Suzerain

Working out of The Pool, The Garden and The Yard studios, Suzerain were recording an album in 2008, during which they gave an interview on the Miloco Studios website.

Miloco: Name of band members and instrument of choice?
Suzerain:
Tom – Vocal Chords, Fender Bullet, Acoustic
Rich – Super Strat, AC30
Mike – Precision Bass, Muff Pedal
Matt – Cello, plethora of synths…
Ben – Yamaha Stage Custom kit and a Pearl Studio Masters snare. Hammers for sticks.

Miloco: What project are you doing here at Miloco (e.g. recording, mixing or remixing / single tracks or album) and when’s it due to be released?
Suzerain:
Recording: singles, album.

Mixing: singles, album.

Tea drinking competition with our producer. We made that kettle our bitch.

Miloco: Which Miloco studio/s are you using and why did you choose it/them?
Suzerain: Garden, Pool, Yard.

Why? Best drum sounds and wicked mixing rooms, proximity to the best sandwich shops in London.

Miloco: Who was your studio assistant and how was your studio assistant?
Suzerain: Too many of them to name em all, every single one a sharp dressed devil though!

… Clean friendly and skilled in the dark arts
… Again well turned out with good sense of fashion and a sympathetic ear.

Miloco: How did you come about working with Steve Lyon on this project?
Suzerain: He found us at first, and at the time we couldn’t work with him though we really wanted to. Luckily the gods smiled on us and when the next opportunity to record came up we contacted him straight away.

Miloco: What does Steve bring to the project that other producers / engineers wouldn’t?
Suzerain: He brings his own lighting to the studio(!) More than that it’s his pedigree – having worked with some of our favourite artists, his excellent finely tuned ears… and the fact that he gets us! Which is astonishingly lucky really – he knows when to egg us on and when to tell us to shut up.

That and of course his inhuman knowledge of technical wizardry and penchant for the same biscuits as us.

A few silly questions / requests that really don’t mind silly answers!! –

Miloco: The song you wished you’d written:
Suzerain: ‘Happy Birthday’ – Anon (imagine the royalties…!)

Miloco: The song you’re glad you didn’t write:
Suzerain: Anything by Mariah Carey

Miloco: What’s the strangest rumour you’ve ever heard about yourselves?
Suzerain: That we’re fictional characters – living in a cartoon fantasy about a band. Like Josie and the Pussycats but with booze and fags. I wish it were true…

Miloco: You are placed in front of a time machine. Which year in history would you travel to and why?
Suzerain:
Tom: 1977 birth of Punk, fashion was wicked, you could still just about get tickets for Led Zep and David Bowie released Low pretty cool…

Rich: Cro-Magnon times – for shits and giggles and to dip bread in primordial soup.

Tom: Going anywhere without proper toilet facilities is always a worry though.

Rich: Actually yeah, can we get in the timemachine and mix again?

Miloco: Draw us a picture!

Miloco: Any additional info you’d like to let us know about?
Suzerain: Did you say this was only going to take a few minutes?? You been drinking?

Suzerain were speaking to Miloco in November 2008.