Frost* / Jem Godfrey On First Double Concept Album, Life In The Wires
With Frost* due to release their first double concept album, Life In The Wires, on 18 October via InsideOut, MetalTalk caught up with Jem Godfrey to chat about all things Frost*, their wonderful forthcoming album and offer our clever carnet t-shirt idea.
We find Jem out in the countryside relaxing and excited to hear people’s thoughts of Life In The Wires. “It’s a bit nerve-wracking sometimes,” Jem says, “as the album hasn’t been released yet, so this is the first time I’m getting opinions on it. I used a couple of trusted ears as the album was being recorded and ultimately completed, but it’s great to hear what other people think of it.”
“That’s really kind of you to say that,” Jem says. “I’m delighted that you like it so much. That really means a lot to me.”
Frost* – Life In The Wires is indeed something special, a double concept album - coverart
Life In The Wires is indeed something special, a double concept album. “It felt like the right time to do it,” Jem said. “I started writing ideas and sketching out rough demos and then came up with the story I wanted to tell.”
The album was recorded between January and May this year. “I would send out files to Craig [Blundell, drummer], who was on tour with Steve Hackett at that time. He would set up his kit in his hotel room and record his parts that way. It’s quite extraordinary to think that’s how he did it because I think this is the best he’s ever played on a Frost* album. I had absolutely no fears as I just let Craig do what he does.”
I say that I think this is the best that all four of Frost* have sounded. I’m actually shocked that John Mitchell, [guitars] does not get the credit he duly deserves for being such an outstanding guitarist.
“I agree fully about what you said about John,” Jem says. “He’s a complete beast of a player and laser-focused. When he does his Lonely Robot albums, he locks himself in his studio for a month, and he has a finished album at the end of that. I took inspiration from him when recording Life In The Wires, but it took me five months as I’m more easily distracted than John.
“With Nathan [King, bass], I just know what he’ll send me will be perfect. I’ll send him a demo, and a few days later, a WAV file will appear in my inbox. All I have to do is drop it into the track, and it fits perfectly.”
Speaking as a man of a certain age, I say I am delighted that I can hear where side one of a vinyl album will end and side two will start. Was that a conscious decision on Jem’s part to do that? “Very much so,” he smiles. “I’m delighted that you picked up on that as that’s exactly how I saw this album right from the start, as four sides of vinyl.”
Given the time parameters with one side of vinyl, you wonder if there was much editing done to make each side work. “There’s around ten minutes of material that didn’t make it onto the album for that very reason,” Jem says. “The album runs at around eighty-five minutes in total, so I was happy with the finished result.”
The first proper track on the album is Life In The Wires Part One and it bookends with Life In The Wires Part Two as the penultimate track. This was not the original intention. “In fact, Part Two was originally called something different,” Jem says. “I then thought it would be a good idea to reprise some of the musical motifs used throughout the album in order to give the entire album some cohesion. There’s quite a lot of Solid State Orchestra in Life In The Wires Part Two.”
I was also fortunate enough to catch the Frost* gig at Islington Assembly Hall on the Island Live tour a few years back and absolutely loved that. “We only did five shows on that run,” Jem says, “so it was cheeky of us to call it a tour. It’s so tough to go out on the road nowadays as everything is so expensive. We did one show in Europe on that run, and the carnet was ridiculous. They even wanted to know the serial numbers of the cables we took.”
Widely condemned by many as another nail in the British touring musician’s coffin, a touring carnet is a temporary international customs document that allows musicians, artists, and other performers to transport their equipment across EU borders. This, along with the 30 days within a 90-day period, is part of the joys of Brexit for touring UK bands.
“Don’t get me started on Brexit,” Jem says. “It’s been a complete nightmare.”
Frost* - Islington Assembly Hall - 1 December 2022. Photo: Steve Ritchie/MetalTalk
In Islington, the band wore white t-shirts with black sleeves, and they had their names, dates of birth and gender on them. I suggest that they could kill two birds with one stone and have carnet t-shirts made up as merchandise which lists each band member’s equipment used.
“That’s a brilliant idea,” Jem smiles, furiously scribbling on a piece of paper. “Do you charge commission?”
I offer that one for free as long as Frost* sends me one of the t-shirts. “We will certainly be doing that,” Jem says, holding up a piece of paper. “I even wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget.”
Back to the new album, given that Life In The Wires has an eighty-five-minute run time, which is pretty much the length of a gig, I ask if there are any plans to play the entire album live at some point.
“That’s definitely something we’re looking at trying to do,” Jem says. “You couldn’t really pick a few songs from the album to play live, as the story would get lost. Also, if we play the entire album live, we couldn’t just turn up on stage in jeans and t-shirts. It would need some sort of production, and that all costs money.
“If promotors came up with numbers that could facilitate that, we would be on it like a shot. I did interviews with America and Japan these last couple of weeks, and they are all asking when we’re coming back to play. It’s been a long time since we played those territories, but the costs involved in bringing us over are big. Again, we know the audience is there for us. It’s just the cost of doing it that’s stopping it from happening right now.
“Hopefully, that will change soon if we get good offers to play. On the Island Live tour, we played the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds and the venue only held around 300 people. We somehow managed to fit our production onto a very small stage, and it was a fantastic gig. Then we played Islington, that you were at, and we had a big stage and almost 1000 people there. That’s the joy of touring.”
I remember Jem, John, and Nathan standing at the front of the stage with their white t-shirts with black sleeves, your name, date of birth, and gender on them, lapping up the crowd’s reaction right at the start of the show. “Yeah, that’s an amazing feeling,” Jem says. “It makes you feel really humble that something you have worked hard to create and are very proud of is resonating with other people as well.”
That night, Jem stepped out from his bank of keyboards and went to centre stage, while John took his place as he played a solo on a Casio VL Tone during Milliontown. That was hilarious.
“I’ve still got the VL Tone in my garage and it still works,” Jem laughs. “That’s one of the most important things about Frost*. We never take ourselves too seriously. When we get together, we’re like a bunch of naughty schoolboys.”
Frost* - Islington Assembly Hall - 1 December 2022. Photo: Steve Ritchie/MetalTalk
It is clear to see that there is a huge camaraderie on stage with Frost*, and their sense of humour shines through. The music Frost* plays is very complex but when you watch a Frost* gig, they make it look effortless.
You assume that they must sometimes write a song, then listen back to it and think, how the hell are we going to play that live? “All the time,” Jem says, laughing. “There’s a track on Milliontown called Hyperventilate, and when we finished that, I thought there’s no way we can play this live. We obviously do, which comes down to rehearsing to the point it becomes muscle memory.”
Frost*’s fifth studio album, Life In The Wires, will be released on 18 October 2024 via InsideOutMusic. It is an excellent listen and I wish the band all the success that it deserves. “We put a lot of effort into it,” Jem says, “and I’m so pleased you liked it. As for gigs, hopefully, we’ll see you at a Frost* gig in the near future. We will definitely be doing the carnet t-shirts.”
