Sounds Write: Nile Rodgers - interview

With his band Chic, which he co-founded in the 1970s with the late Bernard Edwards,  Rodgers was at the very forefront of the disco/dance movement and scored massive success with classic records such as 'Good Times', 'Le Freak', 'Everybody Dance' and 'I Want Your Love'.

And, via the Chic Organisation Ltd, the company that Rodgers and Edwards established for their productions with their own band and with other artists, they also propelled girl-group Sister Sledge to the top of the charts and worldwide stardom with hits like 'We Are Family', Lost In Music' and 'He's The Greatest Dancer'.

That though was just the beginning for Rodgers and Chic, who pretty much created the template for funk, dance and even hip hop, and went on to collaborate with many of the world's biggest stars including Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna, Duran Duran, Debbie Harry, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, INXS, Robert Plant and The B-52s to name just a few, often resulting in some of, if not the biggest hit records of those artists' careers.

And Rodgers continues to the present day to have 'the golden touch' or rather the platinum touch as he works with some of the most contemporary names in music, artists like Disclosure,  Avicii and, most notably, with Daft Punk resulting in the ubiqitous monster hit single 'Get Lucky' featuring Pharrell Williams, which Rodgers co-wrote/produced.

In total, either with his own band or with his involvement with other musicians, Rodgers talents have led to sales of over 200 million albums and 50 million singles.

In the wake of surviving an aggressive form of prostate cancer which he was thankfully declared free of in 2011, Rodgers and his band Chic have since been enjoying an enormous career renaissance which has seen them tour extensively to sell-out crowds,  that culminated in a most memorable performance at the Glastonbury festival.

Now Chic are back 'on the road' again in support of a brand new single 'I'll Be There' and a soon to be released new album entitled 'It's About Time' and the current tour includes a return visit to Manchester next Tuesday(24th March) with a date at the Apollo theatre after last wowing fans in the city with an awesome set at The Ritz club in 2013.

Manchester and its audiences appear to hold a special place in Rodgers heart as he recently explained: "Honestly, I can't wait to get back to your city, Manchester has been so cool for us, we have been shocked by the response. Everytime we play there it is over the top.

“And I've got my good buddy there in Manchester, Johnny Marr(ex Smiths guitarist), who named his son after me and the first sounds his boy heard were Chic records.

“When we get to Manchester this time we are going to premiere our new video there, so you are going to see the next incarnation of fashion and partying and going crazy."

Commenting  further on Chic's last concert in Manchester Rodgers said: "That's what we looked at as our weird rebirth, it was such a bizarre show because literally everybody knew every song and was singing along to everything we played.

“We had a preponderance of very young people there too and so at the end of the night, I went over to some young girls and said, 'how the hell do you know all these songs?' and they looked at me like I was dumb and from a different planet and they replied, 'because your songs are in so many movies that we love and featured on loads of video games that we play, we've grown up singing your songs' and I was like 'oh right!' "

And Rodgers certainly appears to be enjoying his latter day career success even more than he enjoyed those early heady days of the 1970s. "It absolutely feels like it's more enjoyable now because I'm a cancer survivor.

“That time ended like I was going to die and for the next four years I went on this journey of trying to heal and the best way that I could heal was, at least the only thing I could do was play music.

“I started writing a bunch of songs and that's when we wrote 'Get Lucky' etc  and now I'm at a place where the next record I have coming out, the new Chic album, is just unbelievable."

The new, eagerly anticipated Chic album, set for a June release, has evolved as a result of revisiting a load of old Chic tapes that were returned to him. Speaking about the album project Rodgers said: "After getting back the tapes I just sat there listening to the stuff over the next few years thinking what do I do, I didn't want to put out a record of only those songs because the truth of the matter is, 'yes', Bernard(Edwards) has been dead now for almost 20 years but I haven't, and in that time,  I've done my own records, records for others, film soundtracks and music for video games.

“So you know the way I have approached the lyrics and the concept of the record is almost like the story we have called Rip Van Winkle where the character falls asleep for a long period and wakes up after that time to be confronted by a very different world.

“The lyrical approach to the record is talking to a friend (Bernard) who has come back to life after 20 years and the dialogue we have."

Further expanding on the subject of the forthcoming 'It's About Time' album Rodgers says: "I think this new album will say something very important to the marketplace because even though it is authentic  disco and has all my original people on it who sang and played on our first few Chic records including Luther(Vandross) on backing vocals,  it is definitely not old fashioned in anyway, it's a modern record but it's disco, stemming from what was throwaway tracks, that's what's really amazing about it."

And the record is characterised by that signature Chic sound of Rodgers Fender Stratocaster rhythm guitar, affectionately coined 'The Hitmaker' and by the distinctive and stylish funky bass lines.

Much has been written over the years about the importance of the unique sound of  'The Hitmaker' to the success of Chic's songs and the countless other records it’s been used on. 

It's a 1959 Stratocaster that Rodgers got in a trade-in way back in 1973 at a small shop in Miami Beach.

Taking up the story of the events that led to the guitar purchase Rodgers says: "I was a jazz guitar player until Bernard told me about buying a Fender Strat and it all happened by accident.

“The band that was opening for us at the time, their guitarist decided that he wanted to borrow my amp because they didn't want to spend time changing the equipment over so this kid played using my amp and he was playing a Fender Strat and he sounded genius compared to me.

“I knew though that I was a better player technically but this kid's tone was incredible and Bernard was standing across the stage looking at me with that look of his which was like , 'you idiot, I told you'.

“So the next day I went out and bought my famous Stratocaster and  I called it 'The Hitmaker' because that thing has played on three billion dollars worth of music/records and it doesn't sound like any other Stratocaster I've ever heard."

Rodgers though did come very close to losing his most valuable asset a few years back. "Yeah, I left it on a train. When I got home and realised, I jumped into a new sports car that a manufacturer was letting me try out as I used to be a race car driver and I broke every law riding on the shoulder of the highway and I got to the end of the line just a few minutes after the train pulled into the yard and we found my guitar."

In the light of this near disaster perhaps 'The Hitmaker' should have its only security I suggested to Rodgers. "You know I don't roll like that", he replied, "I don't handle it with kid gloves, yesterday I flew in and I laid it on the floor of the plane.

“It's just a solid piece of wood that has been reliable and I think if I treat it the way I've always treated it, it will treat me the way it's always treated me which has been amazing."

When quizzed though about how different things might have been/turned out  for him had he never stumbled across that guitar in the first place all those years ago Rodgers says: "Let's not even go there man(laughing), I think about that every day of my life, my life would have undoubtedly changed considerably.

“Let's think of the here and now and the future, come to Manchester, come to the show."

Alongside his own Chic projects, Rodgers continues to remain probably music's most sought after collaborator and some of his stories pertaining to this are both surreal and highly amusing.

"My life is amazing right now, I mean I get to make records with everybody I ever dreamed of working with. The other day people were laughing at me because I was getting a pedicure and I swear to you, whilst I was getting the pedicure, Paul McCartney or Sir Paul McCartney was texting me asking me to come and play on a record and I was like, 'hey dude, I'm getting my feet done right now'. "

But as well as the thrill of working with music royalty, Rodgers clearly enjoys partnering up with some of today's brightest young artists as he explains: "It’s been phenomenal for me, you know people focus on Daft Punk and rightly so because that record was huge but prior to that and around the same time I was already doing projects with Avicii, Sam Smith, Disclosure and Tensnake.

“And now with the new record coming out, I can't even tell you how many cool people are on this record and the thing is though, I don't do records with particular people to just pander to a market, that's not what I have ever done. I do ensemble music and write for the instruments/voices that I think are perfect for the songs."

One thing Rodgers is especially keen to stress is Chic's authentic reproduction of their music in a 'live' setting. "It’s not just our ability to sing it, but it's really our ability to play it", Rodgers says’ adding that, "You know, and this is not a criticism, it's just an observation but almost everyone who is a famous pop star now, they all perform with backing tracks.

“You go to a live show and it sounds just like the record. But when we play, every single thing that we do we play absolutely 'live'.

“I think people who have been to a Chic show have started to appreciate that a live show is actually supposed to sound different to the record and it's not meant to be exactly the same."

So all those going along to see Rodgers and Chic on any of their sold -out UK concert dates will know they will definitely be guaranteed to experience the 'real deal' in terms of truly 'live' music and what a party the shows promise to be.