IamA Everything Everything AMA

Hey! Huge fan of you guys (and singing Spring/Sun/Winter/Dread at the top of my lungs).

My question: In Suffragette Suffragette, did you mean for it to sound like you were saying "Who's gonna sit on your face," or was that just a happy accident?

P.s.- come back to the states! Missed your last tour here but won't miss the next!!

P.s.s.- Alex, will you say hi to my fiancé, Andrew? He has a man crush on you!

Hi Andrew!

We knew this question would come up, im afraid i dont know the answer..

Alex

What's your fuck style?

STRICTLY THE PACK ONLY MFER

still wanking with a robot arm?

u got it

Hello from Australia! Hope you guys visit soon. My question is: which song on the new album was the most difficult to put together? Whether the most challenging to write, record or a combination of things. Thanks!

I think Long Knives was the biggest battle in the studio, the arrangement was hard to perfect. The Demo had this outrageous math riff which we had to cut sadly which was a shame but it was getting quite prog so probably a good thing.

Most the other tracks were written over a long period of time on the road so never really felt like they were too difficult really, they just came together over time. Put Me Together particularly went through a lot of lives before it settled to where it is now.

Alex

Hey guys!

What sort of themes will A Fever Dream address? Get to Heaven was angry and raw but I feel like the world's only gotten worse since then.

It's more personal than GTH, more human level than global. it covers all the stupid shit that's gone on but it's looking much more at the person to person aftermath rather than the big sweeps and predictions of GTH.

Hi guys! I have a couple of questions if that’s ok.

1. Jonathan: How did you find out you could sing/speak so fast!?

2. I heard a couple of you guys hail from around the North East/Northumberland, how do you feel about the current political climate up here compared to Manchester/the rest of England?

3. What are your favourite songs that you haven’t had a chance to play live yet?

Finally, thank you, your guys’ music is by far the most interesting/catchy thing I’ve ever come across, and convinced me that if I’m angry about something I should channel it into something creative, instead of just sitting on my arse.

thanks for that last sentence mate, that's great to hear. i just kept trying to sing fast, it's not that hard and i'm not actually very good at it.

Would you ever consider releasing a b sides album/collection? I'd pay silly money for those songs on vinyl

hopefully

Did you guys ever see the film Everything Everything?

If so, what was your opinion on it?

definitely not, they stole our name and it looks shit.

Who's the least straight of the squad?

mike is exceptionally not straight

Hey guys massive fan here❤ Been listening to you guys since I was 11 and you are mine and my family's favourite band

Got a few questions here:

Will there be a deluxe version of A fever dream?

Are you guys doing record shop album signing for A Fever Dream?

What's your favourite lyric from the new album?

Jon, how many cats do you have now?

Thanks guys looking forward to seeing you guys loads this year🙌🙌

i've got 10 now. favourite new lyric is probably LORD I SEE A FEVER DREAM BEFORE ME NOW. there won;t be a deluxe version, we didn't like doing them in the past as people just think we made a 20 track album that tails off halfway through!

Which supermarket has the best meal deal and what do you normally go for?

Personally I'm a fan of the new-ish Sainsbury's range, the bacon, brie + chili jam sandwich really hits the spot.

boots

When are you headlining Glastonbury?

2022

Sam from At The Border here! So many questions... please feel free to answer any / none of these...

1) On Radcliffe and Maconie last week, you were about to reveal which your favourite / least favourite tracks to play live were. What are they, for each of you?

2) During your performance of Radiant at Down The Rabbit Hole last year, Jon sings something that sounds like "touch my buttery head". Battery head... buttery hand... Is this an in-joke, and if so, what's the back story?

3) Jon, how did you actually get hold of your set of scrubs?

4) Are you ever going to release the Arc doc?

5) A lot of your songs feature some ingenious harmonic twisting and turning as they progress - I'm thinking specifically of Kemosabe with a verse in Cmin, bridge alternating between Eb maj and C# maj and a chorus in Eb min / F# maj. Do you set out to create harmonic 'journeys' like this, and if so, do you start with a disparate set of sections and ideas and weld them together deliberately? What is your songwriting approach here?

7) Finally, and this is something a lot of ATB members are keen to find out - WHO IS THOMAS SILHOUETTE?

scrubs were stolen from a hospital in Crewe. it's touch my buttery "A" as in A-hole. 7) he is here now.

When will you guys let me free from listening Get to Heaven 3 or 4 times a day? Also, when are you coming to Brazil?

When A Fever Dream drops :)

Really want to get out to South America hopefully we can soon.

Suffragette Suffragette.

"Fence" or "Face"?

let's just keep this about RAMPART ok?

Hey guys! Huge fan here after taking a punt and buying Get To Heaven back in December 2015 and seeing you support Foals in manchester last year, one of the best decisions I've made!

I have a few little questions for ye

1) I gotta ask for the "At The Border" fam... MAN ALIVE VINYL REISSUE WHEN?

2) Of all the new songs on the album, which are your favourites? I was lucky enough to see you guys in Nottingham, Manchester and Glasgow recently and I loved all the new material, particularly Ivory Tower, A Fever Dream and Night Of The Long Knives.

3) For Jon...Would I be right in thinking that recent political events, or rather the division that these have caused, are a central theme on AFD lyrically? I get this in particular from the title track ("I hate the neighbours, they hate me too") and the rather awesome title for Night Of The Long Knives, which I assume is a reference to the systematic arrests/executions of Hitler's political opponents in, I think, 1933 (GCSE history coming in handy there, haha). I feel this is certainly an interesting progression from the very violent Get To Heaven... from what I've heard this album is more suspicious and fearful. Like how Run The Numbers seems to reference the post-truth world we now unfortunately live in. Would love to know your thoughts

4) Is it true you took your name from Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place"? Seeing them again after you guys at TRNSMT was pretty damn awesome. My favourite bands in one place!

5) It's been a few weeks since the excellent Can't Do was released but we're hungry for more. Any chance of a cheeky new single being dropped some time very soon^{IvoryTowerPls} ?

6) PLEASE tour the UK again soon. Your live show is incredible. Was also wondering how you choose which songs to fit into the setlist? I'd love to see the likes of NASA, Final Form, Treasure Set and Warm Healer make an appearance again. Also, it was a pleasure talking to you briefly in Manchester, Alex!

7) And lastly, all hail neckbeards

Thanks for doing this guys!!

dude man alive reissue, I DONT EVEN HAVE A COPY and i am the singer. hopefully one day but we arent actually with that label anymore so it's a bit more difficult. in fact that label doesn't exist anymore lol. Ivory Tower is a lot of fun to play. With that neighbours lyric i wanted to sum up an awful lot with something childish and blunt, there's a lot of childish lyrics on AFD, it's become the language of politics and a lot of other things.

Can we just talk about how awesome Peter Sene is? What was behind the decision to bring him on board live?

i (jon) couldnt be arsed to play the keys and gtr and sing all at once.

have you ever sneezed during a performance?

yes.

@ Jon how's sandro doing? very interested about your cats

he;s alright he caught a mouse last night and actually ate it for once

Hey guys, I was lucky enough to be in the crowd for your 2015 William's Green set at Glastonbury and to this day it's still one of the most incredible atmospheres I've experienced at a gig. Jonathan - What was the reason behind your emotional response to No Reptiles, and was this one of the bands favourite performances of it?

thanks. it was mostly because we'd only played it once on the radio, it wasn't released, and i'd worried since the day i wrote it that people would laugh, that they wouldn't get it. i thought people would snigger, even the band thought it was odd on first listen, and it meant so much to me i really believed in it - so to hear the crowd sing it back, it made me feel really emotional and accepted, both for the meaning of the song, and for the fans saying "we understand this, we understand you jon". hard to put into words even now and it's hard to explain what the song is even about! people jsut seem to know, they get it, and they got it after one performance on the radio, just amazed me and still makes me tear up now.

Jonathan- how'd you learn to sing like that? Ever take formal lessons or just figured it out on your own?

figured it out by having bad technique and trying to sing radiohead

Hey EE, I’m a huge fan and have been for about 6 years now. I remember hearing my first EE song (MY KZ, UR BF) on some streaming site and was instantly hooked. Ever since then I’ve been a devout follower of the band. The beauty of the AMA is that it’s on my birthday, so it’s pretty much the best birthday present I could ever ask for. I have some questions for you guys, you don’t have to answer them all but if you did that would be amazing.

1. Will there be/when will the next single be released?

2. What was your biggest influence for A Fever Dream?

3. Do you plan to tour in the US again?

4. The lanyards that you guys said were for sale, did they ever go up on the site? I went to get one but could find no trace of them. I was dying to buy one.

5. What is your favorite Ed Sheeran song?

I know this is a lot but answer whatever you want. Cheer guys, can’t wait for the new album.

Very soon for the next track, think we might release an album track rather than a single next so people can hear the other side of the album sort of thing.

Biggest influence was probably a lot of early Aphex and Warp records stuff. Just had a real urge to go back to my childhood when i was writing. Lots of riffs too.

A

More Lanyards coming soon and we are looking to get back to America soon too.

I dont really know any Ed Sheeran.

A

heya fellas! met you last year at a festival you were performing at (still have the autographed artwork too)! huge fan!

my questions simply go as such...

1. what do you all do outside the band?

2. favorite b-sides?

3. planning on coming to the U.S. soon? (specifically michigan cough cough)

reddit too much, in fact it drove me mad and i quit. wizardtalk is my favourite bside yes we will be back, can't say when exactly

why don't you play Warm Healer live much? The outro was absolutely amazing when you did

Its fucking hard, but we love it and im sure it'll come back at some point.

We have so much music now its feels hard to get everything in the set and keep it all ready to go.

Why is Alex's nickname temps/temples? (If it even is - i might have misheard/read something!)

The Temple of Tone.

Hey guys huge fan. I love the political references in songs of yours like 'The Wheel is Turning' and 'No Reptiles'. Just wondering if Trump and Brexit play a big part in the new album and if so which songs should I be looking out for them in?

thanks man, yes Run the Numbers and Big Game look into those areas, but there is a shadow cast over all of it. the new album is less explicitly political, it's more about how world events have affected you and me, not these big characters and movements, it's more like the background to a more personal journey

If you had to choose one of your tracks to play continuously on a loop inside your heads during all your waking hours, which would you choose?

tin

Hellloooo! It's me.
1. Where's Mike in the Can't Do video?
2. Alex and Mike, why don't you talk on the stage?

P.s. I love you.

I still dont know where MIke is in the video. He is very elusive.

I hate the sound of my own voice so i dont like talking.

Alex

Jon, at 10:13 AM on the 6th of May, 2014, you tweeted "New song sounds like the Grandstand theme"

Which track on Get To Heaven did you mean, and did it make the final cut?

they all sound like grandstand!! how dare you

Alex, what's your pedal board like, and if you could only use one, which would you choose?

Its just been entirely re done to accommodate the new record. Don't have any pictures. I'd probably just keep a reverb when i reach an old age.

Which is your favorite album cover out of your four studio LPs? Thanks!

A Fever Dream at the moment. Love GTH too

Firstly, just want to say that as a drummer, i've really loved the development of Mike's playing over the albums in terms of incorporating more and more electronic aspects to suit the bands evolving sound. Was just wondering how you found the transition and how it affected your part writing, and where do you guys get the percussive samples you use?

(I love you so much)

A lot of it is in the writing, Mike is an incredible drummer to work with as he can make things possible.

Why is come alive Diana the one that nobody likes?

we changed it at the last minute which is a really bad idea

Guys! I was at one of your shows years ago in Manchester where you played with an orchestra and were supported by James Blake - have you got any plans to play with an orchestral backing again in the near future? Because it was bloody beautiful

Would love to and are talking a lot about it at the moment. Hopefully we can do it soon.

Are you aware that this track pinches a sample from Choice Mountain?

no we didn't. someone is gonna get sued tonight

Hey guys thanks for doing this AMA! I've been wondering, since you mentioned Sega in one of your songs, do you guys play any video games? :)

I just played Firewatch the other day, really reminded me of when i went hiking in Yosemite a year ago. Minus the relationship issues! Was a great game.

A

@jon

favorite/best meme? :-)

/r/the_pack

Just want to quickly say that I adore your first three albums and am counting down the days until A Fever Dream! Loved what I heard in Heaven a few weeks ago.

Are we going to see a load of B-sides for the new album like with the other releases? And are there any musical or lyrical innovations on the new record that you're particularly proud of?

thanks! actually no there wont be any b sides, but there is a reason for that which will be revealed eventually.

The man, the myth, the mystery. Dave Sardine. Just what does he want?

nobody will believe me but the twitter dave sardine is not me

Most of the vocals for Yuppie Supper were cut for the final product. Was this to be another full song (with verse and chorus)? What were the original lyrics written for it?

I love your work ^{^}

It was a big instrumental that i worte in the back of a splitter van whilst James Bond was on very loudly. Vocals were very much an afterthought.

Alex

i need to add that we all watched ALL the bonds, except alex who insisted on 'making music' or some stupid shit.

Please please please explain "ISOLATE THE MOUTHS/SO HOT HE MUTILATES"? It's been bothering me for a while now...

don't let it bring you down.

If you could only eat potato cook in ONE WAY for the rest of your life, what would it be?

broiled

What are the chances of Final Form being played again on tour? It's may fave song ever and I've never seen you play it!

we often start tours playing it so come to the start of tours!

dam bro.... i really thought we were going to surprise us with a metal album... metal album on the works?(:

that wouldnt be a surprise!

What secrets have we missed in your albums and are there secrets to come?

lots, less so on AFD, i wanted to be more of a straight man on this record. I'll probably go back to hidden things in a big way moving forward though.

Another question: Which is the weirdest interpretation you've heard of some of your lyrics??

i need a chicken for all of my deeds

Are all of you married, or is it just A-dawg?

we're all married to the game

You were the first band that I ever saw play live, and Man Alive is one of my favourite albums of all time so thank you so much for the music guys! Massive fan since I was 12 :D Also saw you in Manchester last month and was blown away by the new songs, really excited for Fever Dream!

My question is what is your song writing process like? How do you go about crafting such interesting music and intricate lyrics? What are your main influences?

generally start with something on a laptop, we record straight in on the road with guitars and vocals and program bass and usually more electronic drums etc.

Tried to write one thing a day whilst on the road and then come back to them when we have free time after to develop them into more fully formed songs.

Fuck I love you guys,

My question was about the guitar solos on Get To Heaven. Alex's guitar tone is so tight on Arc and Man Alive, but it sounds a lot less polished on a number of the recorded songs. Was this a conscious choice or a result of the process? I hope this doesn't come across as rude, I genuinely just thought it was out of character for an otherwise highly polished album.

Love you guys and can't wait for A Fever Dream

I played all the solos once only and wanted it to sound real and unpolished. Just plug in and go for it. A lot of them were just carried over from the demos so that might add an element of looseness too......

Sorry i cant play tight enough for you! :)

A

Jon, when you're on stage, what's your overriding emotion? Happy? Sad? I'd better not forget the words?

a sort of angry embarassment mixed with elation and joy

A question for everyone: what is your musical origin? The genre that got you into playing music

Looking very much forward to the new album!

We are all Indie Heads really.

Was at the William's Green set at Glastonbury this year, was incredible.

What was the stand out moment from making A Fever Dream?

For me it was getting to be completely free playing with Mike in the middle of Put Me Together.

A

What's the verdict on coming and playing for us in Cape Town?

We enjoyed it last time! We were taken Shark Diving, it was a very strange experience....

How do you guys go about rehearsing vocal harmonies? Vocals first, then the music? Rehearse both at the same time? Music first, then vocals?

Tend to rehearse the music first then harmonies start to come together after. Sometimes on stage..........

We should do more just harmony work to be honest!

Thanks for playing Leave The Engine Room at Ovalspace at the GTH fans’ gig a couple of years ago, great to see this, NASA, Choice…and some of the older album tracks get a run out. Must have been hard to drop Photoshop from 2017’s sets?

We are growing very tired of the first album now. I'm sure when the 10 year anniversary comes up we will play lots of it.

hi guys! :) are there any visual artists who inspire your work?

I keep thinking of late Turner when i listen to the new album. If that means anything!

Huge fan right hurr, 🙏🙏🙏 thank you so much for doing this. So which modern artists do you guys really pull from currently? if any. Also I love you ❤👍✌

Little T and the rest of the BG Media scene

What's you guys' favourite chords?

D Minor, the saddest of all keys

what's the process behind chosing an album cover and the artist to make it?

Lots of confusion and arguing until that eureka moment happens.

Hello from the Netherlands!

What is your favourite album ever made? And what is your favourite album you made?

Hope to see you guys in Amsterdam in September!

I keep going back to Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk. OK Computer was a big album for us all growing up too.

Whats your average monthly Topman budget?

we used to get free shit but then we got too fat for their image /s

I just recently got into your music and I'm so happy I did. No Reptiles will always have a spot in any playlist I will create.

Struggling as a musician myself, my question is: What's more important in music industry? Talent and ambition, a good agent or luck?

Looking forward to A Fever Dream. 😏

All of the above i guess is helpful. You have to be pro active and put the music first always. Be honest.

Hey chaps,

Massive fan might I add, can't wait to hear the new album, also to see you live again (3rd time). What would you say is the best track of yours to try introducing people to your music? Personally I describe your works as Radiohead you can dance to.

Keep it up chaps Rob

Probably No Reptiles maybe. We have never been good at staying still.

Hello there! I really love some of the remixes you've made (all I want and don't try remixes are two of my favorite songs, period.).

Is this something you plan on doing more of? Are there more out there and we can I find them?

Thanks for making such excellent music!

We love doing them. We just finished a new one last week, glad your enjoying them.

Saw you guys at the Brighton Dome some years ago, with Crystal Castles, The Vaccines and Magnetic Man. Hands down my favourite gig of all time. So yeah, I guess my question is: favourite place you've ever played?

glastonbury, it will always be. on that tour magnetic man had a heckler that they pulled out of the crowd and gave a stern talking to backstage

My question is: what's the one thing you'd change about any of your albums? Any songs you would remove if you had the chance?

we'd all remove different ones and end up with none

Where did Craven Baboon come from? S/S/W/D is my favourite song, but it still puzzles me.

Alex, member of At The Border

it;s a victorian insult, except craven which came from a misprinted travelodge sign

Hey guys!

Would you say any of you are primary songwriter? Or do you all contribute?

ed sheeran

What's the best Radiohead song and album?

Also, is "Where in the blazes did I park my car?" in GTH a reference to Morning Bell?

no it's actually a reference to the evil dead 3 comic book, ash says it when he is thinking about going home once he finds the book of the dead.

what will you do after this AMA is over?

pub

are you guys coming to NY anytime soon? I'm dying to see you preform live again

Hopefully will have some news very soon.

What's Jeremy's current gear setup? Amp, bass, pedals, etc.

Bass guitar, black one and a Big Amp

i think he has a chorus pedal too.

Also ... where are you right now?

RCA

Loving the new song, so hyped for the new album!

Question: What is your favourite and least favourite song to play live?

no reptiles is always sweet. man alive single we have played an awful lot

I've always been fascinated with the variety of vocal styles on your songs. Is that something you consider a key element of the band and something you consciously try to use, or is it just your natural singing style that happens to work well with the music?

no it's not conciously done, in fact we try every now and again not to sound like us, i just end up singing the way i naturally do and feel most comfortable

Hey guys, big fan! Can you talk a little about your tech setup live? Most everything seemed to be triggered samples, but are you running a click with tracks too?

yes there is a track, with click, we try to play what we can but if it's impossible (and essential) we track it. Pete plays a very surprising amount, like that ridiculous synth run in cough cough for example. he's really great

yes there is a track, with click, we try to play what we can but if it's impossible (and essential) we track it. Pete plays a very surprising amount, like that ridiculous synth run in cough cough for example. he's really great

Hi! Hope you're having a great day guys - What's your favourite song to play live?

We love playing Ivory Tower at the moment. It has this big never ending riff at the end, not something we usually do. Its exciting.

Have you heard of tandy?

forget everything you know

Hey guys, fan since man alive here (I'm the kid who did the fanart of John in his mask from the can't do video, thanks for liking it on Instagram, made my week)

Two questions 1.john, I remember in an interview you mentioned having read Ray kurzweil's the Singularity is near, what else have u been reading? Partially could use some book recs, partially curious about what influences Ur themes& lyrics.

1. Is there a vague overarching narrative between the first three albums? It definitely feels like it, especially with Qwerty finger & then the reference to washing up keyboards in Distant past, it feel like perhaps a lot time passed between when the two albums are set, technology moved on, times changed etc and if so, will this continue on lp4?

Keep up the good work lads!

guns germs and steel is a great read, there is a really dodgy version on youtube too in 3 parts, watch it! recommended by yannis from foals actually. there is an overarching theme, more of a world. funnily enough it feels very similar to the world created in Black Mirror more recently. A large influence on me was a book called Bear vs Shark, it's set in a similar exaggerated world, though it's not that exaggerated anymore. lots of themes i will return to in future and have some ideas for something big eventually, perhaps album 5 it will be appropriate! great art btw mate x

How much of Michael's drum parts come from organic drums vs trying to reverse engineer programmed beats?

lots do, we tend to program a lot and then make him play them. somtimes we cut him loose. he looks like harrison ford

Everything Everything! First off, thank you for being such a fantastic band, I was lucky enough to see you play in Newcastle in 2015 and it is one of the best experiences I've had! I want to know, what is the meaning behind A Fever Dream's album art? Please can you do what I want hehe

the artwork is a mass of people, all stuck together and trying to pull apart. it was mean to to be a kind of nightmarish dream, and a metaphor for the country, or the west, the division we are all feeling right now, pulling away from each other but ultimately conjoined - in it together. we wanted it to be beautiful and horrific and kind of dreamy and trippy, hot red and feverish, in the dark but warm and alive.