“We were teenagers going through some dark times and existential grief. Like the album artwork, the dark black and blue, it was dark times as well.”
Laurence Colbert
It’s not often a band can lay claim to having an entire musical movement named in their honour, but that’s precisely what was bestowed on UK rock outfit Ride early in their career.
When British press dubbed the band “shoegazers” for their shy disposition and head down, focused concentration on their guitar pedals when playing live little did they know the term would become synonymous the world over with the style of music performed by Ride.
To this day shoegaze is a recognised genre, and one which might not have been birthed had it not been for the unassuming quartet.
When Ride debuted their album Nowhere in 1990 they unleashed a musical monster which has resonated with fans around the globe ever since.
It is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of the shoegaze genre, spawning the track Vapour Trail which is now considered the blueprint for the man-made genre.
Now, some 30 years later, Ride are taking to the road to re-introduce fans to the album that started it all, with an Australian run of shows scheduled to commence on November 29 in Adelaide.
Drummer Laurence Colbert sat down with HEAVY to talk about the tour and 30 years of Nowhere.
“Luckily we were pretty young when we recorded it (Nowhere),” he laughed when reminded that anniversaries such as this remind us of just how old we are, “so the thirty years doesn’t weigh quite so heavily, but it’s always a bit of a shock when that number comes up. Thirty years, my goodness (laughs).”
Although Ride will be playing Nowhere in its entirety as part of the celebrations, we also press Colbert on what else fans can expect.
“You’re gonna get a very energetic, lively and truthful, authentic rendering of that album,” he affirmed. “The album was recorded basically live in the studio, before the days of digital editing etc, etc. The band were very new and very young. It was our first album. So we weren’t really doing many clever studio techniques or anything. We just went in and played it. And that’s what you’re gonna get live, with the exception of lots of experience and lots of practice (laughs). We’re getting good at doing these songs, so I think you’re going to get a real exciting, live, electric version of it.”
