Iconic UK Shoegaze Pioneers RIDE Talks China Tour

By Yinmai O'Connor, July 22, 2024

Formed in Oxford in 1988, English band RIDE is considered one of the main pioneers of shoegaze, an alternative rock subgenre – often synonymous with dream rock – that gained popularity in the United Kingdom during the early 90s, and is characterized by ethereal vocals, guitar distortion, and feedback effects.

Their hits include tracks such as ‘Leave Them All Behind,’ which reached No.9 on the UK Singles Chart.

Consisting of vocalists and guitarists Andy Bell and Mark Gardener, drummer Laurence 'Loz' Colbert, and bassist Steve Queralt, RIDE parted ways in 1995 – with Bell joining the massively successful group Oasis – before officially reforming in 2014.

Having just released their seventh album, Interplay, their latest China tour takes in four cities. Ahead of RIDE's eastern visit, we spoke to bassist Queralt about his previous experiences in China, and what we can expect at their upcoming shows.

You’ve played in China before, how was that experience? What defied your expectations – both at the shows, and on the streets?
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?
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.

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Interplay album cover

How would you say your creative process has changed over your seven album career?
Massively. The early stuff was played live a lot before we got into the studio to record it. For Going Blank Again and Today Forever we enjoyed creating together in the studio – 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 Going Blank Again and some of This is Not a Safe Place was well mapped out before we started recording it.

As for [latest album] 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?
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 – 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 minutes of music is quite hard work. Hopefully, we hit a good balance, though.