David, it’s
been a while since the first Minotaur Shock album was
released. What have you been up to since?
Well, although it looks like I’ve not done much,
I’ve actually been keeping busy. Minotaur Shock
took the back seat for a while as I concentrated on
writing pop music with my other band Bronze Age Fox.
But Minotaur was a bit of a back seat driver that kept
interfering with everything and ended up influencing
what I did. So in the gap between the Minotaur albums,
Bronze Age Fox have released three singles, a CD compilation
of singles and we’ve written and recorded an album
of unreleased songs. I also became a dad, which takes
up a lot of time. Great, though.
How did you start playing music? Who were your
influences when growing up?
I remember being obsessed with the Yamaha Portasound
keyboard that my parents bought me, and I ended up making
an album for my GCSE music coursework. It was terrible
rave music. Wish I still had the tapes.
If I’m being honest, my biggest influences were
(in chronological order): Neil Diamond, The Eagles,
The Beatles, Pet Shop Boys, The KLF, A Tribe Called
Quest, LFO, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Pixies, Slowdive,
Global Communication, Can, Steve Reich, DJ Shadow and
Tortoise. And everything else in between. Those are
the bands/artists that switched little switches in my
head and made me explore similar music.
You come from Bristol, which has quite an active
music scene. It was especially active in the nineties
with bands like Massive Attack, Portishead and the whole
trip-hop scene. Your music is very different from that.
How easy was it for you to get recognition at local
level?
The legacy of The Bristol Sound™ hangs over you
as soon as you take your music outside of Bristol. Within
Bristol, however, there has been a vibrant experimental/indie
music scene which has been around for years, going back
to bands like Flying Saucer Attack and that, and although
it’s perhaps less well known than the trip-hop
stuff, it carries a greater resonance for me than, Massive
Attack, etc…
Having said that, I guess Minotaur Shock got recognition
outside of Bristol first, due to me releasing stuff
on Melodic which was based in Manchester, and because
I don’t go out much!
How did you get to work with Melodic?
That was through a friend who I gave a demo to for fun,
and he sneakily sent it to some contacts he had. Melodic
was the first label to get back to me, and I had nothing
to lose, liked the set-up and clicked with the guy that
ran it.
The new album is released on 4AD. Why did you
leave Melodic, and how did you come to work with 4AD?
4AD were the second label to get back to me,
just after I had agreed to work with Melodic. So I have
had a relationship with them for years, but wanted to
honour the commitment I made to Melodic. They were very
understanding about that, and (to my surprise) were
as enthusiastic about wanting to work with me four years
later as they were when they received my first demo.
Leaving Melodic was very difficult, but I have always
been a fan of 4AD and I felt that the chance to be on
the same label as Scott Walker was too good to refuse!
Your music is often compared to or associated
with that of Four Tet, Boards Of Canada, Bola or Aphex
Twin even, which covers quite a vast spectrum. How do
you react to these?
It’s always a bit odd, because I don’t see
my music as sounding like any of those, although I’m
sure there is common ground. Aphex Twin was a big influence
on me, and probably turned me on to modern electronic
music, so it’s flattering to be mentioned in the
same paragraph. I guess myself and Four Tet share similar
influences, and have both used acoustic instruments
in an electronic context. So yeah, looking at it I can
see the links. But it makes you feel better if you think
you sound like nothing else. Even if you do. And pretend
you don’t.
Do you mind the folktronica tag? Isn’t
it a bit reductive?
I never understood the folktronica thing. I
was never particularly interested in folk music, so
it was weird to be bundled in there. Again, it’s
always more satisfying to think of yourself as unpigeonholeable.
Even if you are. And pretend you’re not. I can’t
really think of anything I’d call folktronica.
Jim Moray, he’s folk isn’t he?
Minotaur Shock is often referred to as a side
project of yours, the main job being as drummer with
Bronze Age Fox… How’s the band doing, and
how do you manage to reconcile being in a band and working
on your own?
Bronze Age Fox is doing OK, we recorded an
album towards the end of last year in a proper big studio
and now we’re looking for the right label to release
it. I get more exercise, bashing drums as part of a
group, and I enjoy writing ‘pop’ songs –
it’s very difficult, working within accepted norms
of song structure and seeing what you can get away with.
It is almost like I have to have two different heads
– writing instrumental music is totally different
from writing songs for vocals. But I think BAF has leaked
into the new Minotaur album somehow, there is more pop
in there than previously. If you know where to look.
You’ve recently remixed a song for Bloc
Party. How did that happen?
I have worked with Wichita before, and hadn’t
really heard Bloc Party when they asked me to do the
remix. I liked the track though, and for the first time
I set myself the limits of only using the parts I was
supplied and not adding any other instruments, which
made me focus on reinterpreting the song, rather than
dressing it up in bleeps and bloops.
You’ve also remixed people like Andy
Votel, Badly Drawn Boy or His Name Is Alive. What makes
you chose to remix an artist or a track?
I have no real agenda really – if I’ve
got the time, and think I can do something to the song
that I’d like to hear, then usually I’ll
go for it. Of course, I’ll remix anything if there’s
cash in it. I feel happier to flirt with different styles
of music when I’m remixing – at the moment
I like remixing rockier bands, as it gives me a chance
to aim my music at the dancefloor, which I seem to shy
away from with tracks released under my own name. I
had a right laugh remixing Wolf & Cub recently,
got out the Linn drums and cowbells and stuff. Even
sang backing vocals.
Given the choice between remixing a track you
like and working on your own stuff, what do you chose
and why?
Depends how much I’m getting paid innit!
Nah, usually I tend to write Minotaur songs as a bunch
– i.e. I’ll concentrate on an album or an
EP until its done, and turn away remixes if I’m
in the zone (as Britney would say). So while it’s
usually fun (and sometimes easier) to remix someone
else’s song, I find it more rewarding to create
a cohesive bunch of my own tracks.
First albums are often collections of tracks
recorded over a long period of time. Was it the case
with Chiff-Chaffs & Willow Warblers, and
how do you think the album has aged?
Funnily enough, no, most of Chiff-Chaffs
was written in the same time period, after the Motoring
Britain EP was released. My earlier material made
up the first two EPs (and some of the other tracks that
were on the Rinse compilation). I didn’t
listen to Chiff-Chaffs for ages until quite
recently, and I was surprised at how little of it made
me cringe. Some of it is ropey, and some of the tracks
go down routes that I wouldn’t take nowadays,
but on the whole I think it stands up. Some of the tracks
seem a bit naive, but I think that’s its charm.
Then again, I would say that.
If you had to take just one record with you
and live with it for the rest of your life, which one
would it be and why?
Ooof. That’s tricky. I’d have to
say Steve Reich’s Music For Eighteen Musicians.
Purely because I hear different bits each time I listen
to it and I can either focus on the separate sections
in detail or listen to the process as a whole. I don’t
think I’d tire of it for a while. I first heard
it in the bath and was transfixed. I came out shivering
and wrinkled but I was enlightened. Mind you, ask me
tomorrow and I’ll probably say something different.
Daft Punk’s Discovery or summat.
How do you work on your music? Do you have
some kind of process? How does a track start (particular
sound, melody…)
I don’t really have a process, but more
recently I get bored with stuff that just loops, so
I try and make the music develop harmonically as well
as texturally, which keeps it interesting for me. Most
of it comes from me trying to put different things together
to see what they sound like. Vigo Bay was an
attempt to mix Italo-disco, The Wedding Present and
Can. So I recorded some drums with me trying to play
like Jaki Liebezeit over a four-four kick, strummed
some guitar chords as fast as I could over the top and
then added a silly disco bassline. Bingo. Other tracks
are happy accidents. Albert Park Music, from
my first EP, just kind of wrote itself.
What’s the idea behind the maritime theme
of the new album?
I had been reading a lot of novels about smugglers
and pirates and stuff, and spent a bit of time in Cornwall
mucking about on boats. While Chiff-Chaffs
was deliberately rural and quite definite in it’s
countryside scope, I wanted the music on Maritime
to reflect a much broader and mysterious geographical
space, i.e. the Sea!
The tracks on the new album feel a lot more
live than on previous records. Was it a conscious move
on your part?
It wasn’t really a conscious move, although
I tried to give most of the tracks a song-like structure,
and tried to use some time signatures that aren’t
normally associated with ‘dance’ music.
I tend to get carried away with hand percussion and
shakers and stuff sometimes, those always make things
sound that bit more ‘live’. And I guess
I used electric guitars and live drums and stuff. I
also tried to play some of the keyboard parts live,
rather than quantize them all to the beat, which (given
my sloppy cackhanded-ness) gives them a slight slur.
You are quoted on the press release for the
new album saying that you have a particular fondness
for FM rock stuff like Steely Dan, The Cars or Hall
& Oates. Isn’t that supposed to make you terribly
un-cool these days?
Guess so, especially now there’s all them Waiting
For A Star To Fall dance tunes about. Steely Dan
are in a different league from the rest of them FM bands.
I used to think they were a soulless bunch, until I
realised that was the point. They surround themselves
with the best session musicians and make sarky note-perfect
songs with dark dark lyrics. Brilliant. I am fascinated
by that kind of eighties Miami Vice/Outrun kind of thing
too – all shiny cars and palm trees. I had a dream
about pirates that washed up on South Beach Miami circa
85, and wanted to reflect that in the songs on Maritime.
You also said that you are aware a lot of the
album ‘treads a very fine line’. What did
you mean by that?
There are some dodgy synth lines and sounds
on the album, and some deliberately simple drum patterns.
I guess some of it is eighties influenced, which I know
is like three years too late to be cool, but I wanted
to present some of those sounds in different contexts.
I wanted to tip my hat to people like Prefab Sprout
and Thomas Dolby, and I wanted to challenge myself to
focus on the notes I played rather than the sound used.
On Muesli, which opens the album,
you attempted to not use drums at all, and nearly managed
it. Why?
I think it was because I felt that in the field
of music I make you can either make music with beats
or music that is more ambient/experimental. I wanted
to make a rhythmical piece that didn’t rely on
drums. But I thought I’d add a bit of shaker and
then got carried away as usual and ended up using a
big boomy drum near the end.
Do you have any plans to tour following the
release of the album, and if yes, what can people expect?
I am currently working the songs out to play in a live
context. Which is a pain in the ass. But it’s
going OK. I have enlisted the help of someone who can
actually play instruments, and she can magically play
all the keyboard parts I had to chop up on the computer,
and she can play clarinet and flute. It’s frustrating
because I’d like to play everything and not rely
on pre-recorded computer tracks, but its physically
impossible. But as long as I get to blunder about onstage
with a guitar pretending I’m in a proper band,
I’ll be happy.
The last track of Rinse featured vocals
by Louise Davies, and Dominic Jones from Bronze Age
Fox did some vocals on This Side Of Vigo Bay
on your recent EP. How does working with a vocalist
alter the way you work, and is it something you intend
to do more in the future?
The track on Rinse was a surprise;
Louise recorded her vocal over one of my instrumentals
and sent it to Melodic. So I didn’t really write
the track with vocals in mind. Myself and Dominic have
been collaborating on song writing for years with Bronze
Age Fox, so it was relatively easy to write melodies
that would suit his voice, and we are used to working
together so we have that weird telepathic link. All
I have to do when writing a vocal track is bear in mind
that the lead instrument will be the voice.
I have never been keen on vocalists cropping up on
electronic albums (unless it’s a full project
like The Postal Service or Pet Shop Boys), which is
why my vocal tracks have been limited to EPs or compilations.
I guess I get to write vocal songs with BAF so that’s
my outlet. But no doubt there will be vocals on further
Minotaur tracks.
How are you feeling with the album release
getting nearer? Will you be feverishly reading reviews
in the next few weeks or totally ignore anything that’s
written about the album?
It’s been so long since the last Minotaur
album that I am genuinely intrigued about what people
will think. This is almost like my first album all over
again – new label, different style of music, different
potential audience etc. So I’d be lying if I said
I’d ignore reviews. Maybe I’ll get someone
to filter out any bad ones. Mind you, can’t remember
the last time I bought a magazine, so I’ll probably
only check the ones on the web.
Once you’ve finished doing this interview,
what are you planning to do?
I taped a programme about Macaws the other day, so I’m
gonna check that out and then go to bed. Which is a
bit crap, but you did ask. It’s late. Best wishes
though.
Email interview April 2005
Thank you to David and Stephen
FURTHER READINGS
BBC Collective: MINAUTOR
SHOCK Maritime |
