Joe Goddard, member of Hot Chip and the 2 Bears, is a songwriter, producer, DJ, remixer and co-founder of the Greco-Roman label. Like Four Tet, Caribou and Jamie xx, Joe combines a thirst for experimentation, an instinctive understanding of the dancefloor and a love of left-of-centre pop music.
(Photo credit: Marc Sethi)
On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a lovefest between two musicians who came together to create one of the year’s most electrifying records: Eno Williams of Ibibio Sound Machine and Joe Goddard of Hot Chip.
Ibibio Sound Machine has been mashing up sounds for just under a decade now, blending elements of Afrobeat and electronic music into a fierce combination that inspires dancing, chanting, and sweating—at least when they’re allowed to hit the road. Williams is a force of nature on their newest album, Electricity. She was born in London but grew up in Nigeria—specifically the Ibibio region—and was exposed to those incredible regional sounds before moving back to London for school and steeping herself in the electronic music happening there. Electricity captures her vision pretty perfectly, thanks at least in part to today’s other guest, Joe Goddard of Hot Chip.
As you’ll hear in this chat, Goddard was a fan of Ibibio Sound Machine, having seen one of their incredible live performances at a festival, and the feeling was mutual. Goddard and his Hot Chip collaborators came in to produce Electricity, which was the first time Ibibio had used an outside producer. You can hear the Hot Chip fingerprints all over the record; it’s an amazing collaboration that both sides are clearly very happy with, as evidenced by this chat. And just moments ago—for me, anyway, it will be later for you—Hot Chip announced a brand new album as well. Freakout/Release will be out in August, and Hot Chip will play the second weekend of Coachella this Saturday.
In this podcast, Goddard and Williams get deep into musical influences, including Nigerian electronic music pioneer William Onyeabor, Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, and more. They also talk about how sometimes the audience doesn’t know you’re having a bad show, and about the “super synth power” they found while working together. Enjoy.
Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Eno Williams and Joe Goddard for chatting. If you like what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!
(Photo Credit: left, Marc Sethi; right, Simon Webb; Edited by: Keenan Kush.)
Full Podcast Transcript:
[Talkhouse Podcast Theme]
Josh Modell: On this week’s episode, we’ve got a lovefest between two musicians who came together to create one of the year’s most electrifying records: Eno Williams of Ibibio Sound Machine and Joe Goddard of Hot Chip.
Ibibio Sound Machine has been mashing up sounds for just under a decade now, blending elements of Afrobeat and electronic music into a fierce combination that inspires dancing, chanting, and sweating—at least when they’re allowed to hit the road. Williams is a force of nature on their newest album, Electricity. She was born in London but grew up in Nigeria—specifically the Ibibio region—and was exposed to those incredible regional sounds before moving back to London for school and steeping herself in the electronic music happening there. Electricity captures her vision pretty perfectly, thanks at least in part to today’s other guest, Joe Goddard of Hot Chip.
As you’ll hear in this chat, Goddard was a fan of Ibibio Sound Machine, having seen one of their incredible live performances at a festival, and the feeling was mutual. Goddard and his Hot Chip collaborators came in to produce Electricity, which was the first time Ibibio had used an outside producer. You can hear the Hot Chip fingerprints all over the record; it’s an amazing collaboration that both sides are clearly very happy with, as evidenced by this chat. And just moments ago—for me, anyway, it will be later for you—Hot Chip announced a brand new album as well. Freakout/Release will be out in August, and Hot Chip will play the second weekend of Coachella this Saturday.
Check out a little bit of Ibibio Sound Machine’s “Protection from Evil,” which Williams and Goddard talk about in this conversation.
[Song clip]
Hard not to sing or chant along with that one. Elsewhere in this podcast Goddard and Williams get deep into musical influences, including Nigerian electronic music pioneer William Onyeabor, Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, and more. They also talk about how sometimes the audience doesn’t know you’re having a bad show, and about the “super synth power” they found while working together. Enjoy.
Eno Williams: Yeah. Uh, I mean, where do we start from?
Joe Goddard: I really don’t know.
Eno: I just remember just hearing you guys from the first record, actually it was coming on strong on the track, “Beach Party.” And I just remember y’all singing together and it just caught my ear. Cause it reminded me of, like the male choral, Ibibio choral group growing up in Nigeria. And it just like caught my ear, just reminded me of that. And of course the synth and I called, my God, that truck sounds really amazing. And then I just got into like, just hearing and listening off of what you guys were doing every now and then I’ll just be like, oh, I wonder what Hot Chip is up to, and you know, and every now and then. And then you did that, William Onyeabor “Atomic Bomb” rework, and it was like, oh my God Hot Chip. I was like, wow, I loved them. William Onyeabor ever was like one of my, like musical, early musical heroes at the time, you know?
Joe: Oh, okay. that’s really interesting to hear. Cause I remember we were kind of like referencing, because some of his records when we, when we were working together. And they are just like, so, so unbelievably great aren’t they? Like so much kind of energy and like creativity in that music.
Eno: I mean at the time… cause growing up he was one of the first people I actually saw, like using a like synths in his music and no one else had been back then growing up in Nigeria, no one else had done that. So it was quite interesting that you guys took that word, can just put your own stamp on it. And I just like, you know, very simple, the laid back, the vocal was the synth lines and everything was just like really, really cool. And I think, I know we’d seen you at like a few festivals and I always used to be like, oh my God, this is so cool.
They’re so amazing. Their sound is just so huge, so big, you know, and I think it was Bluedot when I saw you guys at Bluedot, we were like, oh my God, we were completely blown away. I was like, what the heck? The sound was just like hitting you. I think in my head I was secretly hoping, I was like, oh my God, I hope, you know, I just kind of wish I thought, I wonder if we can get to work together and then sure enough not too long after that, of course our management, like we’re talking, oh, you know about the idea of us working together. I was like, oh my God, that will be such a great opportunity you know?
Joe: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, it was like, it was just really great timing for everybody, wasn’t it? Cause we’d watched you at Bluedot and really loved the show as well. And I remember another time when you guys played live at that same Rough Trade that you just played at recently. And I was deejaying, before or maybe.
Eno: Of course. Yeah, you did mention that.
Joe: And I really, really remember, you were just really smiley and lovely and everyone was kind of dancing as we were deejaying and, and people and people were playing percussion along to like the music cause you guys were just setting up ready to play.
And like the vibe was just amazing. It was so cool. And we’ve got so many things in common, haven’t we? I think we really like, we really share a lot of, you know the things that we love in music I think are quite similar.
Eno: Definitely.
Joe: And it’s funny that you brought up Onyeabor because his music has a lot of, it has a lot of kind of strangeness and kind of like
Eno: quirky
Joe: Yeah! …wonky, quirky, like synth solos and things like that. And that’s definitely something that we do a lot.
Eno: I think there’s that thread between that, because that sort of brings us sound together I’d say, because I think, you know, now looking back on like when we started trying to like to put the album together when we came to you guys and everything. And you kind of really respectfully just like, you know, just still stay true to what we do, but trying to put your own vibe and your own like style and, and just the bigness of the way you, you work with trying to integrate our sound differently, which was really, really quite good. I mean, I remember so many magical moments, that’s just so many great moments in working with you guys in the studio.
It was, it was hard work, but it was such fun as well. I mean, I remember, you know, you’re just sitting there every day would come and you just be there, like on the computer, dead focus, for hours. And I just sit down watching you thinking, how the heck is he able to just stay so focused? I would sit there just watching you and just absorbing and just find order.
And then at the end of the night, you’d be like, right, okay. Do we like this? And then you play everything on the big speakers, and then I would just be like, oh smile. And then you did you’d have this smile on your face, like, right, yes. This is what I want to hear.
Joe: This is working.
Eno: Yeah. This is what I want to hear. And I remember, on “Protection from Evil,” you know, when he’s like playing that huge synth line on “Protection from Evil.”
Joe: Yeah, the big Moog.
Eno: Yeah, the big Moog. The Moog 3C. That inspired the line, you know, um, “spiritual protection from evil.” Cause I remember you, you got. Oh, yeah, this is all so cool. And like really just like abstract and cool. But what does it really mean? And I just remember just bursting out “spiritual protection, invisible protection from evil,” and you were like, right. That’s going to be the chorus.
Joe: That was a really brilliant day. Wasn’t it? Because I remember you I’m on the vocoder as well that day. And you were just like, you were so happy and so like energetic and this really, there was such a good feeling in the room.
Eno: Oh my God, I guess I’ll get to play the vocoder on the… I mean, I guess I should surprise you guys you see it. I’m going to leave it as a surprise because I was so inspired by that and I thought, okay, you know what? I’m going to like, really like, commit to do this now, you know?
And of course, you know, when we were trying to like sort the, the choruses for all of that you want, you know? When we’re like trying to like come up with the chorus idea we came in and then you played around words, just played around different ideas and well, it was really great working with you guys.
Joe: Yeah. I remember, Al is quite helpful in those situations, isn’t he? Cause he’s so musical, he can come up with nice melodies and things like that.
Eno: Definitely. It was so, so great just trying to like, just bring up that, you know, the connection and the vocal line and everything.
Joe: It was a really lovely kind of situation for us because when you guys brought the tracks in, they were already really kind of like quite formed.
Eno: Yeah.
Joe: I just felt like our role was just to kind of amplify a little bit where we could, you know. But I had so much respect for all the work that you guys had already done. It was all so good.
Eno: Ah, thank you. Thank you so much.
Joe: For us, like, just the, all of the different musicians that you brought in, like there were so many lovely experiences for us.
Eno: There are so many different moments. Isn’t it? I mean, Alfred coming in with the conga and then percussion and Joseph on drums, and PK on bass, Scott and Tony and Max on horns and the synths as well. It was just great. Everyone just brought so much, so much.
Joe: It was a real learning experience for us because it was one of the first big projects that we’d kind of taken on in the studio. So we were really kind of…
Eno: Oh my God. You all handled it like proper pros.
Joe: I don’t know, I was nervous like times, like…
Eno: Oh my God. You did not show. I guess because you’re so passionate, I mean, I could see, you know, your passion in what you do and everything. The joy in just working, I mean, just even watching you working is this just like trying to get that real sound of what you want it to be like—it’s is like painting a picture.
I could always see, you’re trying to paint this picture and you, until you got it, you were not satisfied.
Joe: I’m very like obsessed with trying to just get it as good as I as I possibly can. You know, it’s really what drives me in my whole life and like makes me feel fulfilled. It gives me so much joy when, as you said before, like when something starts to sound good, it makes me so happy.
Eno: Yeah. I could see that. I could totally see that and see you and Al and Owen like trying to make, and then I could see, you know, when you’re working and then I’ll stay on the other desk, just trying to like marry things together like a puzzle and it was just fascinating watching you two.
I was like, geez, you know, I really respect what, you know, what you really brought to the project. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. I mean, I keep saying to people, it would not have been the same without you guys. Cause you brought that real electronic sensibility to our sound.
So, on behalf of the band, and y’all just want to say thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts, you know,
Joe: I would say the same thing to you, you know, it was such a positive experience for us. And I just can’t come and see you guys again. And I’m also like really excited about that song of mine that you sang on.
Eno: Oh my God. I was so [?] when you asked me to do that. I was like, oh my God. Wow. Okay. I was really, really excited.
Joe: Yeah. Al and I just, just love your voice. It’s so full of soul and energy and like, so tune for and lovely. I just feel super happy about the way that the, you. know, [BBC Radio] 6 music have been supporting you guys and like, it’s just been a lovely thing all around, you know?
Eno: I think so. And then I think considering that everything happened during lockdown as well, and to be able to come together and get that done. You know, I mean, of course there was the pressure of, you know, having to like isolate having to walk in bubbles and everything. But I remember that first, like Zoom call we had, and I just kept scratching my head wondering, oh my God, is this going to be possible? Are we going to be able to do it? We’re in lockdown. I know. And then just trying to find that time and just lock it down in the day-to-day, right, OK, we’re going to come together and do it. So the minute we came together from the start and then when we finished, I was like, phew. This big weight was like off my shoulders.
Oh my God, we’ve done it. We’ve done it. And then the next thing was like to like to get it out. So I’m so I’m so, so, so happy for the work you guys, you know, like I said, you know, it’s just like too much, too much, too much, too much thank you. So, we are so honored and so have been able to like, you know, work with you guys.
[Break]
Joe: I just was going to ask, like, when you was talking about Onyeabor earlier, was he kind of like making music or performing and things when you were growing up or was he not really doing that so much?
Eno: Oh no, he was making music. Cause I remember one of his songs. Um, what was it now? “When the going is good…”
Joe: Smooth and good.
Eno: “When the Going Is Smooth & Good.” It was like a song that when he released it, I think I must have been probably about 14-15. Out here in secondary, because I was in boarding school, and then I would constantly hear it like in the market. Cause my Nan had a, like a distributorship in the local market in Lagos. So, it was just a constant sound that you heard, all the traders and they would play, they just like played it and killed it. And then I remember, I remember seeing posters of… he would come because he was from the south.
He was like from the, the south of Nigeria, but then he would go around like the little clubhouses and let me… at the time I was like too young to go to a clubhouse anyway. But then my dad would sometimes play and then we would go to see him in concert. And then you’d come back and tell us stories about, oh yeah, this is the latest one he released.
And then at the same time, because the market was where his music was like really distributed. People would be watching out, there would be places where you go and listen to, and they’ll be like, oh my God, what has he made next? So, everybody would be looking out, oh my God, what’s Onyeabor up to the next and everything, but it was quite a mystery.
There was something quite mystical and there were so many stories, I mean, I don’t know if they’re true or not, but there were so many stories about the way he worked. You know, he didn’t really disclose what he, how he worked. He had a factory actually in [?] where all the records were pressed and everything, and it was only a select few, it was only very few, very hand-full of people that knew how he worked. He wasn’t like open to the public and everything.
Joe: Yeah. It’s quite secret.
Eno: Yeah, very, very secret. And I think over time, that’s why people came to respect his sound and his music and the way he made music, you know?
Joe: Yeah. The records do sound kind of magical, mysterious, don’t they?
Eno: Yeah. We always used to say that he was probably one of those that, you know, there’s some people that have got that gift and they’re so ahead of their time, they don’t even know. So, like when he was making all that music and, you know, just coming up with all those silly ideas and everything, I’d say he was so ahead, so, so ahead of his time.
Joe: Yeah. I totally agree. Yeah.
And what about, what about someone like Fela Kuti? Like, was it like when you were younger, was he still alive and kind of, cause he had his like compound in Lagos, right?
Eno: He had his compound in Lagos. And the funny thing, you know, what I used to hear, cause there was friends of mine in secondary school that would go to the shrine… I couldn’t go to the shrine because my parents were like very strict and the shine was like, he was considered a troublemaker, but it wasn’t until I go over that I really appreciated his music because my mom, my mom was a bit into him, but just because it was radical, but then it was like, okay, it was music for like, she used to say it was music for the older ear. So yeah, you can listen, but I’m not going to expose you to more Fela. And because he was quite political, he had, you know, political agenda. And he was speaking for the people and everything, so I never went to the shrine, but I had stories, my friends, when they did go on holiday and come back from holiday, they’ll come and narrate that they saw or they heard about the music and the many wives…
Joe: It sounds like quite a, quite a wild place. Like a lot of partying…
Eno: It was. That part of town as well, it’s like a catch. I was more like, I would say it’s more like not like the posh part of Legos, it’s more like, you know, the downright, you know, like down to Earth, no pretenses and everything. Like he wrote in his music, everything was just real and just raw. That’s what he was all about.
Joe: Amazing. I was watching like a documentary thing about Paul McCartney recently and he once visited the shrine, and like he said, it was one of like greatest musical experiences in his whole life.
Eno: It’s kind of good that he’s being celebrated now because he’s one of the forefathers of pretty much the inspiration and the originator of Afrobeat music and everyone sort of looks to him for that sound, you know, especially like with the horns and with the drums, you know, with everything that he did.
So, he’s kind of, he was like a foreigner and pretty much a pacesetter for a lot of the Afrobeat music that we hear today.
Joe: Yeah, absolutely.
Eno: It’s still being celebrated even in today’s Nigerian sound. Even though it’s kind of been taken a bit more American, but you still hear that reference in a lot of the music that’s coming out of Nigeria right now.
Joe: Yeah. The amazing kind of like modern Afrobeats records. I just think they’re incredible, like rhythmically and like the engineering is so amazing. Melodically, everything, you can hear the history of that music, but it’s amazing like how it’s developed and how modern it sounds.
Eno: The thing is when you hear like family music and [?] music, it still has that reference to their father’s music, but then they’re take it, obviously they both have taken it like two different parts where it’s still Afrobeat but they’ve got their own identities in the music and still paying respect to the musical of their father as well.
Joe: Yeah. So, what age did you come to the UK first?
Eno: I was like 19, 20, there about. To go to uni. And then I started doing music. I was in the choir in the church choir, and then I started doing sessions here and there. I studied accounting, international business, got that out of the way. Yeah. And then just music just kind of took over. And one thing led to another and then over the years, and then I met Max and then we sort of started thinking of the idea of putting something together. And at the time it was Max and a guy called Leon and Benji. We sort of started the whole Ibibio thing together. Yeah. And then of course, then we had Alfred and then Tony and Scott.
Joe: How is Alfred doing?
Eno: He’s great.
Joe: Is he still, is he still up for touring and everything?
Eno: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Like we were talking about in the…
Joe: So much energy.
Eno: Yeah, he’s got so much energy, I mean, he’s got like groupies, people wanting to like, you know, just like get… (laughter)
Joe: I could see why he’s like such a charming, like so charismatic…
Eno: He’s so charismatic. I mean, every time he’s doing, when we’re introducing at the end of the show, when we’re introducing like everybody and I’m like, oh, this is Al, Alfred Bannerman, and everyone just goes screaming, cause they like stoked and just so like… And then even my mom, cause my mom looks up to him so much because she’s been on the road with us a few times. She’s always asking, oh my God, how is Alfred? How is Alfred? Is he still playing? She goes, wow, I want to be like him when I grow up.
Joe: I really remember, like when we, when we saw you guys at Bluedot and he was just like sitting back with his foot on the monitor like super relaxed, but displaying these amazing, amazing parts
Eno: He’s just so cool.
Joe: He’s got a lot of style.
Eno: He’s just like on another level. Totally.
Joe: It must be great to like listen to him every night on stage.
Eno: It’s a treat, it’s a real treat. Yeah. So, you’re going to America very, very soon right?
Joe: Yes. Going soon. Yeah, we’re going to play Coachella festival and then tour around.
Eno: Nice, I saw that. That’s going to be great, isn’t it?
Joe: Yeah. I’m very excited. Yeah. I just hope that like everybody gets on the airplane and nobody gets stopped because of getting COVID or anything like that. And once we’re all there in LA, I’ll just be able to relax and just enjoy it.
Eno: I know, isn’t it that’s always the way, isn’t it? It’s just like, there’s just these moments of like, just like, just stress so much to think about. But then when you it’s like going through the friend huddles and then you get to one, and then the next, and then you can just chill.
Joe: Yeah, going on tour can be quite a stressful thing anyway, even without thinking about all of these things, you know. But I just can’t wait until we’re kind of like in the swing of things, you know, that brilliant feeling when you’ve been playing a few shows and everyone kind of really knows what they’re doing
Eno: Yes, yes.
Joe: Everyone starts to feel comfortable, you know?
Eno: That is true. Yeah.
Joe: That’s just the best. Isn’t it like…
Eno: Yeah,
Joe: Like, I’m going to be away when you guys play your London show, but I’m really, really can’t wait to cause you guys, I think when I see you, it’ll probably be at one of the festivals in the summer, so you guys will have been playing a bit already.
Eno: Yeah, we would have been already, so hopefully, yeah, you’ll…
Joe: Tired and together.
Eno: Yes, yes.
Joe: It’s going to be awesome. We’re going to have so much fun.
Eno: We’re going to have so much fun. I’m really looking forward to seeing you guys again soon, can’t wait, can’t wait.
Joe: So you’re playing Manchester tonight?
Eno: Yeah, tonight we’re playing Manchester. Then, then tomorrow we’re doing the 6 music festival in Cardiff and
Joe: Oh, brilliant!
Eno: and Birmingham.
Joe: That’s great.
Eno: I don’t know if I should say this, but that’s a pressure one, so as soon as we’re kind of done that, then we can like, okay, chill for a bit and then move on to the next lot. You know? I mean, all, they’re all important.
Anyway, they’re all like, you know, the same, we have to place the same level of importance to everything, but they’re usually some that’s more like pressure focus, cause you just want to make sure he’s all right, you know?
Joe: Yeah, well with the 6 music one, they broadcast quite a lot of it, don’t they? So you don’t want to make a big mistake on those shows.
Eno: Ah, I mean, I don’t, I don’t know. I don’t know how it is with you guys, because you’ve been doing it for so long, I guess it’s kind of the same, isn’t it? You kind of, you know what you’re doing, but then you still want the elements and everything to go right. And be great, isn’t it?
Joe: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I don’t know if it’s the same with you guys, but like with us, it’s really like a psychological thing. Like at the beginning of the show, like, you know, if the show kind of begins well and everything just kind of steamrolls, and like the energy gets better and better and better.
But if It’s like towards the start of the show and like there’s a little mistake or something goes wrong, sometimes our confidence kind of drops and everyone’s a bit edgy, you know? Do you know what I mean?
Eno: It’s the same. Like, and then, you know, sometimes it could even be maybe, just the sound in the room and maybe things like, I mean like yesterday, for example, all the gigs up until yesterday were just like fine were like, oh my God, this is amazing. This is great. You know, to be happy, like rehearsing the material and then come up and do it. And then yesterday, we spent such a long time trying to get the sound in the venue right. And it wasn’t really, really what we wanted, but then we still had to just get up and just do the show.
Joe: Just do it. Yeah.
Eno: Just do it, but then certain things got kind of affected during the show. And then well you just have to like just power through and then you’re totally right, at that moment, you kind of feel like, oh my God. But then the audience is a good thing, the audience never know, right? But then you’s like, within ourselves, oh my God, so you just have to find a way to just like, find like an [?] to just power on and be like, okay, right. We just have to keep going, just find a positive and just find, dig deep and find that energy and be like, okay, we’re just going to go for it.
Joe: But it’s one of the funniest things, isn’t it? Like when you can be having like a quite a hard time sometimes onstage, you know? Can’t really hear what you’re doing and you don’t feel like you’ve put in a good performance and then you speak to people afterwards, and they’re like, that was great!
And it makes you think like, well, like what does it mean if like, if I have a terrible show, but no one even knows, like what’s the point?
Eno: Sometimes I ask, well, were we at the same show then?
Joe: Yeah. Oh dear.
Eno: That’s just, we like music, isn’t it?
That’s the beauty of music that, you know, as much as cause… Maybe it’s just, the perfection is in everyone that you want things to go right a certain way. But then the audience, at the end, they’re always feel like they’re there to have a good time. And the audience is you’re very forgiving, as long as, you know, you just go for it and then just enjoy it, despite everything happening.
Joe: Yeah. Yeah. And you’ll get on stage kind of like getting people going. I saw you doing a really dance to “Protection from evil.” (laughter)
Eno: Oh, my God, that gets to me. I can’t tell you that God just gets me all the time.
Joe: Yeah.
Eno: I mean, I thought I was going to be the only [?] on that one, but even I turned on some kind of energy, some super… you’re super synth power comes through to me at that point in time (laughter). Yours and Al’s super synth energy. I just feel it, the same energy that you guys have sort of driving into it, I remember just hearing it in the big speakers in the studio and I was like, oh my God, this is going to be huge. I just, I could just picture it. I could just picture it. I just like, I mean, it’s coming to manifest right now.
Joe: I remember you saying like some of your energy and kind of your confidence and things comes from your religious faith as well, right?
Eno: Yeah, yeah. Pretty much.
Joe: Because that features in that song, doesn’t it? Like, and I just thought that was such a lovely thing. You know, you’ve got this kind of faith that like, I mean, Yeah. I’ve never really, I haven’t really grown up being religious, but I was kind of in awe of that.
Eno: Thank you. I mean, it’s just the way I feel like, I mean, for that song in particular, because when we wrote it, it was like all of that during that dark crazy time, when just things were just like, just in so much uncertainty and that gloom over us. It was like just a spiritual cry out for like some kind of protection because, you know, it’s like everybody was vulnerable.
Everybody could be here at any time. So it was like, right. We kind of need some kind of a bubble. We need some kind of protection. And I remember just reverting to like, I don’t know much what to do, but I knew that the chant, the spiritual chant kind of always comes in. I don’t really know what I’m saying.
I didn’t really know what I’m talking about. But then like when you guys are asking, what’s he really about, I thought well hang on a minute, it’s a spiritual, invisible protection from evil, because that’s the only way I can explain it.
Joe: Yeah. I think that’s a really nice thought because everyone does feel a little, like things are a little bit out of control at the moment, you know?
Eno: And then even right now, you know, it’s like, it’s never ending. It’s like this for one thing to the next, to the next, to the next, to the next. So we definitely need some kind of covering, we definitely need some kind of protection from the evils that are about, you know, even right now.
Joe: Has that one I’ve been going down well with the crowd at the shows?
Eno: Oh, my God. Yes. Literally, you know, when it starts, I do explain that, you know, there was written during lockdown and the fact that, you know, we had that cloud, just to say, and then I say, well, it’s just my cry around, spiritual chant, you know? To have some kind of protection from evil, and then we start and the minute we start like halfway through it’s like people just lose themselves. They come out of themselves.
And then by the time he gets to that synth like “spiritual, invisible protection from evil,” people are just like going mental, just crazy. Like the last few shows. I was quite nervous about that one because we’re speaking in tongues, it’s quite a sacred thing, you know?
And then I was not sure, you know, how people were going to sort of like receive it. I didn’t, I wasn’t sure, are people are going to be like, oh, what’s all that, you know? what she’s saying? You know? And that’s what I was like (laughter).
Joe: What’s she talking about.
Eno: And then I was thinking that people might start making fun of it, like, mumbo jumbo, blah, blah, blah. And is that like some hocus pocus, so and then we did the video and then I felt, oh my God, and then people were like, what the heck? There was so much power there and everything.
Joe: There’s a lot of power.
Eno: Yeah. So when we get to that song in the show, it’s just energy. It’s just like, goes.
Joe: I had an experience before of like going to watch a band where I had, where I had helped, produce one of the songs. And for me, like sitting in the audience and like hearing it was such a joyful thing like, I really can’t wait for that moment.
Eno: Oh, I can’t wait, we can’t wait for you to hear, we can’t wait for you to hear, you know? Thank you. Thank you again. Yeah.
Joe: But like, um, send my love to all of the guys.
Eno: I will do it, it’s so nice catching up is really, really been lovely talking to you. So again, from the bottom of our hearts for the whole van, thank you for, you know, what you brought… the energy that you brought to the project, to all the songs and just, you know, just taking to another level. So, thank you for your skill, for your time, for your love and your support as well. Thank you so much.
Joe: It’s really like, it’s really like an experience that I really cherish and I’ll always remember.
Eno: Thank you. Enjoy yourself out in America and love to everyone. And have a great time. I can’t wait to see you all very, very soon. It’s going to be fire, fire, fire, fire.
Joe: All right, Lots of love.
Josh Modell: Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Eno Williams and Joe Goddard for chatting. If you like what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!
