I’m in that podcasting mood again. Here’s a little mix i’ve assembled with a bit of randomness in mind. Its not shuffled but the links are pretty abstract. I’ve been observing a lot of freaky coincidences lately and felt this a good opportunity to celebrate it. Chances are, if we’ve not met yet, we will. And if we don’t you probably know one of the songs from this playlist and we can all draw connections between you, me and a song. And you’re thinking I’ve gone totally bonkers right?

1. Orbital – Attached
2. Blur – Tender (Cornelius Remix)
3. Blackalicious – World of Vibrations
4. The Kleptones – 1150 Closer To The Boxer
5. Ray Charles – I Got a Woman
6. Olo Worms – Tortoise Shell
7. Count Basie Orchestra & Tony Bennet – Ol’ Man River
8. DJ Shadow – Hindsight
9. Herbert – The Audience
10.Radiohead – Everything In Its Right Place
11. Pulic Enemy – Louder the a Bomb
12. Mandy Patnikin – Alexander’s Ragtime Band

So its my 30th birthday today. Here’s a little podcast I put together to celebrate.

Enjoy!

Tracklist

1: Ghost Dog – Samurai Code Quote #4
2: Black Affair – Sweet
3: The Kleptones – Amazing Temptation
4: Billy Hawks – Ooh Baby (I Believe I’m Losing You)
5: Spoonie Gee – Spoonie Rap
6: Martina Topley Bird – Ragga
7: Elbow – One Thing
8: Andre 3000 – She Lives in my Lap
9: Sumac Yma – Gopher Mambo
10: Jay-Z – Lucifer
11: Ella Fitzgerald – Sunshine Of Your Love
12: Hayseed Dixie – Dueling Banjos
13: Elvis Presley – Do The Clam
14: Akasha – Brown Sugar (Les Rhythmes Digitales remix)
15: REM – I’ve Been High (Matthew “Intended” Herbert)
16: Isaac Hayes – Ike’s Rap
17: Chris Barber – You Rascal You
18: North Star (featuring the RZA) – 4 Sho Sho

The name? It’s actually a dance from an old film called Sweet Charity. “It’s like this mad 60’s dance. Shirley Maclaine does in the film, y’know like the Gap advert, that’s almost identical to the dance in this film and it’s called The Aloof. In 1998 three days after the release of ‘Seeking Pleasure’ The Aloofs last album, their record label East West dropped them.
“You didn’t miss a lot to be honest”,
“That was a bit of a weird album it sort got taken out of our hands really, it was the first time we’d been asked forcefully to get a producer. They were asking us to write f**king pop songs, that’s the bottom line, it’s not what we do.”

So if The Aloof wanted their creativity taken seriously why did they sign to a major like East West?
“We wanted to take our sound live and you need tour support to do things like that because it costs a fortune. There’s 16 people on the tour bus … wages every day, it costs us two and half grand to do a gig”.

‘Doing it for money’, the strongest track on the album, is that song about the band?
“No, not at all the lyrics are about Ricky. When we got dropped by the label he had to get a job, he’s got a family. We never were in it for the money to start with, at the moment we’re skint as f**k.”
How do the band generate ideas?
“I just try loads of different chords, I’ve always got mad little ideas about different chord changes then when something hits that we all like we all go ‘yep, that’s the one’, it’s not really scientific we tend to just have a smoke and see what happens.”

Any suggestions for up and coming bands: “if you’ve got the right ideas and you’ve got the right heart for it that’s gonna shine through no matter what you do, if you’re talented and you’ve got ideas people are gonna see that and you only get better the more you do it.”
“People don’t know how to take us really, we’re always trying to sound like us and no one else.”

At five to nine Monday on BBC Radio 4 a full frontal assault on user-generated content was made by the new self-styled (user-generated?) ‘anti-christ of silicon valley’.

Andrew Keen has written a book entitled ‘Cult of the Amateur‘, he discussed his belief that “the Internet is killing our culture and assaulting our economy”.
Maybe he is right, are either of his conclusions a bad thing?

Andrew said that the traditional editor is being undermined (read: not paid). Music business is in free fall by corrupt user generated content. What? The music industry in free fall? Oh dear. People losing jobs? I’m so sad. No really, I am. But (and yes, I can start a sentence with ‘but’ if I want – the only editor here is me) isn’t it about time for the music industry to tear itself up and start again. Even Alan McGee thinks pimping artists copyright is disingenuous in a digital age.

User generated content is not in a ‘novelty phase’ as Appleyard, the other interviewee describes it, its in an emergent phase. Its going to get bigger. If businesses can’t figure out ways to make money from it then they don’t deserve to be in business. Some kids will soon come along and make billions from their ideas because music industry 1.0 is too busy wondering what the hell is going on. iTunes is for selling iPods not music.

Content is more accessible and its swelling. This is the most creatively inspired and revolutionary periods in history. Mankind is becoming more interconnected than ever. Everything is in flux. The people that figure out how the future will look will make a lot of money but in the future I don’t think money will be so important, I think it will be more about what you create and contribute. I haven’t seen any hard facts that user-generated content is damaging the economy but perhaps its just redistributing it more evenly? New big business will be small.

Keen describes this period in time as ‘a pretty stupid – temporary phase.’ He finds user generated content an ‘enormous threat – especially bloggery’, which is ‘potentially its destroying all forms of authority’. He also argues that we are creating a media illiterate culture. He goes on to say that ‘giving laptops to kids is stupid’. Finally, calling blogs an ‘absurd kind of media’. Controversial statements like these are great for drawing attention to yourself. Polarizing opinion is a great marketing tool, especially for selling books.

Instead of complaining that there aren’t ways for journalists to make money (except for bitching in provocative books like this). They should join the revolution and start looking for and inventing ways. If they create relevant and compelling content the audience will find them and if its what your after: the money will follow.

You can read more about Keen and his ideas, ironically, on his blog, or can listen to the programme here.

After a hiatus of two years The Herbaliser, a crew led by Jake Wherry and DJ Ollie Teeba, have emerged from their home made studio in Twickenham to unleash their third album. Jake took time out of his busy schedule of rehearsing for the forthcoming tour and spoke to Dan Morelle.

After playing over 250 gigs when touring your last two albums Blow Your Headphones and Remedies don’t you get a bit bored?
It is fun and stuff, it is better than having a normal job and shit but at the same time when you’ve got to be going away from home, if people don’t sort you out and have drinks and shit. When it goes below that standard people in the band start losing their temper. You can understand why people get a reputation for being difficult.

Are you trying to say anything with your music?
We’re instrumentalists and we’re not expressing anything verbal through our music. Sometimes people intellectualise us and ask us what’s the meaning behind a particular song, when there isn’t one.

You do use MC’s though, how do you find them?
On our first album we had one MC, that was Fabian and on the next one we had Fabian and Big 10, Then we got together with What What and that was just through one of our coproducers, a guy called Malachi, he puts jazz compilations together, he knew What What’s mother who sang with Duke Ellington, she’s an old jazz singer who lives in New York. She mentioned her daughter was a rapper. She was in England a few years ago and was doing a session a few years ago for US3, they basically tried to pull some move on her and she wasn’t into the music so she blew the session out and
Malachi got her money and sorted her out, just before she flew home she popped into the studio and hung out with us. She said “yeah, I’ll do some stuff for you,” but we never heard her rap and then she sent us one of her 12 “s. It was wicked so we got her over.

How long has it taken you to put ‘Very Mercenary’ together?
In October me and Ollie took alot of time out and worked right up until two weeks ago every day and every night since October to make that album and we’re really f**ked, stressed out and tired.

How did you get signed to Ninja Tune?
I was at school with PC who’s one half of Dj Food and we had a band in 1984. In 1991 I saw him at a Digable Planets gig in London and he said he was working for Ninja Tune, they didn’t have any artists then, they were just a breakbeat label. About a year later we had put together two or three instumental beats, there was no one else who would sign it really. I sent the same tape to Mo Wax but they never responded. There weren’t many labels that would have put it out, the whole label grown since then.

Do you do many gigs at student venues?
To be honest through doing gigs with myoid Funk band, I try to steer clear of Student gigs. They’re just the most bureacratically challenged gigs you could ever imagine. I did my first ever Herbaliser Dj gig atYork University three weeks ago and I just couldn’t get on because of the rules, they were like “oh yeah, the stewards, they’re gonna come looking for The Herbaliser and they’re gonna search them for drugs and shit”

Can it change?
It’s understanable that there is so much bureaucracy in the Universities: Education boards, Local Councils rules and shit. We’re not saying we’re not going to do any but I’d prefer not to do too many because I’ve already done them with my Funk band. The crowds are always good but it’s better to play a proper venue.

What sorts of music are you into?
Lots of jazz, soundtrack music, Lalo Schifrin, Quincey jones, David Axelrod, Freddy Hubbard, not so much traditional jazz, more the experimental and funky stuff.

How do you go about putting an album together?
Just start with a sample that sounds good go with that and keep adding to it. It’s a full time job but I like fu**ing around with Apple Macs and playing video games and buying records.

Do you use computers alot?
We did both of our last albums on a Mac 2 Classic, a 1984 one and then just before we did ‘Wall Crawling Giant Insect Breaks’ I got a Power Mac. That still took 6 days of day and night editing to get all those samples together I got 70 or 80 records to loop at I 10bpm all being able to play on top of each other really tight and chopped up.

Are you surprised at The Herbaliser’s success?
Herbaliser was never meant to be as successful as it was. I think the band certainly helps us get more places in the world, everywhere we go I’m always surprised at how many people know us.

Do you ever get much bad press?
We’re not really lining ourselves up for it, we’re not industry darlings like Fat Boy Slim whose in every magazine you read at the moment. We’re just serious people trying to make serious music.

The Herbaliser’s Very Mercenary is out now.

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”

-SILENCE-

Anyway – enough rambling. I decided I wanted to put the interviews and reviews I did for the magazine on the blog in all their naive glory for anyone who may be interested. The next few posts will include as many as I can dig up or scan from old issues of G-echo. I guess I will add a brief intro paragraph to give you some background on the interviews. Enjoy.

[display_podcast]

Playlist:

01: Gossip – Standing in the way of Control (Soulwax Remix)
02: Kid Carpet – Breakbeatles
03: Fela Kuti – Ololufe Mi
04: Apsci -Cherubic
05: Danger Doom – Space Ho’s
06: Nas – Understanding (feat AZ& Biz Markie)
07: Van Dyke Parks – Steel Band
08: Shuggi Otis – Sweet Thang
09: Leadbelly – In The Pines
10: Lonnie Donegan – New Burying Ground
11: Toots and the Maytals – Louie Louie
12: Blackalicious- Alphabet Aerobics (The Cut Chemist Remix)
13: Unknown – Harmonica Blues
14: Alpha – Lipstick From the Asylum
15: Kathryn Williams – All Apologies
16: Ultra Magnetic MCs – Poppa Large
17: Mylo – Sweet Child of Mine
18: Zbigniew Flakus – Evening Coffe
19: King Biscuit Time – Izzum
20: Lucas Dawson – I’m so miserable
21: Blue Bongo – Lewis, Ramsey

You can subscribe to future mixes of mine for free by clicking here (itunes).

Technorati Profile