The invitation to interview the Delgados came rather unexpectedly -- so unexpectedly, in fact, that we'd already shipped our review copy of their latest album, The Great Eastern, to another writer, and were therefore woefully ill-prepared for an interview. Another copy of The Great Eastern was hurriedly provided, listened to several times, and we proceeded to cobble together a batch of semi-informed questions. Scrambling until the last possible minute, we e-mailed our questions with fingers crossed. Delgados bassist Stewart Henderson was kind enough to answer them, and we happily present to you an interview that's a good deal better than it ought to have been, under the circumstances.

Splendid: The Great Eastern seems a bit more, for want of a better term, fragile than Peloton. Was there an intentional step back from Peloton's noisiness when you recorded The Great Eastern?

Stewart Henderson: Quiet songs are often more powerful than ones with slabs of feedback. I believe The Great Eastern is by far the most powerful record we have ever recorded.

Splendid: The Great Eastern sounds very lush -- at times almost orchestral. How do you approach the idea of reproducing these songs in a live setting?

Stewart Henderson: We'll be touring with a string quartet, a flautist, a pianist and various other keyboards/samples etc. It seems self-defeating to spend all of that time recording the album, only to go out and tour it in a half-arsed fashion.

Splendid: The Great Eastern was mixed by Dave Fridmann, known for his work with, obviously, Mercury Rev, as well as the Flaming Lips. I gather that prior to his involvement the album had sort of grown out of control, into a massive accumulation of music. Was this one of those situations that writers often run into -- the "kitchen sink" problem of having too many ideas and wanting to use them all?

Stewart Henderson: I think that was exactly it -- the recordings had grown to such an extent that we had some songs running at up to eighty tracks and more. As a result, the mix was always going to be daunting; things were also exacerbated by the fact that we attempted to mix songs in the last ten days of a six week recording session which had not included days off. So we were pretty fried anyway, making the mixes almost impossible from an objective point of view.

Splendid: Was it difficult to pass the Great Eastern tapes to Fridmann, who'd had no involvement with their recording? He'd never worked on an album that he hadn't recorded as well, isn't that right?

Stewart Henderson: That's right, it was a first for him and it was also the first time we had recorded something and given it to someone other than ourselves to mix/finish. Truthfully, it wasn't hard at all -- more of a relief to be honest. The fact that Dave hadn't been burdened by the baggage of the recording sessions was exactly why we wanted him to do it. He brought a fresh and critical perspective to the whole thing which we no longer had ourselves. We were so confident that Dave was the right person for the job that we had very little concerns that it wouldn't work out. He seemed perfectly matched with the kind of material we were presenting him with (especially with his work on the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev).

Splendid: Some of you went to New York to work with Fridmann. What was it like? Did you learn anything that'll affect future recordings?

Stewart Henderson: It was incredibly relaxing watching Dave work: he just seemed to float around making everything sound great. He has a very focussed impression on how he believes the songs should sound and he sets about achieving that with stereo pictures and muso stuff like that. His invention and enthusiasm was indeed a sight to behold. Amen.

Splendid: Are you happy with the way The Great Eastern turned out? What's your favorite song on it?

Stewart Henderson: Yes, I'm delighted. I believe the record is one of the best things I've heard in a long time. It sounds immodest, I know, but it's true all the same. I think it is a very emotional record and I feel very pleased that what we set out to do with it has been achieved. My favourites are different from everyone else's and they tend to change daily. As I answer this, my favorite is "Aye Today".

Splendid: Are there any ideas from your recording sessions that didn't get used on the finished album, but that you'll reuse later -- i.e. live, or as b-sides?

Stewart Henderson: "No Danger" was originally meant to have included a children's choir in the choruses and final verse, but we ran into problems due to the "...come on babies find a vein..." line. We intend to persevere with this idea however: find a school that actually believes us when we say it's not a drug reference, lets us record the kids and use it for a future single.

Splendid: As your arrangements grow increasingly complex, you must find yourselves needing to write for instruments you're not really familiar with. Or you might all be genius multi-instrumentalists -- I don't know. How do you work with elements like brass, string sections, etc. to get things just right?

Stewart Henderson: None of us are classically trained or can even read sheet music, so things tend to be quite laborious when we arrange the strings, brass etc. What we tend to do is get the players into a room, play them the song and hum melody lines to them that we think will sound good on the song. Rather than scored string parts, for example, we might have came up with a guitar or bass line that wouldn't work on that instrument but would sound great on strings or whatever. Also, we often ask the players to play way below their level of technical expertise. We don't necessarily want technically difficult parts -- often one held note will sound more effective than anything. If the string players are prepared to work with that in mind, then ideas seem to come quickly. We'll point them in the direction we want them to go and they come up with various harmony options. It's an arduous way of doing things but ultimately, it pays dividends.

Splendid: Your previous album titles, and indeed your name, are drawn from the world of cycling. Why the departure from this "trend" on The Great Eastern?

Stewart Henderson: In every respect The Great Eastern is a step forward for the band. It was decided to put the cycling thing to rest once and for all...

Splendid: John Peel is enthralled with the Delgados, and members of the UK press seem to gradually be following suit, but I've not heard much about your response in America. Are you understood? Appreciated? Is it a lot different for you here?

Stewart Henderson: I couldn't possibly attempt to second guess what the American music press think of us...

Splendid: The success of Mogwai and the Chemikal Underground label itself may have overshadowed your own achievements a little bit...but is that bad? Does it give you the freedom to be more creative and less "defined" by expectations?

Stewart Henderson: It's bad in the sense that I don't think our previous records were given the respect or achieved the commercial success they deserved. Ultimately what it does is give us less money to live and therefore things are considerably harder to function as a band. With that in mind, we did record The Great Eastern firmly of the opinion that it would be our last record.

Splendid: Five years on, Chemikal Underground has clearly become a great success. But has it become more of a business than you'd like it to? Is it still "fun"? Obviously you don't need to be there on a day-to-day basis, but presumably you maintain an active interest in the label?

Stewart Henderson: It has its drawbacks: admin; accounts; artists' egos, etc., but it is still enjoyable and hugely satisfying. We have a fucking great job, and the day that we fail to appreciate that is the day we should jack everything in.

Splendid: Arab Strap just returned to Chemikal Underground from Polydor. Not every independent label can get acts "back" from the majors -- at least, not so quickly. Is it simply a question of Chemikal Underground understanding a band like Arab Strap better than Go Beat/Polydor does?

Stewart Henderson: Absolutely. Go Beat/Polydor were guilty of one of the most jaw-droppingly, awe-inspiring acts of music industry ineptitude that it almost beggars belief. They coaxed Arab Strap away from our label with promises and statements which they could never be held accountable for. I really shouldn't go down this road -- Arab Strap are back on Chemikal Underground: it's the best decision they've ever made and it's great news for Chemikal Underground. Back where they belong.

Splendid: The label can run without you, whereas the Delgados cannot. But if both are still going strong at the ten-year mark and you had to choose between them, where would your loyalties be?

Stewart Henderson: No idea.

Splendid: You've been described as rather dour and downbeat, though mesmerizing, in both recorded and live form. Ever get the urge to go onstage and play a set of upbeat bubblegum pop songs just to prove everyone wrong?

Stewart Henderson: There's nothing wrong with being dour and downbeat so why should we have to prove anyone wrong? We are a bunch of miserable cunts.

Splendid: The recent Chemikal Underground 5th anniversary celebration must have taken a lot of planning and effort. Were you happy with the way it turned out?

Stewart Henderson: Yes, it seemed to be a big success and it was like a sort of celebration/vindication of everything we've done in the last five years. Oh, and we got totally gubbed into the bargain.

Splendid: How did your performance at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival go?

Stewart Henderson: We tried to do the full production: acoustic guitars, string quartet, flutes, pianos etc. Unfortunately it all went arse over tit and there were many technical problems beyond our control. People did seem to like it, though, and appreciated that we tried to do something ambitious.

Splendid: If the Delgados could tour with absolutely any other bands, headlining and/or supporting, who would they be?

Stewart Henderson: Black Heart Procession; Gorky's Zygotic Mynci; The Band; Nick Drake/Tim Hardin/Karen Dalton showcase tour.

Splendid: What is the optimal listening environment for appreciating The Great Eastern?

Stewart Henderson: Darkened room, headphones, illegal volume.

Splendid: Is it, as "Trainspotting" suggests, "shite being Scottish?"

Stewart Henderson: It's as shite being Scottish as it is, no doubt, being American.