Biography
D.I.Smith recently moved to snowy Michigan, and Gary to the expanding metropolis of Shanghai, moves which have merely added to the mix. Using modern typewriters, the Pilots of Japan have been able to record across three continents and the second album "All the Stars Are Out Tonight" is currently being recorded over fibre optic cables that span the planet.
Pilots Of Japan flexed into their current line up for security reasons in March 2003. Since then the band has travelled the country recording a unique record that espouses a bygone and quintessentially English kind of noise…
In a settlement on the East Hertfordshire border in England, band members D.I. Smith (vocals) and Gary Chapman (keyboards) started writing together in 1999 after the singer’s post pubescent venture with great friend, inspiration and fellow musical conspirator Mary Epworth. Matthew Brooks (lead guitar), Eddie Wilson (drums) and Daniel Matthews (bass) joined one by one soon after.
The Plan To Reverse Time was recorded in a watchmakers factory, a Cornish Villa, a handful of bedrooms and even the odd bathroom, but far from a swampy lo-fi puddle its songs sparkle with the band’s love of lo-fi, 60s movies, and pulling sickies just to spend the day in bed and cop off. It recounts stories where Fred Astaire battles uncontrollable fires, the Six Million Dollar Man is stranded on Mars and hermits are lynched - all narrated in an Orwellian majesty that marks out their craft and belies the skewed world the band inhabits.
The joyous, horizontal pop across the album’s twelve tracks harbours a disturbingly spiky underbelly, and as it unravels the casually placed curve balls and scratchy white noise punctuate the calm. The songs’ themes might be drawn from every day experience, but they are elevated from the humdrum by their author’s imagination. Live favourite ‘Bulldog’ is the tale of a relationship falling apart due to one person’s adultery, but set against the backdrop of a cruise liner disaster; “Its like crossing Eastenders with Wizard Of Oz – does that make sense?”
‘Slow Coach (Return)’ arrives to restore the harmony with one of those sweetly poised songs that burrows into the sub-conscious and refuses to shift. Like Ride or Tim Burgess in their prime, the vocals are softly delivered but laden with feeling and urgency and help provide further camouflage to the thorny lyrics. The band’s very own slacker anthem ‘Stay In Bed’ is a rail against the monotony of the 9-5, the languid twang’s and swagger of the opening releasing a rousing finale demanding we “order a takeout, giggle and groan til we both ache.”
‘Fred Astaire’ continues the unsettling themes with its achingly beautiful xylophone and intentionally off-kilter vocal harmonies, the song book-ended with old cine-film reports of Californian coastlines and forest fires.
‘The Plan To Reverse Time’ is already something of a cult phenomenon through the word-of-mouth networks and a clutch of well-received live shows that help to naturally bring great music to the surface. Joining the dots between the slew of great British bands from the first half of the last decade and today’s resurgence of DIY pop culture, Pilots Of Japan have created an effortlessly transfixing record.
The world that they inhabit is clearly a strange one - band names are conjured from Watch manufacturers’ Top Gun-esque adverts, science fiction B-Movies provide the backdrop to heartfelt love stories, and stalking Julia Roberts leads to marriage.
David - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Film Samples, Keyboards, Noises, Paint, Live Film Shows. David is the oldest and loves zombies and Newcastle United. He has flat feet and 5 broken fingers but may still run marathons in the future.
Gary - Samples, Keyboards, Percussion, Drums. Gary can really scream and gets to a lot watching Sunderland AFC. Gary is a minor celebrity and has seen Mark Almonds' penis. Gary has double jointed knees.
Matt - Electric Guitar, Ebow, Slide Guitar, Synths. Mat is the tallest and drives a SAAB 900. He is a West Ham fan and is prone to expanding eyes at times.
Eddie - Drums, Guiro, Tambourine, Shakers, Brushes, Electronic Kit. Ed has big hands and has won competitions with them. He does not appreciate football. He owns a TVR and id dislebxic.
Daniel - Bass, Harmonies, Harmonica, Mandolin, Photographs. Daniel is often called the misnomer "Little Dan". He has a skateboard but it is retired. Chelsea fan, Daniel, can talk to Laso Apso's.
Other Nonesense
"The Pilots produce slowly unfurling mini-epics of languid acoustic driven drone pop. Along the way they manage to incorporate crisp beats, dusty slide guitars, xylophones, gentle electronics, and found-sound voice samples without ever sounding clumsily eclectic. Tracks like Bionic Man, Slow Coach, and Hungry Ghost are perfectly realised broadcasts from a place where Pavement never split up, they simply dropped the arch lyrics and decided to soundtrack a never ending summer instead" Ian Viggars Joyzine
"You'll be hearing more of this album in the coming weeks and I have to say, Its very very good" Steve Lamacq Radio 1 2005
"Ive heard it a couple of times now and I think that is absolutely fantastic" Claire Sturgess Xfm 2004
Accomplished and pleasing to the lobes" NME 2003
"Swathes of The Beach Boys, Big Star and all the references you would expect from a group with a proper record collection, without outstaying their welcome in any one category. Fine." NME 2003
"Sweet, understated and distinctive vocals" NME 2003
"The quiet guys have come out of the corner to unleash their full powered glory on the world" Snakebite 2003
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