Dragged Up Interview: “To us it just makes sense to get out there and play.”

A couple of weeks ago having wandered around the streets of Glasgow, eventually I stumbled across one of the city’s most revered record stores, Monorail Music. Once inside and passing through the bar/coffee shop that leads to the store, the first record I saw adorning the walls behind the counter was Dragged Up’s High On Ripple.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, the band played there 24 hours later, and whilst disappointed to miss their performance, the situation still left me feeling optimistic. While we often hear about the ailing state of the arts, whilst all true, seeing an underground act like Dragged Up and their latest album wedged between Dinosaur Jr’s new live release and claire rousay’s sentiment felt nice; one of those shining, underdog moments that doesn’t occur as often these days.

And while Dragged Up (Eva Gnatiuk – guitar/vocals); Lisa Jones – vocals/percussion; Chas Lalli – bass; Simon Shaw – guitar/vocals; and Stephan Mors – drums) already have a full-length album under their belt in 2020’s D/U, the band made huge strides last year with their excellent follow-up EP, Hex Domestic. Once again, they make another with High On Ripple.

For starters, any band that can shoehorn a petri dish into a song narrative like Dragged Up do (Professor Boo Boo Invents the Plague) are pinned on for some form of greatest. High On Ripple is just that, seeing Dragged Up pick up where they left off last year with Hex Domestic. From the tempo shifts of the scuzzy jangle rock opener, Bible Study, and the noirish swoon rock of Missing Person, to the wonderful abstract absurdity of Life-Size Marilyn; the latter like a protagonist from a Christopher Brookmyre novel coupled with the splintered noise of EVOL-era Sonic Youth.

The vocal interplay between Jones and Gnatiuk on Die Tryin’ sees notepad musings being brought to life. Inspired by wandering minds and the trappings of a mundane existence most of us experience, in this case it’s shop fronts, bubble wrap and mannequins that all form the kind of dry witted tale that plays out like a street-level serenade.

Meanwhile, Young Person’s Guide to Going Backwards in the World and the above-noted Professor Boo Boo Invents the Plague lean into the alt-rock slacker vibe that much of Dragged Up’s diet has consisted of. Mudhoney fuzz softened by Jones and Gnatiuk’s harmonies and sing-speak trade-offs that are the hallmark of this band.

Ending with the Third Level, an eight-plus minute journey of electric jolts and deep echoes, it confirms High On Ripple as Dragged Up’s most accomplished release so far. A well-informed idea where deep record collections and gonzo journalism from the end of the bar play out as key inspirations.

As Dragged Up prepare to hit the road in support of High On Ripple, last week the band kindly answered our questions about their history, influences and, of course, their excellent new album.

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S13: Listening to Dragged Up, and generation wise I think we were all around at a similar time when Mogwai and Belle & Sebastian were at the peak of their powers in the late ’90s. What are your memories of this period in Glasgow?

Simon Shaw: “Parts of High on Ripple were recorded by Chris Geddes (from Belle & Sebastian) at their Banchory Studio. We’ve been friends since ‘93 when we both turned up at a Maths lecture wearing the same VU banana T-shirt. We both played in a band called V-Twin around the same time as B&S formed, and there was a lot of social and musical overlap when both those bands were getting it together. Prior to this, I’d had a go at writing some songs with Isobel [Campbell] and had a couple of jams with Stuart [Murdoch] singing in another music project I was trying to get together with Tom Crossley (now in The Pastels). Neither of these attempts fully took hold, whereas they were a pretty obvious musical match for one another.”

Chas Lalli: “Just hanging about, going to gigs, seeing bands like Ultimo Dragon, Scatha, Quarantine, Shank. Watching wrestling. Nothing particularly noteworthy. Generally being an unproductive member of society, from what I recall.”

Stephan Mors: “My main memory of the mid and late ’90s is of drinking in parks. And sometimes on golf courses. Me and my mates didn’t really know other folk who were in bands at that time and weren’t aware of anything resembling a scene, so when the focus shifted from drinking in public spaces to drinking in public spaces and trying to do gigs, the latter part of the programme seemed to be conducted in splendid isolation.”

Eva Gnatiuk: “I wasn’t in Glasgow at that time though I was aware of those bands, I was living off-grid in rural Ohio, Wales and southern Spain. Some of my most treasured memories were from hanging out with an old Scottish guy called Harry Dewar in Ohio. He had a great record collection from his time going to jazz clubs in Chicago in the ’60s where he had been an illustrator for an underground zine called The Seed. He was this total wee gem hiding out in the hills drinking cheap wine from a coffee mug, so we used to listen to music and draw together. He was definitely a kindred spirit, I’ve written a song about him that might surface one day. Perhaps it’s somewhat poetic that I ended up making Glasgow my home, near to where he grew up.”

S13: Can you tell us the story of how Dragged Up began?

EG: “I had been drumming in another band and had written songs that weren’t really seeing the light of day, and coupled with wanting to play guitar again it prompted me to start Dragged Up in late 2018. Simon and I had already jammed together over the years, and I was intrigued by Lisa’s wit and droll observations. After discovering she was also a writer I invited her to join what was fairly loose and experimental at the time. Another woman called Jack played with us for a while, she and I swapping between drums and guitar. In 2019, we decided to expand the unit. I was a fan of Chas’ other bands Vom and Bad Aura, and when Jack could no longer commit to the band, I approached Julian Dicken (who’d recently left The Cosmic Dead) as his drumming had always impressed me. After a few years though we needed to find a new drummer, it was a bit of a bump in the road initially but feel with Stephan we now have a solid DU crew.”

Lisa Jones: “Eva and Simon used to put on a record fair in Glasgow, and I became involved in running a stall there every month…around the same time, I was doing some live muttering at spoken-word events, and Eva encouraged me to perform this as part of a musical project they’d been devising with Simon. A small number of songs were spawned from rehearsals at (the now-defunct) LoFi Studios. We played a small number of gigs (memorably, to one man and his dog at a Cumbrian New Age festival) and had a North of England tour planned for Spring 2020, which turned out to be doomed timing. During the pandemic we managed to complete work on our debut album D/U, and lay in wait for the chance to re-enter society.”

CL: “Eva called me up and asked if I’d be interested in playing bass in this thing that they were putting together with Simon and Lisa. I’ve known those folks for years so I figured I’d give it a go. Things clicked so I stayed.”

SS: “I was lurking about the Barras buying records one weekend and got chatting to my friend Joe Kane. I asked him if he had any drummer recommendations and he suggested his old Owsley Sunshine bandmate Stephan. Thanks Joe!”

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S13: From the outside, these past 12 months have seemed like a whirlwind for the band with shows up and down the country. It feels like you’re bucking the trend, with so many acts around the country struggling to get shows outside their own areas. Is this something you’ve thought about?

EG: “Not sure I’ve fully thought about it, probably because I’ve not had time to, except for trying to mutually share resources with other bands. It has been a hard slog getting these shows, and takes a considerable amount of time and planning, so I’ve learnt this does compromise your life in other ways which perhaps not everyone is willing or able to do. But now we are starting to be approached or see more interest in what we do, which is good as it comes at a time when I need to take my foot off the gas somewhat.”

LJ: “We’re glad to have had the chance to play a good mix of local shows at small festivals and record stores, as well as getting to support touring bands such as Acid Mothers Temple, White Hills, Minami Deutsch, Bo Ningen, The Bevis Frond, House Of All and No Age. The persistence pays off!”

CL: “To us it just makes sense to get out there and play. What other bands do or how they operate doesn’t really figure into our activities. We enjoy doing gigs and playing outside Glasgow is a good way to spread the D/U gospel.”

SS: “A large fun part of being in a band for me, is travelling and playing places outside your own city. Playing to faces you don’t recognise is perhaps slightly more relaxing. It is a slog (respect to Eva for organising, and Chas and Stephan for driving), but it feels like some momentum is building and it’s hopefully moving in the right direction. We’re crossing fingers some people will attend our tour dates!”

S13: High On Ripple comes so soon after the Hex Domestic EP. Were they written at the same time?

EG: “Essentially no, but even some of High On Ripple was written ages ago. Though they were both largely recorded around the same time.”

LJ: “Die Tryin’, from High On Ripple, was written five years ago and was intended for inclusion on our first album D/U, but the 4-track recording emerged in warped, accidental-Vaporwave form and we had to leave it in limbo for a while longer. The Young Person’s Guide to Going Backwards in the World is another track that has waited its turn for around four (?) years.”

EG: “Yeah, Die Tryin’ was from way back when I drummed on it and Jack was playing guitar. It developed further after she left, the others joined and I switched to guitar. Blaming The Weather is also another anomaly – that’s maybe the oldest one – from when we were just a three-piece. It kept resurfacing over the years, but it was never quite the right time. When we were pulling together the Hex EP we thought to try it again, and it came together really fluidly with our band line-up now being fully realised. We actually recorded it ourselves on 4-track in a couple of takes, and it seemed to be the perfect counter-balance for the EP.

“Young Person’s Guide does draw heavily on fragmented childhood memories which had been floating in my head for years until I decided to pin them down into song form, which I think happened about four or so years ago. Pretty sure it came into being around the same time as Fairytale (from Hex).

“Professor Boo Boo I wrote a few months before I even started Dragged Up, so that’s older still. I was drumming it with lots of percussive embellishment. I basically re-wrote the music for it on guitar, wanting to carry through that sense of percussion but with more sludge heaviness, now it’s become its own beast.

“So in a way some of the songs on Hex Domestic are pretty new and some on High On Ripple are pretty old!”

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S13: What was the main aspect you wanted to achieve with High On Ripple?

EG: “When I was eight, I was given a red ghetto blaster, and it was the best gift I ever received and still own. I used to furtively scour the airwaves under the darkness of night, recording strange collages for myself. It imbued a love of curating mixtapes for friends in later years, and an obsession with running orders and dynamics. Though there wasn’t a particular theme for High On Ripple, it was important to strike a balance between having a cohesive flow whilst still showing the varied breadth of what we do as a band.

LJ: “I think there was never one set intention for how the album should sound, and being so ‘close’ to the songs (having listened to them countless times during the process of songwriting, recording, mixing and mastering!) means it may take some time to be able to look back on the album and identify its running threads. Easier for others to listen with fresh ears!”

CL: “Just to make a good album which reflects what we do. Something that does the songs and the band justice. Songs that work well together in the context of an album. No overarching concept apart from that.”

S13: Bible Study is the kind of song that feels like a lot of different ideas have been brought to the table from all band members. Is this how you approach your songs?

LJ: “On our releases so far, the lyric-writing duties have been shared between me and Eva – on some songs the words are written exclusively by one of us, but the lyrics on other tracks such as Bible Study have come about through a combination of our ideas, which I think creates a specific sort of cut-up dynamic between the verses and choruses.”

EG: “A lot of Dragged Up songs began with myself composing music to either my or Lisa’s lyrics, then working with Simon or Lisa before developing with the rest of the band who add their magic. Some songs have emerged from jamming together, folks feeding in ideas and developing over time. I enjoy the compositional aspect though somewhat ironically (since it was the impetus for starting DU) I’ve not had time to do that for a while, so it’s definitely a priority for me to return to that now, which will be interesting after a long break.”

CL: “Largely yes, but we don’t have a set approach other than working bits out collectively. Some ideas are more formed than others by the time we work on them in the studio, but the thing that makes it sound like us is the contribution of the five of us working together. The question that always gets asked is ‘what are your influences’, and I think the most honest response to that is ‘each other’. Certainly what I do in the band is influenced by what the drums / guitars / vocals are doing, and I think that what we achieve in the songs is the sound of five people with various conscious/unconscious individual views / influences/ etc. working in tandem to create this collective thing.”

S13: Missing Person has a twisted cinematic vibe to it, which got me thinking. Do films influence your work in any way?

LJ: “I hoped the lyrics of Missing Person would have a starkness to them that could be offset by the borderline-disco feeling of the music, and that the same grim contrast could be incorporated into the single’s music video. The video was filmed in my living room – there’s a vague amateur-detective theme, but I think it had more to do with the physical detritus of mouldy old tapes than referencing any specific film. I have a horrible VHS-collecting habit, and using them as props goes some way to justifying this misuse of my best years. I wanted to film Lucy, our lead actor, smashing a tape with a hammer after we’d played it on the VCR one final time, but it turns out that Scotch videotapes are embarrassingly difficult to destroy. Thankfully Eva’s editing skills saved our dignity.”

EG: “Generally for me definitely, and bizarro TV programmes, which have made their way into my lyrics. One of my favourite things as a kid was going to the video store and the thrill of ‘pure getting away’ with renting horror films despite being massively underage. The posters would also burn deeply into my retinas – I particularly remember those for Society, House, and Tom Chantrell’s artwork for Zombies: Dawn of the Dead. I also admire score composers such as Morricone, Mica Levi, Bernard Herrmann and John Carpenter. So there’s undeniably a cinematic influence on some level, but how it manifests is not always intentional or obvious, whether in DU or my other projects.”

CL: “I think they probably do in an indirect way as well. We all like watching films and have some crossover in tastes. Those shared tastes feed into the common vibe, which then becomes another layer in the band’s connective tissue / common language etc. I realise that is completely unquantifiable though, so best keeping that one in the theoretical realm.”

S13: I love the dead-panned dry wit with something like Life-Size Marilyn. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind it?

LJ: “The lyrics are tenuously based on a story I’d been told, and that I’d managed to misinterpret completely, about a shoplifter dragging around a cardboard cut-out of Marilyn Monroe as a distraction method while he filled his coat pockets with stolen meat goods. More tenuously still, there’s a reference to a disturbing leaflet found in an old Playstation box that offered the chance to win a ‘Lifelike Lara Croft’. If I say it’s about parasocial relationships with women made of paper and cardboard, that might reflect badly on my social skills.”

S13: Do you see the band as an extension of your personalities, or do you see the band as more of a route for escapism?

LJ: “I haven’t found a way to escape from my personality yet, but there’s still time.”

EG: “What Lisa said (but I’ve got less time).”

CL: “I can’t speak for the others, and I’m sure that some aspects of our personalities will be expressed through the music but it’s not a conscious thing on my part at any rate. I guess the way I approach my instrument and how I make that work in the band is probably an expression of my personality to some extent. But then again, my bass playing might be totally insincere and I could be lying. I’m not sure. The escapism thing is an interesting angle, but I think for me it’s less ‘escapist’ and more of a focus shift. Leave your work / personal stuff behind for a bit and get the dopamine hit of creating music in collaboration with others. Pressure valve release.”

S13: Third Level is one of your longest songs and has echoes of The Fall. Do you know this one was going to close the album when you wrote it?

EG: “No because there wasn’t a definitive time when it was written, it came from us improvising and building upon it gradually, with the lyrics developing in response. It was one of the newer ones when we recorded everything so it may have been around then we began to think it would make a good closer.”

CL: “I don’t get The Fall comparison at all with that track but it’s interesting what people hear in it. We sometimes open with it when we play live. It actually works pretty well in that context as it gets us all loose and limber.”

SS: “I think definitely by the time it was recorded it seemed to us to be an obvious album closer. The Fall comparison is interesting – I guess in the vocal delivery?

S13: Yeah, just the way the vocals follow the guitars. Had some Fall Heads Roll vibes…

SS: “I hear some echoes of Stereolab in the intro, and there’s a section that we refer to as the Guns ‘N’ Roses bit. All the greats! We’ve had Life-Size Marilyn compared to Suzi Quatro too.”

S13: I think your songs are abstract and could definitely be construed in different ways, which got me thinking… are politics something that find their way into your songs?

LJ: “I think if I ever tried to consciously write political lyrics, they’d cringe themselves out of existence very quickly.”

EG: “Politics, no not really. Though most of my lyrics are loosely intended to be open to interpretation and I also lean toward blurring biographical fact with fiction.”

S13: There’s a real local charm about Dragged Up. How much does Glasgow influence the band?

EG: “I’m not sure it does consciously for me, except maybe for not taking ourselves too seriously and being able to play shows with a diverse range of local bands. A bigger influence for me would be the years consuming countless records and improvising with people without the constraints of thinking about actually being in ‘a band’.”

LJ: “We are pretty fortunate to live in a city with lots of smaller venues that welcome local unsigned bands; this made it possible for us to build up live experience from the very beginning.”

CL: “It probably has some influence on me in that I’ve lived here all my life. I don’t really see us as a ‘Glasgow band’ though, more a band which operates out of Glasgow if that makes sense? Would we be the same if we lived somewhere else? I have no idea. Best not to think about it too much. Don’t want to start second guessing ourselves now, do we?”

SS: “It’s difficult to judge as it’s the only place most of us have been active musicians in, meaning it’s probably easy for us to take it a bit for granted at times. There’s a good reason we’ve either gravitated here, or chosen not to leave here. I think the diversity of great music (from noise and punk to jangle) coming out of Glasgow over the last 30 years has in some way fed into what Dragged Up do.”

SM: “As the others suggest, it’s quite hard to say – I’ve never tried to be a musician anywhere else. I don’t think I had particular affinity for Glasgow or Scottish bands more than bands from elsewhere, so I’d probably echo Chas’s description of us being more a band that operates from Glasgow than a Glasgow band.”

Dragged Up U.K. tour dates:

• Friday, June 14: BLOC, Glasgow, Album release show (with Lost Angels + Sophie Sexon)
• Saturday, June 15: Leith Depot, Edinburgh (w PAL and llennett)
• Saturday July 13: The Audio Lounge, Glasgow (w Pound Land and Headless Kross)
• Friday July 26: Cumberland Arms,  Newcastle ((with Pave The Jungle + Lovely Wife + Pink Poison)
• Saturday July 27: MacArts, Galashiels (supporting The Vaselines)
• Sunday, July 28: Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh (SheBeat presents Afternoon Delight – matinee show)

High On Ripple is out now via DU Recs/ Rare Vitamin Records / Cruel Nature Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.