[QUESTIONS
ABOUT RECOIL AND 'UNSOUND METHODS]
*How
easy/difficult was it to make Unsound Methods?
*What direction did you take with 'Unsound Methods'?
Similar to the New-Age
like compositions or 'Bloodline'? Or a combination?
*How do you think about music? Do you just think in the
abstract or do you
hang the music bits on something else, like images when
you're working with
them?
*Do you write lyrics before or after the music, or write
them with the music?
*What if anything, inspires you to write music?
*What brings about the perfect frame of mind to write?
*How is this new album similar or different to the other
Recoil efforts? Have
any recent artists influenced you in any way?
Apart from the fact that my studio resembled a 'fridge
for much of the winter,
making 'Unsound Methods' was relatively painless. I have
resolved to improve
the heating as I don't hold with the idea that the artist
should have to
continually suffer for his art. There are definite pros
and cons to working
on your own. The disadvantages include those moments of
self doubt when you
need somebody to bounce ideas off or to reassure you that
what you're doing is
worth pursuing. The advantages however, are enormous -
you don't have to
continually argue your case for every little idea or
reach a compromise to
appease other people. Democracy doesn't actually work
very well in the
studio. When you meet halfway on ideas, nobody ends up
happy. If you're in
charge, then at least one person is happy.
The album was pieced together with no great overall
scheme in mind. I never
really know what I'm doing until it's finished. My
starting point is often a
combination of tried and tested guide sounds that evoke a
particular feeling
or mood in order to get the ball rolling. Then by trial
and error I keep
throwing ideas at the track until a theme or concept
emerges which I like to
keep in mind to focus the direction. From that point I
usually park the idea
and move on to another track until I have built up more
of an overall picture.
In this case it became apparent that vocals would be
required to do justice
to most of these ideas.
Whilst keeping this in mind, I then bring the music to a
point where it
accurately demonstrates the atmospheres I want to create
and is acceptable to
play to vocalists. I will explain that I am liable to
change the structures
once the vocals have been recorded and always make sure
that my collaborators
trust me to manipulate what they've done afterwards. I
rarely, however,
change their words.
With this album, I suggested the various themes to the
singers but also gave
them the option to write about something completely
different if they wanted
to. They all chose to stick within the framework I gave
them.
I think the end result is quite different to what I've
done before but it's a
difficult thing for me to judge. There is, I hope, a
continuity to everything
despite its diversity simply because of the methods I
employ when putting
everything together. I wasn't consciously trying to
change although I
deliberately made the rhythms less precise and programmed
- hence the cut up
drum loops and dub baselines. It's very difficult to
achieve a really natural
groove or feel with programmed drums which is something I
feel is lacking in
Mode albums with the exception of SOFD. I didn't use as
many electronic
sounds although they are still in there. To me the most
important things are
atmosphere, dynamics, melody and groove.
*Who has
collaborated with you on this most recent Recoil album?
*Tell us about the upcoming single 'Drifting' and the
vocalist Siobhan Lynch?
*What led you to your choice to work with Maggie Estep?
Siobhan Lynch came to me via a demo cassette and I was
immediately drawn to
her sightly desperate voice. I can't really explain what
'Drifting' is all
about - the lyrics are her department. My brief to
Siobhan was to create the
feeling of someone who had lost their way in life and was
drifting aimlessly
for whatever reason. I've never asked her what her words
mean as I prefer
that their ambiguity works the same way for me as they do
for other listeners.
I have my own interpretation of their meaning which could
be completely
different from Siobhan's. This is one of the reasons why
I don't like to print
lyrics on the sleeve.
I recruited Doug McCarthy, who performed on the last
Recoil LP and the single,
'Faith healer', partly because I knew he would suit the 2
tracks I had in mind
for him and also because he is probably the easiest
person in the world to
work with. He was formerly one half of Nitzer Ebb and we
became good friends
after they supported DM on the MFTM and Violator tours.
Maggie Estep, a New-York spoken word artist came to the
project after I had
been searching, unsuccessfully, for an intelligent rapper
with an interesting
angle. Even though she is clearly not a rapper, in the
end she proved far
more in tune with the overall feel of the project and is
in sharp contrast to
the other vocalists.
Finally, Hildia Cambell, who was one of the gospel
singers on the DM
Devotional tour, provided her particular style for 2
tracks.
*Will there be
more promotion done with this release as opposed to your
past
Recoil releases?
The scale of the promotion really depends on demand. Mute
are not the type of
company who can afford to take massive marketing risks
along the lines that
you might see with major labels. The approach is likely
to be cautious and
sensitive with the emphasis on awareness. Because the
project is so diverse
it is important that all the marketing eggs are not
placed in the radio hit
single basket since much of the music isn't really that
radio-friendly. I am
realistic enough to realise that it may be difficult to
get the radio play. I
would like to see a slower build which tries to make a
wider audience aware
that there is a project called Recoil, that Recoil is in
fact me, and that it
incorporates many areas and is worth exploring.
*Are you
planning any appearances on TV or any other interviews
such as radio,
TV or magazines?
*Will you be
making any personal appearances, when the first single is
released? If so, have any cities been picked?
Only in as much as promotion demands it. I am going on a
promo trip to
Hamburg, Munich, Brussels, Paris, Vienna, Stockholm and
Copenhagen and then
later to the U.S. This will mainly be meeting the press
and the odd TV
interview.
*It was
understood that Recoil in the past would not tour
(because of being
with DM) but since Recoil is your only project, will you
consider touring now?
I have no plans to tour at present or in the immediate
future. If a single
really took off and demand was great to play a live TV or
even a club date,
then I may consider it but I think it's unlikely.
*Will 'Unsound
Methods' be promoted by Reprise or by some other label
company
in the States?
The LP will be released by Reprise. I think it is
scheduled for early
November but this is not yet confirmed.
*The internet is
now being utilised by musicians as another tool for
exposing
their music to a worldwide audience. Do you plan on
having brief audio
excepts from your new album anytime soon?
Yes. Keep an eye out.
*Who's going to
do some of the remixes for the new single(s)?
I've done a dub version of 'Drifting' myself, there is a
mix of 'Control
Freak' by Barry Adamson and a very minimal mix of 'Shunt'
by Panasonic.
*Who would you
like to remix for and who would you like to have as
re-mixers
of Recoil songs?
I don't really want to do much in the way of remixes for
other people although
I always listen to offers and if something interesting
enough comes along I
would consider it. Generally, I'm wary of remixes - most
of them are terrible
and done with little care. I try to choose people who
will be sympathetic to
the track and the song. Unfortunately, the people who you
can rely on to do
this are few and far between and often quite difficult to
get hold of.
*Are we going to
hear any of your vocals on any of the tracks for your new
album? Will you ever sing on a Recoil track?
I do the odd backing vocal but I don't think my singing
voice is really
strong enough to carry a lead vocal.
*Alan, why have
you named the band Recoil? Is it a reference to the gun
mechanism, or what we do in the face of ugliness or
terror? Or is it
something else entirely?
There's no great reason. I just liked the sound of the
word.
*Do you plan to
use any of your photos as cover art for Unsound or any of
the
singles?
No.
*We didn't have
access to the lyrics in the 'Bloodline' album. Is it
intentional? Are you printing lyrics in future Recoil
releases?
I don't like to print lyrics. Somehow, it removes some of
the magic or
mystery. It can alter your perception of a song if you
sit and read the words
as you listen. The written word can have a completely
different effect than
when it's spoken or sung and is dependent on inflection,
pronunciation, nuance
etc..
*We've heard
Toni Halliday's side of the story regarding her work on
'Bloodline'. Now we'd like to ask you, how did you come
to choose Toni?
*Do you ever regret not releasing 'Edge to Life' or
'Bloodline' as a single,
especially considering how well Leftfield did with their
Toni Halliday
collaboration?
What was Toni's side? I never heard it. I met Toni
through Alan Moulder who
worked on the 101 live album. She asked me to do a remix
for her, which I
did. When I needed someone to sing for me, I immediately
thought of her,
hoping that she would return the favour. I also loved
what Curve were doing
at the time more so, actually, than the Leftfield
collaboration. I
particularly liked 'Edge to Life' and would have liked to
release that track
as a single.
*Who wrote what
on the 'Bloodline' album? Did you write it all, text and
music yourself?
I wrote all the music (except 'Faith Healer' which was a
cover). The lyrics
were written entirely by Toni Halliday on her two tracks
and by Moby on his
track.
[DEPECHE
QUESTIONS]
* Why did your
letter seem to hint at so many other problems within the
band
that led to your departure? And what might they have
been?
* Was it Dave, Andy or Martin (my vote is Martin) who you
ultimately really
couldn't get along with in the band?
* Martin has said he has felt that ever since "Black
Celebration" the band has
been in danger of falling apart. It is also from this
period that we got that
'Smash Hits' article with you saying that being in
Depeche Mode is not all fun
and games, I guess my question is, has it been that
difficult to be in the
band since those days and if so, why did you carry on?
* What have you got to say to those unkind comments made
by your former
partners?
* You got any legal problems with DM?
* Do you stay in touch with your ex-band mates?
The reason I made a statement when I left the group was
to try to summarise
succinctly in my own words some of the reasons for my
departure rather than
have the press speculate and inevitably draw the wrong
conclusions. The other
advantage of a statement is that it's a good way to close
the lid on
something. I have no wish to elaborate further on what
was said in it,
suffice to say that things are never as straight forward
as they appear from
the outside.
The overriding reason for my departure, above all else,
is that for the last
few years I hadn't been enjoying life in the group enough
to warrant sticking
with it, especially given that I didn't feel there was
anything more I could
personally achieve within its boundaries. I have to say
that I never had any
doubts that it was the right thing to do at the right
time for me and I am now
happier than ever both in my personal and musical life.
My involvement with Depeche has been good to me and I am
grateful for the
position it has left me in. Some of the things that have
been said are
disappointing but I have no problems with the other
members of the group.
Life is too short to bear grudges and my dignity would
never allow me to
resort to petty squabblings in public. I'm glad to hear
that Dave (who,
incidentally, has been nothing but a gentleman
throughout) is recovering from
his well documented problems. The other members of the
group and I have
resolved any outstanding legal matters. We don't have any
social contact but
then again, we never really did.
* Does it make
you feel vindicated that it took an entire team of
programmers
to replace you?
I think the credits for 'Ultra' tell the whole story.
* Where does the
title 'Control Freak' come from? Is it in reference to
some
accusations by your former band-mates?
The title 'Control Freak' does bear a little irony but
when you hear the song
it's quite clear that it has nothing to to do with my
former colleagues.
* Would you do a
DM production or remix if you were kindly asked to?
There is no chance that I would be asked to do a
production job or remix for
Depeche.
* Do you like
'Ultra'?
No comment.
* Your fave DM
album, song, remix and concert?
My favourite LP is 'Songs of Faith and Devotion' with
'Walking In My Shoes'
and 'In Your Room' being my favourite songs from it.
'Violator' is also good
but now sounds too precise and polite. I also like 'Never
Let Me Down',
'Clean', 'Stripped' and some others. My favourite remixes
are the Eno mixes
of 'I Feel You' and Johnny Dollar's remix of
'Walking...'. I don't really
have a favourite concert, they tend to merge into one
long 'on the road'
experience.
* What were your
favourite DM songs to play live, remix or tool around
with?
'I Feel You' and 'In Your Room' because I really enjoyed
playing the drums on
them.
* Did you sing
the vocals on "Two Minute Warning" and
"The Landscape is
Changing"?
No, Dave sang these.
* Who really is
responsible for the closing instrumental part on Judas?
If it's the bit I think you mean, I was. Martin never
liked that sequence.
In fact, we had a lot of trouble seeing eye to eye on the
approach for that
song.
* Is it true
that you were never happy about not being mentioned on
the
'Broken Frame' album?
I was unhappy to have been excluded from the making of it
considering I had
been performing / touring with the group since the
beginning of that year and
they expected me to help promote it after its release.
Their reasoning for my
omission was that they wanted to prove a point to Vince
who had left after the
first album.
* Did you have
great laughs with Dave about Martin's outfits?
The more you laughed at Martin's outfits, the more
outrageous he would make
them! He's very stubborn that way.
* Finally, what
does Andrew Fletcher really do in the band?
Umm.....
* Have you ever
smacked Fletch in the face? Did you enjoy that?
A physical brawl did ensue between us backstage in Salt
Lake City during the
MFTM tour I think. Punches were thrown, some landed, most
missed and I heard
that a few tears were shed (ahh..). The worse thing was
that we all had to go
straight back on stage to play 'Just Can't Get Enough'.
In fact, all the
physical encounters that have taken place over the years
have included Fletch
although the predicted big one involving the other most
aggressive member has,
strangely, never gone off - I'd like to see it when it
does.
* Now that
you're not with DM (feel free to take all the credit for
everything
here), is it true that you intentionally increased your
workload (i.e. playing
multiple parts in the songs, producing, etc.) while
diminishing Andy's role
because you recognised that he really did have a
fantastic natural talent for
clapping off beat and dancing funny?
It is laughable to suggest that I deliberately diminished
Fletch's role to
anything less than it has always been. I spent weeks
preparing the music for
the live show (which included many days programming
Fletch's keyboard sounds
as well as Martin's and my own) in order to ensure the
best possible live
sound within everybody's capabilities - not because I
wanted more work for
myself but simply because it needed to be done. I
increased my own personal
workload on stage, which included playing drums, to
challenge myself so that I
didn't get bored. It wouldn't have affected Fletch if I
had played less on
stage as the extra sounds would have been run from
sequencers or tape instead.
I must agree however, that his world renowned clapping
abilities are without
precedent.
[GENERAL
QUESTIONS]
* Would you ever
consider having your photos published?
I'm not a serious photographer at all. I used to dabble a
bit when I was
younger but I don't really bother these days. I do have a
good collection of
photos from the earlier Mode days but they're not really
good enough to
publish. I also have a great collection of home movie
footage of Depeche in
the studio and on tour between 1983 -87 but you're never
going to see it!
* How did you
feel barely missing the plane that came down near you
recently,
was this a life-changing experience?
* Having witnessed the Tornado crash in '94, has it
changed your outlook on
anything and how?
I didn't find religion or have any life transforming
experience but it left
its mark. Both Hep and myself still have the odd
nightmare. I'm actually
writing this on the day after Princess Diana was bumped
off (nobody really
believes it was an accident, do they?) and the thought of
witnessing that
event leaves me with exactly the same feeling I had in
Scotland. The thing
that struck me was that such an instantaneous tragedy is
immediately followed
by the banality of continuing life. As 2 dead airman were
splattered across
the road, the sun shone and the birds sang and no music
played.
* Any insight as
to your music's relationship to your personal life, and
their
effect on each other?
Making music, for me, is probably a form of therapy. My
personality is not
necessarily how you might imagine it is by listening to
the music. Writing
music probably eleviates a darker side of my personality
enabling me to resist
actually stalking people and merely write about it.
* What else have
you been doing besides recording 'Unsound Methods'?
* What did you name your baby?
The major thing that has taken up most of my time, has
been becoming a father
for the first time (and the last, believe me!). Our
daughter's called Paris
(that's where she was made) and, if you keep your eyes
open, you can spot her
making a guest appearance in the 'Drifting' video. We've
taken a very
hands-on approach and take her everywhere with us - in
fact she was in the
studio all the time during the making of this album and
I'm sure being exposed
to the real ins and outs of the process will stand her in
good stead in the
future. She's extremely mischievous (gets that from me)
and even managed to
flick off the main power switch one day, losing me hours
of programming.
As for other interests...When I come off tour I tend to
want to immerse myself
in 'normal' activities and as I'm really interested in
interior design,
especially the styles from 1900 - 1950 (We live in a
1930's built house) and
modern industrial design, I spent a lot of time
decorating and rummaging
around junk shops for interesting bits and pieces. It's
all very un rock 'n'
roll I'm afraid. We also moved out of London which has
its pros and cons. I
suppose I miss the spontaneity of living in a busy city
where you can go out
to great restaurants, go clubbing, visit the cinema etc.
at more or less the
drop of a hat. When you live in the country you have to
plan things much
more, especially if you have a child.
* What do you
say to the charge that you are a virile love machine?
Guilty.
* I can't see
any piercings or tattoos. Is that out of reluctance to do
something permanent or are there things out of sight?
They're just a bit silly, aren't they?
* What do you
wear, boxers or briefs?
Usually nothing or silk boxers.
* Which is it?
Brunettes or redheads?
They don't necessarily have to have a head at all.
* Are you easy
to please?
Give me a sandwich, a large vodka and non-stop football
and I'm anyone's.
* Do you still
support Queens Park Rangers, and if so why?!!
The thinking man's team. I've been thinking recently that
they're not very
good.
* Who is your
favourite footballer?
The one and only Stan 'Stanley' Bowles. A gambling, no
good drunk who lit up
West London in the 70's like no other before or since.
* If you were in
the desert and you saw a tortoise stuck on its back,
would
you help it?
I'd eat it.
* Do you have
any favourite words or phrases?
Sandwich, Vodka, football, It's a rap, bollocks,
pothouse.
* What is your
idea of happiness?
A sandwich, a large vodka and non-stop football.
* What do you
think when the X-files themes are compared to your music?
I've never actually watched the X-Files so I'm not really
qualified to talk
about it. I knew someone who was totally engrossed in all
that alien
abduction stuff and they were really irritating - perhaps
that's put me off.
I went out and bought the X-files music but found it
disjointed, lacking any
real edge and ultimately disappointing, like it was
trying too hard to be
'weird'.
If you want to hear a composer who really connects with
the film-maker and
reflects what he is saying, I think Badalamenti (Twin
Peaks) is better. To
create a really unsettling atmosphere is not that simple.
* Do you ever
drive around all night listening to c.d.'s?
No, I've got better things to do at night.
* Are you going
to put an official Alan Wilder / Recoil homepage in the
WWW?
No plans. Perhaps I would if I had time to keep on top of
it but I'm not sure
I would have enough information to keep it interesting.
* Do you still
have three cats? Do you have any weird cat stories?
No animals - too much responsibility. Like plants, I like
to see them well
away from my living space.
* Do you
maintain any kind of friendly or working relationship
with Flood?
Friendly - yes. Working - no. He's usually entangled in
his commitments
working with a particularly well known Irish group.
* Some bands
like Cassandra Complex, are defining fan interactivity to
a whole
new level by having fans submit musical excerpts or
samples to the band and
acknowledging credit in return. What are your thoughts on
this practice?
Would you consider doing this?
Why not. I probably wouldn't bother myself since I enjoy
the process of
finding my own samples.
* Did you record
these songs (partly with Moby)?
1. Blue
2. Infinitive Rotation
3. Life totally
4. The shortest Distance between two points
5. Lost Time
6. Movement
7. Above
8. Wound
No.
* Have you seen
the Mr. Bean movie yet, is it any good?
Haven't seen it.
* Have you been
reading this list and what do you think of it?
No, I didn't know anything about it until Janet at Mute
pointed it out. I'm
intrigued about some of the things said. I may be looking
in a bit more often
from now on.
* What's the
most embarrassing song you really like?
Bohemian Rhapsody.
* Have you ever
read Ayn Rand?
Who?
* We of FAITH
have noticed your fondness, or at least pronounced use of
the
word, 'allocate'. Are you aware of this and if so, how
did this develop?
It's a subliminal message to my mother, Kathleen.
* Do you have
your stereo set up so that you can play different things
at the
the same time? Like, monks in the bedroom and nuns in the
kitchen and rain in
the bathroom and Rite of Spring in the living room? And
if so, what's the
best combination you've hit on so far?
Ehh? Calm down. Have you been sniffing glue?
* You are
commonly referred to by your fans as "Slik". I
have heard that this
was a nickname given to you by DM because you were the
only one in the band
who looked like a rock star. Though there is evidence
that you acknowledge
this name (i.e. In Your Memory, Slik mix) is it really a
name that you readily
respond to?
I think Dave coined this one although, thankfully, it
hasn't been used for
years. My close friends usually call me Charlie (my
middle name) which I much
prefer. 'Er indoors' has a further array of unmentionable
names at her
disposal.
[FUTURE PLANS]
* What do you
see in Recoil's future? Have you got any other projects
in
mind?
I'm hoping to start writing some new tracks almost
immediately after I've
finished promoting this latest release.
* Are you
planning to compose movie soundtracks in the future?
It depends if I'm offered any. I would certainly listen
to serious offers
although I'm quite choosy so it would have to be
something particularly
interesting. Also, because film companies are notoriously
unreliable, I would
only produce a piece of music which I felt stood up on
its own merits in case
the commission fell through. I couldn't stand the idea of
wasting a year in
the studio and coming away with nothing.
* Are you going
to appear on Top of the Pops?
You're optimistic aren't you?
* Are you
teaming up with Bon Harris to form this band Maven? If
so, have you
been working on some new material?
It's the first I've heard of it.
* Will you ever
dispense with the vocals and release an instrumental
album
again?
Like I said before, I never really know how each project
is going to turn out
so anything's possible.
* Have you ever
considered doing a classical album, as you did for the
B-side
of 'Little 15'?
No. It was Martin who wanted to record 'Moonlight Sonata'
anyway. I never
really saw the point of it.
[OTHER QUESTIONS]
* What current
music are you listening to?
* What CD's have you bought recently?
* Has pioneering electronic music, like the works of
Wendy / Walter Carlos,
influenced your musical style?
* You've previously stated that you listen to Gustav
Mahler, whose works are
quite intense and passionate. How does his work influence
what you're doing
now?
I'm still
attached to the bands I listened to when I was younger
such as
The Beatles, Bowie (pre. 1980), Hendrix, some Pink Floyd
('Meddle' and 'Dark
side of the moon'), Roxy Music, Eno, Peter Gabriel, Alex
Harvey, Mott the
Hoople, Magazine, Television, Ian Dury, Public Image
(when they first
started), Kraftwerk, Talk Talk (last 3 LP's), Cocteau
Twins etc.
I really like singers such as K.D. Lang, Jimmy Scott,
Julie London, Nat King
Cole, Billie Holliday, Arethra Franklin etc.
Current groups I like include Radiohead, Morphine, Beck,
Rage Against the
Machine, Massive Attack, Portishead, Soul Coughin', Eels
and some rap and
dance bands like House of Pain, Cypress Hill, Public
Enemy, Beastie Boys, Juno
Reactor, Tresor, LFO.
Proper Soundtracks with dialogue as opposed to compiled
pop soundtracks like
Clockwork Orange (yes I do like Walter Carlos), The
Godfather, Taxi Driver,
anything by Angelo Badalamenti, Morricone, John Barry
etc.. The new
soundtrack for David Lynch's 'Lost Highway' is also good.
In terms of classical music I particularly like modern
British composers like
Elgar and Vaughan Williams, Walton etc , 20th century
Europeans such as Berg
and Schoenberg, Shostokovich, Mahler etc., New world
composers: Gershwin,
Barber, Kurt Weil, and the minimalists like Reich, Glass,
Nyman and Wim Mertens.
I also like traditional Irish and Cajun, Mike Flowers,
Margarita Pracatan and,
of course, Little Jimmy Osmond.
I have an enormous collection with just about everything
you could imagine so
it's impossible to list everything.
It's perhaps easier to say what I don't like as there is
so much to despair
of. For example, I have no time for the tuneless pub-rock
mediocrity of retro
bands especially those who have the audacity to compare
themselves to classic
artists such as the Beatles - who would want to listen to
the Beatles without
the songs, the wit, the charm, the musicianship or the
intensity of Lennon and
McCartney? The other genre that irritates me, and I don't
want to be
misinterpreted as racist, is so-called soul and R&B
music endlessly churned
out by MTV and radio. The worst examples are those awful
girl groups -
Eternal, TLC, Sisters with voices, Toni Braxton, and
anyone featuring DJ Jazzy
Jelly Puff Pastry etc, etc, etc. - irritating, banal
voices which wail and
moan over moronic stylised music, diabolical lyrics and
predictable promos
bumping and grinding with the same tired old simulated
shagging moves....need
I go on?
And then there's Mariah Carey who has taken the subtle
art of ad-libbing to an
obscene extreme where she never shuts up for 2 seconds
and can't hold a
straight note without tailing it off into a strangled
wail (never so better
demonstrated than in her duet with Boyz 2 men - something
about Heaven).
Also, the big budget ballad with its faked audience
response, soft focus and
double key change finale (Celine Dion and on and on and
on........).
Jingly-jangly Celtic rock in general - Texas, Wet Wet Wet
(never had a band so
apt a name), the aoh so politically-conscious Cranberries
and Sinead O Conner,
not to mention The Beautiful South (Ugly north), Paul
Weller (never understood
the appeal), Sheryl Crow and many many more....
* What do you
think of the current, media-hyped shift to electronic
music?
* Do you think you have inspired this in any way?
* Do you enjoy the sort of fast-paced, violent direction
it seems to be
heading [ie gabber] or do you prefer more classical
sounding pieces?
* Do you listen to the actual industrial bands (NIN,
Marilyn Manson) and what
do you think of them.
* Do you consider some of your tracks as industrial?
I can understand
the appeal of the rock/dance synthesis of Prodigy,
Chemical Brothers etc. and there are aspects of their
sound that I appreciate.
I would rather this kind of music was breaking through
than, say, Brit pop
for example. 'Setting Sun' was quite good although I
think a lot of that was
down to the video. The problem I find is the lack of
dynamic variation and
melodic content. I get easily bored, so after the first
few tracks of an
album I just start to habitualize and switch off. I don't
just want to hear
the same thing over and over again.
I do like Trent Reznor but the jury's still out on
Marilyn Manson.
* Who do you
think are the 3 most influential/profound artists
(musical or
otherwise) of the 1990's?
I actually can't
think of anyone at the moment. It's the sort of question
which requires hindsight to answer.
* Do you
consider yourself an innovator?
That would be
extremely arrogant of me, wouldn't it?
* Do you have
your own studio at home? If so, what's your
hardware/software?
I am lucky
enough to have a studio at home in a separate building.
It is
really designed to be more like a workshop environment.
It's quite big and
doesn't have a controlled sound but this is not a problem
until the mix stage
at which time I move my equipment to another studio.
* Is there a
favourite studio you like to work in?
In the past,
Hansa in Berlin was very good for atmosphere, Puk in
Denmark
for its equipment, its space and the chef. Olympic in
London is also one of
my favourites but I think in future I will phase out the
use of other studios
and refine my own in order to complete projects there. I
then have the
advantages of saving costs, not having to travel and not
having to move all my
gear etc.
* What equipment
are you using these days?
* What keyboards are you using now?
* Do you like Korg?
* Are you still primarily using EMU samplers, or do you
have any new
equipment you1re particularly excited about?
For you
trainspotters - at present I have a Soundtracs 36 channel
desk with
no automation, a Mackintosh 7600 which I use to run
Cubase XT as my sequencer,
including an Audiomedia card for hard disk recording with
an external 2 gig
diskdrive for storage. Samplers: Akai 3000, Akai 1100,
E111. Synths: Korg
DW100, Midi moog, Obx, EMS. Outboard effects: Roland
R880, Lexicon PCM70, SPX
901s, Zoom guitar FX, gates and compressors. Also, a
Yamaha drum kit, Knight
guitar and a few other bits and pieces.
* What other
instruments do you play other than keyboards and drums?
I don't really
play any other instruments well although I did learn the
flute
at school to a reasonable standard. I doubt I could even
get a note now as I
haven't played in years. I play drums adequately, I can
play bass lines up
to a point which I usually sample after - same applies to
guitar.
[Credits]
Questions came
form: KellieJane Adan; Adrian; Rebecca Bellamy; Syed
Bokhari;
Cath; Noshin Chowdhury; Jane-Anne Denison; Susie Duncan;
Eric Ernewein; Fran;
Virginia Fugarino; Francisco Jose Gamiz Sarria; Michael
Kraft; Javier Lopez;
Majikalman; Tracy Miller; Tracey Morris; Nev; Klaus
Ringe Nielsen; Edith L
Owen; Andrew J Posch; Hubert Razack; Shaun; Sherry;
Brandon K Snavely; Henrik
Stromberg; Dan Wentz; Ben Williams.
Thanks to all of you.
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