Mark Gardener Of Ride: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview

Feature Photo: A Shoreline Dream Mark Gardener photo by Ryan Policky and Steve Gullick

With Ride, guitarist, songwriter, and producer Mark Gardener helped spearhead the ‘90s shoegaze movement in the UK. Albums like Nowhere (1990), Going Blank Again (1992), Carnival of Light (1994), and Tarantula (1996) are well-loved by fans—but there’s more to Gardner’s career. Gardener is also the proud owner of three solo records and several EPs and has taken part in a cache of guest spots and collaborations, the latest of which is Whitelined, featuring Ryan Policky of A Shoreline Dream.

If you’re a fan of what Gardener has done thus far, Whitelined will tickle those same senses, though there is plenty of surprises, which shouldn’t shock anyone. With that in mind, Mark Gardener beamed in with ClassicRockHistory.com to give the rundown on his latest music and what’s on tap as he moves ahead.

What led to your latest record, Whitelined?

I like meeting music; I like collaborations as it pushes you to different places. I built this studio (Ox4 Sound) to create a space to be able to get lost in music and collaborations exactly like this, alongside Mastering, Mixing, Soundtrack, and Recording work.

I need to do different things as I struggle with the repetition of touring and nostalgia connected to old songs written years ago. Fresh collaborations and work like this is like a sonic blood transfusion needed. In this space, ideas can flow, and the subconscious can reveal; for me, that’s where the interesting ideas come through and from.

How did you approach working with Ryan Policky on this record?

Sometimes ideas come quickly, and sometimes ideas take time. It’s not always a joyous process because the initial reaction can be, “What can I do with this? I have created all and soul-mined so much that what do I now have to say? It’s all over for me!” [laughs]

Then, the work begins in a way. I’m my toughest critic, and then once the flow starts to happen, you go back off on that journey that takes you. It’s not really something you can control and are in control of as much as you’d like to think you are; you’re not.

Dig into the songwriting process for me. What track kicked this off?

With this collaboration, the track that became “Everything Turns” was the launch for me. I listened through to a few of the instrumentals that Ryan forwarded to me over the ocean, and this one was the first I really connected with, and for me, it had a trance-like transcendental feeling about the music that I really connected with. Then the process happened as described above.

What themes presented themselves as you were developing this record?

I realized after a few interviews with Ryan that, coincidentally, we were having similar post-COVID feelings and thoughts. With “Everything Turns,” for me, it was like the machines and digital were taking over, so we used to feel wanted and needed.

Now, machines and AI are taking over, and the more connected people get with their devices, the more disconnected and lonely people feel as if they are no substitute for real human connections. But in the end, everything turns, so hopefully, more and more people will start to put their phones and devices away more.

What went into the production? Did vinyl and the physical media revival factor in?

Candles lit. Nights in my studio. Reactions to the music. Recording vocals and vocal harmonies. Some trial and error to get all to a place that I felt worked seamlessly and always belonged to the music to enhance the music with more vocal line structures and a few bass lines.

Tell me about the gear you used. What is the secret to your tone?

Neuman U67 is my vocal mic choice. I use this with valve compressors in my studio. I normally record with a Teletronix LA2A to help compress and level the vocal on the way in.

Does your established sound with Ride impact how you approach this and does the pressure of the Ride fanbase weigh on you?

No, not at all. When I’m working on my own in my studio, the world is very much on the outside. Everything you do, you believe, it’s the best thing you have ever done. I aim high always. It’s part of why I drive myself a bit mad at times, but I never think about Ride or a Ride fanbase when I get creative. You just have to take the leap in the dark and see where you land.

How does this project differ from what you’re known for?

I think it’s different but also similar. I worked in the same way and in the same space with Shoreline Dreams music as I did with the last Ride album, Interplay, which was also recorded in my Ox4 Sound studio. The space is so sacred and important for me to be able to fly. I don’t hit technical buffers in the studio, so if something is not right, then I’m to blame, not the tools or the space.

And how is it the same?

Music like this is a way to leave the space to happy and dreamy spaces without actually getting off the studio chair. It’s totally a sonic escape away from life’s difficulties and realities we all have to deal with.

What does the future hold for you?

No idea. I try to stay present. Right now, I’m getting ready to play a Ride show in a big church in Hackney in London to celebrate 20 years of the label Sonic Cathedral. Tomorrow, I will have a day with my daughter, and then on Monday, I’m back in the studio mixing an interesting English artist.

Looming in the distance is the final part of the Interplay Ride tour around the USA in December. I love the shows but struggle with the sleeper bus tour life, so providing I survive that, I’ll hopefully then enjoy Christmas and some needed downtime!