Seamus Murphy is a photographer who established his reputation with his images from war zones. He was asked by PJ Harvey to work with her on a DVD to accompany her (award-winning) Let England Shake album last year. That DVD of 12 films is out now. We asked him how it came about and what sort of England he set out to capture.

Bowlegs: How much is this DVD a collaboration between you and Polly?

SM: The films were inspired and driven by PJ Harvey’s album. I listened to it and came away with my own ideas of what it was saying, and loosely I tried to put that on film. I say loosely because what I wanted to avoid was some kind of interpretation, as that would end up being too literal. She saw and had input into the films once they were finished – and that was really only to comment, and once or twice question something that she didn’t think worked. She was incredibly open to the work.

Bowlegs: Are the films your general response to the album as a whole, or did you create ideas for each song from the outset?

SM: It was a general reaction, which led me to take on the journey around England. Mostly I shot what I thought was interesting and which was consistent on some level with the album. Sometimes I had an idea that I thought fit a certain passage or song, but mainly I was gathering images, similar to how I work with reportage. Putting off the impulse to judge and compartmentalize the work as you are doing it frees one’s approach and allows ideas to breathe.

Bowlegs: The films make much of the traditional imagery of England – did you set out to capture a ‘real’ England (mechanics, bingo players, shoppers, ballroom dancers) in order to contrast it with the bell-ringers, empty fairgrounds and the more nostalgic images? Once you had assembled the images, did you feel you had gotten any closer to what ‘England’ is?

SM: I really just photographed what I was interested in and what was consistent with what I felt was the mood of the music. I wasn’t thinking real or nostalgic, though ‘Merry Olde England’ was, of course, an idea I played with. Had I had more time, there would have been more dimensions to explore. But it was tight as the album was about to be released.

Bowlegs: There’s much of the past and present all mixed up in England: do I get the message from these films that economic cycles and war are repetitive in nature? That history repeats?

SM: Well, we know that’s the case, but I didn’t set out with messages as such. But unconsciously I am sure that comes through.

Bowlegs: Are these films anti-war in message? Or are they a snapshot of a society at a time of war?

SM: I can’t think how anyone isn’t anti-war. Who could be pro-cancer or pro-misery? But I don’t intend to bang people over the head with messages – it’s not my style to preach and it would fall on deaf ears anyway. A snapshot or a glimpse is a good way to describe them. I always think the best stories are the ones that have you wanting more, or that open you up to other possibilities beyond the photograph, story or film you have experienced.

Bowlegs: It’s a great idea to have regular folk reading the lyrics. We’re curious: how did you choose those people, and did they respond well the opportunity?

SM: They were bemused, but really got into it. I knew some of them, met some of them on the road. It was a way to add a documentary feel to the project, as well as underline the lyrics.

Bowlegs: You wanted to avoid a judgemental tone; the camera hardly moves in any take, it seems to only bear witness to the events captured. You’ve used only natural light, with a minimum of post-processing on the film. Is that generally your approach to photography? Is this a more authentic format?

SM: It is my approach generally and one I think is less contrived, but I don’t want to be dogmatic about it. It suits me and what I want to do, and I happen to believe if you can pull off something magical from a real situation you are achieving something more profound than if that is created by software or scripted. But that’s me.

Bowlegs: There are a lot of shots of PJ Harvey performing in the room facing the sea, which are way more intimate than how we’ve seen her before. Was there a desire to present her as open and down to earth? It contrasts with the oblique ‘characters’ she has sometimes inhabited – such the pre-Raphaelite Victorian of the previous album. It also feels like a comment on the act of song-writing – that it’s way more precarious and fragile than some think.

SM: I didn’t know much about the persona of PJ Harvey before I met her, and I just approached the films based on the person I met and enjoyed long and fascinating conversations with. Afterwards people said it felt unusual. It would be a way I would shoot anyone I liked and was comfortable with.

You can check all the films for the Let England Shake project here.