Original subtitles

A BILINK TV PRODUCTION

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

It was really fortuitous.

It might as well not have happened.

It just happened

exactly in the right place, when we had the right spirit.

I mean, I was just

got off the plane,

totally drunk since the end of the tour party,

and immediately we started to write and resume

and was obviously trying to avoid

to be a member of Blur.

The idea of ​​building an album around it was actually born as a joke.

It is ridiculous to think that you can put together an album in five days.

Is giving to someone

a second, a third opportunity and then see

waste it and drop it again.

Makes you say, "My God, I can't

I can't do this, enough, again? "

Well, yes, you know how it is...

Interpersonal relationships are scary and people do strange things,

no? And, just when you think everything is going

smooth as oil, suddenly something unexpected happens.

Well, they will always be there

times when you don't do the right thing. That's how you grow up and learn what it is

the right thing.

Good.

And now

we'll play songs about your city.

Thank you!

In 2009, there was a kind of reconciliation.

I don't think any of us did

because I was short of money or homesick. It would have been awful.

In many ways,

I had accepted the fact

that I would never do anything with Blur again.

And then the Olympics came.

It was thanks to the Olympics. Who they have

asked to do a great show on the last day

at Hyde Park.

The atmosphere was right,

it seemed like a very special occasion.

IS

I think that

we had a great show. We all think

- that hadn't been bad at all! - And then we thought, "Well,

if we have to get together for that show, we can also go to places

where we've never played before. And I think that's why

we met in Hong Kong.

Right now we’re all calm and no one

he feels obliged to be part of the Blur.

You understand? We touch God only know how much now

and we have the golden opportunity to be able

do what interests us most.

I remember... I remember when you were just starting.

IS

And now it's more fun?

Making music is always special.

It is true. When the four of us are together, in the studio or on stage, it's something special.

And we still have to

do a series of shows, big and small and that's what makes it interesting.

Why do you still remember the first shows, right?

- Well, just a few. - Only a few, yes. Of the best.

We went to Hong Kong and shared.

After that, we should go to Taipei.

Damon will say for sure that it was another city, but it was Taipei, Damon.

We were actually going to

Tokyo,

but the show was canceled.

They shot the organizer or something, I don't know, but they canceled.

"OK."

We spent five days in Hong Kong.

The opportunity presented itself

to create music.

It happened like this... "We are in Hong Kong, we have nothing to do.

Let's go to the recording studio!

You know, I would have preferred to stay calm and

relax for a few days and

improvising in the studio can be

an unpleasant, claustrophobic, smelly and exhausting experience,

compared, for example,

in a hotel pool.

Therefore...

That week, we could have

spend time on board an open bus,

to admire the view.

But you know how it is...

when musicians get bored, it's easy

to remove the tools. It's more or less

that's how it works.

We might as well have taken a vacation.

But on the one hand there was a work ethic,

in the other

I was courteous. I wanted to find out if there was something there

differently, we could do instead of continuing

being in a band called Blur until we couldn't do that anymore.

It was like the first tests. that was

so much fun spending time like that.

It was nothing too elaborate. We were feeling something,

if it didn't work, we tried something else.

And then there were a lot of ideas,

and you don't need anything else. So the rest just

it comes naturally as a result.

Better not really, because you know what it is...

is

- Well, there are many different things. - Yes.

But this is...

Truth?

It doesn't change anything.

You have to approach it with the idea of ​​trying something different,

and it seemed like a very exciting thing to do,

making music in Hong Kong.

And in a way they were not there

pressures of any kind. We feel

to be part of a band that did something vaguely

transgressive. Record music without anyone knowing.

It was a very anonymous building, it was called the Acme building.

It had no windows.

It was very small, it was tight.

I think if we were in one of those big superchic rooms with

Pharrell Williams, to record our return record, none of us

there would be, but as everything was fine between us

and we had fun playing together, we thought "Well, come on

let's go to the living room to make music! Because we like it! Why

that's what we like to do and we're good at it!

I didn't want this album to escape us. I thought it would be...

It would have been

sad, because the sensations were perfect,

while recording those sessions.

- Hey, we have something here! - Yes!

We were all stuck in Hong Kong, outside

of the complicated lives that each of us

he built for himself. I think that was very important.

There were no distractions. We missed our families.

And I think the album also carries that.

To hell with the record company and all these people. That kind of pressure

is something you can try to rebel against,

but you can never

rebel against the path

where you are seen from a musical point of view.

Hour after hour,

day by day,

along with your friends.

Because they know when you suck. You feel yourself sucking.

You feel very vulnerable. You are in a very difficult situation

unstable. Even if you're kidding and laughing.

I think we made an effort to go somewhere. You have to go somewhere.

You must feel that you are on some kind of journey,

when you're playing jam sessions.

The good thing is that there were no distractions.

It was just some kind of thing

paramount, because we all had to

we took the subway together every day and

and we went to work, and then

we were going out together.

Every day, when we took the subway, we said things like:

"Hey! Yes! It was great!" But none of us really wanted

admits. Maybe we still think...

"Yes, it went well, but let's try"

don't let us get too excited.

- He was cool! - OK.

It is the system that was used

in the 1950s to make records, before cinemas became so big

large and bulky technological machines.

You take a group of musicians who really know how to play and put them in a room

and see what happens.

We used the same approach that we used in the early days.

In just five days, we bake

any ideas that we could.

It is important to feel free to

be able to set your mind free.

Dave started in the recording booth,

but he felt he was too far away from us.

So is

he came to the room where we were playing.

But he did not bring all the equipment and was not properly microphoned.

It was just putting ideas down,

but it was the most spontaneous session

that we received from...

I believe that from Modern Life Is Rubbish, or

Parklife.

Five days later, we had

about 20 songs. And it felt like the best thing we've ever done.

It was a creative impulse,

a relief. I felt very happy.

All the basic atmospheres were practically in place.

There were a whole series of visions, ideas and things like that.

The lyrics have always been a problem for me.

I can't go down and write all day.

So, I hadn't written the lyrics.

Yes, we're done and then...

Do you know...

Steve Sedgewick came,

the Studio 13 engineer, and he

he must have put everything in his bag,

then he ran away home. And that's how it ended.

I don't know if it ended up in a box or

on a flash drive or...

Not where it was placed, but somewhere.

It was filed somewhere.

In my mind, it was a failed experiment,

because we weren't done.

After those five days in Hong Kong, we resumed the tour

and put everything aside. It must be said.

- Thanks, Vicky. - See you later.

- Hey, thanks, honey. - See you in Jakarta.

- I'll pick you up tomorrow at half past one. - Thank you.

See you.

Well, we should be fine then.

- Come here. - Closer. Stay here.

I experienced a moment of true tranquility

is calm,

on here.

And suddenly

the phone rings.

"Ah, you play at Hyde Park tonight and it's sold out."

"Graham made a new album for you." It was like reliving a story with

an ex, in a situation

completely confused,

and then be spit back

in my normal life. When everything is over, it is said:

"What happened?"

We were like a bubble,

each on their own.

You know, we were creating something, with these sessions,

and I think we forgot that when we got back

we would be finished

in our different

professional, domestic and geographical situations.

Damon made a beautiful metaphor. It's like

didn't wash the dishes

for one day.

They start to bother you. And if you don't wash for several days, you don't want to go back to the kitchen, right?

Six months have passed. And nothing happened.

Another six months passed and nothing happened. And then another six months passed.

And nothing happened.

And then I remembered that I had a video camera in the recording room.

And I thought, "Oh, now I'm watching these videos." And even if

there was a big microphone on the camera, you could

you could feel, feel.

I woke up with the New World Tower in my head,

that song, for some reason, haunted me.

Do you prefer the four to the floor?

There was something good about those four on the floor.

It was terrible to know that I did something very good

that

he would probably never see the light of day.

I poured myself a good glass of wine, watched all those videos and thought

to pour me another glass.

I looked at them and found it a pity.

It is a great privilege to be part of Blur and

I try to have fun

at most when I'm involved in the project,

and when it’s all over, I move away from it again.

I don't expect anything, understand?

In doing so, whatever happens is great and

positive.

We can play some instruments in a small room too

or play for 80,000 people,

we are not the ones who make this change,

but what happens

around us.

There is a cause and effect relationship.

When I play a big show

the important thing is to have the necessary security,

to know

almost innately

that it is essential to be explosive during the first few

five minutes.

You have to seduce the audience, in a way.

There are many positive aspects to playing close to home.

Playing Hyde Park is not easy

it's a huge park and i love it.

It's Hyde Park and it really is

quintessential.

But it is not easy. Going on stage once doesn't make things any easier.

It is the fourth time that I play and every time it is difficult.

I always feel some kind of...

horror.

It was of great importance for Blur.

The concert

for the Olympics it was absurd,

because London couldn't be more ready than that.

Therefore

I hope tonight is

equally special.

It is very difficult to define the elements that make a show magical.

For Blur, it's about getting in tune with the audience.

It’s a pretty overwhelming experience,

take the stage in front of 65,000 people.

It always has this incredible feeling,

that kidnaps not only us,

but also the public.

It is like a feeling of total liberation and communion.

It is the union of four different people, each with...

characters, mentality,

lives, concerns,

different problems.

And they all try to have the same bizarre experience together

together.

Now we all just think about having fun and nothing else.

There is no duty, none

pressure is just

an incredible thing! Let's do a great rock show!

I thought about money and children,

and it was good that Graham called me saying:

"Do you know those songs we wrote in Hong Kong?"

And I said, "Yes!"

"I can see what we can do with this."

There is a standard, but strange

doing things, not a hierarchy, but a way

do the things you usually do

there is Damon saying, "Hi,

what if we do that? "

You are not sure if Damon likes to have that responsibility.

So I tested it

and I took the initiative, saying to him:

"I would like to take everything"

and take a look at it.

It was not easy to prepare for this conversation,

interestingly, but I shouldn't have worried about that.

I've known him for longer than anyone else.

I think they are quite rude.

- Then that's it. - Damon's mom gave it to me.

When I was in the hospital, with anemia.

When I was 18 years old.

I lost control, what a pity.

But the cup remained,

with some beads, the remains of the necklace Damon made for me at the hospital.

They still have every reason to think that

I could add a lot of guitars or make a big mess.

Send Graham

in the studio with the experts is a little bit

how to send my 11 year old son to the supermarket

supermarket shopping.

"Did you use distortion for everything?"

"You used"

the flanger of everything?

- OK. - I was excited, it's great

not having to think about everything.

In short, on several occasions I said to myself:

"Why am I doing everything here?"

And for me it was, well, it was

it was really a surprise

very good it

was prepared and ready for it.

And that he was capable of that too. It really made me

good that my oldest friend felt again

so optimistic and self-confident.

It's fantastic.

I didn't know if it would work

but I didn't have much to lose and

I put it in those terms. I said

people are confused, we are confused

for what happened to Think Tank and

is...

so long ago

we avoid confusing and do something

great, and he replied, "Okay, let's go!"

Are you ready?

I WANT TO BE WITH YOU

I WANT TO BE WITH YOU

You know, in old friendships there are always difficulties, there will always be

times when you don't do the right thing. But this is how you grow and learn to do

the right thing. I was wrong and admitted it, more or less.

But it wasn't my fault, it actually is...

I mean, it was hard for me to react.

I was a spoiled brat and neighing in the 90s.

And when I was 21, 22, it was like

if I was 10.

I had no idea, it was distant.

At 19, I had just left the house.

Two years later, on my 21st birthday, I was playing for Marque.

So we signed and then we went

on tour in America. It's a strange thing to metabolize.

Is weird.

At this age, you don't know your limits when you party.

You just know

this is granted to you. And it's mind-blowing.

You enter a room where there is a lot of alcohol

and they say to you, "Drink!"

You do, and you become a fool. Then, the next day, another show

and another room with a pile of spirits. "Beverage!"

And then you start to try a little.

I thought, you know, if

about your stuff and something comes out,

it would be kind of...

in other words, a recovery of balance after the shame of those years.

I think it is

The masterstroke was having Steven Street

as an aid. Because Steven is incredibly meticulous

and patient, really,

and he knows the dynamics of Blur better than anyone,

having produced most of our records.

It is always a pleasure to talk to the crowd, I feel very close to them.

But that news came suddenly, I haven't heard from them in a while.

Graham picked up the phone, like this, and said to me:

"Steven, I have an idea, I want to do something with these recordings"

we did in Hong Kong. They are ready for production.

When you go to the studio with Steven,

it never happens that you go to him one day and he gets hysterical.

Or you never go to him and find him crying at your desk.

Go to him and find everything ready

and have a coffee and it will be Steven Street.

It’s so easy to try several things,

no?

With technology, if something doesn't work, you start from scratch.

I think it's a beautiful thing.

Great sound, right?

After two days, we knew we were working on this album

it would have been very worth it.

is

but we work a lot on it, we keep working on it.

It was very intense, but very fun.

I would go home, sit with the guitar and continue rehearsing the chords.

But I was basically going home in a really good mood, you know?

I love longer and more contemplative things

and I love that sometimes it doesn't sound familiar

compared to other Blur albums.

My idea, my attitude was to be very sensitive

and keep most things in Hong Kong.

We make it very presentable,

but I was anyway

aware that I should have made it feel for Damon and had to be

a striking thing,

something that should have attracted you.

We sat next to him and said:

"Listen to her, listen to her" and he was...

It couldn't be, I didn't think that

can be very embarrassing or stressful

Do you know.

We were listening to Lonesome Street and he didn't look convinced,

so Go Out... He was very fond of Go Out.

And suddenly he says, "Wow!" And then he said:

"Yeah, fucking brilliant," and started jumping and spinning

swear, and...

It was just like that.

Damon is like that. Or behaves that way,

or suddenly he realizes

be very convinced and very expansive,

but it was really a relief.

It was a relief.

But it was a very good sound, anyway.

You could make an entire album with some of those songs.

It's the first thing I heard about music

I thought I was an astronaut, and they were all...

Yes well...

It was like this or...

Maybe I had

sang a melody as a chorus,

and I didn't know if there was a melody or not,

or I entered a middle eighth or changed the chord sequence

as in the chorus of Go Out, at the end, to give more rhythm.

There were many creative decisions, many writing moments,

I didn't know how Damon would react.

He would have been honest, he would have said

- what he thought. - He was always good.

You know, I think

he was

definitely a better musician than I was at the time.

I think we are now

we are equal, but

I had to fight and recover for many years to achieve

level, I think.

Graham and Steven

they arrived,

we sit

and we hear everything.

I had totally forgotten about some things.

But in the end, I thought:

"Oh, wow. This is great."

And then...

"Does that mean I have to...

Oh God."

We launch in the future

and I was back at Blur.

Again!

I just want to say...

i really wanted

thank you Graham,

for molding

The magic whip.

Your turn!

It is not enough!

More difficult!

I think one of my strongest emotions was

when they came back with the album.

I felt like we were back

a set

completely

Working.

It was beautifully articulated,

and everything really had the essence of Graham,

which was great. I was really really proud of your work.

For me, the most interesting thing about the lyrics on this album was asking me

"What am I singing about?"

All fragments of lyrics that were on the album

that Graham returned to me, so to speak,

they were taken from experiences we had while working in Hong Kong.

I completely dived, retraced my steps,

I thought about all the emotional experiences I’ve ever had,

about Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, I managed

dystopian levels of

personal isolation and

anguish and fear.

The spirit of these

crazy and claustrophobic cities throwing you

in a dream state that takes you out of your mind.

Despite being an incredibly busy place,

everything goes so fast

that somehow decreases

and it’s really interesting.

There were a lot of escalators, so you no longer have to climb steep hills.

You can live...

in a completely static way,

like you're in a dream.

You always have a chance to escape.

You can just take the ferry and go to these

divine islands. There are hundreds of them.

All the songs I really like

they have a geographical connotation.

Songs like Waterloo Sunset or the Beatles in general.

I like songs that meditate

in somewhat prosaic things, how to say.

A story that had a noticeable effect on me as a young man is

Patrick Hamilton's Hangover Square

with its juxtaposition

of a hangover in the square.

I've always been fascinated by that kind of idea.

There are also strong links with Britain

with British culture, but at the same time it is

is within something totally incomprehensible.

It's very exciting, very modern.

It's beautiful, busy, crazy.

The food is crazy.

I mean, thank God we are not stuck in Düsseldorf.

Keeping a secret is very difficult

in the 21st century, and

as the fateful date approached,

and we had to share the secret with other people,

everything became very difficult.

We put the finishing touches on the day before

of the press conference in Chinatown.

Live, right now, anywhere in the world.

- And we are in a room with... - We welcome you...

Here we are again with Blur.

- Who would have believed it? - Who would have believed it?

Come and go this afternoon: there will be a new Blur album

A beautiful new album called The Magic Whip.

During today's press conference in London,

the British band has revealed that it will come out of a long hiatus

with the new album The Magic Whip.

- How are you? - We met to announce to the world

that we had made a new record.

It's been 16 years since his last album as a quartet,

twelve years since his last album

in three, like Blur.

And today they join us with some news.

I remember noting, five minutes after the press conference started,

seeing Graham restless, Damon bragging,

Dave sucking his finger, I thought:

- "I remember this." - The whole thing is his fault.

Ladies and gentlemen, Graham Coxon.

I thought I played my last final.

What do you think, Graham, do you think it's all over?

No, I would say no. I think something was missing, period at the end of the sentence.

And that’s why we should put this album together.

You know, after what was a gradual process on Graham’s part,

he felt comfortable becoming Graham of the Blur again.

He said, "I want to do something with this." You know, something big.

Because that was how the band was born.

So, in that sense, he tied the whole thing up

to be together again in a band, and then

brought the narrative, the metaphor

back to the point of creation.

It will be a fascinating thing.

And here we are in Hong Kong again,

for such a short period

to play these songs that were

designed here. This is strange.

You know clearly

there is a long story about how

we ended up doing The Magic Whip, but it's all true.

And this city was the inspiration for that.

This is a song about Happy Valley.

It's the audience

to be in control

of everything.

You can establish some kind of understanding with the front rows.

I love going to watch people

in the eyes, to touch your hand,

feel that warm feeling that literally increases

of the public.

Are we feeding them? We are

to feed us, or is it just the opposite?

Are we the ones who feed on the public or is it the public that feeds on us?

It is very intense to be there with

thousands of people who

they crowd.

You start to think that, with any luck,

you have the right spirit within you and you know how to express it.

The coolest thing

is that kind of strange alchemy between the band and the audience,

and what happens at that moment...

You cannot follow a pattern, it cannot be forced.

If we hadn't made a record now...

Hong Kong was our chance. I don't think we would have another one.

And, if we hadn't produced another album,

I believe that no one...

It would have been

a little absurd

walk down the avenue of memories and that's it.

Thank you!

One of the characteristics of this record is that despite

used Hong Kong as a metaphor,

I talk a lot about our relationship,

especially about the relationship between me and Graham.

Because this seemed to be the very essence of the album,

follow me? If there is any kind of

sentimental truth, has to do with rapprochement

between us.

My Terracotta Heart is all about

about the relationship between me and Graham.

He...

he had some insecurity at the end

five days of enrollment and I thought:

"Here we go."

Because sometimes getting to know each other for a long time and having faced so many together is

a little embarrassing, because you have so many memories,

and you think, "I did this to them,"

we went crazy, we found ourselves in certain

situations, absurd moments, particular periods and everything.

Sometimes...

My God, it's like we're carrying a huge baggage with us.

It's always there and I think

that we will never get rid of it. But maybe it will help us

to play better together.

Everything happens

within two hours.

We love each other again, we think: "God, if you can play that drums!"

Or things like "What you did was great!"

Or like, "You were phenomenal!"

"Oh, really? Thank you."

And other things like, "You are an idiot."

Etc, et cetera, but, yes,

everything happens in those two hours.

There are for sure

a logic that guides us when we play a piece.

The music that the four of us make together comes

the fact that we all like it and we are all

involved,

and that’s what has kept us together all these years.

It is an element that goes beyond

each band member.

But then,

normally, everything is set aside when you step on stage.

I believe that each of us becomes

Blur, when we're on stage.

We leave our identities

off the stage,

and then take them back when we leave the stage.

While we're on stage, we're

i Blur.

We are the Blur!

As we’ve known each other since we were 19,

something almost magical is created between us.

The rest of the world disappears.

And there is nothing else

the music. It is a unique exaltation.

Well, I feel very comfortable these days.

I think that after Glastonbury in 2009, I no longer have

looking forward to doing important shows.

And then I ask myself, "Have I done enough"

being able to share this experience

with such a large audience? And I think that’s what we all think.

It is not all about us.

Blur is both the audience and the band.

It wouldn't be us, without our fans.

Playing together, whether in the studio or live, is always special,

and I think that's what still keeps us together as a band.

Why we spend so much

years together, looking for our sound,

do nothing but play,

we are completely immersed in what we do, each one

single gram of our being is expressed

what we play.

The pathos keeps growing, during the show,

to the point that you are amazed at how much

this common experience

it became powerful.

It always gets me excited, a little bit because

it's like you're in a bubble when you're on stage

and it looks like a dream.

Thank you all!

You are fantastic!

It's great, I get off the stage and listen

to know why I love being part of this band. I know why

I love these guys. I am proud and honored

be where I am.

I don't know if it's a habit or if

I was too old to be affected.

They are far from

agitated as he was before, with these things.

It's not like you can do much about it

about what's going to happen. You have to search

to see it as fun, not as

a potential disaster.

I believe that when you are at a new stage, you still have to

try to solve this

and in the end,

you can go automatic with the parts and everything, but...

I enjoyed that!

But you can relax after a while and that's it

something beautiful comes out and is a surprise for everyone.

What came out is what I wanted to leave,

what?

In my dreams

I wanted you to leave.

Another Blur album

came out and looked great.

And the four of us

we created beautiful pieces and did beautiful shows,

is

and that was what we had to do.

is

I think I was fundamental and it is fantastic.

And that was what mattered to me.

None of us need to stay on Blur, we all have our lives,

Therefore

is something that each of us chooses to do, and that undoubtedly

makes everything special.

But

the spark, for me, was clear

since the first time the four of us met.

That spark... who knows if they will understand what it is, why

put four people together

and all of this immediately goes well...

Is it just luck? Were they just lucky?

It’s that kind of inexplicable chemistry that

all human relationships are based, right? Why do you like your friends?

In fact, I don't like them.

Friendship, all the emphasis on friendship,

This "we're all friends again" thing...

Yes that's not it

we are all like

Dick Van Dyke!

We are not close friends,

we are still human beings and we are older, stranger, ruder.

We don't feel obligated to each other, or we wouldn't.

We don't even have to worry about our friendship.

If we want to work together, we do it, otherwise we don't.

For me, each show is the last,

because you never know. Graham can freak out, Damon can get pissed,

Dave can

lose temper.

It's just... being alone in Hong Kong for five days was right

what had to happen.

The favorite moment of the week was on the bus, from Scotland

to Wales, with Graham, sitting looking out the window

laughing at our jokes.

IS,

yes,

They are my best friends.

Those idiots!

Here we are, here we are, here we are, damn it!

Here we are, here we are, here we are, damn it!

There’s something really special,

FIG,

carefree, almost scary, in a rock band that plays ball.

Here we are, here we are, here we are, damn it!

The good thing is that the disc is very good!

If we didn't have this strange and long time, if we had

yielding to pressure, etc., would be great nonsense.

I'm glad we didn't do that.

It's all very unstable, actually. It might as well not have happened.

It happened

in the right place in the world, in the right mood

for five incredible days.

I think Damon got it right.

All of these lyrics express what I feel.

I think he's a genius. It is someone who

expresses exactly what you always thought, without knowing it.

It’s a huge privilege to be able

play these songs and have that kind of reaction.

I certainly don't take it for granted.

I was afraid to be there without being able to understand if it was

it went well or not. I couldn't have endured this.

Pretending that nothing would have been easier.

Instead, it was so good

make the last record and tour

so that we can be tempted to try again.

Part of me thinks, "How can I live without all of this?"

And another part of me:

"I can't think of doing this forever."

And it makes me sad, because

"forever" sounds much better than

"not forever."

What happens next?

I don't know the answer to this question.

It is a splendid chapter.

Whether it is the most recent or not, I have no idea.

The relationship between the four of us is the most important thing, and if

maintaining this relationship means "arrive with Blur", then "arrive with Blur".

I like everything, as long as it's an adventure, and

there is still a lot of adventure

in Blur.

Hyde Park, thank you!

Good return home!

We love you!