Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil has never settled for autopilot rock. Now, he shares his insight to keeping things creative, and lifts the lid on Ellipsis - a new album driven by his desire to “twist sounds” and “fuck with guitars”…

It’s ironic that Biffy Clyro’s most inventive album began with a creative drought. In 2015, Simon Neil was in a tailspin. He hadn’t written a song for 18 months. He hadn’t taken off his dressing gown for eight weeks.

I felt like I had nothing inside to say. No fuel left in the tank

“I felt like I had nothing inside to say,” reflects the frontman. “No fuel left in the tank. Writing 40 songs for Opposites [2013] was more work than I anticipated. I basically used up every idea I had.”

Drying up was a new experience for Simon. Since Biffy Clyro burst out of Kilmarnock in the post-millennium, the 36-year-old’s muse had rarely misfired, spitting out a stream of alt-rock classics that could be as heavy as Saturday Superhouse, as heartfelt as Many Of Horror, as bonkers as The Captain.

“I’ve always felt inspired,” he nods. “But I just couldn’t inhabit the same part of my brain. And I started to get into this panic mode, that maybe I’d never write a good song ever again. It wasn’t until I went to California that the album started to take shape in my mind.”

So began Ellipsis: a seventh album whose fearless fusion of leftfield riffage, antiquated synths and electro beats doesn’t so much push the envelope as punt it skywards. “At points it was disconcerting,” admits Simon, as he prepares to share his creativity-boosting tips. “But now we’ve finished, I can say it was a really successful experiment.”

Don't Miss

Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil talks guitars, writing riffs and new album, Opposites

Mike Vennart talks debut solo album The Demon Joke