Interview with Scott Batty Front man of Umbilical Chords

CM: Hello Scott. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, when did you first get into making music?

SB: I was born in Manchester(Wythenshawe hospital, to be exact). Addresses have since included Salford, Chorlton, London and Edinburgh.

Then I moved to Paris. I had a band here for a fair few years, and that taught me a hell of a lot about the working processes that go into creating music. At the last gig we did, when I decided to stop the band, a Parisian fellow, Le Hibou (which means “The Owl” in French), came up to me and said he wanted to work with me. So in January 2011 we banged our heads together and got stuck in. We've since played numerous gigs, from Prague to Vienna, but not Manchester yet. 

CM: What prompted you to move to Paris?

SB: Because I felt I needed to test myself. To scare and inspire myself. So I packed up my poems and paintings and went for it. I knew very clearly what I was potentially leaving behind (roots/family/friends, etc), but I was clueless about what I was stepping into. So I've learned on the job for the past 15  years.

CM: The Umbilical Chords sound like no other group we’ve ever heard what’s the blue print for how you guys write and record?

SB: The first thing is what we both offer, as two completely different characters. My background is the north/music/painting and poetry. Le Hibou is from Paris, and cut his teeth in the Industrial, dark music scene.

I conjure up the melodies and the lyrics, Hibou adds his own vision, and then we take it to the next level, and (on a good day) we realize we've got another potent song in the bag. We've never consciously crafted a 'sound'...we crack on, and the work creates itself. People have described it as 'minimal, cold psychedelia, dark folk mixed with visionary poetry'. Instinct is our thing. These exorcisms, or abrasive laments, just uppercut your brain, and off we go.

The drummer from SWANS, Thor Harris says, “The Umbilical Chords? They're great...and twisted.” Sounds good to me.   

CM: Do you have an album and singles out or any thing coming out that people can buy?

SB: We still have our 1^st demo (5 songs, 5 euro, 2011) for sale. But we are putting the finishing touches to our  first official  EP's. One will be acoustic-based, and the other electric. As for the mood, well, here are a few lyrics from 'Lone Kimono':

“And the masks? They wore faces.”

“And the moles on my back taste like peppercorns.”

We are currently in contact with a couple of labels, so please watch this space (fingers crossed!).

Here's our web page in case anyone is interested in contacting us:

http://sites.google.com/site/theumbilicalchords

Soundcloud: https://Soundcloud.com/the-umbilical-chords

CM: Name some of the musicians, poets, authors, anyone in the arts really that’s inspired you the most?

SB: Joy Division. Basho. The beat poets. The Doors.  Antonin Artaud. TheJam.Mark Rothko. Too many to mention. 

CM: Your artwork is very interesting can you tell us a little bit about how you came to creating visual artwork and again, any inspirations?

SB: I did a 'Foundation art course' for 9 months in Ordsall (Salford), and one day a few of us squeezed into a Mini and we went to see a Rothko exhibition at the Tate gallery in Liverpool. It knocked me sideways. From that day, it was art, and all who sailed in her! I got into a private art school down in London, but left after 3 months and I've been self-trained ever since. In the early days I was into Bacon, Basquiat and the German expressionists. For the past 15 I have been a full-time painter/poet/musician, and label my work 'Chic primitive'.

Website: www.scottbatty.com

CM: If you had to name 5 bands or solo artist’s that you think have made music that to you is beyond special, who would they be?

SB: Arthur Russell. Late Scott Walker. Nico. Durutti Column. The Umbilical Chords.

CM: Thanks for your time Scott, we hope to see you live in Manchester soon.

COOL MANCHESTER