Britpop Vet Mat Osman Talks Producing Chinese Bands, New Suede LP, and DJ Set at Dada Tonight

Britpop Vet Mat Osman Talks Producing Chinese Bands, New Suede LP, and Dada DJ Set Tonight

Kyle Mullin | Jul 5, 2018 3:14 pm | Add a comment | 3451 reads

In a sleepy industrial park southeast of the Beijing’s CBD, next to a rubble-strewn landfill and a migrant worker camp, sits a state-of-the-art studio where one Britpop legend has spent the past few weeks hard at work. Yes, the gargantuan new Modern Sky headquarters sits like an army outpost hidden near enemy lines, the Chinese record label’s logo emblazoned across the front, putting it in stark contrast to the neighboring rows of worker bungalows. Recently, it has also been the home to Mat Osman, bassist of the acclaimed English rock act Suede, who rose to prominence as part of the Britpop "big four” in the mid-'90s alongside Oasis, Blur, and Pulp.

The band has, of course, adopted many other genres since then, along with splitting up and reforming with some of their strongest material yet like the 2013 album Bloodsports and the 2016 LP Night Thoughts. Throughout their run, Suede has made sure to tour Asia regularly and maintain ties with fellow artists throughout the region, leading renowned Beijing DJ and music guru Youdai (有待) to coordinate a collaboration between Osman and rising Modern Sky bands like Snow Blood from Guangzhou and RUBUR from Shanghai. Now, Osman caps his Beijing stint off with a fun, offbeat DJ set tonight at Dada.

During a recent face to face interview at Modern Sky’s HQ, Osman tells the Beijinger that he has enjoyed his Beijing stay immensely. At the mention of this mammoth complex, the lanky, sly-humored, and warm 50-year-old Britpop vet says he was all the more impressed by the state of the art Modern Sky setup because “in Britain and America, big studios are all closing down. The places we recorded five out of the first six Suede albums are now all gone. Because they were big spaces in central London that’ve all been turned into flats. So to come here and find this huge brand new studio, is amazing. It’s quite an investment in space and technology.”

The bands that he is producing were all the more awed by the facility. Osman explains: “Because I’ve spent most of my life in recording studios, I forget how exciting it is to hear yourself decently recorded on speakers for the first time. And these bands are so enthusiastic and energetic about it all, it’s so inspiring.”

Both Snow Blood and RUBUR have also left Osman wide-eyed more than a few times throughout their recent sessions. He says “both bands, though they’re inspired by Western music, structure their songs so differently. Western music tends to have a ‘verse-chorus’ back and forth, but instead of going ‘A-B, A-B,’ theirs go “A-B-C-D-E-F’ and then they end. Their attitude is “That’s really good. Now let’s do another thing. And let’s do another thing.’ And I’m trying not to impose my Western pop ear on their structure. It’s been really interesting to me.”

Aside from that, Osman has also thoroughly enjoyed hitting up School Bar with the young Modern Sky rookies for a few rounds of table football, beers, and of course, to catch a few gigs. It’s an entirely different experience from Osman’s first Beijing gig with Suede here in 2003, when hardly any Western bands toured the region and armed guards stood in front of the stage throughout their set. Osman recalls Youdai telling him that listeners were calling into the Beijing music guru’s radio show to ask what they should wear and how they should behave at such a concert. Now when he visits China, he’s astounded to meet fans who grew up in the smartphone age and are not only already thoroughly familiar with Suede, but also have boundless knowledge about any number of bands from around the world.

However, he’s not sure how those fans will react to his Dada gig tonight. “I told Youdai I’m not a proper DJ, that’ll I just play loads of records I like,” Osman says with a chuckle, adding: “Imagine being at a party where there’s a guy saying ‘No no, you have to hear this!’ It’ll be like that. No beat matching, and big gaps while I mutter ‘Fuck, what’ll I do next?’ I don’t really play dance music. So I don’t know if anyone will dance. And I didn't bring any vinyl with me, because of all the traveling I’ll be doing in China. I don’t like doing it on a laptop, because it looks like you’re doing your taxes or something. I’m 50. I like to see somebody doing a bit of work. But, at the same time, I’m not carrying all that vinyl around.”

Regardless of how unconventional his set at Dada tonight might be, Osman says he’s confident he’ll connect with many of the attendees. “One of the things I love about Beijing is it’s a really creative place. Very open. So I’m not that worried about it.”

That open-mindedness is part of what keeps him and his bandmates coming back every chance they get. In fact, the whole group plan to return in 2019 for an Asia tour to promote their next album, The Blue Hour, which they’ve finished recording and will release this coming September. Osman calls that forthcoming LP, Suede’s eighth, as “very strange.” The band recorded the LP with the city of Prague’s Philharmonic Orchestra, bestowing the songs with lush string arrangements à la Frank Sinatra’s '60s peak.

Why work with the Prague Philharmonic? “They’re cheap!” Osman enthuses, adding: “We’d written a lot of pieces that used strings lately, and we had to used synthesizers last time. So we wanted to use an orchestra on this record. And you can hire the city of Prague’s Philharmonic for less than what a quartet costs in London. We’ve also got Craig Armstrong who does strings for Massive Attack and a bunch of movies like Moulin Rouge. We’ve known him for years and he did some great stuff for the record as well.”

After that album cycle winds down, Osman says he hopes to return to Beijing for more studio sessions with Chinese bands. While he’ll forever cherish the memories he’s made this time with Snow Blood, and RUBUR, Osman says he hopes to work with artists from other genres in the future. He says that’s because “I haven’t listened to a lot of bands who sound Chinese to me. I’ve been talking to people about coming back and doing stuff that’s much less Western influenced. Now, in 2018, maybe that notion is patronizing when culture is global. But I know there are bands who reject the Western way of doing things even more than RUBUR and Snow Blood do in terms of song structure, bands who use Eastern scales and tones. I haven’t explored that this time, but I’d like to.”