Q+A with Simon Scott of Three Quarter Skies
“Triple fudge ripple, who saw this one coming?” is what I said about one of the best musical surprises of 2023 being revealed last year.
Simon Scott of Slowdive began fanning the flames of a new project with influences like Can, Flying Saucer Attack, Black Sabbath, Syd Barrett, Spacemen 3… wait, did someone say Flying Saucer Attack?
The idea of a Flying Saucer Attack revival was exciting and it seemed that 'space rock' was on its way back from the far side. Then came Three Quarter Skies and the Universal Flames EP, a trip that moves through light floating sensations as well as more intense and demanding depths with indiscernible information that cannot, and will not, precisely guide you. The final track “Bedförd” concludes the journey of Universal Flames (or maybe re-starts it?) with ominous whispers layered under a warped, psychedelic cowboy soundtrack. Holy shit, what is next?
Fade In is what.
Due out in early September on Sonic Cathedral, Fade In by Three Quarter Skies includes songs written, performed and produced largely by Simon Scott with contributions from Rachael Swinton (Cloth) and Ian Davenport (Courtyard Studios). There’s also a digital-only bonus track and a version of Nick Drake’s “Horn”.
Simon answered a few questions about the new album and some of the other great work he’s done when he’s not drumming for Slowdive.
The album cover of Fade In bears a striking resemblance to My Dreaming Hill by Flying Saucer Attack - given that you've worked with David Pearce on Fade In, is there any connection or story behind the cover photo/artwork? Also, you commented on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality artwork (or typeface) as one of your favourites, which is perhaps something the Universal Flames cover nods to?
The cover photo was taken on a restless flight over Asia after another exhausting Slowdive tour. I’m so grateful for Dave Pearce’s encouragement and support making this album that the cover is one of several tributes to Flying Saucer Attack. I also wanted the typeface to be psychedelic and this Sabbath album I love. So yes it is another direct influence from that MoR album but I love how it looks more like a 1960’s psych band logo. ‘The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’ was taken as a title so ‘Fade In’ arose and all the tracks fade in so it stuck!
You've mentioned (or Sonic Cathedral has) that Three Quarter Skies grew out of a "semi-improvised" live recording, yet the songs on the full-length album came about through a creative spell following the death of your mother. What has been different about this compared to previous creative periods or ventures?
I love working with this label and it personally feels like a collaboration rather than just a label putting out music. Universal Flames was a recording of a live improvisation as I didn’t have any time to prepare for that first show. I was alone and had a bunch of samples to jam with so the gig was basically me singing and jamming these songs ideas live as an experiment. Unexpectedly it completed itself and that batch of tracks became the first Three Quarter Skies release. I’d been getting restless not being able to contribute more to Slowdive and so I then wrote three new songs, which I sent to Dave from Flying Saucer Attack as he had reached out to say hello. He was really kind and attentive, listening to my recordings and offering ideas, which is astonishing as FSA are one of my favourite bands. My mother passing away opened up the creative floodgates and I was really liberated by singing and putting all my focus into these tracks. Three songs became four, then eight new songs. Suddenly we’ve got an album.
Your album Long Drove (Room40) was one of my favourites in 2023 and I wrote how it reliably induces weird dreams if listened to before sleep. The recordings are described as "intimate sonic narratives of place and rural trauma" - do you have a specific memory to share about these works or this creative period?
Thank you! When I was a child I’d go into a rural environment in the east of England called the Fens near my home in Cambridgeshire. I live there again now and so I started investigating why it was so flat and I discovered how anthropogenic activity had devastated the Fens and it’s ecosystem. Some species had tragically become extinct as a result of this and the lowest cartographical place in England is Holme Fen, which is six feet below mean sea level due to subsidence. I wanted to compose a record entirely from field recordings from around Long Drove, this road that oddly sits above the sunken fields around it, with the Holme Fen posts and other interesting sound sources close by. Although the recordings are digitally processed I like how it’s a sonorous document of the fens that feels intimate and organic but transformed by human hand. Just like the Fens is. They call the view of the wide horizon here in the Fens ‘three quarter skies’ as they’re so vast.
You've said that Three Quarter Skies' songs are "angry, noisy, turbulent, stubborn and petulant" - is there any particular way that you hope listeners will feel when hearing the album?
I always write music and record sounds to satisfy myself so there is never any set intention for listeners to perceive Three Quarter Skies songs in a particular way. It is very open to interpretation and perception. But I deliberately wanted it to be fairly harsh and immersive. Sweet and polite music always leaves me wanting a bit of dirt thrown to the mix to mess it up and make it interesting. Life isn’t often very sweet and I want my music to reflect the trouble in the world. Tumultuous mental states and traumatised landscapes are more interesting than serenity and pretty sights. I guess this is why there’s feedback and noise everywhere on the album, which is deliberate and intentionally not mixed out. I was upset making this record by my personal grief and the shocking politics I absorb everyday. Noise sonically washing over me was way more satisfying, restorative and replenishing than any sympathy card.
A new version of "Pieces of Roslin" will be on the full-length though it appeared on the Universal Flames EP - what can we expect and why a re-make? I love this one and felt it was the most Flying Saucer Attack-y on the EP! Also, the video done by Innerstrings is perfect for it.
It’s one of my favourite songs written so far for Three Quarter Skies. I remixed it and re-recorded a few bits for this album. Most of the song stems I used for the live version are also on this version. Dave from FSA liked it a lot and agreed it should be put on Fade In. “Holy Water” was also previously released so I remixed it and changed a little bit of the backing vocals Rachel from the band Cloth sent over to me and the drums are different.
It sounds like there is a digital-only bonus track coming with the new album - what’s the story about that song?
It was written right after I submitted the mixes to be mastered for vinyl so it isn’t on the physical album. It’s an instrumental that slowly builds in tension and I liked the idea that there’s an extra song out there. The title “Sundrowners” is a little tribute to the blisteringly noisy cover FSA did of “The Drowners” by Suede, which is tinged with a distasteful and derisory vocal delivery.
What's been the most rewarding thing about putting this new project out there?
Being able to start up this band has been really liberating. I’ve missed writing and singing as I’m more than just a drummer. Having Dave Pearce encourage and inspire me has been a privilege and it was great meeting him recently too.
Fade In by Three Quarter Skies arrives September 6th on Sonic Cathedral.
You can catch Three Quarter Skies live in the UK throughout September:
September 6 : Coventry : Just Dropped In
September 8 : Nottingham : Rough Trade
September 9 : Liverpool : Rough Trade
September 11 : Bedford : Bedford Esquires
September 12 : Bristol : Rough Trade Bristol
September 20 : Derby : Dubrek
September 24 : London : No90 [Sonic Cathedral 20th anniversary show with Mildred Maude and A Place To Bury Strangers]
Great interview, thank you so much! ❤️🙏