Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2011

The trip to Tokyo to play SonarSound was momentous in more ways than one for leftfield New York rock group Battles. “It was our first time on stage as a trio, so it was kind of an uncomfortable leap to begin with getting ready for these shows, and then throw a nuclear disaster on top…” explains guitarist/keyboardist Ian Williams (center) in a post-show interview.

Founded in New York as a quartet in 2002, the band had recently suffered the defection of member Tyondai Braxton midway through the recording of their second album. “This was our debut as a three-piece, which connects back to our debut in Japan in 2004,” Williams continues. “Japan is symbolic for us because in some ways we actually started here. We didn’t have a record out yet when somebody offered us the chance to tour Japan. That was our first tour, and when we started to find ourselves musically.”

The risk of possibly subjecting themselves to nuclear fallout was preceded by the trauma of losing Braxton, who left the band last summer during the sessions for the album that eventually became Gloss Drop. “He was having a hard time finding the inspiration for making the music on this record,” Williams says, adding to the band’s official statement that Braxton’s solo career was clashing with Battles’ plans to tour the new album.
Many of the tracks were almost done, and prominently featured Braxton’s vocals. The remaining trio of Williams, fellow guitarist/programmer Dave Konopka and drummer John Stanier had to make a quick decision as to what to do.

“The idea of bringing on someone new occurred to us when Ty left midway through the recording,” Williams admits. “We were stuck and thought of getting somebody else, but you can’t rush that process and we were on deadline. So it became just a lot easier to finish it ourselves.”

Instead, Battles stripped Braxton’s contributions from the tracks, and brought in guest vocalists. Among others, synth-pop pioneer Gary Numan lends his high-tension vocals to the industrial grade “My Machines” and Japan’s own noise-rock icon, Boredoms frontman Yamantaka Eye expostulates, shouts and babbles on the dubby “Sundome.”

Without Braxton’s more avant-garde leanings, Gloss Drop is a more accessible, in some ways plainer and less stridently progressive outing than their 2007 debut Mirrored. “I’m a self-taught musician, and the ethos I learned in high-school via punk rock was the idea that if you could play two chords you could make a good song,” Williams says.

“It’s something that I still hold onto, even though at this point I can barely keep my complicated musical apparatus together,” he goes on. “It’s just that it kept growing. You can take those two chords and improvise and build very elaborate structures and multilayered songs. As long as I can still do it in my own crazy way, and have a license to do that, then I should do it, and hopefully it’s an expression of true beauty and genuineness.”

The thousands-strong crowd at Sonar hadn’t heard Gloss Drop, which will be the subject of much indie-rock chin stroking when it comes out this week.

But the songs were hypnotizing and fans were simply grateful that Battles had visited so soon after the quake. They loved it, and the feeling was mutual. “A week before we came we sort of decided we weren’t going to come,” Williams recalls. “But the promoter was like, ‘You’ve got to do this for the Japanese people—they need a show, and all these people are canceling concerts.’ So we were like, ‘Well, alright.’”

“I’m glad we did it,” he concludes. “It seems like the entertainment community is shutting down and hurting, and maybe the fact that this festival got to go on will open the gates a bit, and I hope promoters start to do events again. People need something. You can’t just sit at home and watch the news all day.”

Fuji Rock Festival ‘11
Coldplay, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Battles and many others. July 29-31, 9am, ¥16,800 (one-day pass)/¥39,800 (three-day pass). Naeba Ski Resort, Niigata. Tel: Smash 03-3444-6751. www.smash-uk.com/frf11

Gloss Drop is available on Warp/Beat Records.