Jake Shillingford has been creating music under the guise of My Life Story for over three decades now. Originally formed in Southend during the mid-1980s, My Life Storyβs creative peak took place throughout the following decade. Creating a sonic landscape that encapsulated the worlds of pop, rock and orchestral music hall. They became one of the most unique bands from the era that became known as Britpop, releasing three critically acclaimed albums (1995 debut Mornington Crescent, follow-up The Golden Mile two years later, then Joined Up Talking in 2000) alongside a batch of equally revered singles and EPs over the same time frame.
Since that third record, My Life Story went on hiatus at various points during the first part of the 21st Century. Preferring to concentrate instead on his Exileinside project before releasing a solo album in 2009, Shillingford resurrected My Life Story once more in 2012. Combining his time with the band between lecturing at Brighton Music College (BIMM) and writing music for television and films, with multi-instrumentalist and composer Nick Evans, who also plays guitar in the current line up of My Life Story.
Nevertheless, itβs the long awaited fourth My Life Story album, World Citizen thatβs got our collective knickers in an excited twist right now. Released last month on Shillingfordβs own Exilophone imprint. It marks the bandβs first collection of new material in nineteen years, and while aesthetically different from its predecessors, stands tall alongside each and every one of them in Shillingford and My Life Storyβs impressive canon of work.
While not entirely a concept album in its most obvious form, World Citizen is heavily influenced by current events. Taking the narrative perspective of two fictional characters and what they see around them, it is, as Shillingford quite rightly calls it, βA songwriterβs album.β While the cinematic orchestral sounds of yore are present in parts, World Citizen demands to be heard intently with particular focus and attention paid to its lyrics.
βSome of the chord structures and arrangements date back to the end of the Exileinside era,β admits Shillingford. βI learned a lot from that project because it was almost the antithesis of My Life Story. It was very stripped back and electronic, trying to let the songs breathe a bit more. A song like βThe Rose The Sunβ has an openness to it which comes from learning as a songwriter to let the lyrics just sit on top of the song rather than throwing the whole kitchen sink in there. The really fascinating thing for me personally while writing the album was that I didnβt write any of the lyrics until May and June of this year. Iβve never done that before. Whenever Iβve made an album before the lyrics have been written over a period of time, and there were some concepts and ideas with this one too.β
Owing as much to Mike Leighβs satirical comedy from 1977, Abigailβs Party, which paints a latent picture of the aspiring middle classes as it does the divisive constraints of Brexit which engulf us today. It represents arguably the most conversational album Shillingford has worked on to date.
βThe album is around forty minutes long and Iβd like to think of it as a short contemporary play, certainly with the language in it. Itβs a very conversational album, lots of βhe said, she saidβ stuff, which I was really experimenting with. For example, if you go and see something like Abigailβs Party you immediately know itβs set in the 1970s. It encapsulates that era, and I approached writing this in a similar way. Thatβs not to say World Citizen is a political album. It isnβt, its about two people surrounded by world events that are happening right now. I hope that comes through in its language and the things itβs addressing. Conversational language is so important to me because that makes things seem real. You can instantly relate to those two people or even put yourself in the place of those persons. Itβs not me getting on my soapbox, its just about living in these times.β
While Brexit undoubtedly had an influence β check out βA Country With No Coastlineβ (βThat oneβs about Brexit!β) β however minor, World Citizen still bares all the hallmarks of a classic My Life Story record. Shillingfordβs distinctive, crystalline vocals soaring over arrangements that veer between anthemic pop (βTaking On The Worldβ) and dramatic orchestration (β#NoFilterβ) with an array of twists and turns thrown in between. So, would the My Life Story of twenty years ago come up with an album like World Citizen? Shillingford suggests not.
βMainly because we were living in a completely different time. The world around us has an impact, and when there is division you start to question yourself; who you are and where you stand in life. The media is constantly talking about division. Itβs almost like A Clockwork Orange thing. If you program peopleβs brains enough, theyβll eventually believe anything you tell them. When you start to realise all the game playing thatβs going on and the echo chambers around it, weβre still ultimately searching for the truth.β
Indeed, itβs this continual search for the truth that underpins each and every song on the album, and undoubtedly makes World Citizen such a fascinating and rewarding listen.
βIf you were to ask me what is the one adjective that the albumβs about, Iβd say βtruthβ. The album really is about truth. Truth in love, truth at the end of love, truth in daily life. I think I found happiness in truth by the people closest to me. Theyβre the people I trust. They tell me honest information from the heart. A song like βThe Oneβ has a lot of really simplistic lyrics, and thatβs very deliberate because the idea was for it to sit alongside something quite wordy like βTelescope Moonlight Boyβ. Which again is about a kid searching for truth, looking at adults around him and realising a lot of them are indulged in this fakery. A lot of it is inspired by the Albert Camus novel The Outsider even though I havenβt opened that book for a long time. It had a really big impact on me when I was a young man, reading every existentialist book before the age of 21. The idea that our lives are based on the premise where if you donβt tell too many lies, youβre going to upset too many people. The whole fabric of society is based on white lies. Thatβs the background of it and Iβm trying to break through all of that.β
World Citizen is the first album where Shillingford has collaborated with guitarist Nick Evans. Having formed a production company (Choppersaurus) together five years ago and written incidental music, scores and jingles for television and films ever since, it was perhaps inevitable theyβd eventually combine their talents in a recording studio.
βI was lecturing in songwriting at BIMM, which Iβm no longer involved with. I think education is really important, but you can also get into a rut just by talking about something and not doing it. It felt like Iβd programmed myself out of writing songs, so while I was telling people how great songwriting is and why its good for the soul, I needed to be doing more of it myself. So, Nick and I just started a small partnership, writing scores and various clips for television production companies. That really grew. We wrote our first US feature film called Blood Fest last year for Rooster Teeth. Weβve also written music for the trailer to Farming more recently, which is an amazing film starring Cate Blanchett. Itβs actually quite similar to This Is England only set in Tilbury, which is near where I was born in Southend. Itβs about skinheads and the indoctrination of young people into that movement. So, we were really getting into writing for those clients but then there comes a point where you want to start writing for yourself, which is actually easier. Whereas writing for a client whoβve got this specific script or vision can be quite difficult.β
Having recorded the string segments with an orchestra in Budapest via Skype, something Shillingford would never have dreamed of twenty years ago, the songs for World Citizen came together pretty quickly, something its creator is especially proud of considering his background and lack of classical training.
βOne of the things I always loved about being in an orchestral band was that constant friction between the classical world and the one which I grew up in. I left school at 16 with three βOβ Levels and none of those are in music.β
Nevertheless, the question on many peopleβs lips; especially those that saw My Life Story back in the day; isnβt entirely unexpected. Will there be an orchestra at any of the forthcoming live shows?
βIβd never say never. Itβs purely down to budget. We are still aesthetically a cult sort of band, even though in my head I see us as being quite commercial. If somebody wants to put us on a Britpop βBest Ofβ weβll gladly take it. So, itβs just circumstance really, but Iβd love people to see and hear My Life Story play with a full orchestra. We toured a lot in the nineties. We played a lot of spit and sawdust, old school rock and roll music venues with a twelve-piece mini orchestra. What weβre doing now is a bit of a mixture of the two worlds. Weβve got a tight five-piece band. The most important thing for me is getting the songs out to people. Get people to hear about My Life Story again. If that means having to do it with a smaller band, we can manoeuvre a bit more easily and remain self-sufficient, thatβs what Iβll do. But then also, why not do a special show with a big orchestra? Letβs see what happens.β
With three highly respected albums from the first era of My Life Story and lots of bands from the same time period currently embarking on anniversary tours for landmark albums, Shillingford is understandably open to the idea himself.
βItβs the 20th anniversary of Joined Up Talking next year, so we have been talking about doing something to commemorate that at the tail end of 2020,β he reveals. βBut my focus right now is on World Citizen and taking it on its journey for as long as we can. Thatβs the wonderful thing when you put out a new record. You have no idea where youβre going to end up with it, so I hope we go on a reasonably good journey with this album.β
Reminiscing about the past, My Life Story were a unique entity. Alongside bands such as the Manic Street Preachers and Shampoo, they didnβt really fit into any genre specific box. Loved by outsiders yet never quite rigid enough to fit mainstream tastes, despite an unprecedented run of exquisite pop singles throughout the nineties. Shillingford looks back on that era with a great fondness, even though it seems so unachievable in the current climate.
βI canβt imagine anybody would be able to afford to self-finance going around the UK with an orchestra. Even in the nineties, the idea was that we were so at odds with the acid house scene and the end of grunge. We also had our own manifesto and a lot of it was the opposite of what was going on at the time. I was wearing a suit. There was a dress code at gigs, which I loved. I donβt know of any other band that enforced a dress code on the door. I loved playing with people in that way and trying to bring back elements of music hall in there. Behind it all was the idea that hopefully weβd get snapped up by a label that would see the grand vision.β
βIf you remember that era, weβd often release a two CD set where youβd have the same A side with lots of different B sides across both CDs. If you were a dance act, youβd just put loads of remixes on them, whereas we often put six tracks across both formats, and we were very proud of that. Thereβs a lot about Britpop, which Iβm not a huge fan of. The competitiveness of it. But one element of competitiveness I did like was the challenge to write and deliver great songs all the time. We still have something to say no matter what the song is, even if itβs just an observation. A lot of My Life Storyβs experimentation was using orchestras and different ways of recording them which you couldnβt really replicate live.β
Regulars on the more nostalgia end of the festival circuit since their return, having played events like Shiiine On and Star Shaped. Could World Citizen be the record that makes bookers of more contemporary events sit up and take notice? Shillingford doesnβt see why not.
βWe do have a booking agent. The nineties are in vogue right now and I think most of the bands that play those festivals are aware of that. Theyβre also aware that the noughties are going to be in vogue next. Itβs heartening to know thereβs still that passion from those bands. I find it quite interesting that having released a new record you almost become two bands. Itβs like having a split personality because I would never betray my past. I love playing the old songs and donβt see anything wrong with people going to nostalgic events whatsoever. I think itβs absolutely wonderful. So, thereβs the past, but then thereβs also the present and the future. Itβs just trying to get that balance right. So, in some ways, doing a little tour for the new album makes a lot of sense. Itβs almost like going back to the beginning. Then with those festival shows, why not play all the old songs and relive those moments. Itβs great for me too because I get to meet and hang with old friends and bands we played with from back in the day. Whether you can fuse the two depends on how well this record is received. My Life Story were fortunate in a way to be a band that werenβt massively recognised, so what Iβm hoping is people will just accidentally hear our music. That people will share our music and hear it for the first time. Thatβs the greatest thing about the democratisation of music through the web.β
My Life Story tour the UK from next month. Full tour dates below.
World Citizen is out now via Exilophone.
November
02 – ISLINGTON Assembly Hall
20 – ST ALBANS Horn
21 – NORWICH Epic Studios
23 – HEBDEN BRIDGE Trades Club
24 – HULL New Adelphi
30 – WORTHING St Pauls
December
01 – BRISTOL Exchange
Photo: David Titlow