In Defence of Edgar Prais

“I worry that sometimes we can lean towards the mainstream too much. We have a big chorus and all of a sudden people start talking about radio play. It's something we want to shy away from and keep it kind of off the radar.” Ridiculous as it might sound, this man is in a band. His band are Edgar Prais, an Aberdonian outfit. His name is Kristoffer Morgan and when we meet at T In The Park, he seems paradoxically ambitious yet apathetic; a tortured soul, no doubt.

“It's not really our scene here, I find myself intimidated by big crowds. It might be the potential to gain a new fanbase for us, but if I had my choice I'd like to be accepted at All Tomorrow's Parties.” The line between courting fickle mainstream hyperbole and gaining the necessary exposure for an up and coming band is undoubtedly thin. It's a Catch 22 scenario that Morgan is all too aware of. “A lot of people shy away from bands classed as the 'NME type,' for instance. I guess I’m kind of guilty of that myself. I haven’t even listened to them before for that reason.” He directs his thumb over his shoulder and in the general direction of the Main Stage, where The Enemy are entertaining the masses. “I might actually like their music. It's probably a bad thing but the NME is so much like a tabloid newspaper, it turns me off bands.”

Edgar Prais - Pop Song No. 93

Edgar Prais stand little danger of being lumped in with The Enemy. Tabloid Rock, it would seem, is not a genre they care to dabble in. “We look to artists like Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. Other than that there's a lot of Motown, pop and soul running through our music.” Yet their penchant for penning intelligent pop songs has seen them come in for some strange criticism. Despite looking forward to catching Vampire Weekend's set later on this particular afternoon, Kristoffer explains that no matter how good a band are, lazy comparisons can prove to be less help, more hindrance.

“We had some reviews that compared us to them in a derogatory manner, saying we were consciously trying to be intelligent and calling us foppish. I don’t get it. Our songs are built up around narratives and a lot of thought go into the lyrics. Apparently Vampire Weekend are the only band that are doing that right now.”

It's a sad indictment for the media when a band are castigated for being smart, but their background shows Edgar Prais take inspiration from outwardly intelligent figures. The band are named after a member of the Queen's Council who defended a local musician facing a perjury charge in Aberdeen. “It was about two years ago,” he explains, “the other two members of the band were actually at the case, they were good friends with the defendant. It's a bit messy, so I shouldn't really go into it. But Edgar Prais was so flamboyant and charismatic when he went to the bar, we thought he deserved to have a band named after him.”

Prais is apparently aware of the band and has not objected to the use of his name. When quizzed as to whether he is a fan, Morgan isn't certain. “I don't think so,” he shrugs, “he's Jewish and I think the only music he listens to is at Bar Mitzvahs and the like.”

Perhaps attracting the devotion of Edgar Prais, the man, is a bridge too far for Edgar Prais, the band. But there's a balance to be struck, somewhere in the rather sizeable gap between he and The Enemy. The Skinny wishes Morgan luck, as he sets off serendipitously through the hordes of Kinross to find it.