Skylephant: Fragility + Honesty

Electronic music comes in many forms and whilst long time friend and creative force for new project Skylephant’s Mark Applin has previous in the industry, his new work under this pseudonym sets out to be arguably the most ambitious yet....and not for all the reasons one might think.

The style of this album Songs For The Fragile Collective uses many traditional instruments - guitar, drum, bass, keyboard, vocals - but the strength of its delivery is arguably in how these have all been knitted together by Mark’s tireless quest to learn and perfect the self-taught art of recording, mixing, and sequencing from his home studio.

I take a closer look at the man I’ve known for more than 15 years and see him in a totally different light; one he clearly wants to bathe in more often, and for all our sakes I hope he can.

When did you realise you wanted to create music?

Literally from when I was a toddler, I used to get my mum to tie some wool to a pen so I could pretend it was a whip and mime to a song in the charts at the time.

You grew up in Surrey, so you had London on your doorstep. When did you become truly conscious of music?

I had a massive collection of 45’s when I was around 12. I had them all numbered in cases and dreamed of being a DJ on the radio. I used to play them on my dads hi-fi and pretend I was presenting my own show. When I was around 14, I started to get influenced by the people I hung around with at school, and got right into heavy rock and bands like KISS. From 16, I was in bands and flunked school to pursue being a rock star

What was the first gig you ever went to?

Well, I went to some very early gigs with my parents when I was young, these included Alvin Stardust, Gladys Knight and Boney M. Alvin was my first ever gig. Once in my teens, my first gig was probably Whitesnake at the then Hammersmith Odeon. But the best gig I ever went to when I was a teen and probably to this day was Pink Floyd The Wall at Earls Court.

What were your earliest memories of music, and more specifically Electronic music?

My earliest memories of music are from listening to my dad playing his records; 60’s 70’s and I went on a quest a few years back to find all of those tracks and download them. The stand outs for me however would be Neil Diamond and Johnny Cash. As far as my earliest memories of electronic music; they would have been from my singles collection in the 70’s and would have included things like automatic lover by Dee D Jackson, Are Friends Electric, I feel love by Donna Summer and even, Son Of My Father by Chicory Tip.

Who do you feel has influenced you the most in the lead up to creating the Skylephant sound?

Having been in bands since the 70’s I have a lot of different influences from lots of different genres. I believe the Skylephant sound is essentially me, but definitely with flavours of Floyd / Cocteau Twins / The Cure / Talking Heads and probably above all, Bowie (my ultimate music idol). However, the person who made me feel I still had a place in the world as a singer was John Grant. I felt my style may be dated now, but he gave me a new angle on how i could use my voice.

This album is deeply personal and - for me - quite hard to listen to as it feels autobiographical to a great extent. What emotions/experiences are you drawing from when you write?

Having gone some major issues through my life with self confidence, self worth, anxiety, depression and issues with drugs and alcohol, I wanted to write an album about the journey of my life and all the events that have shaped me as a person, good and bad. I felt this would probably resonate with many people and reflect emotions that they could attach their own experiences to. So there is everything in there from first love to how did I get here, to this place now.

What positive connections can be made through music for those suffering with mental health issues?

Well, for me, writing and making music is nothing short of therapy. I was able to pour out all the things that have been tucked deep inside for years. I also think that people out there who have also experienced these or similar issues can feel connected through music, whether it is because it resonates with their own personal experiences, or it just makes them feel good or better.

Do you find writing and creating comes easy? Why/why not?

I was genuinely surprised how, once I had started, this stuff just seemed to pour out of me. All through my early career in music, I had been the singer and although I wrote the melody line and most of the lyrics, I never really got to write the music or twiddle the knobs on the mixing desk. I think that this is just years of creative ideas that has been bottled up in me and now has a way to get out… largely thanks to modern technology and methods

What tools do you use to create your music?

So I set up a studio at my home and use Logic Pro, I then have the hardware-like interfaces, midi keyboard, monitors, condensing mikes etc. So I create a lot of the music electronically, but then we add a lot of real instruments like guitar, percussion, harmonica etc. I then have a whole range of production tools to create the finished sound.

Do you want your music to bring people together or do you feel it’s more of a solo listening experience?

I absolutely want my music to bring people together, that is why the first album is called Songs For The Fragile Collective.

What were the last 3 albums you listened to and why?

1. Hunky Dory - because I am just in awe of the songwriting on that album.

2. Kraftwerk - The Man Machine - because I adore the Model and love that early electronic sound.

3. R.E.M Automatic For The People - because it reminds of a time that felt truly relaxed and makes me feel happy and also because I just love the lyrics about Andy Kaufman in Man On The Moon…inspired!

If you could only recommend one artist for people to hear in their lives, who would it be and why?

David Bowie, because the man was a genius. He managed to stay current through almost 5 decades, he tackled many different genres whilst always sounding like David Bowie, he managed to stay creative enough to write and record circa 25 studio albums and he is, in my view, one of the best lyricists there has been.

Who would you most like to perform alongside?

Probably Robert Smith, Dave Gilmour and Radiohead.

Your ideal festival. There are 6 acts on the bill and you’re one of them…..who are the other five?

1. Radiohead

2. John Grant

3. The Cure

4. ELO

5. Stevie Wonder

What is the music world going to look like in 5 years from now?

Well, although there is absolutely a place for "plastic pop", I would hope that radio stations like Absolute and BBC 6 music will start to get the fact that there are many different genres of music available out to the wider and younger music-loving public. I also think that there will be further moves back to vinyl, because at the end of the day, music is art and people want something they can touch and read and smell and listen to as well.

What’s next for you?

Well, I am already a fair way along with writing the next album and later this year, we will endeavour to take the fragile collective out live. I am also going to working with Here Are The Young Men and Uncle Peanut on their next album in way of producing it. Tim Hawes, my long time collaborator and multi instrumentalist on the album is working on his own project and has asked me to do some vocals for him on that. Ultimately I just want to make and be involved with as much music as I can before I get to old to do it anymore.

Songs For The Fragile Collective is released on 15th March through Musical Bear records, and is available on all music download platforms from this date.

For video of Skylephant single Breakout, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pt1BIuEjzU