Dubstar believe living largely separate lives has enabled them to continue working together all these years.
The group shot to fame in the mid-1990s with their unique brand of dream pop, but called time on the band in 2000 following the release of their third LP ‘Make It Better’.
In 2018, Sarah Blackwood and Chris Wilkie returned with ‘One’ – their first album in 18 years – and ahead of the release of its follow-up, the aptly-titled ‘Two’, the pair open up about reuniting.
Speaking in the May 2022 issue of Retro Pop, Sarah says: “We live 200 miles away from each other, so we’ve kind of been collaborating [remotely] since we started writing together
“We got into this nice habit around 2015 where, every Friday, something that Chris had written during the week would drop in my inbox. And I always have a curry on a Friday night, mid-papadam going, ‘Ooh, I love this!’”
Of working on ‘Two’ during the pandemic, Chris adds: “It was lucky though, wasn’t it? Because we were already up to speed in terms of remote collaborating and doing things online – we’ve been doing that for a few years. So it meant that we hit the ground running.”
Instead, it presented a different kind of problem for Sarah. “We were doing up the house and there was one point where half the floor had gone in the room that I was using as a studio,” she laughs. “I just had a microphone and then you could see through the boards straight down to the kitchen floor.”
Despite living apart, when the pair do come together they thoroughly enjoy each other’s company.
“There’ve been a couple of occasions in recent months where we saw each other together for the first time in ages,” says Chris, “where it was really exciting. We had such a nice time and it felt like a big deal. So we haven’t really had a chance to get sick of each other really!
“New Order used to travel to their gigs separately. It means that, when you get to the gig, it’s like, ‘Let’s do the show,’ but if you actually travelled together as well to the gig, you have time for familiarity to breed contempt.”
Read the full interview in the May 2022 edition of Retro Pop, out now. Order yours or subscribe via our Online Store or use our Store Finder to locate your nearest stockist.
