Name: and also the trees
Members: Simon Huw Jones (vocals and words), Justin Jones (guitars, zither, autoharp), Paul Hill (drums, percussion), rant Gordon (bass), Colin Ozanne (clarinet, bass clarinet, piano)
Interviewee: Justin Jones
Nationality: British
Current release: and also the trees will release their new full-length album Mother-of-pearl Moon 23.02.24 via AATT / Cargo.
Recommendations:
Time must have a stop – Aldous Huxley. I read this every decade
The Blue Boy – Thomas Gainsborough. Needs to be seen in real life

Coinciding with the release of Mother-of-pearl Moon, and also the trees will also embark on a short tour. Catch them live here:



If you enjoyed this and also the trees interview and would like to stay up to date with the band's music, visit their official homepage. They are also on Instagram, and Facebook.



For a while, it seemed as though the model of the bed room producer would replace bands altogether. Why do you like playing in a band rather than making music on your own?

There are a few reasons why collaborative working is preferential to working solo.

From our point of view there is a live element, which means that with many of the songs they have a life that extends beyond the recording. Working in collaboration with other musicians gives shared ownership of these works and theoretically this enhances the live experience.

Before you started making music together, did you in any form exchange concrete ideas, goals, or strategies? Generally speaking, what are your preferences when it comes to planning vs spontaneity in a collaboration?

Sometimes being strategic works for us. Mostly it doesn’t because generally we are quite haphazard in the way we work. There is always a theme to a project, but finding it isn’t always straight forward.

With this album (MOPM) there was a clear direction. Based on the live experiences that Simon and I (and later the other members of AATT) had with Brothers of the Trees.



This experience was, in essence, deconstructing ideas and reforming them with a limited band. So at the start we wanted to imagine this music being played in a rural church on the side of a mountain or in a bookshop or in an empty chateau (Away from me).

This was helpful as it set a stage and we carried that forward through the whole project.

Tell me about a piece or album which shows the different aspects you each contribute to the process particularly clearly, please.

The first piece we worked on was “Mother-of-pearl moon.”

Very simple structure. The original recording of the guitar was used in the end recording. So I only ever played it once. This was a new approach and quite liberating.

As with all writing musicians, parts are played hundreds of times before finally recording, but here the original ‘thought’ was captured and left exactly as it was. Alone, slow and searching. Later Colin added the beautiful piano which he played in his front room.

How has the interaction within the group changed over the years? How do you keep things surprising, playful and inspiring?

There have been ten live versions of the band AATT throughout history. So this has of course helped.

Having the changing peripheral influence on the constant creative core. It creates a positive chaos I suppose.

Most bands eventually break up. What makes you stay together? What are essentials for a successful band?

Like I say, there have been a few changes through time for us. Simon and I have a good understanding of what we think is ‘right’. Whether that is because we are brothers I don’t know. Probably.

It’s not really for me to say what makes a ‘successful band’. Success is of course a subjective concept and we have pretty much avoided success for over 40 years …