Why Fischerspooner decided to re-‘Emerge’…with a little help from Michael Stipe
When the annals of electro-pop are written, Emerge by Fischerspooner deserves to be considered as the Gimme Shelter or Hey Jude of the genre – from the bubbling synth intro to Lizzy Yoder’s lyrical climax, it’s four minutes and forty-six seconds of pure exuberance…
Since that scintillating debut (accompanying album #1 was electroclash’s first masterpiece), the group, led by Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner have kept a relatively low profile, rock-tinged 2005 follow up Odyssey notwithstanding.
Now, however, the group are back with a new album, Sir, produced and co-written by no other than R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. And as this fascinating conversation in Interview magazine between Spooner and Stipe reveals, the two have known each other for a long time… close to thirty years.
“God, I can’t remember where we first met,” Spooner recalls.
“We were in Athens [Georgia],” Stipe responds. “I was your first lover. Do you really want to go there? I was 28. You were 18. We hit it off big time. You had a lot to learn, I had a lot to learn.”
What follows is a uniquely personal interview between a semi-retired rock legend, and an artist readying for a second run at stardom. As Stipe tells his compatriot: “The bravado in your approach to live shows is so inspiring. It’s jumping-off-the-cliff fearlessness. And I feel like you’ve grown a great deal as a lyricist in the making of this record. You’ve learned to trust your instincts and not overthink everything. That’s where all of us tend to get lost. We try to imbue things with so much meaning—square peg in round hole.
“At the age of 57, I’ve realized that nothing should be square peg in round hole. Everything should flow and work naturally.”
Sir will be released in February 2018. For details of live shows, visit the Fischerspooner Facebook page.
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