Iconic UK Band RIDE Talks China Tour
RIDE is an English rock band from Oxford that formed in 1988. The band members consist of vocalists and guitarists Andy Bell and Mark Gardener, drummer Laurence “Loz” Colbert and bassist Steve Queralt.
They are a Brit Pop group that is considered one of the main pioneers of shoegaze â often synonymous with dream rock â which is an alternative rock subgenre that gained popularity in the United Kingdom during the early 1990s. It is characterized by ethereal vocals, guitar distortion and feedback effects.
Their hits include tracks such as âLeave Them all Behindâ which reached No.9 on the UK Singles Chart.
They parted ways in 1995 and Bell joined the massively successful group Oasis before RIDE officially reformed in 2014. They have just released their seventh album, Interplay, and are playing four cities for their latest China tour.
We spoke to bassist Queralt ahead of RIDE’s eastern visit about his previous experiences in China and what we can expect at their upcoming shows.
Youâve played in China before, how was that experience? What defied your expectations â both at the shows, and on the streets?Â
I visited China as a tourist a few years before coming over with RIDE, so I knew roughly what to expect. Having said that, touring with a band is very different from being on holiday. Our promoter made sure we ate great food, lots of it! and showed us around some of the cool spots in Shanghai. I’d seen the famous Shanghai skyline before, but I was completely unprepared for how much it had grown and developed during those few years. Such an awesome sight.
What are you most looking forward to about being back in China?Â
I’m mostly looking forward to seeing cities that I haven’t been to before. I can’t wait to get my running shoes on and go exploring new neighborhoods.
Interplay album cover
How would you say your creative process has changed between the first and seventh albums?Â
Massively. The early stuff was played live a lot before we got into the studio to record them. For GBA and Today Forever we enjoyed creating together in the studio â playing around with keyboards and strings and working with a producer for the first time. The next few years was mostly about working on songs that had been pretty much written or demoed before we entered a studio. There was less collaboration then. Since the reunion, it has been a mixture of all processes. Weather Diaries reminded me a lot of making GBA and some of TINASP was well mapped out before we started recording it. As for Interplay, we took our time working up studio jams during the pandemic before introducing more polished demos from home. Interplay is unique in the way we approached and recorded it.
I read about how you guys were looking at streaming numbers on various platforms to help determine your set list. Regardless of streaming data, how much does your setlist change depending on where you’re playing? Does playing at a large UK festival stage versus a smaller livehouse in Asia change the dynamic you aim for?Â
Setlists are really difficult to pull together. Yes, we look at streaming figures but only as an indication of what people might want to hear. We also want to play songs from our new record Interplay, but that can sometimes be a strain on the audience who might not know the songs yet â and yes festival sets are usually aimed at audiences who may not know the band whereas club shows are predominantly for people who like RIDE already. We have quite a large catalogue of work to choose from so getting all four band members to agree on 90 mins of music is quite hard work. Hopefully, we hit a good balance though.
July 23, 8pm
RMB280
Full Of/Fulang Livehouse Buildings 4 & 5, Yard No.1, Aoyuan Xilu, Chaoyang
[Photos are courtesy of RIDE]
