Jordan Royal (Sonic Alien 4ZZZ) caught up with Christian Savill of Slowdive to chat about their latest album, ‘‘everything is alive,’ touring Australia and the history and discography of Slowdive.

Interview aired on Sonic Alien 4ZZZ 30 April 2025.

Jordan: I'm joined by Christian Savill from Slowdive. Thanks so much for hopping on the call ahead of your Australian tour and having a chat. It's awesome to be able to chat with you.

Christian: Thank you for having us.

Jordan: Of course, this tour—I'm so excited. It covers a lot of your discography, and some of these songs have been with you for, like, decades now. So have any of them taken on a new meaning for you over time or landed differently now compared to when you first played them in the 90s?

Christian: Yeah, I would think so because, you know, we've been playing some of these songs for, you know, 30-odd years now. So yeah, all the songs have kind of naturally evolved and changed quite a lot. I wouldn't say they take on any new personal meaning, but just playing them live is—yeah, they just get a life of their own. And yeah, but that's fun. You know, it's nice that they do that.

Jordan: Yeah, awesome. It must be so amazing to have these songs that are so grounding for you and you can just stick with for 30 years and, like, play them in front of an audience. It's so awesome. Slowdive's journey, though—it's quite unique, I would say, in that it has had a couple pauses of unreleased demos, 2014 reunion, and then during Everything Is Alive, you guys had to sort of stop and come back after COVID. So what's it like returning to the band after a couple times away? Like, has that rhythm of stop-start changed how you guys create, or does it feel like coming home in a sense?

Christian: Yeah, it's really odd because, even though, you know, we've had a couple of pauses, as you say, every time we kind of get back together, it's like, oh, here we are. Here we are again. And it's like no time has actually elapsed. So it's a bit odd. But I think it's good. We all know, obviously, after all this time, we all know each other so well. We understand each other's foibles and idiosyncrasies. So yeah, it's nice.

Jordan: That's amazing. Because yeah, you guys have been friends and some of you guys have been together since childhood, basically so that relationship is so awesome. I want to ask you about Everything Is Alive, because your most recent record—and it feels very distinctly Slowdive—but it's a bit more reflective. It's a bit more shaped by grief. And I know that Neil brought in some more, like, electronic sounds to sort of kick it off. Was that reflective tone something that you guys consciously pursued, or did it sort of emerge naturally from the record taking shape?

Christian: I think we've always done things very naturally. We don't think, hey, we should make a record like this, or hey, let's do an electronic album. It's just whatever comes out—whatever we kind of—it's very natural, I would say, which is good. When I look back, I'm kind of glad about that, because—not to criticise other bands—but I remember when, you know, the first time around, you know, suddenly our music became very unfashionable overnight and suddenly Brit Pop became fashionable. Alot of fans kind of jumped on that ship. And we never did because—there's nothing wrong with that music, it's fine—but, you know, we always just think, well, we're kind of ploughing our own furrow, if you like. So yeah, I think we just, you know, with Everything Is Alive, Neil just sort of had some kind of sketches of songs he wanted to do. And he's kind of—yeah, he's been getting into synths and collecting them up. And, you know, we kind of like that feel, you know, so it kind of went down that road a little bit.

Jordan: I love this sort of, I guess, integrity in that answer—that, like, you just go wherever you guys want to go and go wherever the music takes you, whatever you're feeling at the time. Like, that's sick. But this is—it's crazy now that this has been your longest continuous chapter of your career and longer than, like, your sort of 90s stint, which is crazy. Does it feel like a sort of second life for the band, or more of a continuation of something that you guys were never quite finished with? You didn't want to put it down and move away?

Christian: : It's difficult to say because, you know, if you'd have asked me that, you know, when the band finished the first-time round, there was no way I could imagine us getting back together. Just because, you know, we were all a little bit disenchanted with the music industry and the way we'd kind of been, you know, spat out a little bit. Not that we, you know, think we have any divine right not to be. But yeah, but like I said, when we do get back together, it just feels like, oh, you know, here we are, you know—it doesn't feel like we've had a gap. But yeah, this second time round has been more than double the first-time round. So yeah, we've been this—you know, it's 11 years since we got back together. I think we just, you know, we don't really think about it too much. We just do our own thing. And yeah, the main thing is that just people have come with us on that and that's really nice. It makes us want to keep playing whilst people are interested, I suppose.

Jordan: You guys have always embraced new textures and wherever things sort of take you, but I guess a lot has changed—especially in, like, technological advancements—since the 90s, how music is made and consumed. Are there any new technologies that you guys have been able to work with or experiment this time around more recently that weren't available to you in the 90s that have sort of shaped your sound?

Christian: Oh yeah, I mean, you know, all of it. In the old days we all had to record together and, you know, it was on tape and, you know, if you mess something up it would be, you know, okay, do that again. But now, obviously, you know, we can record remotely, add little bits, you know, at home and stuff. Not that—I don't even own a computer, so I can't do that—but yeah, you know, Neil and Simon are really good with the technology, I guess, me less so. I'm kind of old school. I like to get in a room with everybody. But yeah, we kind of mix all that up. We still do that, but, you know, Neil's got his own studio, Simon's got his own studio, and they're always tinkering away. So, I'm probably the wrong person to ask about technology because, yeah, as I said, I don't own a laptop or a computer or anything—just this phone that I'm speaking to you with.

Jordan: Yeah, true. I think, like, how music is consumed now and how, like, different things have just completely opened up is crazy. But you guys have inspired a new generation of bands and built a fan base that now spans across, like, decades. How does it feel to see that love for Slowdive play out in real time and, I guess, see younger demographics coming to your shows and really getting into it?

Christian: It's been the most incredible thing of this most recent album because when we got back together in 2014, there were some young people, which was amazing, but, you know, in the last couple of years, it's really, you know—it's blown up for us. We're playing to bigger audiences and a lot more of it is, you know, younger people. And yeah, we love that because those young people—I mean, we're happy to have anybody at our shows—but the young people bring this sort of energy and excitement to the shows because, you know, going to gigs for them is still new and exciting. And rather than, you know, older people like my age who, you know, they've been to thousands of gigs and it's kind of like sit at the back and have a drink. So yeah, it's just given us so much energy. And yeah, we love it. Even if we're a bit kind of like, don't these kids look at us and think we're old and gross? But I don't know.

Jordan: I think that it's, like, truly a testament to how timeless your music is—both, like, your older records and your newer records—because they have inspired so many people and just brought in a new, like, crowd and demographic of, like, love for your stuff. It's so amazing to see.

But you're playing Brisbane, where I am, on the 8th of May at Fortitude Valley Music Hall and I'm so excited. You guys were only—it feels like just here in 2023—playing a string of sold-out shows. So, Australia—clearly we love you guys—but what keeps pulling you guys back to Australia? Do you have a favourite memory of being here and performing here?

Christian: Yeah, I mean, you know, it's—you know, it's so amazing that people in Australia have even heard of us. So yeah, you know, we've got one of our old drummers lives in Brisbane, so it's really nice to catch up with him—a chap called Neil Carter, a really lovely guy. He drums on our second record, so it's nice to catch up with him. My brother lives in Melbourne, so it's nice to see him. And it's just amazing to have an opportunity to play to people in Australia. You know, it's incredible. So we're grateful and humble, I think.

Jordan: Yeah, absolutely. I think it's crazy that you guys obviously didn't come here in the 90s, so your first show in Australia was in 2018. That's, like, mind-boggling. Well, thank you so much for your time and hopping on the call and having a chat. It was awesome to chat with you. So thank you so much.

Christian: Thank you, Jordan. It was a pleasure to be on your show. Thank you.

Listen to ‘everything is alive’ below.

Christian Savill from Slowdive on ‘everything is alive,’ touring Australia and the history and discography of Slowdive

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