An interview with Run Logan Run | LOUD Bristol Issue Three
Posted on: 01 Jan 2022This article was first published in the third issue of LOUD Bristol, 365Bristol's dedicated music magazine. Read LOUD Issue Three and browse our first two editions here.
Run Logan Run
Propulsive, urgent, restrained, reflective. Run Logan Run are a band of poised contrast. The duo discuss their new album, confusing sound engineers, and Bristol’s indelible mark on their music.
Run Logan Run have a knack for mystifying all who cross their path. As saxophonist Andrew Neil Hayes and drummer Matt Brown sign into our Zoom call, the dust from the launch party celebrating the release of their latest album is just about settled, and one utterly bewildered punter has taken to social media with something to say. “What is this witchery!” they proclaim, evidently still trying to figure out which way is up. The dazed and confused individual isn’t the first to be floored by the duo’s brand of knotty, contemporary jazz. In fact, complete bafflement seems standard fare, even amongst industry professionals. “The poor sound engineers that have to work it out,” Matt laughs. “You do a sound check and when you get to the end, they’re like ‘I didn’t know what was a saxophone or a guitar or bass.’”
This dizzying sonic is indicative of a shift in creative direction. For a Brief Moment We Could Smell The Flowers, Run Logan Run’s third LP, unmasks an altogether different band - one leaning full tilt into alchemical experimentation. “I like the idea of disorienting the audience, sort of hypnotizing them. Just confusing them into submission basically,” Andrew says. Despite the new album being the third released under the Run Logan Run moniker, it’s Matt’s debut full-length release. Having launched the project in 2016, Andrew was left looking for a drummer in early 2019 after the departure of his first bandmate. “We knew each other from both being on the music scene. I always thought Matt was too busy, but it turned out he had the time,” Andrew recalls.
On beat, Matt’s main project had broken up (“this is mad perfect timing”). After a hasty back and forth, the pair connected and got straight down to business, touring briefly and setting aside time to jam and record new material – much of which became the new album. With most of For a Brief Moment complete before the pandemic struck, the pair were forced to suspend production as it reached its peak, opting to play roller hockey behind a Showcase cinema as they waited for studios to reopen instead of jamming on Zoom. “We had a whole crew of skaters bombing around car parks for a bit. I miss that,” Matt says, longingly.
Already set back by Covid-19, the album stalled further as Brexit complicated its release. Finally, in September, after a frustrating period of misfortune they were able to fully unveil the project that had been mothballed for so long. Listening to the record is a journey, one that sees you passing through as many places as the duo can imagine and improvise. It’s a scintillating, dynamic adventure that - across eight tracks - flits between propulsive and cosmic body music to more restrained and reflective spaces. “I’m really into variety,” Matt says. “With an album, we want it to be as varied as possible, just for the trip of the listener.”
“Squeaky clean things make me want to curl up in a shell. I hate them”
Albeit they’re not keen on variety solely for the sake of the listener, it’s a creative instinct. A glance through Run Logan Run’s back catalogue is evidential of this. “I don’t see the point in just churning out the same stuff. Once you’ve done something, it’s good to do something else,’’ Andrew continues. “I love trying to find new sounds; to see the limitation of starting with two instruments and seeing what you can do with that. I just find it really creative - trying to exhaust all the possibilities and then come out the other side of that with something new and exciting. Also, I like the idea of people hearing a sound and not necessarily associating it with the instrument that made it.”
Enter Riaan Vosloo, aka Wise Man Eames (the title of the album’s last track), who assumed production duties on the project. His recruitment gave the duo’s intuitive desire to dogleg focus by inspiring them to use the studio more musically. “Before, I was always aiming to capture the live sound and wasn’t bothered about production,” Andrew explains. “Since we couldn’t play live, I was like: what can we do differently with the recording process? It was quite exciting opening up a new direction.”
Riaan added new textures to the duo’s music, introducing equipment to “fuck up” sounds as they were recorded - often on tape to eliminate the possibility of cleaning them up. “There are certain aesthetics that I feel deeply allergic to,” Matt says. “Squeaky clean things make me want to curl up in a shell. I hate them.” To accommodate the new sonic makeup, the duo has roped in a third musician to help them play live. “There are so many new things. Dan Messore plays on guitar, but it doesn’t sound like a guitar. He’s got a pretty mad pedalboard and makes a bass synth out of a Telecaster and all kinds of mad stuff.”
Run Logan Run on-stage at The Jam Jar in 2021. Photos: Chris Lucas
In another first for the new album, the duo parted ways with label Wizen Blaum, releasing For A Brief Moment through local label Worm Discs - essential drivers of the Bristol ‘jazz’ community’s recent successes. In fact, the city has left its indelible mark on the whole project. The album takes its name from a moment in the first lockdown, when, for the first time, Andrew could smell flowers in Stokes Croft. Bristol’s open-ended community of innovators has also left its imprint on the record.
“I love the experimental scene in Bristol. I love the crossovers of all the genres. It’s such a melting pot with strong individual scenes and they all bridge into each other,” Andrew says. Matt agrees. “Bristol has been an amazing hub to meet people and learn; to go out playing and get your ass kicked to be better. There are so many players here. Everyone’s pushing each other. It’s brilliant.”
Right now, the duo are getting back to bombing around the country, re-building their gig fitness whilst also gearing up to release their fourth LP in 2022. Keep it locked on Run Logan Run.
Photos: Chris Lucas
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George is a journalism graduate and writer passionate about music and culture. Get in touch via email at george@365bristol.com
