Forgiveness & The Grain Mike Vennart had a bit of a revelation recently: on releasing his new solo album, , he realised it was his 10th record in 20 years. Those releases stretch across different bands and genres, from Oceansize – when he was in his 20s – to last year’s debut, his metal project with and ex drummer . It’s a tally that’s bound to give pause for thought about the passing of time.
Now in his late 40s, a fearful nostalgia runs through the new album, from the artwork to the deceptively beautiful music within. “As I’ve gotten older, the further back I look, it gives me a kind of vertigo,” he says. “I feel like I’m standing at the top of a very, very tall building, and it’s so far away now.
The artwork for the album has got a lot of really old photos at my mam and dad’s in the mid-70s. And it’s like another planet – how they looked, the quality of the photographs and the way they’ve become decayed over time and yellowed with mould. “I don’t feel 47 years old.
I’m still searching for the perfect T-shirt. I’m still listening to . I’m still fucking obsessed with the same things I was when I was 16.
So the idea that I’m actually pushing 50 is just fucking nonsense. Like, what does that mean? What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to feel now? Aren’t I supposed to have all my shit together? What does that mean any more, ‘Having your shit together’? I don’t know what the fuck is going on.” There are clearly a lot of .
