Collaboration and inspiration mean a lot to Jimi Goodwin, as he tells Tim Hughes

When Jimi Goodwin decided to “call time” on his band Doves after 12 years together, fans of the Manchester indie-rockers were left in dismay.

Four years on, that disbelief has turned to mourning and now acceptance. For the band’s frontman, however, it has heralded a new chapter in a music career which has taken him from clubland to cult indie hero and now acclaimed solo artist. And, he says, he has never been happier.

“Things are going great,” he says warmly. “I’m really enjoying it. This is why Doves called time. It was just to explore other avenues, collaborate with other people and get out of a cycle.”

Native Mancunian Jimi is talking before a show in East Anglia, part of a tour to promote his solo debut Odludek. It reaches Oxford’s O2 Academy on Monday.

The album, while carrying an unmistakable Doves stamp, sees Jimi breaking into new territory with a heartfelt set of catchy hook-rich songs which could only have come from a man who has spent more than two decades in the music industry.

“All you can do is challenge yourself as a writer,” he says. “It’s liberating; I’ve made the album I wanted to make.”

Few people know that Jimi’s first serious success in the music world came with house music act Sub Sub — famous for their Number Three hit Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use). When a fire destroyed their Ancoats recording studio, the trio of Jimi and twin brothers Andy and Jez Williams seamlessly segued into anthemic indie-rock.

Trading as Doves, the threesome scored nine Top 40 hit singles and released four studio albums – two of them The Last Broadcast and Some Cities — hitting Number One.

But, their last album Kingdom of Rust — dedicated to the memory of Jimi’s late father — was to be their last, with Jimi not so much breaking up the band, as putting it on “permanent hiatus”.

Oxford Mail:

“I didn’t want people to feel we were faking it or watching the clock,” he says. “I didn’t want to dangle the possibility of us getting back together, as we literally don’t know. That’s why I never say we ‘split up‘. I hate bands that do that, as you’ll see them six years later doing a reunion tour. I guess it was a diplomatic route. “It wasn’t supposed to be mysterious. It’s not like we couldn’t stand the sight of each other.

“Kingdom of Rust was a good one to call time on. It was hard to make, and we realised we needed to step back. We didn’t want to try to prise new shapes out of ourselves nor fall into familiar patterns. “And it was the first time we’d spent more than two weeks apart from each other for 12 years. We were always full on either in the studio or on the road. And it felt right.”

But while refusing to rule out the possibility of a reunion, he insists he is happiest on his own — for now.

It is inevitable, though, that the body of work should carry a heavy Doves stamp; his backing band ensuring this is not really a solo effort at all — though he insists he is firmly in control.

“My voice is the link to Doves,” he says. “But with this I wanted to go to places that reflect my own personal taste, things I admire in other people’s records and things I haven’t done.

“When I called time in 2010, I just felt like making an Outkast-style record with rappers and everyone I admired, but as got the songs together I gained in confidence and wanted it for myself — and that wish list of collaborators went out the window.

“Doves really was a democracy,” he continues. “It was a collaborative affair, and when it came to songwriting it was the product of three brains. It could be fractious at times but when we got it right it was inspiring. What’s different now is that all the songs come from me. “It’s quite strange after all those years of having to run ideas past your best friends.”

He adds: “I hate the word ‘solo’ though, and didn’t want to do acoustic stuff on my own,” he smiles. “That doesn’t interest me. We love the whole sonic feel; the production values are as important as the songs.”

“It’s not really a Jimi Goodwin record at all. It’s Odludek!”

One friend who did end up working with him was fellow Mancunian Guy Garvey of Elbow. Jimi returned the favour by supporting the band on their recent tour.

“Guy’s an old friend,” says Jimi. “And when we started working together we knew it’d be relatively easy, based on how we are. So he’d write a verse, then I’d write a verse.”

The Polish word Odludek means as ‘pilgrim’ or possibly ‘loner’ depending on your translation. It is, says Jimi, an appropriate title. “It can also mean misanthrope,” he laughs. “And I have my days, I won’t deny it. But the basic reality is I’m doing this alone, but like a pilgrim, I’m searching for what it is that excites me.”

Some of the songs dates back to Jimi’s time with Doves. The oldest, Didsbury Girl, was written in 2004. “It fell through the cracks,” says Jimi. “It didn’t make the cut but it had merits and kept knocking at the door. It was good to have things in reserve to kickstart the album.”

And, he says, it has re-energised him as a writer.

“It’s about bringing the fun back into it,” he grins. “It’s about recharging your batteries and getting inspired and falling back in love with the thing you do.

“It’s our job — but it’s hardly stacking shelves."

Jimi Goodwin
O2 Academy Oxford
Monday
Tickets £15 from ticketweb.co.uk