Bauhaus man discusses goth legends’ final album

David J says band's chemistry is so 'volatile' they split up

Legendary goth rockers Bauhaus are gearing up to release their first album in 24 years, which bassist and co-songwriter David J said will be the band’s final recording.

‘Go Away White’ is due out on March 10 and features original members Peter Murphy, David J, Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins.

“Our chemistry was so volatile we actually split up,” David J told NME.COM. “The record definitely feels like a final statement.”

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David J said that the band had several “personality clashes”, but were able to channel their explosive energy into their music.

“Our music was a way of venting — it’s very expressive,” he said.

The bassist explained that the band began discussing the idea of recording a new album when they were rehearsing for their 2005 Coachella Festival performance.

“After Coachella we put in on the back burner and worked on new songs whenever the opportunity presented itself,” he said.

“We snatched time between tours and then we spent 18 days in the studio doing rough mixes.”

The band had intended to re-record and edit some of the tracks, but ultimately decided to go with their first takes. “We realised they had a raw quality that we really liked,” David J explained.

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All four members of the band helped to write the album’s lyrics, and frontman Murphy pinned them to the wall of the studio and chose the words that fit best with the music.

The band recorded the album in an Ojai, California studio where the atmosphere was “explosive and volatile, which is constructive and destructive,” said J. “The album is all about rebirth. It’s a musical conversation when language is not up to it.”

David J is also working on a musical play about Edie Sedgwick, which debuts in Los Angeles in March, as previously reported.

David J‘s other seminal band, Love And Rockets, are set to headline this year’s Coachella Festival on April 27.

–By our Los Angeles staff.

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