Ever since their humble beginning two decades ago, In The Nursery have topped the list of groups that just don't sound like anything else out there. Twin brothers Nigel and Klive Humberstone started with a foundation of military percussion, gradually incorporating classical influences and instrumentation. The rise of sampling technology helped not only to improve the sonic "realism" of their work but to expand the scope of their aural palette. By the early nineties, they were crafting grand, sweepingly cinematic music that cried out for visual accompaniment.

The late nineties saw In The Nursery undergo a creative retrenchment. In addition to rereleasing their substantial catalog under their own ITNCorp imprint, the Humberstones launched their Optical Music series, carving themselves a new niche by providing vibrant new musical scores to classic silent films.

I've wanted to interview Klive and Nigel for almost as long as Splendid has existed...but it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I finally got around to actually writing and e-mailing a series of questions. Having only recently completed their latest Optical Music release, Hindle Wakes (which you'll see reviewed here in the next few weeks), and rapidly becoming entrenched in their mysterious multimedia project, Engel, the brothers nonetheless took the time to answer our questions -- even bringing longtime vocalist Dolores Marguerite C. along for the ride. I hope this interview inspires you to check out some of In The Nursery's music, as they're truly one of the most unique and rewarding groups you'll ever hear.

Splendid: If I'm not mistaken, 2001 marks the 20th anniversary of ITN. Looking back over 20 years, are there any albums that you identify as particular milestones? What are your favourites?

Klive Humberstone: Yes, you're right -- the 21st June, 2001 will mark 20 years since our very first performance as In The Nursery. The concert was at Sheffield Art College. If pushed for an answer about my favourites then Anatomy of a Poet & L'esprit would have to rank as defining moments in the career of ITN.

Nigel Humberstone: I'd have to agree on Klive's choice of album -- both Anatomy of a Poet & L'esprit can be seen as defining moments in our career. But my favourite ITN album is always our latest -- so Hindle Wakes.

Splendid: For that matter -- and please don't take this the wrong way -- what was the idea behind ITN back in the early eighties? I'm not trying to ask a "how did the band get together" question, but to determine what it was you were hoping to achieve way back then...and whether it went the way you thought it would.

Klive Humberstone: I always remember wanting to pick up a guitar and play something after listening to Joy Division. There wasn't any particular song -- it was just the emotions and atmospheres the music conjured up for me, and I wanted to try and re-create that feeling for myself. Obviously as twins, the idea to play electric guitar and bass together came about quite naturally. But it was when we moved away from our family home and went to College in Sheffield that we formed a "band" situation to help express our ideas.

Splendid: The last 20 years have seen some dramatic changes and advances in music technology, particularly in areas that might benefit your particular compositional style. What has proved the biggest "help"?

Klive Humberstone: Macintosh Computers and the Akai Samplers have become necessary tools with which to make music in our studio. They are rewarding in the sense that they help to stimulate and assist the creative process. But however good the technology gets, it's still the "seed" of an idea that needs to evolve before it can be "nurtured" by technology.

Splendid: ITN has always existed entirely within its own continuum (relative to contemporary styles). As a case in point, while the whole "post-rock" movement has brought more textured, instrumental music into the limelight, Groundloop was the most vocal intensive record that ITN has ever recorded. I've noticed the increase in vocals over the last few records. What prompted it?

Nigel Humberstone: You're right about the voice and lyrics of Dolores on Groundloop -- for us they are the most complete and confident. There was nothing different in the approach -- I can only think that the music lent itself more towards a more total integration of voice and music. In most cases the music comes first and we then record the vocals, followed by further arrangement if necessary. Strangely the recording sessions with Dolores have been, and usually always are, quite rushed as she has her own busy career outside of ITN. Perhaps that helps towards the immediacy and freshness -- but for some reason the marriage of our music and her vocals was perfect in the making of Groundloop.

Splendid: Speaking of vocalist Dolores Marguerite C, you've been working with her for more than 10 years now. How did that association get started? What does she do when she's not working with ITN?

Dolores: I became friends with Klive at the time they were working on the mini LP Trinity, and because I spoke French was asked to recite some lyrics over the music. As that worked reasonably well I did the same thing on the next album and was then encouraged to have a go at singing. Although not exactly Whitney Houston, I found that I could actually hold a tune -- and things just took off from there. When not performing with the band I have a full-time job as an International Marketing Manager, and more recently as a mother to my four month old baby, India.

Splendid: ITN's music has always been described as "cinematic" or "filmic". However, while contemporaries (and I use that word guardedly) like Graeme Revell and Barry Adamson have found their way into Hollywood circles, you've remained on the outskirts. Is this a matter of personal taste, or are there other factors that keep you from doing mass market work, either in the US or the UK?

Nigel Humberstone: Being truthful we'd love to have gained similar inroads into the film music business as people like Revell and Adamson, but the opportunities have never arisen. I guess the big break with us was An Ambush of Ghosts, but the fact that it still hasn't had a theatrical release doesn't help our profile as film music composers.

Splendid: As a tangent to the last question, ITN's music seems to be becoming popular with American film trailer production houses. Indeed, even if they've never picked up an In The Nursery record, I'm guessing many of Splendid's readers have heard your music in film trailers. Do you have a lot of friends/supporters in the industry?

Klive Humberstone: We're not sure, but we do know that somehow, and by some way, our music gets chosen for quite diverse projects, which is a great honour. We do have an American agent who secures some of the licensing, but a lot comes from many different sources.

Splendid: Is this sort of licensing satisfying from a creative perspective? Does it help to support some of your more esoteric projects?

Nigel Humberstone: Strangely enough it is satisfying to hear our music used in different contexts (like film trailers) and, as you point out, it can be pretty lucrative -- which helps us to carry on doing what we do. One thing we haven't done is to make "trailer friendly" music -- if it gets picked up, then fine, but we just do what we do.

Splendid: Your Optical Music series, in which you compose new musical soundtracks for silent films, is now five years old. The series began with The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari, which strikes me as a film very much in tune with ITN's dreamlike imagery. How did the series get started?

Nigel Humberstone: Way back at the beginning of 1996 we discussed the commission of The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari with the Metro Cinema in Derby, whereby the directive was for us to produce an accompanying soundtrack for a one off screening of the film. After spending roughly a month (on and off) working with the project and finally performing it, we decided to release the score on CD as the first in what has become a continuing series of Optical Music releases.

Splendid: Each of these scores -- and I gather this is particularly the case with the latest, Hindle Wakes, which I've not heard yet -- seem to provide opportunities to go beyond the bounds of ITN's familiar style. It seems that you enjoy these challenges. How does this creative "stretching" affect your compositional process? And do the new elements find their way back into the "regular" In The Nursery?

Nigel Humberstone: From the outset we realised that scoring Hindle Wakes was going to be different. As a film of a dramatic play there were the obvious "set scenes" which required music which held your attention but also didn't override the dialogue (in the form of intertitles). It was a challenge, but a new discipline which was very rewarding. As a result of our varied work, we have a huge collection of sounds and samples. Inevitably these are "referenced" for other projects -- and it's interesting to see elements of past works re-appear in new pieces.

Splendid: Given the endless alternate soundtrack options of DVD, are there any thoughts about or plans to re-release these films with your new scores appended?

Klive Humberstone: Well this has already happened with the recent DVD release of Man With A Movie Camera. The British Film Institute have combined three different soundtracks (our own score, the Alloy Orchestra's version and thirdly, a scene-by-scene commentary by a Russian Historian). The DVD medium lends itself perfectly to this type of format. The BFI are releasing a VHS of Hindle Wakes very soon, and hopefully in the future our score to Asphalt will become available.

Splendid: Is it my imagination, or have your live score performances sparked something of a mini-revival of the score-performed-live-as-the-film-shows thing? For instance, there's Boxhead Ensemble's Dutch Harbor music, and more notably, Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet's tour behind Glass' new Dracula score last year. Seems like you got there first, though obviously I'm not really tuned into this whole scene...

Nigel Humberstone: We have carved ourselves a bit of a niche amongst the UK independent cinema sector as modern silent film accompanists, although the revival that you talk about is coincidental. I think there has been a general resurgence of interest in this particular genre of film music, and it's definitely great to be part of that.

Splendid: Over the last several years, you've released all your own material under the ITN Corp banner, making you very much a DIY operation. Obviously, you've been able to retain full creative control, but do you find that the day-to-day business stuff gets in the way of your creativity?

Klive Humberstone: We've always had the desire to retain our own identity on all our releases, which can be traced back to the very first release of the mini-LP When Cherished Dreams Come True, where we personally silkscreen-printed every album cover by hand. The music we make is very personal and that hopefully comes through in the artwork/imagery that we still use up to this day. Controlling the day-to-day business of ITN Corporation can be a welcome distraction to the music production -- but we try to ensure that it doesn't "take over" from the creative process.

Splendid: It's rare for two people, let alone two brothers, to collaborate for such a long time on a project as cohesive as In The Nursery. What has kept you together all these years?

Nigel Humberstone: I guess there must be a multitude of underlying reasons why we've continued working together for so long -- but essentially the partnership works and we're happy with that arrangement.

Splendid: Like any group that's been around for as long as you have, ITN has built up a large international fan base. Do the expectations and tastes of the fans have anything to do with the direction in which future releases will develop? Do they restrict it at all?

Klive Humberstone: No restrictions whatsoever -- in fact, the diversity of our audiences, both geographically and in musical taste, proves that music can far outreach other modes of communication. The interpretation of our music can be perceived in many differing ways -- as long as it's on some emotional level then that's fine with me.

Splendid: The Les Jumeaux material proved that you haven't lost touch with more club-centric sounds. Will there be more Les Jumeaux records?

Nigel Humberstone: Most definitely. Last year we completed new mixes for Two Lone Swordsmen and Attrition, tracks which will be developed for the next Les Jumeaux release. Our recording schedule for the rest of 2001 will be largely taken up with the Engel project, so we don't know when we'll have time to write other material, but we've decided that when it happens it will be a very immediate, instinctive and brief studio session.

Splendid: Last year's Exhibit compilation was aimed at the South American market. I wasn't really aware that there was a South American market for ITN until I read that, but I noticed you've also performed down there, or at least in Mexico. How is ITN received down there?

Klive Humberstone: We got a very positive response in Mexico, every time we've gone there to perform. The audiences love to see "live" bands. We met some great people, who have been ITN fans for many years and follow our every release. We are hoping to get back there this year and present some concerts in other Mexican cities including an Optical Music score.

Splendid: You appear to have embraced MP3, making your tracks available on a number of well known sites. How is digital distribution working for you?

Nigel Humberstone: We see MP3 as a fantastic medium for getting music distributed around the internet. We've recently encoded all our back catalogue (over 1 Gb of MP3s!) with a view to getting more material uploaded to various sites that we currently work with. MP3s have certainly attracted a new audience of listeners.

Splendid: Finally, you're currently working Engel, cryptically described as a multimedia project. From what I can ascertain, the story is a sort of post-apocalyptic battle between good/Heaven and evil/Hell. It's a game, it's a graphic novel, it's a soundtrack... what can you tell us about it?

Nigel Humberstone: We're currently working on a mixture of new material and remixes of existing ITN tracks for a soundtrack to accompany the release of the role playing game (RPG) called Engel. It's a multimedia project which will incorporate a trilogy of novels, rule books, comics, posters and assorted merchandising. The project is a refreshing change and one which has greatly inspired us.

Klive Humberstone: We are still in the writing stage at the moment. The company in Germany who are producing the game/book etc. have been supplying us with images and text from which we are formulating the musical ideas. They were initially inspired by the music of ITN and in return we are being stimulated by the depictions they give to us.