Your bio says that
you started recording sounds at twelve when you got
a Casio sampler for your birthday. What did you listen
to at that age, and how did your musical tastes evolve
from then?
I was listening to Hip Hop like Hijack, Digital Underground,
LL Cool J, and stuff like that when I first got my sampler.
Then I started getting into more bleepy techno stuff
like LFO and D-Zone, and also rave mix tapes which were
going around my school at the time. Since then my musical
tastes have become increasingly broad, inspired by the
‘anything goes’ attitude I picked up from
the electronic music which came out on labels like Warp
in the early 90’s. I listen to as much acoustic
music as electronic these days; I like to keep an open
mind.
Who influenced you most to do what you played
then and now?
My friends, my girlfriend, my brother and lots of music,
visual and conceptual artists…
The year you released your first album, on Worm
Interface, you were given the chance to play with Autechre
in London, and a year later, you supported them on tour.
Was it a result of Skam releasing your first EP?
Yes, Sean and Rob from AE liked what I was doing. The
EP and the tour were both a result of that.
Were you a ‘fan’ of their work
then?
Yeah they were one of my favorite artists, it was a
huge compliment.
The move to Warp seemed quite logical after
that. Why haven’t they released more of your stuff?
I don’t know. Maybe that’s a question for
them?
You’ve also released music through Sub
Rosa & Quatermass, Sprawl, Headphone and Musik Aus
Strom. Why so many record labels? Is it a way to preserve
artistic control over your work?
Working with several labels has allowed me to show lots
of different sides to my work which otherwise may not
have been heard if I had stuck with one.
Human, you eighth
album, sees you returning to Skam. How do you think
the label compares to what it was in 1995?
They’ve got the same attitude but now they’re
in a bigger office. They have a very genuine music policy
and they’re not opposed to shaking things up a
bit and surprising people.
In 1997, you moved from Swindon to London.
How did this affect your life and your music?
I actually moved from Swindon to Fareham in Hampshire
when I was six, then from there to London… The
move to London allowed me to ‘zoom-out’
a bit and absorb more music as well as go to more live
gigs. Musically I guess the move played a part in developing
my own sound by expanding my range of influences.
You’ve been releasing records for eight
years now, but you don’t seem to benefit of the
same wide spread recognition as people like Autechre,
BoC or Aphex Twin. Why do you think that is? Does it
bother you?
I don’t think about the success of my music in
terms of recognition. If I let it bother me then I’d
spend all of my time trying to second-guess an invisible
audience. I just try to satisfy myself as much as possible
while I’m writing. It’s nice when people
appreciate what I do though of course!
What was the motivation behind you going traveling
for two months in China & Vietnam a couple of years
ago? How did you get the idea?
I got fed up with the whole insular nature of making
electronic music. I’m not interested in drawing
all of my inspiration from technology when the real
world is full of beautiful sounds waiting to be discovered.
I really liked the idea of physically searching for
sounds too.
What was the most interesting experience for
you during this trip?
There were lots of things. Taking the boat along the
Mekong Delta in the monsoon without drenching the minidisk
recorder was pretty interesting.
Did you already have a really good idea of
what you were going to do with the recordings you collected?
Not at all, the only thing I thought about during the
trip was collecting as many interesting recordings and
instruments as I could. The material dictated how it
should be used only when I got back to England and listened
to it all. My only rules were that only sounds derived
from the trip could be used and that those sounds could
not be processed entirely beyond recognition.
It still seems today one of the most ambitious
electronica albums ever recorded. How long did it take
you to work on the whole project? Did you follow a similar
process to compose as with your previous records?
I think it took about a year to complete in total. I
did use many similar methods of working but the emphasis
was on a much more specific set of sounds. This made
the whole process more focused.
Has it changed the way you work now, and your
view on electronic music?
It didn’t so much change the way I work as push
me further into a direction I was going anyway. I like
to think of my way of working as sound led rather than
process led. There is a tendency within electronic music
to overlook the ears in favour of this week’s
technological breakthrough. That said I still get exited
about new innovations, I just think it’s important
to keep a balance and avoid getting too distracted by
them though.
How did the idea of Reinterpretations
come up?
I realised that I had so many interesting recordings
that some of them deserved to be released so I put them
together in a kind of ‘audio-diary’ format.
The guys at Quatermass suggested giving some other artists
access to the sounds and releasing those too and I agreed.
What did you think of the end result? Which
one of the remixes is your favourite, and why?
I think it was pretty interesting to see a range of
approaches to the material. I like the Colongib &
Octopus Inc one because they really focused on the shapes
of the sounds. It’s hard to choose a favourite
though since they’re all different.
Last year, you played a gig at the Centre Pompidou
in Paris to present Audio-Tourism. Can you
tell us about the gig?
I played a live set and projected visuals based on Liz
Scarff’s photographs which she took during the
trip.
Human seems to share
some similarities with Audio-Tourism in the
way you seem to use ethnic elements. Was it the result
of another trip or was it a continuation of the original
project?
I have continued using the instruments that I collected
for Audio-Tourism, but I have always been into
those kinds of sounds. I use a lot of kid’s toys
and home made stuff which produce sounds that could
be compared to some tradition instruments.
How would you define this album compared to
the ‘junkyard funk’ of Green Park?
Green Park is like a maze when compared to
Human which is more like a day out at a theme
park. Does that make sense?
Despite the obvious electronic structure of
your music, your compositions appear increasingly organic.
Is it a deliberate effort, and how do you work to achieve
this?
It is basically a reflection of my taste. Just because
a piece of music is made with electronic equipment it
doesn’t have to sound like it is. You have a choice.
The sampler is the best invention ever; it allows you
to mould reality like plastacine!
You recently released Late Surfaces 1990-2000
on the newly formed Freefarm label as a CDR. Can you
tell us more about the album?
I have made hundreds of tracks over the years that for
one reason or other have never been released. Late
Surfaces is a compilation of my favourite unreleased
tracks that have stood the test of time. It was a surreal
experience going through all those old tapes. It was
kind of like a methodical flashback of 10 years of my
life. I thought it would be nice to give other people
access to some of those tracks.
Do you plan to release more work through Freefarm?
What about promoting other artists?
Yes I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeve for 2003.
In regard to releasing other people’s stuff I’m
going to concentrate on putting out small quantities
of my own material first, maybe in the future though…
You work for The Designers Republic. How did
you come to work for them, and what do you do?
I started doing sound design for them primarily out
of mutual respect for each other’s work. My Brother
Matt also works there as a designer. I do music and
sound design stuff for them.
Sound artists, such as Scanner’s Robin
Rimbaud, often get involved in audio visual installations.
Is it something that you’ve ever done, or would
be willing to do?
When I was studying Sonic Art at college I did a performance
where I used found objects (space hoppers, gongs, rubbish
bins etc) that I made vibrate. I always imagined that
it could be adapted towards an automated installation
format. I’m interested in doing installation work
in the future given the right platform.
Amongst the artists who have emerged within
the last couple of years, who do you think is really
worth listening?
Boom Bip & Doseone make some interesting stuff.
Sigur Rós make unashamedly beautiful melodies…
What was the last album you bought? What do
you listen to at the moment?
The last album I brought was Pierre Bastien’s
Mechanoid. At the moment I am listening to
the seagulls out the window (NDLR: Simon now lives in
Brighton) and the droning of my computer’s fan!
What’s next for Freeform?
I have a compilation called Freeform Condensed
coming out on Bernd Friedman’s label Nonplace
in March. It’s a mix of ‘special moments’
taken from my past releases, plus some new material
on Skam and some live gigs (details to be confirmed).
Email interview January 2003
Thank you to Simon |
