Chris T-T has long been one of our favourite songwriters here at Maps, from the humour-laden likes of 'Drink Beer', the plain bizareness of 'Giraffes #1' to his recent album of socialist tracks '9 Red Songs', there are few that can match T-T for his sharpness of wit, keen turn of phrase and strength of conviction.

Chris recently released his fourth studio album 'Capital', which stands as his most complete and cohesive release to date. The songs range from the guitar rock-out of 'Where Were You?" to 'Ankles' which contrasts gentle piano with heavy lyrical contents, and touches on major recent events such as the London bombings in 'A Box to Hide In'.

Chris took some time out from his co-headline tour with Electric Soft Parade/Brakes man Thomas White to talk to us about the album:

"I've been saying in interviews that Capital is about London and 'a third part of the trilogy' and 'the end of the city', etc. etc. But, playing the songs on tour, I've realised that's all crap, it's really just an album about money."

Capital showcases a more guitar-based rock sound than previous releases, which meandered between stripped down acoustic folk, bright psychedlic pop and even the occasional foray into trip hop, but London has remained the backdrop for many of the songs, as it had been for debut The 253, named after a bus route in Hackney, and London Is Sinking (the title of which features in Capital's opening track).

'I think Capital is the last one. I've still got one or two good London songs but I'm not doing another whole record about the city, especially now. I love the onion layers of London which you gradually become aware of, especially if you walk. That there's 2,000, maybe 3,000 years of continual human occupation, stretching beyond any political system or 'nation' (since it's always been a cultural meltingpot) or technological reliance. Within half a mile you scuff up a multitude of ghosts, architecturally, spiritually, the noise in your ears, whatever your take is. All the headlines are reshuffled history, all the fights and couplings as well.'

Following the acclaim received by '9 Red Songs', Chris has become one of the nation's foremost politcal songwriters, and 'Capital', and in particular the scathing lead single 'This Gun Is Not a Gun' will serve to enhance this reputation further.

"One key idea was how the media de-personalises a city when 'we' are attacking it, such as Baghdad or - in particular - Fallujah when the Americans pillaged it. You don't see the modern, working city with cafes and supermarkets and offices and binmen. They insinuate a non-place onto the name, so it's less obvious we're murdering people. So I wanted to create a vivid background of a familiar city (in this case London) and its landmarks, but under attack. I don't think I succeeded but it was worth the effort.

Ah fuck it, really it was Kylie's cancer, that's what Capital is about - the Dreaded C taking on the Impossible Princess and her eventual triumph over adversity. I learned nothing is sacred."

One obvious difference from previous albums is the lack of overtly humorous tracks, and while there are still

some great lines and some caustic barbs amongst the tracks, anyone expecting an album full of 'Eminem Is Gay' style antics will be in for a surprise.

"I've still got some of those songs but none of them fit the mood of the record. That's why the 'deep breath' moment after the first half is an instrumental, rather than a joke song. Even though the listener needs some space, I didn't want to undermine things with a song about badgers. Funnily enough though, more than ever in my career, right now I have a backlog of songs and it's a lot of wacky shit."

The song that I've been most drawn to and keep coming back to is opener '(We Are) The King of England', with its ominous droned lyrics "We are the King of England, We are the House of Lords, We are the Mayor of London" - speaking of which, what was Chris' take on Boris Johnson's improbable rise from Have I Got News for You buffoon to taking charge of one of the largest cities in the world?

"It's a bit frightening. I think it's a coup by corporate media (especially the Evening Standard). Johnson is a heavyweight Imperialist Bushite neo-con and when PRd well - as he was for the election - he's as dangerous as they come, for putting a smile on the face of stamping on the little people and empowering the horrible, more old fashioned/exploitative instincts of big business.

London will become a crueller, harsher place at the bottom and the middle, although it'll probably be more comfortable for the richest and most powerful. No question the city will be less honest and welcoming and a bit more afraid, with someone of the right-wing in charge. It'll be interesting to see how David Cameron handles Johnson because he's suddenly the most powerful Tory in the UK, arguably a lot more powerful than his own party leader."

It's been an interesting period in British politics of late, with Gordon Brown looking shaky at the top, protests at the Olympic torch relay and strikes by teachers and oil workers, coupled with ominous financial forecasts, and a high-profile campaign in the US for the Democratic presidential candidate possibly signalling a renewed public interest in the world of politics.

"I think that the return of direct action already happened a while back (certainly worldwide), with anti-Globalisation, the South American socialist groundlevel rennaisance and the anti-war protests. People are engaged, it's just not in the media's corporate owners' self-interest to publicise what's really going on. In a softer way, look at the massive interest in the US elections - people are definitely on message. Now, the media owners aren't behind Brown in the way they were behind Blair, and he's made some dreadful moves as PM, so we see more of this stuff as bigger news."

But are there the bands out there to document these uncertain times and to bring attention to the important issues? Chris thinks so:

"I think there's a good amount of politically-aware culture - I don't feel a lack. From MIA to The Enemy, it's

there across the board. Perhaps a problem is the prevalence of hypocritical vague / soft / liberal 'social concern' from bands who guzzle fuel and live millionaire lifestyles. But that's inevitable - they can't shut up and they can't magically be poorer (only time will do that!). Radiohead shine a light into that area though and Chris Martin and Bono come up wanting. They're just blokes though, not magical ciphers for wisdom.

I do wish more mainstream music artists would sing for a revolution, or kick out some truly shocking lyrics - that would be ace. But that's more a purely aesthetic wish that pop's lyrics were better. Nobody's come up like Eminem yet.

I'm also trying writing a regular column for the first time, in the Morning Star. Can't wait to see how that goes!"

Interview and photography by Paul Madden
http://christt.com / www.xtramilerecordings.com