Throughout his 10-album reign via Cruel Nature Records as Score, Christ Tate’s compositions have shifted with the seasons. The Newcastle-based artist creates sound that moves swiftly; at times majestic, even, as he submits to open space and the environment.
Also a member of the trans-Atlantic shapeshifters Salisman, Tate is a ceaseless creator. A vital part in the DIY mosaic, not a year goes by where his music isn’t somewhere in it. And following last year’s excellent Original Copy – a disco-inspired soundtrack for outliers, as Tate flirted with the dance floor – he continues to make the kind of sounds that lift the mood on Sunburst Body.
Not only does Sunburst Body come as advertised, it finds Tate reach beautiful new heights. And as the clocks move forward and the collective temperament lightens, Tate adds to it with sun-dappled dreamscapes that pierce the dark cloud of heavy thoughts. Even if it’s only momentarily in this world of incessant doom, Tate is the architect of something that washes your worries away.
The unhurried Radiator and Solar Cymbals, searching pieces that, as the former’s title suggests, warms the bones. The one-two of Gold Record and Gold Rush, perhaps the most emotive pieces Tate has written. Both dynamic and serene, they lead into the album’s focal point in Sail Across the Sky and the title track. A combination of cyclical synths and gentle brushes across the strings that wrap around you like a comfort blanket.
And while Liquid Sunshine and Sun House continue to find Tate providing tender, sweet echoes that thaw out the ice, the aptly-titled Fusion ties every together. Also released on the same day as Ben Seretan & John Thayer’s Sunbeam of No Illusion, Sunburst Body dovetails perfectly with it, forming as the quintessential summer soundtrack.
In the lead-up to the release of Sunburst Body, last week Tate answered our questions about the Score journey so far, along with his practices and inspirations that make the Score experience what it is.
Sun 13: You’re someone who has very little social media presence. Seeing so many artists on there all the time, by not using it, do you think it allows more time to concentrate on making music?
Chris Tate: “It definitely gives me more time to concentrate on music, but perhaps more importantly it leaves me more mental and creative energy, which means that the time I do spend making music is more productive. I have dabbled with it, but I always end up feeling that social media just isn’t right for me.”
S13: Do you remember your first encounter with music?
CT: “My earliest memory of being moved by music was listening to the song Bright Eyes by Art Garfunkel, over and over again on a little cassette player, alone in my bedroom when I was around four years old. I remember being aware of feeling happy and sad at the same time and wanting it to never end. With hindsight, I’ve probably spent most of my life exploring that feeling.”
S13: Was the process of writing and recording Sunburst Body any different from your previous releases?
CT: “I tend to change at least some parts of the process for every Score record. I usually have the outline of an idea from the start, but not always. I also like to use a different, often quite limited, palette of instruments for each Score album, as I find this encourages me to seek out my own sound musically, not just sonically.
“Sunburst Body is an attempt to tie three things together; the sun, meditation and the guitar, so I had a vague sense of how this album might sound, what kind of aesthetic I was aiming for. That isn’t always the case, sometimes I’ll respond in the moment and let the music go anywhere it wants to, but this time I knew the whole album would be minimal and relaxed guitar music, that it would follow a vague trajectory like a star across the sky or the flow of a meditation, and that it would hopefully feel warm like lying in the sun.
“I wasn’t overly concerned about it having a different ‘sound’ from song to song – in fact, quite the opposite – while making this album there was a quote from Neil Young in the back of my mind saying ‘they all sound the same…it’s all one song’.”
S13: Alongside Original Copy, Sunburst Body feels like the most uplifting work in the Score canon. Do you think this is a reflection of your current state of mind?
CT: “Not intentionally, however I’m very much a radical optimist in my work. I’ve aways had a strong desire to try and put some good energy into the world, and music was the way I decided upon when I was a teenager, because it was such a powerful source of good feeling for me. I aim to capture that good feeling when I’m making music, in the hope that it translates to others.
“In the past I’ve made albums that attempted to connect with the zeitgeist, or reflect some of the negative things going on in the wider world, but I’ve come to I find this happens more successfully when I simply stay in tune with the world around me and then create from the heart instead of the head. I don’t think I can force any kind of worldly relevance, but I’ve found it can happen naturally if I approach things from a place of openness. Similarly, I try not to let anger or frustration have a governing part in the process, because I think it can make me less creatively coherent.”
S13: Do you think your work in Salisman influences some of your work in Score?
CT: “They’re quite different creatures and I’m generally in a different, uniquely personal headspace for Score work. Salisman is very much Paul and Travis’ baby in terms of songwriting. My role was largely technical with some musical input interspersed. However, being in Salisman made me up my game in terms of mixing, which has definitely fed back into my Score music in a positive way.”
S13: Film seems like a vital source of inspiration, too. Do you hold just as great an emphasis on that as you do with music?
CT: “Not really, music always gets the lion’s share of my time and attention and is the thing I enjoy the most. I enjoy watching films greatly, but I don’t have a huge passion for it like I do with music. I will sometimes make little, simple music videos to help promote my album releases, but I’m not particularly talented in that department. I think a lot of my music could work well in film, though.”
S13: Are there any things you need close-by in order to create?
CT: “I love nature, and there’s a certain plant in particular that puts me into a creative flow state very quickly and easily, if you catch my drift. I also benefit greatly from having a daily routine, and the knowledge that my immediate schedule is free.”
Score - Sunburst BodyS13: While I appreciate that you’re probably not always working on music all the time, is your day-to-day constantly thinking about ideas?
CT: “These days I’m much better at managing my time and energy in ways that benefit my creativity. For years I went at it too hard, thinking that if I didn’t make the most of every available second then the music would suffer – especially when I also worked a nine to five job – but my health suffered terribly when I lived like that. It seemed almost impossible for me to break out of that mindset because I felt as if any time that wasn’t spent working on music was time wasted.
“Nowadays I rest when I need to and I use other practices like meditation, walking and yoga to recharge, which means the time I do spend making music is far more productive. My wife is an artist who is very creative and health conscious, and she has helped me immensely in that area, for which I’m very grateful. As well as feeling happier, I think my more recent Score albums have been far stronger as a result.”
S13: What about new music. Are you someone who follows new releases, or are you more interested in the past?
CT: “I try my best to keep up with new releases as much as I can, because I still love the excitement of hearing new music that I enjoy, but the fact that I spend a lot of my time making music means that when I stop, my ears and brain are very tired. I can’t listen to music for as long as I did when I was younger, so when I’m listening for pleasure, I tend to reach for the music that I love the most, which admittedly often tends to be older. I love timeless, uncomplicated melodies and songwriting that uses simple language in a powerful way. It might be true that the majority of my favourite music was made in the twentieth century, but definitely not all of it.”
S13: Sunburst Body is the tenth Cruel Nature release for Score. How vital has the label been as a vessel for your music?
CT: “It’s hard to describe how much I value Steve [Strode] and Cruel Nature. As an artist, I’m endlessly enthusiastic about making albums and creating the artwork, ideally putting them into the world in a physical format. I’m not good at much else music business related beyond that, and I don’t have much desire to be, so it feels like a less productive use of my time.
“When my old band ended, Cruel Nature provided the opportunity to do exactly whatever I wanted as a solo artist. It allows me to create without having to worry about what I will do when the work is complete, because I know I can rely on Steve to put it out into the world quickly and painlessly. What Steve has carved out with Cruel Nature has proved sustainable and incredibly productive, and has brought together an amazing, worldwide community of interesting people who love underground music or who themselves have something creative to offer. I find it really beautiful and feel very fortunate to be part of it.
S13: Do you see yourself as someone who will always create, and do you think it’s a central part of your life?
CT: “Yes I do, it’s been totally central to my life and as long as I can, I will continue to create. I committed myself wholeheartedly to a creative life when I was young, with the intention of trying to get better at it as I got older. I took it all very seriously, and I still do, although thankfully I’m way less hung up than I was.
“I grew up believing I could do whatever I wanted with the rest of my life, if I really dedicated myself to it. And as a teenager in the late ’80’s / early ’90s, I fell in love with contemporary artists of the time like the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Stone Roses, Primal Scream / Weatherall, Happy Mondays …whose melodic music was beautiful and thrilling to me and who spoke openly about things that excited me – and they said ‘if we can do it, you can too’.
“That message gave me encouragement and completely reinforced my determination, even though I was a late starter in music making, being about seventeen years old when I got serious. This answer relates back to the previous question – Steve / Cruel Nature helps me to hold onto that initial surge of energy and inspiration which I might otherwise struggle to find in the current music world, and it reminds me that there’s always a way to do things without unnecessary compromise. It comes from the heart.”
Sunburst Body is out now via Cruel Nature Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.
