Dan Morelle

So, this was the first ever interview I did for G:Echo in November 1998. My University was around the corner from Brick Lane AKA Banglatown in East London. I saw Talvin across the road from me one day on Brick Lane and decided to approach him and ask for an interview he’d just released the eponymous first album entitled ‘ok‘ and was running Anhoka, Sounds of the Asian Underground – a night-club every Monday at the Blue Note in Hoxton – he gave me his number and I called him up, quite simple really! Anyway, the editor thought it was a major coup and it made the front page.

As a side-note it was a foreshadow in my life that Talvin mentioned/introduced me to the Jazz master Joe Zawinul as he was the dude that objected to my first trade mark registration ‘electricbirdland’ a number of years later due to the similarity to his already registered ‘Birdland’ which I honestly had no conscious knowledge of when I came up with the name for my old business. We overcame it because I promised not to open a coffee-shop called electricbirdland.

It was a difficult interview, Talvin was obviously suffering interview fatigue and I was completely green but I decided to offer an unpolished transcription for the publication in its naked glory instead of trying to polish either of our shortcomings. The editor took some delight in bolding the statement made about journalists. With my heart pounding and a handful of questions I dialled his number and the following is the conversation that took place:

DM: I’ve got an interview with Talvin Singh
?: who is it?
DM: Dan Morelle
?: Oh yeah, hold on a sec …
TS: Hello
DM: Hi
TS: Hello Daniel?
DM: Yeah
TS: hi. just one second yeah?
DM: yeah …. cheers
TS: hello?
DM: hi. is that Talvin?
TS: yep. i’m here ..
DM: alright…how you doin?
TS: good
DM: soo … what are you up to at the moment?
TS: I’m talking to you ..
DM: …. yeah …. ok … I used to go to Anokha ages and ages ago, when it was at the Blue Note and erm ….. i’m a bit of a fan …
TS: …
DM: you went to India…
TS: I go there all the time
DM: you took Anokha there?
TS: yeah. we did a couple of gigs there
DM: how did all that go?
TS: really good.
DM: was that experience an influence on your album
TS: not really no. Y’know i lived in India for six years …
DM: erm … How do you think your albums being received at the moment?
TS: erm … I don’t know actually … my friends like it…. I don’t pay much attention to the press.
DM: Is it part of some kind of masterplan? you had the club. then you had the compilation album, it seems like you’ve got some mass strategy to take over the world or something.
TS: Erm .. no … not really I’m just into the music …
DM: What are you intending on doing next?
TS: Same old thing, make more music.
DM: Yeah … you’ve worked with Sun Ra. how did that come about?
TS: Part of the masterplan … of making music
DM: And er … what sort of music do you listen to?
TS: Erm … a lot of jazz … things like. y’know … Joe Zawinul
DM: Yep.
TS: Things like that…I like good music.
DM: Would you regard your album as drum and bass?
TS: It’s got drums in it and it’s got bass in it.
DM: I mean, the pigeon hole, if you had to be put into a particular genre
TS: No. not at all
DM: It’s pretty fast…do you regard yourself as a producer? There’s so many people that have contributed to the album.
TS: Erm … well the people which contributed to the album were playing instruments
DM: Yeah
TS: Erm. y’know. it’s not as done as you think there’s always albums which musicians play on and have done for a long time (laughs).
DM: What did you actually do though? What did you do?
TS: I write the music.
DM: Yep
TS: Yeah
DM: Must be pretty hard work then … putting it all together
TS: Not really
DM: Erm, what’s your favourite album this year?
TS: Erm, favourite album of the year?
DM: Sorry that’s a really shit question … there’s been quite a lot of good stuff, hasn’t there.
TS: Y’know I don’t think I have a favourite album this year actually, I’m into – like – good music. I don’t think there’s a whole album. But I think um … I like Joe Zawinul’s live album.
DM: When I’ve ever been to Anokha the majority of the people are white. Does that piss you off at all?
TS: Not really no. If people like the music. White people. black whatever …. lt’s the last night of the club tonight.
DM: Is it?
TS: Yeah
DM: Oh right…is that due to the venue change or. ..
TS: No, it’s just time to move on, it’s the last one.
DM: Is it a lot of responsibility and hassle doing the club.
TS: Yeah, yeah it is definitely
DM: I mean, I set up a club this summer and it costs a lot of money
TS: Financially it’s been alright
DM: When it comes to DJing don’t you find you’d rather concentrate on the music rather than all the business aspects of dealing with people and stuff like that.
TS: Erm, yeah, there is that but I’ve got a strong team so I don’t need to worry that much.
DM: How do feel that you’re perceived in the media.
TS: I don’t know
DM: Do you not take in how you are regarded?
TS: Not really no
DM: The reviews that are written about you
TS: Not at all
DM: You’re just totally obsessed with your music
TS: Yeah
DM: Are you working on a new album already. Have you got ideas in your head that you’re trying to …
TS: Yeah. I’m working an album situation now …
DM: Where do you get ideas for your album. it’s got so many different sounds on it.
TS: Well. it’s just a long time of making music.
DM: You picked the tablas up at a young age.
TS: It’s hard to relate to today’s world, it’s very hard for people to explain what I do y’know.
DM: It’s obviously really difficult to be regarded out of context. when people are constantly going to be comparing you.
TS: Well people don’t understand what it is y’know, I mean
journalism’s full of wankers and people make an issue of things that aren’t actually there.
DM: A lot of reviews that I’ve read about you bought up the ‘Asian Underground’, how you’re a leader of this …
TS: Well I don’t know, it was just a name of an album. What I do is very different from what any other Asian artist does, it’s all very different.
DM: So you regard yourself as someone who’s just into music, making good music and communicating that across.
TS: Yeah, totally …
DM: Erm, what else do you want to tell me?
TS: That’s about it man.
DM: I don’t know, you said that all journalists are wankers.
TS: I’m not saying that, I’m saying music journalists, they seem to have a hidden agenda. I think, they’re frustrated musicians …
DM: But everyone’s got an agenda, they want to be on guest lists, get free records, and stuff like that…
TS: Yeah, but they don’t seem to know much about music though, and if they do, why write about it, why not make their own.
DM: I’m just trying to understand the music, in defence of myself, this is part of my strategy, maybe I am a frustrated musician?
TS: Nah, I don’t want to take over the world, I just want to make good music.
DM: Have you considered contributing to radio shows and stuff like that
TS: Not really no, I’m not the kind of person that can cope with that, you know what I mean. If I did a radio show I’d do it in India, they’d understand more.
DM: I know it’s a completely different culture over there.
TS: Yeah, a vastly different culture.
DM: Is your music released over there as well?
TS: Yeah, yeah, it’s received really well
DM: You want it to be perceived over here the way it is over there? In its Indian context. You use instruments like tablas, it’s not, but it is becoming part of Western culture.
TS: it’s not the instrument, it’s the music, what I’m doing with the instrument, y’know what I mean
DM: The way my dad’s taught me about jazz is that silence is more important than the actual music.
TS: Well there you go, you’ve said it all, that’s what it’s all about
DM: Using chunks of silence as an instrument
TS: That’s it…exactly. It’s vital. And there’s not much music that does that anymore.
DM: I remember reading a review ages ago, and the guy was trying to discern whether you are an artist or a musician. That you’d evolved as a musician and become an artist…
TS: Maybe, I don’t know
DM: You didn’t read that, but do you feel like you’ve evolved yourself
TS: I think so. I come from that tradition of becoming an artist by your musicianship.
DM: Was that a conscious decision
TS: It always is a conscious decision
DM: So this album you’ve done in two days, is this a new album?
TS: Yeah, it’s called DV8 it’s completely different. In two days it was quite easy to make an album to us, because we understand each other’s art.
DM: A true artist is someone that can fully control their medium and convey their ideas through their instrument.
TS: Yeah, through their instrument, and through everything else, and their interviews, it’s all part of the process.
DM: Is it a bit of a bane though, doing interviews
TS: When you’ve done 450 in three months
DM: Shit!
TS: It gets a bit hard
DM: But it is necessary if you want to get your music across
TS: Yeah, it is, it really is
DM: That negative side
TS: But you have to have balance .. Anyway I’ve got this other interview, man, I’ve got this launch tonight, and I haven’t got well, and I haven’t got much time and you know when it rains everything’s crazy, the traffic goes crazy.
DM: Alright, thanks for your time
TS: Yeah, thank-you very much Dan
DM: Sorry if I’ve been a bit of a negative thing for you.
TS: No, of course not, no …. no, no, no. No, I really enjoyed talking with you, take care … if you want to come down to Anokha tonight I’ll put you on the guest list.
DM: Yeah, maybe I’ll do that
TS: Well, if you get the chance, come down
DM: Definitely
TS: OK Brilliant, wicked, cheers man
DM: Okay. Thanks a lot, take care, bye.
“CLICK”

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