Ahead of the release of their tenth studio album, Futique, Ben and James Johnston took time out to have a chat with me about embracing the moment, Biffy’s longevity, and their plans to return to Australia soon.
Congratulations on the album. It’s a double chef’s kiss.
Both: Thank you so much!
Number ten!
James: Number ten! It’s kind of slipped up on us without us really noticing. We hadn’t really been keeping count, and suddenly we’re at ten. It’s a bit of a shock to us as well.
Let’s talk about the name of the album, Futique. I heard Simon describing it as being a compound of future antique, is that correct?
Ben: Yeah, correct. We’ve smashed those two words together, and it’s basically a future antique. It alludes to something you don’t know you’re going to hold dear and miss so much in the future that you don’t really take stock of at the time, but at any point in time, anything you do in life that you hold dear could be the last time you do it.
James: It’s about cherishing life and cherishing those moments and just making the most of life, if you like, and trying to enjoy every single moment that you can.
It certainly sent me down an existential rabbit hole, I have to say, because now I can’t avoid thinking of every moment as a potential future antique. Is that something that’s happened to you also?
Ben: It certainly is, it happens to me almost every day now since I’ve heard that word. “This moment is a futique moment”, “this moment is also one”, so hopefully it will get people thinking as well when they dive into that.
Have you had people sharing their futique moments with you yet?
James: I think we have. I’ve not heard of too many yet, but I think there was a bit of a campaign to get people to mention some of theirs. It was somewhat sad when we heard from a friend that his future antique was when he was reading his daughter a bedtime story, and she finally said, “Dad, that’s the last time. That’s the last time.” That kind of burns a little bit. I think that’s kind of sad, but that’s the thing with life – all moments sort of come to an end, and it’s about embracing that and enjoying the moment while you can.
After listening to the album last night, I have a few favourite tracks early doors. I’m sure I’ll change my mind as my relationship with the album grows, but do you have any favourites at this stage?
Ben: For me, it’s been changing all the time as well, the same as you, Jennifer. I think at the moment I’m stuck on the last song, “Two People in Love”. I get lost in that song every time I hear it. It’s so haunting, yet beautiful. It also has that kind of long, progressive ending to it that Biffy love doing so much. That song’s got a bit of everything, and I can’t wait to see how that one goes live.
James: It’s probably “It’s Chemical” for me. It just feels really different and fresh for us, and really new. From the first moment we played it together, it just felt like a real kind of new sound for the band, really ambitious and a really, really fun one to play live, I’m hoping! I’m hoping!
I can’t pick an absolute favourite, but “Goodbye” is fairly lethal, right up there with “Opposite” for me, which reduces me to tears every single time, and I love “Friendshipping”, particularly the way it starts – it’s a cracker – and “Woe is Me, Wow is You” is quite the ride. Is it right that it is based on you guys as a band?
Ben: Yeah, loosely, yeah. It’s about, I guess, it’s most apparent in the lyrics and the chorus about “this ship is built to last”, and that’s kind of referring to us as a collective, and it’s about all the work you put in, and how strong you make your ship. We’ve managed to survive for coming up to 30 years now, I believe. It’s been quite a journey on the seas, and I guess that’s obviously a representation of our strength as a group of friends, really.
A nerd question regarding the connection between drummers and bassists – I’ve wondered for a long time whether you feel that being twins is an advantage or a disadvantage?
James: I think it’s got to be an advantage, surely. I think it must be. We’ve both never been in any other bands, so we don’t really have many comparisons, but I think it’s got to be an advantage that we’ve spent so much time together, and hopefully our timing is second nature. Generally, I’m just trying to keep up with Benny anyway!
At this point in the interview, Ben’s cat broke into his room, raging at being locked out. It was during this invasion that I experienced my own Futique moment, as one of my favourite musicians held up his cat to the camera for me to meet him. I was then compelled to share that my own cats are named Biffy and Clyro. I did not have swapping cat stories with Ben Johnston on my bingo card that morning, but it was excellent and Futique-worthy. Once the infidel was removed, we continued.
The thing I find about Biffy’s tunes that feels unique is that it’s a bit like being on a Wild Mouse roller coaster. One minute you’re heading a certain direction, then suddenly you’re whipped around the other way, with half of your senses still moving in the original direction. I find it can be challenging, at times, to keep up as a listener. I wonder how challenging that is as musicians, and has it ever brought you unstuck?
James: I think it is challenging as a musician, and that’s a challenge we totally thrive under. We love to be challenged musically. In some ways, we find it harder to get a feel for simpler songs. Sometimes they’re a little bit harder for us to crack. The weird stuff is normal to us. I don’t know how else to put it, but we’ve always been a little bit strange, and it just sort of comes naturally to us. It is challenging, but I think it’s certainly worthwhile, and it just feels natural, Jennifer.
Ben: It’s in our DNA to be a bit awkward and to take all the left turns. I think if we played music that was too straightforward, that’s when we make mistakes, because we forget which verse we’re playing. You know, because we change stuff all the time, it keeps you interested and keeps you on task.
Almost out of time, but my most important question is – on behalf of my fellow Antipodeans – will we see you down here on tour? It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Biffy.
Ben: Definitely. We were hoping to get there this year, in fact, but we just kind of ran out of time and couldn’t quite get it arranged, but that does show our intent. We’re definitely going to get there as soon as we can; that’s all I can tell you. We’ve got a tour booked at the very start of next year for the UK and Europe, and then, yeah, it’s all about coming down your way.
We do miss you. It’s been, I think, about seven and a half years now.
Ben: That’s an outrage!
Obviously, COVID played a large part in that, but yes, we do miss you a lot. I shall pass the good news on to my countrymen.
James: It’s a bit of a bone of contention amongst the group at the moment because we’re really desperate to come over, so we’re just hoping we can get something figured out pretty soon.
We’ll look forward to it!
Photo credit: Eva Pentel
Futique is out now. Get your copy here.
