While some guitarists thrive on expanding their technical and theoretical knowledge, others would much rather be without it – as is the case for Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, whose love of guitar thrives on a lack of technique.
The Biff released a brand new album, Futique, at the end of September. The record went straight to number one, marking their fourth album to reach the top spot in the UK Albums Chart. One element of their success as a band may well lie in Neil’s freeing “creative relationship” with his guitar, as he believes there can be such a thing as knowing too much.
Speaking to Guitarist for its new print edition, Neil shares some of his view points on gear, and the joy he finds in being curious about his instrument: “We all use gear in different ways, sometimes for things beyond what it may have been designed for. I used to think you needed someone’s rig to sound like them, but actually it’s all about the expression through your fingers,” he says.
“I’m still enthralled by the magic of the guitar, probably because I never conquered the technique side. It’s this box of wonder that I approach as a creative instrument. A lot of songs on this record are in standard tuning, though a couple were standard a step down. I know I’m about to go down a creative period where I start fucking with tunings. I needed a wee break from the guitar before this album.”
The band’s most recent releases prior to Futique were 2020’s A Celebration Of Endings and 2021’s The Myth Of The Happily Ever After. The time off from their last album to now was intentional, as having some time away from guitar also helps Neil to come back to it with a clearer head.
“We’d released two records during the pandemic and my guitar was my companion through that [so] I couldn’t look at my guitar for a year after that; I was scared of it. I felt this responsibility, where I had to write music every time I picked it up. So instead I went away and made some heavy metal music in Empire State Bastard [with Mike Vennart],” he shares.
“As soon as I came home, I picked up the guitar and the songs started to come out. It was playtime again. Being a novice when you are creating is actually a good place to be. You can have too much knowledge. Again, it’s that battle I’m having between being a better player and not ruining the creative relationship I have with my guitar.”
There’s perhaps an element of decision paralysis that may come into play when composing music as an advanced player, in that the number of theoretical options available to you may prove overwhelming and take you out of your creative flow. So is Simon Neil onto something? You be the judge…
Futique is out now. Biffy Clyro are also currently playing a number of live acoustic shows, and will kick off a headline tour in January – you can find out more via their official website.
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