With UK prog rockers CIRCU5 second album, Clockwork Tulpa, now out, it seemed like the perfect time to sit down with main man Steve Tilling and discuss the band, the back story, the making of the album, and the challenge of being a self-funded band in the modern age.
Let’s start with a bit of background on you. What has your sonic journey been from first getting into play to where you are today?
I started learning classical guitar at the age of 7, got into rock music at around 12, and joined my first band while at school. They were called Backlash. The poster for our first gig misspelled it as Backwash. With such an auspicious start, it was inevitably downhill from there. I played in various other bands beginning with B, like Bardiche and Bigshot (which made for another interesting typo), did some session work, and called it a day when family responsibilities came along. I sold all my guitars and gear and didn’t play again for twelve years.
And why did you put CIRCU5 together, and is there anything you wanted to say and common themes or discussions you wanted to open through the band’s music?
A drummer friend casually mentioned that I should make an album. For some reason, the idea appealed to me. I’d been working as a copywriter for lots of different companies. The work can be creative, but it’s hard to be passionate about pushing other people’s products. So, I started CIRCU5 as a creative outlet – something I could enjoy doing with only myself to please.
A couple of years into making the debut CIRCU5 album, I decided to marry the music with a story I’d developed. It’s about a character called Grady. He’s a child raised by a secret organization to become an ultra-high-functioning psychopath: someone who can harness positive psychopathic behaviors like fearlessness and competitiveness and suppress the condition’s negative traits.
I imagined a covert UK government program, codenamed CIRCU5, nurturing individuals with ultra-high-functioning psychopathy. The group’s goals were to cure psychopathy while molding leaders to advance the country’s corporate, political, and military goals. But these fictional elements are a metaphor for the struggles many of us encounter: traumatic childhoods, the lure of negative groups and mindsets, and the ongoing battle to be a good person.
And who else is in the band?
Currently, Mark Kilminster (ex-Tin Spirits) on bass and vocals, and Lee Moulding on drums and vocals. We’re likely to be welcoming a new member to the band soon. And we need extra hands because our music is quite tricky for a trio to manage.
The new album, Clockwork Tulpa, comes seven or so years since the eponymous debut; why so long?
It was a combination of things. Around six months after the debut came out, I joined TC&I, which was a band formed by Colin Moulding and Terry Chambers from XTC. When that finished, I was persuaded to join a band called EXTC – which was essentially an XTC tribute band led by Terry Chambers. That took me away from CIRCU5 for a long time. Add into the mix a bout of Long Covid, and the years slipped by. When I left EXTC, I was free to continue with the new album, Clockwork Tulpa. Knowing what I know now, playing in EXTC was a huge miscalculation on my part. I regret it, but you live and learn.
Both albums have been released as lavish packages – a high-end book, lush artwork, and a highly creative and professional product. Is that important in the download world we find ourselves in?
It is for me. I don’t like how the tech bros made music a disposable – and ultimately, worthless – commodity. I have MP3s strewn across various computers that are now in landfill. They’re probably accessible somewhere in an online Apple repository, but I’ll be damned if I can be bothered to jump through the password and security hoops to get them. I want to own my music and hold it in my hands, complete with great packaging and artwork. But I appreciate that people like streaming and downloads.
That’s why the new album, Clockwork Tulpa, comes with a unique code, giving buyers access to studio-quality downloads and streaming. So even if they don’t have a CD player, they can use the CD as a coaster or a frisbee and still enjoy the music and artwork.
How hard is it to be a self-funded artist in the current age, especially one who makes ornate and exacting music and then wraps them in such expensive surroundings?
Cripplingly hard from a financial perspective. I thought the first CIRCU5 album might be a one-off. So, I invested a lot into making the best package I could – in terms of production, mixing, mastering, and packaging. I can’t let those standards slip. So Clockwork Tulpa needed to be at least as good. I’ve set quite a high and expensive bar. Hopefully, I’ll find the money somewhere to make the third album meet these standards. After that, I think I’ll need to rein it in a bit and release stuff in those cheap cardboard CD outers with no lyrics and crap artwork. Or maybe not. It depends on how flush I am at the time.
Are there any plans to play the album live? If so, how do you turn the existing three-piece into a band that can replicate this big and eloquent music?
Yes, I’d like to. As I said, we think we have a new member in the band. We may need another to do the music justice.
So, if the rewards aren’t financial, why do you think that you, or grassroots musicians in your position, are driven to produce such labors of love?
I ask myself that question daily. I think it’s a need to do something I enjoy without trying to satisfy other people and their agendas. Everything I write for CIRCU5 is to please myself. If I like what I hear, I present the ideas to Lee and Mark. And if Lee and Mark like them too, we record them. There are no commercial considerations. That said, we have very high standards and won’t release anything we’re not 100% happy with.
And where next for you personally, musically, and for the band?
If I can keep my head above water, then it’s on to the next album and doing some good gigs. It would be great if CIRCU5 could pay its way, so we’ll keep pushing as much as we can.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, and best of luck with the album, the future shows, and everything else you are involved in.
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