Simon Barnard brings you his final lesson on 90s Britrock, with London’s Bombay Bicycle Club.
In the final instalment of his Brit Rock series, Simon Barnard shows you how to sound like Crouch End’s World Music-inspired indie band.
Bombay Bicycle club have released five albums since their debut, I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose in 2009. This London four-piece is not your typical indie rock band, but instead fuses elements of World Music and a synthesis with folk styles to create their unique sound. For example, their single Always Like This featured an Afro drum groove and twin-guitar line that helped to introduce the band’s fans to World Music. Another artist who famously brought the sounds of Africa to the masses was Paul Simon, whose 1986 release Graceland featured South African musicians, including popular vocal group Ladysmith
Black Mambazo. This was Simon’s most successful album as a solo artist, selling millions of units and winning a Grammy for Album Of The Year in 1987.
As well as this overarching World Music vibe, another key element is a drum style that the band frequently employs. This ‘Afro’ beat displaces the snare drum so that, rather than have the first snare hit land on beat two (a staple of almost all Western rock and pop music), it lands one 16th note earlier; beat 1&e. This style of beat, coupled with the African style guitar lines, produced a sound rarely heard in British indie music.
Guitar duties are held by guitarist Jamie MacColl (of the Ewan and Kirstie MacColl dynasty), and Jack Steadman, who also handles vocals. Suren de Saram is on drums while Ed Nash handles bass. Steadman and MacColl share rhythm and lead, and their playing features lots of interplay including harmony lines and call and response ideas. You will hear plenty of these in this month’s piece, so I have recorded a second guitar part for you to play along to on the backing track supplied.
Guitar-wise, both players are devoted Fender fans. Steadman is often seen sporting a Stratocaster, while MacColl prefers Teles. The bright sound of their single-coil pickups cut through the mix, and also lend themselves to the jangly sounds that their World Music influences demand. But these guitars are also perfect for more traditional rock moments, as they take overdrive well. With regards to amps, the Vox AC30 is often seen in the band’s backline, with a variety of effects used as compositional tools to provide extra depth to their chord work and melodic lines.
It is important to say that Bombay Bicycle Club play many other styles and are influenced by a plethora of genres. However, for this month’s column I have decided to focus on their Afro beat inspired material, with some traditional indie vibes added for good measure; for this we draw on influences from songs on the band’s defining earlier albums such as I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose, Flaws, and A Different Kind Of Fix. So, tune up, plug in and have fun playing along to this month’s rather different track.
NEXT MONTH Simon begins a new series on ‘neo soul’ with Chalmers ‘Spanky’ Alford
“Their single, Always Like This, featured an Afro drum groove and twin-guitar line that helped to introduce the band’s fans to World Music”