RS Do you feel like a "pop" writer, or maybe something else?
I feel I definitely work within the "pop" tradition and would have found it laughable up until a few years ago even being asked this question, but now would admit that elements of the Bathers music is as close to some of the classical things I do like i.e. the more accessible Chopin piano pieces, Mahler’s slow string movements as opposed to the loud, brass stuff.

RS What has changed since the Friends Again era?
I couldn’t believe we’d actually landed a major deal with Friends Again and with hindsight think we were a little overwhelmed and squandered a good opportunity. The record company in tandem with the producer encouraged us to "bland out" the recorded versions and lose some of the energy of our original demos and live shows. It was a hard lesson in the politics of the music industry. When I embarked on the Bathers odissey it was with the intention of following my own vision, for better or worse, right the way through. The Bloomsday project was beset by similar problems as the Friends Again experience and seemed to lack the creative vision and impetus that has been evident on Bathers album. I think the "melancholy" aspect is just the one that comes most naturally to me. Sometimes I could "do" joy more readily but you can only play with the hand you have been dealt.

RS Where does your songwriting come from?
I had no formal training whatsoever. Although since I wrote much of "Sweet Deceit" on the piano I began to apply myself laboriously by a mixture of listening to cd’s and sheet music as I coulnd’t read music. We always had Beatles records in the house so I grew up with them before getting into Bowie and a little later punk. The punk explosion gave me the nerve to have a go with almost no technical knowledge. Over the years I have become a bit more "skilled", which has allowed me to broaden the sweep of the music. Indeed I remember at our first concert being very alarmed when a "helpful" member of the audience asked us if we would like him to tune up for us. I vividly remember the audience clapping with deep irony when our woeful drummer first managed a cymbal crash about twenty minutes in the "set".

RS What comes first: the lyrics or the music?
The two are often developed quite separately and as I take notes of lyric ideas I often don’t know where they’ll end up. Almost invariably the music is completed before I complete the lyric.

RS What is inspiration according to Chris Thomson?
Inspiration can be frustratingly slow in coming around but when it does it’s often possible to write a lot in a short space of time. Many things can be inspiring. Most commonly love, of course ("In all its faded splendour…in all its raging glory"), but also literature (Proust, particularly on the first album), films and odd "one offs" such as the death of Audrey Hepburn ("Easter for Edda Van Heemstra"), pets ("Two cats on the piano"), nostalgia for childhood ("Thru’ the old Holmwood), etc.

RS What can you tell me about Liz Frazier guesting on your album?
Liz has incredible talent and I viewed it as an incredible stroke of good fortune that she was so into working on the album [Sunpowder]. I really can’t think of many singers who would have fitted so gracefully into the Bathers world.

RS And James Grant?
James and I had to laugh when we recorded his guitar for that track because it was so like a Friends Again approach. We always had a "It’s time for the past, picky guitar" moment on those old sessions. It still surprises me how brilliant James’ playing was so early in his career… way ahead of the rest of us. My songwriting has probably been generally ahead of my delivery.

RS Speaking of inspiration again. Is folk music some of it?
Hadn’t consciously thought of a folk influence. Perhaps "Weem Rock Muse" is the most obvious example. I think the most direct influences for that track were "Blood on the tracks" and "Astral Weeks".

RS But women definitely are…
I think this goes hand in hand with the romanticised vision of European cities which has also been a feature of my work… these "impossibly fragrant women" populating the "cinemas, coffee houses, golden buildings, empty streets"… I guess it celebrates those fleeting moments when that romantic ideal becomes reality.

RS What about Glasgow?
I love many aspects of Glasgow and hate others. The contrast between the opulent splendour of many of the buildings and the ugly drabness of much of the building of the post-war period. The negative points have been amply documented… Glasgow is often castigated out of sheer ignorance by people in the South who are blissfully unaware that the suburban deserts they inhabit are infinitely poorer environments to live in. I have tended to concentrate on the positives.

RS Do you think the Postcard scene is something that belongs to you?
The Postcard scene was certainly very inspiring in the early Eighties. Lloyd Cole and the Commotions probably realised their potential far more than their contemporaries in the immediate aftermath. The Blue Nile are a group I admire along with much of the Cocteau Twins’ output… particularly "Treasure", "Blue Bell Knoll" and bits of "Four Calendar Cafe". I also thought the opening track of Paul Quinn’s last album "Will I Ever Be Inside Of You" was brilliant in its mad ambition.

RS Which is your favourite book? And film?
For sheer impact at the time I would have to include "A la recherche du Temps Perdu" and "Lolita". Though ultimately there are many books I’ve enjoyed just as much. Likewise films, though I might single out "Roman Holiday" and "Breakfast At Tiffany’s" as well as penchant for the better Woody Allen movies and a few "epics" such as "Doctor Zhivago", "Death In Venice", "Once Upon A Time In America".

RS The music of the Bathers is rather emotional. How can you convey the same atmosphere on stage?
The concert experience is of course very different and what is probably most difficult is to produce the emotional "charge" that is present on most of the recordings i.e. making it heartfelt when you will almost certainly be in a completely different frame of mind.

RS Any chances of seeing you in Italy, some time?
Our keyboard player - Carlo Scattini - has relatives near Lucca, so we hope to make a trip there this year. Concerts would be great but we normally take eight musicians on stage so it would have to be a stripped down version!

RS What are you up to now?
I’m currently writing new material with a view to recording a new album at the end of February.