Swindon/Albuquerque-based project, The 3 Clubmen (Andy Partridge, Jen Olive, Stu Rowe), on Swindon’s Lighterthief label, is the culmination of a decade’s worth of antics from these three longtime musical collaborators. Since 2008, each has worked with the other in some form, but The 3 Clubmen marks the first time Stu, Andy, and Jen have combined forces as a trio, an inevitable partnership once described as “A three-headed Frankenstein’s monster dancing at a neurodivergent singles club.”
The 3 Clubmen saga begins in 2006, during the recording of Monstrance. Andy and Stu, working together for the first time, discovered a mutual fascination for experimental music production; this turned into a Thursday/Friday ritual that would start at the Lighterthief Bunker and end at the local pub. These sonic explorations and improvised recordings yielded a huge pile of material and musical sketches, setting the stage for Jen’s later involvement.
In 2008, Jen signed to Andy’s label APE HOUSE Records and started recording the album Warm Robot, sending tracks from her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Andy in Swindon. Stu and Jen were introduced shortly after that and quickly realized their odd sensibilities were also aligned, so Jen was asked to write some vocals on some of the tracks Stu and Andy had put together. Pleased with the results, the songs “Up On Hi” and “My Dream Sea” were included on the Lighterthief EPs Trick Picture and Hard Listening, respectively (both released on APE HOUSE).
In the summer of 2010, during Jen’s Warm Robot promotional tour of the UK, the threesome took the opportunity to work together in person down at the Bunker. The chemistry was instant, the room was buzzing, and ideas were born, sparking plans about what should come next. Later, over a pint at The Roaring Donkey pub, the name “The 3 Clubmen” was decided. Taken after the name of local defence volunteer groups during the English civil war, Clubmen were on their side, fighting against both armies to protect themselves. It seemed to fit.
Jen returned to the US and prepared for the 2011 release of the I Say Love EP, featuring collaborations with Andy and Stu individually. Then she got to work on The Breaks album (produced by Stu), recorded over three years and released in 2014. Stu continued working with Andy on several projects during this period: Andy’s Powers, various XTC re-releases, and the Gonwards album with Peter Blegvad, to name a few. Stu also began mixing and producing for Barry Andrews/ Shriekback and Colin Moulding / TC&I. Meanwhile, The 3 Clubmen files were languishing on hard drives amidst the debris of countless mixes and recording sessions. The songs occasionally resurfaced, being chopped and remixed (sometimes with overdubs added by visiting musicians), only to be put back into the pile of unfinished projects.
Time marched on, lives took turns, and The 3 Clubmen seemed largely forgotten. Then came the pandemic. Trapped at home, Jen messaged Stu to see if he’d like to collaborate on a song. Talking about old times, The 3 Clubmen were mentioned and, for nostalgia’s sake, they had a listen. Excited by how good the songs sounded, Stu sent the tracks to Andy, and they decided to finish what they’d started years ago. Stu returned to work cutting, remixing, and slotting the musical puzzle pieces together. The result is The 3 Clubmen, the trio’s eponymous four-song EP.
As Stu puts it, reflecting on responses from those who’ve heard it over the years, “It’s the one project everyone says I should finish.”
The first single, Aviatrix, is out tomorrow.
