Banshees Finish John Cale-Produced LP

from Alternative Press 8/94
transcribed by bradford@utkvx.utcc.utk.edu

Siouxsie and the Banshees have finished mixing their next album THE RAPTURE, which was produced by John Cale. "We got completely away from the working method we did SUPERSTITION under," said Banshee bassist Steven Severin. "I don't think we were in the same room at the same time playing the songs on that record. [SUPERSTITION producer] Stephen Hague likes to do things very clinicaly and methodically, which ends up with a great sounding record, but not necessarily a live sounding record. We went and wrote the songs in a room, and then we recorded them in a room. There's a bit more fire in there." The band had been previewing material from the album during selected festival appearances in Europe.

"We never go for complete changes in direction, we just work quickly on a small set of songs," said Severin. "There's a lot more dynamics involved on this album." "Love Out Me" is a rapid pulsing rocker, while the title track is a fourtenn-minute opus. Siouxsie was in NYC with Cale doing the final mixes, and when asked why the rest of the band wasn't with her telling him what to do, Severin cautioned, "He's not really the kind of guy you want to do that to." When asked if the Banshees were intimidated by the pensive Welshman (they recorded a cover of Cale's "Gun"), Severin replied, "We've got to be intimidated by somebody. Really though, if you can't trust John Cale to mix your record, who can you? Before we began working, our A&R man told him that he would like him to concentrate on singles, and John responded, 'Well, I'm no Florence Nightengale, but I'll do my best.'"