April this year saw the release of Feeder's 12th full-length Black/Red, a double album that has garnered the utmost praise from both fans and critics alike.
Formed in 1994, Welsh rockers Feeder have been a mainstay in alternative rock with vocalist-guitarist Grant Nicholas and bassist Taka Hirose serving as the band’s driving force for decades.
From crushing distortion to the beautiful string sections, dynamics make up the core of the Feeder sound. We were lucky enough to catch Grant for a quick chat about the record, as well as their upcoming Australian tour—their first in 14 years.
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“Some of the songs I wrote during lockdown, basically the previous album Torpedo is in the same vein as Black/Red. Black/Red takes it in some different places but they sit together, well, sonically so it’s almost like a trilogy.”
Grant continues to elaborate on the intricacies of making a double album, saying: “I didn’t want it to be one long continuous CD, it’s always difficult with double albums. Like sometimes people feel like it’d be better as a single album and I really wanted to avoid that.”
“I feel like side Black has some punchy heavy tunes and Red is a bit more back to the melodic, anthemic strings sort of side of Feeder.”
The whole concept of describing Feeder’s last two records as an unintentional trilogy is fascinating. Grants’ main inspiration for making Black/Red, a double album, came from a different perspective.
“It’s hard to get great feedback when you have put that many songs together, I wanted it to feel connected but slightly different in some ways. It’s had a great response from both the press and the fans.”
I go on to prod Grant about what went into making Black/Red, the record sounds both rich and dense and it doesn’t take long before the conversation turns to the topic of guitar tones.
“I’ve always considered big guitars as sort of a Feeder trademark, it’s really important for us to show what we are as a band either people get it or they don’t but it’s always been very song-based.”
Grant is quick to profess his affinity for classic Fender offset guitars.
Fender Jazzmaster
“I’m known for Jazzmasters, A lot of my tracking is done with a ’70s Marshall head.”
“Then If I need a humbucker I have my custom guitar which is a cross between a Fender Mustang and a Gibson SG. If I use Gibson stuff I have an old Explorer and SG.”
“But it’s mainly Fender stuff and I’m endorsed by Fender, mainly Jazzmasters but I use some Telecaster and there was even a bit of Strat on this record.”
He pushes forward to reveal even more about his guitar ethos, detailing that he has “loads of guitars, but if you have a good single coil guitar and a humbucker guitar you can do pretty much anything.”
But at the end of the day it all comes back to the Jazzmaster, Grant continuing: “My Jazzmasters cover a lot of ground, I’ve got an original old ’59 one that is really low output. That’s my main recording guitar, I just love the sound of it.”
“Then if I want a more powerful sound I use my live Jazzmaster which has Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders in it, between those two guitars that’s really all I need.”
However, the humble Jazzmaster isn’t the only piece of gear that Grant has a penchant for.
“I’m a bit of a fuzzbox junkie, I have so many fuzzboxes, like the Big Muffs and Tonebenders, along with a few boutique pedals like the Roshi ELF.”
“The Roshi is kind of signature fuzz designed for me designed by Roshi in Japan. We actually named a song on the album after it.”
Detailing the importance of pedals in the studio, “I don’t use my pedal board in the studio I just like to experiment and try different things. It gets a bit chaotic but I’m not a clean switching kind of guy.”
“There are no rules in the studio, I like that I can plug in 5 fuzz boxes and see how it sounds. I love that freedom in the studio.”
When it comes to amplification Grant also has a handful of favourites that he has remained faithful to over the years.
Vox AC30
“I don’t really change my rig between albums, I just use the Vox AC30s, Matchless and JMI amps, Fender Devilles too. I moved to Mesa Boogie for a little while but ended up back at my main setup.”
Whilst the gear talk ensues I take an opportunity to enquire about the recording process of the new Feeder album Black/Red, which sparks a detailed discussion about Grant’s home studio.
“The album was recorded in my garden studio, everything besides drums. That’s the good thing about technology, you can do things at a distance.”
“Taka would send me bass or I’d send him guide bass and then we would add things on top. I definitely prefer both being in the same room at the same time but sometimes it’s good to have time more to work on parts.”
It’s here that Grant takes the time to highlight the importance of using speaker sims and loadboxes within the confines of his home studio.
“It’s nice to throw a mic on something but because it’s a relatively small space I do a lot of work with the Palmer Speaker Simulators and load boxes. I use one for the Fender and one for the AC30 then if I use the Marshall I’ll switch it over.”
“If we are at the studio recording drums sometimes I’ll take the opportunity to do some overdubs or reamp things but a lot of what I do is at home with the Palmers.”
Whilst expressing an adoration for experimentation and technology, Grant also expresses a slight caution for modern recording practices expressing an affinity for the old school.
“I worked in a studio when I was younger but I’m not a really technical kind of person. I like to keep it old school and that’s just the era we are from. Having said that, I think its easy to get bogged down with technology. It’s really about balancing between the best of both worlds.”
We round out our early December chat by foreshadowing Grant’s expectations for Feeder’s first Australian tour in 14 years. Even taking the time to reflect on some memories of past visits.
“The first time we came to Australia we gave Muse their first leg on their first big tour, we thought they were really great. Then later on they gained traction and took us along with them over to Australia.”
“I love playing Australia, there’s a chill vibe there and it seems like Australians love guitar bands. We’ve been trying to get back there for so long, bugging our agent so it’s great that we finally get the chance to go back.”
Feeder are here in April 2025, for tickets, tour dates and more, keep reading at The Phoenix.
