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Interview Podcast Audio The Duke Spirit
Songs from Neptune

Liela Moss is no stranger to attention.

Coming off of a buzz-worthy turn at the South by Southwest festival in 2005, her London-based five-piece, the Duke Spirit, boasted an acclaimed debut album and a potent live show.

But while the band toured relentlessly in 2006 and developed a loyal following, label turmoil led to a lengthy delay before the release of its second album, Neptune, which finally hit stores last week on the new You Are Here label.

Now the band is back in the US, touring and delivering the goods. Moss spoke to MP3.com about the tour, the dynamic within the band, and recording Neptune at a studio in the Mojave Desert after writing much of the material in the UK.

"Our testament was laid in the desert," she says.

Hi Liela. Hello, yeah. Who's that? This is Jim Welte at MP3.com. Oh, how are you? You're OK? I'm doing very well. How are you? Cool, yes! I'm sorry, was it you who tried to get in touch a bit earlier and didn't get through? No. I'm just calling you straightaway the first time right now. Oh, well that's fine then. Oh good. Excellent. How're you doing? Cool. Yeah, I'm all right. I feel kind of crazy. I still feel a bit crazy busy actually, but I think I quite like it [Laughs]. We're in the middle of a UK tour. We've got two dates left. This was kind of my day off except it wasn't 'cause we were travelling back from Scotland, which was crazy. Oh I got you. OK. Some of us flew home. So I literally got in the door about 40 minutes ago. And I've put my wash on. And I haven't even like taken my shoes off or anything. I was just going to have a glass of water and then the phone's ringing and I'm just like "whooo!"

The weirdest part is that I live above a bar, and to get to my flat, I have to walk through the bar. And everyone who drinks in the bar has kind of known me for years. And they all just came and saw our London show a few days ago. So I literally got two feet in the door thinking, "Well, I want to take my case upstairs. I've got my washing to do. The phone's going to ring from America. Whooo!" And I just got bombarded by drunks regular going "Liela we saw your show, whoooo!" And I was like f***ing hell. I need to move to the countryside or something. [Laughs] Right. I'm not complaining. I do love it. It's funny because you have the album coming out next week here in the US. You're about to come back here for a tour. I would imagine that this is about as crazy a time as an artist would ever want to have to deal with in terms of so much going on all at once. Yeah. But it's exciting! It's exciting and it's fulfilling, you know. It makes you feel that lots of connections are hooking up, which is a really nice feeling. I don't mean that in like a careerist kind of way. I mean it like when all the people in your world have kind of come together, your friends and the people you work with, and phone calls. I guess it's a buzz, isn't it? It's quite exhilarating. Absolutely. But at the same time, I imagine if you're pretty successful, then you get people to do sh** for you, don't you? [Laughs] But when you're kind of this level you're still at the hard grasp of making it all come together as you're going, ahhh! [Laughs] Right. Doing your wash and fielding phone calls and walking through the bar with people who saw your show the other night and that kind of thing. Yeah. And it's like, "Oh, do you want a hand with your case?" And I'm like yeah, could you? But then you know what? You wouldn't have it any other way, 'cause otherwise I guess you'd start living in a real isolated world where you totally lose touch, don't you? [Laughs] Right. Exactly. I wanted to start by talking about Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree, which is where you guys recorded this record, Neptune. For those that don't know, it's a home and recording studio owned by Dave Catchings from Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal, and he lives there and is also an ace chef and cooks meals for bands who are recording there. That's right. You've got it down. He's like a wunderkind. [Laughs] It sounds like it. It sounds like it's a pretty great experience for a band to have the opportunity to work there. Yeah. It's excellent. It really does feel like you're quite privileged. He's a musician, he's a rock and roller, and he's obviously a very open guy. But you're being let into someone's house and all of the stuff is their stuff. But you're made to feel incredibly welcome, which is definitely the first phase of a great record. Yeah, putting you at ease. Yeah. You connected with Dave and the space through James Lavelle and the guys from UNKLE, right? That's right. Six months before having any contact with UNKLE, we made a short list of like, "Oh, who would we like to work with on the next record?" That was when there was a lack of motivation from [our then label] Polydor, when they kept telling us, "Well, hold on a minute. Let's have a think. Let's talk about it in two weeks time." Or, "Let's have a meeting next month." You know, when it was all like that.

We talked about people who're completely disconnected with perhaps the obvious-sounding records, and other people. And then we talked about [Chris] Goss, and we talked about just generally that whole kind of desert scene. And so it was already in our minds but we didn't have the means by which to actually going to make it happen, you know.

But then when UNKLE came along and spoke to us during a US tour and said that, "Could you come on a day off?" And then we made it happen. That was it. We'd had a free sample of what it would be like to hook up with those guys and stay there. And then we were just obsessed with that--well, not obsessed! Maybe we were. Maybe we were crazed. But we talked about it an awful lot, and we thought this was what we really wanted to do. And we just kept our fingers crossed that we could make it happen.

And fortunately we met a wonderful indie label over here [called You Are Here]. And they understood where we were coming from when we described what we'd done out there in the desert and what the atmosphere was like and what the studio was like. And they made it happen, that's great. And they were like, "OK, you seem like you really know what you want." And we were like, "Yes we do." [Laughs] So it was great. There you go. Perfect. So you probably wrote most, if not all, of these songs at home, and then recorded them in such a polar opposite setting--the Mojave desert, with cactuses and everything all around and the beautiful sunshine every day. I would image that there was probably a bit of a shift in the mood or tone of some of these songs between the writing and recording process. Is that fair to say? Yeah. Absolutely. And what I think is really great about that is that because when we demo, we tend to go out of London, for maybe a week or something. And often the cheapest place to go is like a cottage in the middle of nowhere. So you know, I think of a song like "Dog Roses" on the album or "Sovereign" where I'm saying, "Bathe in the green." In the chorus, I'm literally talking about the environment in which we were creating that song, because we had certain musical ideas in London but they were all unfinished.

Then we take them to a very English, fertile, green, rolling hills kind of environment, where you can seclude yourself, stay away from the distractions of all your friends and booze and stuff. And we've done that kind of pattern quite a few times--certain things start in the city and then you finish them off in the countryside.

So there's a very English setup. And the context and the texture of how those songs came together and some of the lyrical reference points are definitely about me and people I know and situations; but very much a kind of English or Northern European thing going on with them there.

And then to take those and complete them in the desert means that you just spin them on their head. You know, you just put in another atmosphere that you didn't really know what that atmosphere would be. But it comes from delivering your vocals or performing for the take under an incredibly starry sky, or having heard coyotes or staring out like at an absurdly huge moon, which is coming from just over the edge of the mountains of [Joshua Tree] National Park.

And that combination is what makes that record completely unique. You've got some Northern European imagery and a very English sort of stage. And yet we've completed it. And we've laid it down. Our testament was laid in the desert. And I'm really pleased with that, because I wouldn't have wanted to go to the desert just to make a very American-rock-sounding rock record. No, absolutely. I think what it ends up as is a completely unique experience both for the band, but also for the listener as well. It's reflected in that--very much so. Yeah. Cool. Did you get a chance to check out the infamous Joshua Tree Inn [where Gram Parsons died] at all? Yes. We were there. You did? Oh cool. We stayed there on our first night, actually. There was much discussion whether we should stay in the Gram Parsons room and all that. Right. That's what I was going to ask you. Some of us will say that it was because we didn't want to be too morbid and other people will say that they were so tired that they didn't want to be spooked out. So we actually slept in the rooms either side of it. Oh really? [Laughs] Yes. Sometimes you'll get, "Yeah, man, we just thought it was morbid. And out of respect we just wanted..." And then someone else would be like, "F*** off. You were just really sh***ing yourself that you wouldn't be able to sleep all night and you'd be freaked out." And so I can't really say. That was the compromise that you reached. Yes. [Laughs] Near but not in. Yeah, exactly. So in the end, yeah, we were kind of several rooms in the Joshua Tree. And the people there were very nice to us actually. Once they found out we were a band, they were all excited and they let us use their pool whenever we wanted. And it's so close to the studio.

Some days you'd be like, "Oh, I'm not really going to be doing anything for the next few [hours]" because it was a drum take or something. So you just wandered down there, this really pale, pasty, English white-skinned girl with straggly hair. And this sort of foolish-looking English alternative rock band knocking on the door going, "Hi yeah. It's us again. Do you mind if we just have a little splash around?" [Laughs] [Laughs] Very funny. You mentioned you and your bandmates. You've been long-time friends with your bandmates and former flatmates in some cases. Does that make it easier when you're trying to get through the muck of the music business, when you've known these guys for so long and you've been friends for a long time? Or does it sometimes make it a little bit harder to get through some of that stuff--the business and the sh** that you have to deal with as a result of dealing with the business end of everything? Yeah. I think it's been brilliant to be doing this with people I'm really close to. We are all really very good friends and I totally love the guys. I know [guitarist] Luke [Ford] and [bassist] Toby [Butler] for a great deal longer than the other guys. We go way, way back. And it's just those moments where you can be really panicking and kind of upset that stuff isn't going right, but you can look each other in the eye and kind of know--I don't know.

You kind of give each other strength. I'm sure we must have said it at one point when we were between labels, and we just didn't know if we were going to get another record out. But you can kind of look at each other and go, "We haven't been doing this for so long for no reason." I mean, you kind of go, "I have faith in you and you have faith in me." And we haven't sort of spent the first half of our 20s getting to this point in order for it to go to hell." For it to just go away. Right. Yeah. And it's almost like you reinspire one another. During that fallow period, obviously we wrote music. And then sometimes you have a really off week where you're like, "I don't even know what I'm writing. It's not going to end up anywhere, man." Right. Why bother, sure. You're suddenly a self-indulgent teenager all over again. But then you pick each other up and you start laughing. Well, what else are we going to do? We all go off and do our own things. And weeks tick by and you keep happy and healthy or you drink yourself into a hole, whatever you do. But ultimately you come back, you rejoin again and after a few days and go, "Liela, I've got this little half chorus, what do you think?" One year just rolls into the next, but you do reinspire each other. So I would say that we're just, we're just lucky that there haven't been any really weird sort of sibling rivalries that's gotten in the way, or whatever. Yeah, that's what you hope for. We've toured and driven each other mad, and got kind of pissed off with each other, but always sort of in a way where you're kind of laughing, "Oh my God. This is pretty funny." Right. I have no idea what people really perceive our group as. But I imagine that sometimes people describe us as a very dark rock, or dark wave or something. And I just think it's because between us we have like quite a sarcastic but brilliant sort of humor level. That comes through for sure, definitely. Do you think? I don't know. Yeah, I mean sometimes the crap we talk about when we travel you wouldn't believe. But that's OK, 'cause we know that what goes on the road stays on the road. We don't want anyone to know what complete geeks we are really. [Laughs] But yeah, I think that reinspiration thing is definitely a huge part of what keeps one idea rolling into the next. Got you. I know you guys have spent a lot of time here in the US touring. I was curious about the receptiveness of the US market compared to the UK market. I've spoken to some British bands in the last few weeks, and their perception is that there isn't a whole lot of room out there for bands in the UK that don't sound like the Libertines and the Arctic Monkeys or somebody like that. Have you found that the British scene has been receptive to you guys? Well, we're lucky in that, critically, journalists have just been really good to us on this record. OK. Good. And I didn't know that they would be. You kind of don't put much out for 18 months, almost two years. I was thinking, "Well, we're not a new band. Why are they going to write about us?" I hoped that they liked this music, and perhaps they respect us for sort of almost coming off a major label and finding an indie and coming back with the goods. But you don't know that for sure. And so you sort of put it out there and think, "Well, f***. I'll leave it. It's in the lap of the gods." But we've actually had a series of great press over here, which is so refreshing. Absolutely! Yeah. And you feel grateful for that. You feel privileged that it's kind of still going strong. But in terms of the magazines and stuff, I don't know. Yeah, it's hard to figure sometimes. It is. I'll tell you what it is. It's more like institution stuff. Like the main radio station over here that plays some indie in the daytime. That's the kind of place where you make it; that's where you cross over. They would never play us. And that's because we're not particularly trendy or really like saccharin, easy, like postpunk new-wavy-sounding twangy guitar.

And there's a ton of boy indie guitar-band stuff that seems to work every year for the last sort of four years that's considered indie. And it's just like really thin-sounding twangy stuff. I'm usually gobsmacked, going, "F***ing hell. Are they still playing this crap?" So yeah, in that respect we fight for space. And you just hope that one day that radio station will go, "My God, this band is writing great songs and they've been around for a while. They've proved their point; I think we should play them." That's what you hope for. Yeah. They'll come around eventually, hopefully. Exactly. And if you sat around worrying about it all the time, you wouldn't actually be able to focus on your music. And put it out. Exactly. So you're coming to the US [this] week. Yeah. For a tour with the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Yeah, we're doing some of our own dates as well. And yeah, some of your own headlining dates. I would imagine at this point, you guys have spent so much time on the road that it's not hard for you guys collectively to get into a pretty good rhythm on the road and feel pretty comfortable easily once you're out there? Yeah. I think you just get used to a certain lifestyle. A different lifestyle and that kind of thing. Yeah. And it's like discipline, which in a way is being totally undisciplined and having like almost no responsibility to any thing at all. [Laughs] As long as you're there for the gig, and the gig's good, then you can kind of f***ing do what you want. Different people in the band struggle from day to day. You have your slightly moody day where you're a few days in and stuff. I don't know where it comes from, but there's still a thirst for the travel and the gig is always the--yeah, the reward. Absolutely, yeah. I mean I'm sure it's pretty cliche, and I know it's been said before, but there is something--yeah, it's almost an addictive thing, just to travel and living out of the suitcases. Yeah. And there's the gratification that comes from being onstage. Yeah. Perhaps it means we're really quite lowly [laughs], unevolved beings! Driving, getting out, rocking, going back into your suitcase, and doing it all over again. But there were days when you think, "Well, the world doesn't owe you a living. And if you can kind of keep on the move and play these songs, and give these songs life, in totally different contexts every other day of the week--then you've got to do it while it's possible."

It's almost like you owe it. If it's possible to sort of do your little creative thing, and add your little spice to the ingredients, then let's just keep it rolling.

And there's always an ambition to be bigger and getting more people on the hook. And I would love that. And I kind of feel it happening, and I'm really, really pleased and privileged. Oh, I think it's definitely happening. [Laughs] Yeah. And yet at the same time, you'll still catch me moaning about the fact that I wanted nonfat milk. But what's funny is that the minute any one of us do that we always kind of pinch each other around the ear and go, "What do you want? Do you want us to ship you back to England? You can go and get a job in an office. How's that?" And we all laugh. So when you're in the flow of doing this sort of touring lifestyle, I sort of personally feel that it's kind of what I must have been put here to do. So I don't have any problems with it, yeah. Yeah, I'm pretty sure of it. My parents separated when I was a baby, so as I got older I always had to be ferried back and forth. And I had to actually travel on my own. Training for the tours. Yes. When I look back, I think that's weird. I was always, every holiday, every half-term break, every spring break. I learned what it was to do journeys and get on with it. And I think it was just being groomed for the future. Getting groomed at a very young age to be a touring musician. Yeah, exactly. [Laughs] So you're in the US starting next week. And then back to Europe in May. Do you guys plan on staying on the road for a good portion of the rest of the year? Yeah. The end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, there was f***ing nothing going on. We were awfully agitated and felt like our wings were clipped. So this more than makes up for it. We've just got to keep busy. There's no excuse, really. When you've had that long off then you've really got to just, you've got to embrace it. [Laughs] Right. Exactly. We're doing this BRMC stuff. And then at the end we're doing [lots of] TV, and then the Troubadour in LA. And then some European festivals. I think a bit of June is holiday time, where I'm just going to go and lie quietly under a tree. [Laughs] Right. Well, I wish you a great deal of luck with the album, and look forward to seeing you guys when you come back to San Francisco. OK. Well, that's brilliant. And I hope that we catch up soon. Absolutely! Thanks Liela. Thanks for your questions. Take care mate. Bye, bye. All right. Bye.