possible on the record in order to draft ideas then write and develop them because that way, there’s little pressure. But now I’m thinking maybe we spent too much time and overcooked it because that created a great deal of pressure when it came to finishing the album.

Has it been a smooth process?

RL: It has. We got a place in the Oxfordshire countryside and worked every week for five months. We’ve been messing about with samplers as well as guitars. Just getting the backbone of the songs. Then we wanted some extra production so we asked Blanck Mass to get involved, so he’s been working through all of the tracks. Adding what he thinks could change here and there. And now we’re bringing it all together with Leo Abrahams. So it’s been a very collaborative process. Some of the songs have changed and we’ve started playing a few of them live, which has been interesting gauging the crowd’s reaction and influenced us to change things even more in some cases. Before playing those songs live the record didn’t sound much like a band made it, but now it does.

How many of the new songs are in the current setlist?

RL: Three. We’ve been starting with one called ‘Cold’ then we’ve also been playing ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Magazine’ in the front half of the set as well.

Did you have a concept to begin with or did the songs come together in a more patchwork kind of way?

RL: Patchwork, definitely. Lyrically the songs are very different to one another.

EL: We’ve always known songwise if it’s been good enough to carry on with. But this one has been quite tricky because we had our ideas which kept on changing so we sent it out to a few people. That’s where Blanck Mass and Leo Abrahams came in because their input changed some of the songs quite drastically and gave us an idea of how the record should flow as an album.

RL: Leo’s quite song based. He’s played guitar with Pulp and then he produced Regina Spektor and Frightened Rabbit’s records among others. He’s also done a lot of stuff with Brian Eno and Jon Hopkins so he’s a good person to have in the studio.

How does the new record sound in comparison to your other albums?

RL: If I was to pick two I’d say maybe ‘An End Has A Start’ crossed with ‘In Dream’. The synths are still there but they’re amplified on this record. So if you imagine Blanck Mass getting his hands on Editors tunes that’s what it sounds like. We’ve enjoyed making it. I think it will be a really good record when it’s finished.

How many songs will be on the album?

RL: 10. Any more than that and it’s too many!

When are you planning to release it?

RL: It’s due to come out in March of next year.

They teamed up with electronic artist Blanck Mass for the record, which Smith described as “quite poppy and guitar”.

Speaking about the album, which is set for release in early 2018, he said: “I never put much stock in originality, it’s cut from the same cloth as we’ve always done but it feels fresher and Blanck Mass gives it a different sound.

“Our decision making and what is right for us musically as a band has matured. In the first three records the influence of the producer steered the ship, whereas now we’re more hands on and I think that comes with experience and being more comfortable in that environment.”