Watch The Spook School Destroy Gender Norms With Makeshift Robot Costumes in “Binary”

Raised on a diet of Buzzcocks and C86 compilations, The Spook School make infectious noisey pop songs that perfectly balance the emotional, the political, and the silly. From appearing in a Rolling Stone documentary in conversation with Laura Jane Grace to releasing a song called “Burn Masculinity” with an animated video featuring a superhero who destroys douchey water cooler dudes with rainbow mindwaves, the Scottish DIY quartet have been smashing 2015 so far – now we’re premiering their new video for “Binary”, filmed by Nathan Griffin of sentimental anarchists Martha.

Taken from their forthcoming album Try To Be Hopeful, “Binary” is a triumphant queer pop song about questioning gender norms – something that singer and guitarist Nye Todd’s experience of coming out as being trans has forced him to think about. Celebrating life beyond the false choice between “bowties or high heels”, the video shows the band dressed up in makeshift robot costumes before discarding them bit by bit as it escalates to a massed chorus of “I am bigger than a hexadecimal”.

Watch the video below and read our Q&A with The Spook School and Nathan in which we talk about identity, the dimensions of cardboard boxes, and throwing a house party at Buckingham Palace.

Noisey: Hi Spook School! So, “Binary” is about questioning gender norms. Could you talk about what the concept of “identity” means for you personally?
Nye: Hmmm, that’s a hard one. I think, over the past couple of years, it has moved for me from being something deeply personal to a more outwardly facing thing. At the time when I had realised myself that I was trans but didn’t have the courage yet to let people know, having a clear internal vision of how I saw and understood myself was very important, especially at times when I was being constantly misgendered or treated in a way that didn’t correspond with that identity.

Now that my identity isn’t challenged so much by people I meet, I no longer need to constantly validate my identity just in order to feel comfortable/okay, it’s now my choice to do so. It’s more about feeling empowered in my identity, and wanting to reach out and learn from other people that’s identities overlap with my own in whatever ways.

Nathan, did you have a particular vision for the video before you made it and how did you realise that?

Nathan: It was very much a collaborative process, I really think this song is so important but also so personal, and I wanted to do it justice. We discussed it together and it turned out the idea that I had come up with was pretty similar to the one they had come up with, so we smushed it all together and came out with this. We shot it at Nottingham Queer Fest in and around the amazing JT Soar. Incidentally, the first few seconds are a reference to Reservoir Dogs, which was specifically requested by Adam Todd. I think he might need to work a little on his jewell-heist strut, if he’s to have a career in gangster movies though.

How much cardboard and tinfoil did it take to make those costumes?
Nathan: Loads! Again this was collaborative, and the Spook School are world renowned for their fancy dress skills, so we split the work load. The tin-foil stuff was made by the spooks, the other stuff is all spray painted, which I did some help from my friends Megan and Joe (who designed the computer screens). We used really cheap poundshop spray paint which made me feel a bit strange in the brain for a few days after, but I think it was worth it. I’d never spent such a long time thinking about the dimensions of cardboard boxes.

I noticed that your received a letter of thanks from the Queen for sending her a copy of your album. If she invited you to play a house show at Buckingham Palace would you do it and who else would play?
Niall: We are all completely anti-monarchy and think it is completely ridiculous that there exists such an undemocratic and unaccountable institution in this day and age. I sent her a CD and invited her to come to a show and hang out with some queer kids and maybe think about campaigning for the LGBT community. I thought it would be pretty funny to try and open a dialogue between a monarch and a tiny queer band. If we were invited to play at her house we would definitely do it (there’s a whole lot of nothing in a lot of her rooms, it would be nice to use all that space!) and we would make it the most palatial safe space in the world. We would definitely have Martha playing, they would headline, Laura Jane Grace could do an intimate acoustic set, and Two White Cranes would tug at everyone’s heartstrings! And then, as the last notes fade away, the Queen would think for a moment before declaring the abolition of the monarchy and making Buckingham Palace a music and arts hub available and accessible to all. And she would start her own punk band.

Your new album is called Try To Be Hopeful, which is like one big adrenaline shot of optimism. Are there any stand-out things from the last year or so that have made you feel more hopeful?
Nye: Queer fest Nottingham. Just being around so many talented, kind and amazing queer folks is such a special experience. I think it made us all feel pretty emotional. As someone who was (re-)named after a socialist Labour politician, I’m also cautiously optimistic about Jeremy Corbyn being elected Labour leader. We watched the announcement at Roxy’s (Two White Cranes, Grubs, Jo Gru, every band in the world) house the other weekend and it was very exciting even though the BBC commentator spoiled the result before it was announced.

Niall: Playing a show in Pittsburgh where we knew no one and had no instruments (due to an incredibly cliched van breakdown). It was in the basement of a garden centre full of queer kids and they leant us acoustic guitars and, in lieu of drums, gave me a washboard and some spoons. Everyone should rock out with cutlery at least once in their life.

What’s one thing most people could do more to make the world better?
Nye: I think mainly just listening and being responsive to people. Which is hard to do, and I’m definitely not perfect at it. But, for example, if someone comes to you because something has upset them and you don’t think that it would upset you, it’s really easy to write that person off as just being overemotional or unreasonable. It’s harder to take a step back and try to understand that person’s experiences and why they might have been affected negatively by whatever it was, and then to change your own behaviour based on this. But it’s also the right thing to do. Obviously that’s on a small scale, but it all adds up.

Niall: Listen.

Any words of advice for anybody struggling with embracing their identity?
Nye: Don’t feel like you have to rush yourself. It took me about two, almost three years from the time when I first realised that I might be trans to the time when I told most people in my life. And at times I would get really frustrated with myself, especially watching other trans people on youtube who seemed to figure it out one week, and have told everyone they had ever met by the next. But taking that time was what I needed to do, and I think it has made me stronger and more sure of myself as a person. Not the waiting itself, because I don’t think there’s anything wrong with moving quickly, but just doing what seemed right to me and not pushing myself because of some made up timeline I’d imposed. Just, do what feels right to you.

Adam: Keep reminding yourself that the hierarchical social structures surrounding gender and sexuality that we’re all taught to believe are complete bullshit. Find and hang out with people who have also realised this. It’s a lot easier to get over internalising shitty things if there are other people around reminding you how silly it all is.

Niall: You are not alone.

Anything else you’d like to add?
All: A massive thank you to Nathan for filming such an ace video and being so receptive to what we were trying to say with this song. He is one of the most beautiful human beings we have ever met. Thank you so, so much. And thank YOU for these thought-provoking questions! To anyone who likes what they’ve heard or read you should come to a show and say hi. We like meeting new people.

Try To Be Hopeful is out on October 9 via Fortuna Pop! You can find more of Nathan’s work here.

Catch The Spook School on the following dates:

October 2 – RVIVR, London, Boston Music Hall

October 9 – List party, Glasgow, The Lighthouse

October 17 – Carefully Planned Festival, Manchester, Gullivers
October 26 – Edinburgh, Banshee Labyrinth

October 27 – Edinburgh, Banshee Labyrinth

October 28 – London, DIY Space

October 29 – BMX Bandits, Glasgow, Hug and Pint

November 6 – Martha/Radiator Hospital, Glasgow, 13th Note

November 20 – Brighton, The Joker
November 26 – Leeds, wharf chambers

November 27 – Edinburgh, Citrus Club (with the Lovely Eggs)
November 28 – Dundee, Buskers – Book Yer Ane Fest IX

December 5 – Nottingham, Chameleon

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