EARTHDOCTOR INTERVIEW
LES EARTHDOCTOR WILKINS
Les is the hottest DJ out there who would better be known as DJ Funkenstein.
I met him whilst studying for a year in Aberystwyth. A well-known mini-celeb in the area, he runs nights and DJs at nights and used to be on regional radio station Radio Ceredigion. He also used to work with Zion Trains label Universal Egg and runs the Dragon Collective, which has a nice little website at http://www.dragoncollective.co.uk .
A massive music fan going back to the 60s, he has been into all styles of music from punk & industrial to noise but mainly concentrates on dancefloor grooves, from techno to breaks by way of loads of reggae & psychedelic & world beats. He has a bigger record collection than any other Ive seen.
In short, he is a dude.
He is still in mid-Wales and me in Blackpool, so we dont see each other now, although he does do selected nights around the country (he is a long-running attraction at Caf Tango on Glastonbury weekend). We talk occasionally on e-mail & a bit more recently because Im trying to set some stuff up. He is sending me some noise tracks hes been making.
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Where did you grow up & how did you end up where you are now?
I'm informed that I haven't 'grown up', which I take as a compliment!
As to where I've lived, I started off in Leamington Spa, until about 6 months old, and then spent time in the Midlands (Nuneaton, Hucknall, Kirkby in Ashfield), Somerset (Westonzoyland), Cheshire (Runcorn, Ellesmere Port) with my parents - my father changed jobs a lot, as is common in the clothing industry in which he worked, until he became a college tutor and then a Methodist minister - and then to Lancashire (Leigh, Hindley Green) before moving to north Wales in 1975 (near Ruthin, later near St. Asaph). In 1982 I moved to mid-Wales (Newtown, then near Carno) before reaching my final resting place, between Llangurig and Rhayader, in 1988. I loved Wales from soon after I got my first motorbike, and the eventual move to living here was prompted by my doctor in Lancashire telling me that "if you stay round here, you'll be an invalid by when you're 40, if you're still alive...". So thank-you asthma, just the excuse I was waiting for! And I've made it to well past 40!
Due to the regular moving around, I never kept friends for long, and I think this probably was one of the reasons music became so important to me - the lack of close friends made me more self-sufficient in entertaining myself, and a little lacking in self-confidence, so music became a constant source of enjoying myself without going out. This was before home computers, so finding people with similar interests was not so easy, nor were there so many choices in home entertainment (games, websites, online communities, etc.) - but there was radio and John Peel!
How old were you when you got into music & what kind of stuff was it? Any particularly embarrassing early purchases? Did you ever try to get into certain types of music to impress the laydeez? Were there any really influential records that changed the path of what youre interested in?
I was about 13 before I really took much of an interest in music, partly due to not hearing much other than my Dad's record collection until then, as I lived from 10-14 in a small village in Somerset and didn't have a radio, my only social life being Sunday School and keeping caterpillars - though I quite liked his Seekers and 'negro spiritual' records. It was probably The Beach Boys, Donovan and Simon & Garfunkel that I first independently picked up on after moving to the horror that was (is?) Runcorn in 1967, though I think that the first record I bought was a 78rpm 10" of "How Much Is That Doggy In The Window" sung in Japanese, bought at a chapel jumble sale. How I wish I still had that formative disc - it was sadly broken in one of my many moves. I'm not particularly embarrassed by anything I've bought, as they are part of my life, though my tastes have thankfully kept changing. As for 'the laydeez', I don't recall ever impressing them all that much, and I certainly didn't adjust my listening pleasures for the sake of carnal pleasures (you damned fool!!). The males at the youth club I went to in my teens were split into 3 factions. Those with scooters (about 25%), those without scooters (about 74%) and those with motorbikes (me). The 'laydeez' (or 'birds' as they were then known) seemed to favour the ones with scooters, who listened to Tamla and ska, which I hated on principle at the time as they had too many words and not enough heavy guitar solos - such were the follies of youth!
What really got my obsession with music started was when some of the 'cool kids' (i.e. not me and my mates) at school started putting on occasional lunch-time 'concerts' in the assembly hall, comprising a single band's records played through big speakers; the first I remember featured an hour of Cream, and I was completely blown away and never looked back. [ANOTHER Creamhead! Phil] I remember buying my first album, in the record shop in Runcorn; I'd had some money for Xmas, and had to wait impatiently until the day after Boxing Day before eagerly catching the bus into town to buy 'The Best of Cream' (which I still have); the anticipation going back home on the bus was unbearable, and my Dad's record player (centre spindle that held a whole stack of records, 16/33/45/78 rpm) didn't know what had hit it - over and over again, for weeks on end. I soon added LPs by John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac (the real one, not the later California-fied version), Captain Beefheart, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix - the latter being who I'd still choose if I had to pick just one greatest inspiration. I've kept my love of blues, in its widest sense, right up to the present day.
My early gig-going was to Quaintways in Chester from about 1971 for a year or two - 50p on a Monday night, when I could afford it. Thin Lizzy, Chicken Shack, Thin Lizzy, Juicy Lucy, Thin Lizzy, Cozy Powell's Bedlam, Uriah Heep, and last but not least, Gary Glitter - a memorable night on which a friend got thrown out for lying on his back in front of stage (all of 1ft. high) and laughing at the top of his not-inconsiderable voice during the 'performance'. In retrospect, it could have been worse, and he probably had a narrow escape!
After then spending 4 or 5 years in 'prog rock' territory (like masturbation, the less said the better, though it gave me great pleasure at the time!), I re-discovered excitement with Dr. Feelgood - you didn't actually need all those extra difficult chords, Roger Dean cover art, and glittery capes! Eddie & The Hotrods, 'pub rock' and the emergence of Stiff Records provided an improved but still inadequate diet. The shape of things to come was perhaps signified by an anomalous excursion into German music, with the discovery of Can (like much of what has shaped my musical life, probably via John Peel) and seeing them live in Birmingham Town Hall in, I think, late 1973. During this period I missed out on something that was later to provide one of the great loves of my musical life - someone I worked with in 1973 asked if I wanted his spare ticket to go with him to see Bob Marley and The Wailers in Manchester, but I uttered one of those phrases that haunted me in later years ... "no thanks, I'm not into reggae"! This was the tour that broke him in Britain (regrettable near miss no.1) - though I did eventually catch him live in 1980 at Deeside Leisure Centre in North Wales.
The explosion of punk hit me like nothing since first hearing Cream, though the live experience of it in North Wales was a little short on the ground. I nearly, but not quite, went to see the Sex Pistols at Quaintways in Chester because I remembered reading about them somewhere and thought that they sounded interesting, but couldn't remember why (regrettable near miss no.2). Also was going to see Siouxsie & The Banshees (thankyou again John Peel) on Colwyn Bay Pier, but it was the last day of work at Xmas, we all retired to the pub at lunchtime, and she was really very, very nice..... (regrettable near miss no. 3, but with extenuating circumstances). I did subsequently see The Specials in the same venue, a night that was in serious danger of seeing the pier disappear into the sea with a full crew! This gig set me off in a new direction - the DJ played something the like of which I'd never heard before - the 12" dub mix of "King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown" - what the .....!! What was it, where did it come from, is there any more out there...??
I suspect Punk 7"s and Suicide's first LP (at that time a completely alien noise, surely not of this planet), which I played almost every day, contributed to the breakdown of my first marriage at this point (plus, she was really very, very nice....), but some things have such an impact that at the time everything else seems of secondary importance. After this, music just seemed to explode - The Clash, The Cramps, Yello, Tuxedomoon, The Ramones, The Buzzcocks, Jamaican dub, Black Uhuru, Misty In Roots, Marianne Faithful, The Birthday Party, Funkadelic, Television, Talking Heads, The Slits - and soon, with the combination of affordable electronic instruments and the attitude that anyone can have a go, the airwaves and lovely shiny vinyl carried a barrage of strange noises and rhythms, and a new era was born.
The next real turning point was hearing New Age Steppers on one of the very early OnU Sound releases - many of the sounds and rhythms that excited me were suddenly brought together in one place, with magnificent and original-sounding results. Since the 1980s, I have bought anything with the name Adrian Sherwood attached to it, and a real voyage of discovery it has been! The OnU Sound package-tour gigs in Manchester of the late 1980s remain some of the highpoints of a lifetime's gig-going - African Head Charge, Creation Rebel, Dub Syndicate, Gary Clail, Jesse Rae, Alana Pellay, Bim Sherman, Mark Stewart, Little Annie and guests 808 State, A Guy Called Gerald and Neneh Cherry, to name some of them. I was also lucky enough during this period to catch The Residents live at Manchester's Hacienda, one of their very few UK dates ever; it was probably the first gig I had been to that was more like theatre than just a band on stage. Later in the decade, the OnU Sound sound, using the studio as the main instrument, and John Peel again, got me into the 'New Beat' sounds of Front 242, Einsturzende Neubaten, Skinny Puppy and other heavy, monotonous electronic-dominated rhythms - real heavy metal thunder! I started leaving rock music behind, with honourable exceptions for Sonic Youth, Husker Du, The Cramps, Nick Cave and a few others, and when the sounds of acid house started rearing their beautiful heads, I was ready and willing.
The other big musical voyage of discovery in the 80s & 90s was worldwide - new (to me) sounds from Africa, Asia, Middle East, South America, Eastern Europe, and other corners (?) of the globe were in plentiful supply, both live via WOMAD festivals and by determined searching in vinyl emporia, and these formed a large part of my DJ sets at the time, as they still do under the right circumstances.
The early 90s brought the Madchester experience, and though I did get to see the Happy Mondays and Primal Scream live (the Screamadelica tour gig in Birmingham Hummingbird, with Andy Weatherall providing DJ support, was a blissful high point!), DJ-led gigs started taking the place in my life that live bands once had - and I could join in! The 'free party scene' in mid-Wales during the 90s, and all that has followed from it, has shaped my whole life since, and has had a profound effect on me - the music and the many lovely and inspiring people I shared this era with have completely changed my life for the better. (You can include yourself here!)
Early - late 90s my DJing was predominantly house, techno, psy-trance and acid techno, with a fair sprinkling of dub, 'global grooves', and trip-hop for the more chilled moments, and as I was getting asked to play more regularly, more and more of my time was spent at my favourite past-time - listening to music, and taking part in it. I've mostly left the trance and techno behind these days, but still don't mind the occasional trip down memory lane.
And long may it continue!
I know you as a DJ & organizer, but I bet you had a band or two back in the day? What was your first attempt at making or being involved with music?
I started learning piano at a young age, but never had the self-discipline to stick at it. Same with violin and guitar. I do regret it in some ways, but if I'd got involved with playing myself (or even an instrument), my musical journey would have been different and probably just as exciting, but I would have missed out on a lot of what I have done, so on balance it doesn't really matter. I did once play piano-accordion with a group of friends at a chapel 'social' (nothing like the 'Sunday Social'!) - The Bonzo's "Urban Spaceman" was the victim. I was so bad at keeping time that I put everyone off - and there began and ended my playing career! (Though never say never.....). I did record some stuff at home in the late 60s, my range of instruments consisting of a piano with the bottom panel removed so that I could hit / pluck the strings with an assortment of objects, a row of milk bottles with varying amounts of water in them played by a vacuum cleaner blowing instead of sucking, a biscuit tin with assorted elastic bands stretched over it, and 2 reel-to-reel tape recorders - in view of my continuing pleasure in 'noise', I wish my Dad had encouraged me instead of threatening me with eviction!
Youve told me a bit about Dr Funkenstein, the DJ group you were in many years back. Would you like to expand on this? How did you get together? Was it at college or something? It sounds like it was pretty hot. What kind of stuff did you play? Do you look on amazed at how all those old 80s obscurities are finally popular these days?
I never had any ambition to DJ, but I'd always subjected visitors to my house to listening to my latest finds. In 1981 an Irish friend in North Wales persuaded the landlord of a local pub (in Llanfairtalhaiarn) to let him play an acoustic set one Saturday, for a small fee; it was a 'straight' village pub, and I don't think they ever had live music in there, so we passed the word around amongst the 'hippy community' and hoped we wouldn't upset the locals! On the night the pub was absolutely packed, all types of people, all having a wonderful time, and the landlord was delighted - giving my friend twice what he had promised! Come 11 o'clock none of us felt like going home, so for some reason I offered an "all back to mine" (I rented a farmhouse, with no close neighbours), something I'd never done before. A crowd of people from the squat in Colwyn Bay had come to the gig in a live-in coach, which got wedged between the two banks of the narrow lane to my house; luckily they could get out of the door, so it was a case of "abandon ship and sort it out tomorrow". Apart from Noel doing a reprise acoustic set, I played records non-stop all night, had an absolutely brilliant time, as did everyone else. A few months later I was leaving the area for mid-Wales, so had a farewell party, at which I again played records all night, and which went brilliantly too. I was hooked!
I started doing small 'nights' as Ethel the Aardvark in local pub back rooms in Newtown, taking my home stereo (with its single turntable) along as the sound system. I also put on a few bands in local halls. One of the things that really surprised me was the range of people (straights, hippies, punks, typical Young Farmers even) and age groups - babes (it meant something different back then!)-in-arms to late 40s, including parents and their offspring - who came to gigs, which was not what I was used to. I met loads of new people quite quickly. Some of these put on a small one-day festival in Montgomery for a couple of years, and then six of us decided to do it properly in 1984 - 3 days on a farm just outside of the town, with a big stage, stalls, all the usual sort of small festival stuff. It happened, but in spite of a half-decent turn-out, it was a traumatic experience in many ways, on top of which we lost over 3000, which we didn't have. We all swore 'never again' - and I haven't stopped since!
Inevitably I crossed paths many times with a group of local DJs, 'Dr. Funkenstein's Music Laboratory', and we often ended up playing at the same parties. Their sound was predominantly funk, soul, rap, electro and a little reggae; I was playing ska/reggae/dub, Afro, electronic, and still some rock, but also gradually finding out about funk, which had mostly passed me by until then. Eventually Dr. Funkenstein were down to 2 DJs - Gini & Den - we decided to join forces, and the three of us are still doing local parties under this name about 20 years later.
By "80s obscurities", do you mean Dr. Funkenstein or the records we played? ;-} I'm not surprised the music is popular again - good music lasts, and its turn often comes round again. I regularly play tracks from all over the last 80 years in my more chilled sets - it's the feeling that counts, not when it was made - and many people appreciate the diversity. Even for the full-on dancefloor fans, there's nearly 20 years of house and its derivatives to dance to. Living in a very rural area, there is not the population to support successful nights dedicated to one sort of music (my last 'electronica' night attracted 3 people!), which can be done in the larger towns and cities; this means that the DJs at a gig / party often have to cater to a wide range of tastes, and many DJs in Wales are very good at doing this, either individually or across a few friends playing together. On the downside, it is more difficult to go out and hear some of the more cutting-edge sounds of specialist clubs, but if you're keen, enough of it filters through to keep tabs on what's going on elsewhere.
I know youre well into punk & industrial stuff. In fact, I believe you went to that Throbbing Gristle weekender thing how was that?
I missed the Throbbing Gristle Weekender, as it was postponed and I couldn't go to the re-arranged date - though friends who did go thought it excellent. I've never been a fan of Genesis P (though liking some of the music he has done), thinking him/her to be the sort of obnoxious person I'd not like to spend much time near - a feeling confirmed by several people I know who have met him / been to college with him / interviewed him / been on the same bill as him; I was going to the TG weekender for the support acts and the social interaction, though I'm sure I would have checked out TG for interest. There's no doubt that he has done some interesting pranks and musical deviations, but I find others involved in the same scene much more interesting, both musically and culturally.
How did you get into the kinda hippy club/dance side of things? I know youve done loads of events like Return To the Source, Megadog & Pendragon hows that gone down? Backrooms or front?
The 'hippy club / dance thing' came about through evolution I think - in the early 90s the house / Madchester / dub / global scenes, all of which I was well into, were indulging in a lot of cross-breeding, and I kept finding records that brought together a lot of different sounds that I loved -a feeing shared by many others on the dancefloors! Through the music press I saw that some DJs (Andy Weatherall, Michael Dog, Monkey Pilot, Nelson Dilation / etc.) / clubs (Whirligig & Megadog in particular), mostly in London, were playing the same tracks that I was playing.
My connection with Pendragon was through meeting Mark Pendragon briefly at the Megadog Beach Festival at Carlyon Bay in Cornwall in 1998 (my favourite festival ever!), then subsequently writing him an angry e-mail about some comment he had made about Pendragon "...reclaiming the Celtic Spirit..." by putting on a weekend party near Brecon, pointing out that the Celtic Spirit did not need reclaiming, but that he was welcome to come and partake in it! After an amicable resolution, he invited me to play in the chill-out at Pendragon's "Beltane Full Moon Party" at Dalston Film Studios in London - a great venue, but one that had rightly been condemned! I had a wonderful time, playing to about 200 spaced-out people, who were lounging around on the carpeted floor around milk-crate tables with candles, or dancing around the front and edges, in a UV-decorated room. I met several people that night who I still keep in touch with. I subsequently played several Pendragon nights in Brixton Academy, always in the chill-out.
I can't remember how I first made contact with RTTS, but I think it was through one of the originators, Chris Dekker, of Medicine Drum (last I heard, he was doing something similar in San Francisco). They were always excellent nights, though not quite as hedonistic as Pendragon; I played livelier than the Pendragon chill-outs, though nothing too full-on (shame!).
You seem basically to like just about everything going. Is it sometimes frustrating seeing some things you like being cast aside in favour of lower common denominator stuff? I know you once mentioned hoping for a bit more prominence for breaks over four on the floor.
It doesn't go away, just goes underground, and this is often when the people sticking with it are more into the music than in being a DJ / well-paid performer; the music develops in many directions, and often resurfaces in a revitalised form a few years later. Even if it doesn't resurface in popular culture, it still provides a lot of pleasure for those that seek it out and find it.
I do feel sorry for many talented musicians that can't make a living from their skill, but apart from a few who make it (often via a lucky break rather than being better than their contemporaries), this has always been the way with artists, and I can't see any way that it is likely to change. Even with the cheap distribution of music via the internet, the market and public consciousness will always be dominated by a favoured few, with the majority finding it difficult to even get noticed, however talented they are.
The lowest common denominator stuff has its place too - though that place is usually far-removed from anywhere from which I might hear it! It gives a lot of people a lot of pleasure, and I'd rather them be pleasured by music than by many of the other options.
To my knowledge, you dont really beatmatch. Are you a Loft baby musical purity fiend or did you just never learn?
I did learn, and can mix 4/4 beats well enough (on vinyl, haven't quite got the hang of doing it reliably on CD) but have trouble with funkier or slower stuff, and cannot scratch mix at all. I think beatmixing is over-rated though; it is the icing on the cake, and some DJ's skill - Jeff Mills for one - is amazing and makes their sets completely unique. When running DJ workshops, I've always emphasised that most people listening to a DJ are into the music, not the mixing, and that it's better to put together a good set of tunes than to mix a boring set perfectly; if you can't beatmix, practise at home, don't try in public though - better to fade tracks into each other than releasing the galloping horses! However, I would like to be better at mixing, but probably never will be.
How did you get involved in Glastonbury? Ive never been but I presume its one of your big weekends of the year?
It has provided some of the best DJing experiences I have had - long sets through the night with an appreciative crowd of people. I went to Glastonbury in 1984 or 85 - not as a DJ though - and enjoyed it in spite of the mud and non-stop rain. I didn't go again until the late 1990s, when I was asked to go by Ecotrip in the Green Field. I can't remember who got me in the following year, but I played over 6 hours in Gaiaspace in the first year of The Glade stage, and also in Greenpeace's Cafe Tango. The following year I went as part of Gaiaspace, and as resident in Cafe Tango too. Since then I've been resident in Cafe Tango, and organised the week's DJs in there, until last year, when I just couldn't face going. It may sound sad, but the previous year I just wanted to be back at home almost all the time I was there, plus I had been very annoyed by the arrogance, incompetence and rudeness of some of the Greenpeace staff responsible for running their area. I hope to be asked back by Cafe Tango in future, but I'm not really that bothered whether or not I go again. There's a lot of fun to be had at Glastonbury, particularly away from the main over-crowded areas, but in general I do prefer the atmosphere of smaller festivals.
Tell me all about Zion Train, how you got involved, what you do with them, etc. What are they up to these days? I remember them starting as pretty heavy digidub but then concentrating more on the vocal side later, then disappearing a bit. I presume theyre one of these names who do the entire festival circuit & gigs connected to that crowd? Whats all this about them having noise offshoots? Do they release stuff? Are they connected to the wider international noise scene Merzbow, Rrrecords, etc etc?
Gini, of our Dr. Funkenstein incarnation, met Zion Train first, at a big private party in the basement of a stately home in Norfolk, and had kept in touch with them; she was there as a favour for an old friend of hers, Nick Saunders, author of 'E for Ecstasy'; he had arranged to take a German monk to see first-hand how British people used ecstasy, but at the last minute had not been able to go himself and had asked Gini if she would do it - apparently the monk found it hard to understand how people danced on 'E', as his order only used it as an aid to meditation!
I first met them when we supported them at Bangor University in, I think, 1995; we all got on well and kept in touch - particularly after they all moved, with their studio, from London to Pembrokeshire.
I started doing the press and radio promotion for their record label Universal Egg, which I did until late 2004, and also went as a support DJ to many of their UK dates. I met a lot of new people through doing this, which gave me more opportunities to play outside of mid-Wales, so it was a big help to my DJ 'career'. In 2004, Neil Perch, the man who does all their live onstage mixing, moved to Cologne and set up a second small studio there, as well as acquiring a monster sound system which he takes out as Abassi Hi Power. The band continued to tour extensively, particularly in mainland Europe and also went to Japan for the first time.
This physical separation of the band members, and some different ideas on the direction to go in, lead to some tension within the band, and the vocalist Molara finally parted company with Zion Train at the beginning of 2006. To many people, she is the face of Zion Train, and they are still going to have plenty of chance to see and hear her in action - she has her own band, with a core of 5 members but expanding to into double figures on occasions; she is also working live and in the studio (new album on the way) with Dubmerge and is recording a new album with Mad Professor - not to mention the large choir she has set up in her home area! As if this wasn't enough, her partner Colin, often seen playing the melodica in Zion Train and urging the crowd on in 'Babylon's Burning', has a new project with Molara, The Powersteppers, in which he creates all the music; their few live dates so far has have caused a lot of excitement, many people saying it reminds them of what Zion Train used to be like. Up-to-date news of her work is on http://www.molara.co.uk/molara_news.html. So out of one great band, have risen several new ones!
Colin, as mentioned above, is a very creative and prolific noise-merchant under many guises, most frequently probably as Pantonal and Fushima. More about his current projects on http://www.dubport.com - well worth a read, and several downloads available. For those into noise also check out one of his long-time collaborators from Holland. Radboud Mens ('Rat') http://radiantslab.com/rat/.
Mid-Wales seemed to have a really cool, anything-goes & everyone-gets-involved music scene. There are not many big towns, but Aberystwyth is over-brimming with events & every small town & mountainside seems to have more than its fair share of hippies & punks. Part of that whole West Country & Wales lets-migrate-to-the-countryside crusty vibe. The number of outdoor parties was really refreshing. You play a big part in that with the Dragon Collective. Can you tell us a bit about what goes on over there with the collective & in general, what music is biggest now & in the past, funny stories, etc etc?
Mid-Wales is as wonderful as ever as somewhere to live, though the party scene has dropped off considerably since you were living down here - still a few brilliant ones each year though, and I think that fewer events mean that when there is something good on, everyone's up for it. Not so much of the techno / trance sound as previously (it was getting a little stale anyway), more beats 'n' breaks, and loads of funky tunes, old and new. One of the good things about the mid / west Wales parties is still the wide range of people and ages that turn up - as you say a good smattering of hippies and punks, old and young. One of our young local DJs, Sonny Wharton, from near Newtown, is having considerable and well-deserved international success (including a 12-date 3 week tour of China in April 2006), proving that with the right skill and perseverance it is possible to move out in to the wider world from here. Check him out on http://www.sonnywharton.com.
The Dragon Collective itself has been in a state of semi-hibernation for the last couple of years. One major problem for us has always been that there is no suitable venue in mid-Wales to use as a base for events - we need something like Queens Hall in Narberth in Pembrokeshire or Hendre Hall near Bangor. Maybe the Welsh Development Agency will build us one instead of another factory unit that they can't let (I don't think so!). I am getting back to maintaining our website http://www.dragoncollective.co.uk regularly, and hope to get more active again this year.
Any good stories about meeting celebrities?
I sort of met one of my ultimate heroes, John Peel, at Tribal Gathering some years back, squeezed into the back of a tent waiting for Kraftwerk to come on - he was with a young woman whom I assume (hope!) was his daughter and another man; we caught each other's eyes and nodded a wordless hello; after all these years of wanting to meet him, have a chat and a pint or whatever, I was stood next to him and I couldn't think of anything to say! At one point, three lads squeezed past in front of us, and the one bringing up the rear did a double-take as he passed me, looking back at John Peel; he nudged his mate in front of him, and said "look it's John Peel!"; his mate turned round and said "nah, he's too fat!" I don't know whether or not John heard it, but I thought that when I meet him again I'd tell him about it as I'm sure he'd see the funny side - though I now hope I don't meet him again too soon!
Whats your current top 10? Tips for the future?
April 2006
Orange Blossom - Everything Must Change (Wrasse Records)
Nephews of Phela - Mulah 2 / Uhuru Mash Up (white)
Daniel Meteo - Perument (Meteosound)
Dub Terror feat. Tena Stelin - No More Stress (Deep Root)
Jah Marnyah / Anthony John - Ghetto Life / Strive (Scoops)
Nuru Kane - Sigil (Riverboat)
12th Floor - Terrestrial Journey EP (Deeplay / Soultec)
Various Artists - Roots of Dub Funk 5 (Tanty)
Def Inc. - Waking The Dread (Spin Out)
Congos & Friends - Fisherman Style (Rhythm & Sound mixdowns) (Blood & Fire)
Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia (Worthy)
Tips for the future : Take you coat off in the house or you'll never feel the benefit.
Do you have a day job & if so, what is it?
When I first knew you, I was in a 10-year spell on Incapacity Benefit, but for the last 2 years I have had a part-time day job, until 3 weeks ago when the funding ran out - IT Technical Support in Llanidloes Resource Centre, where we have 10 computers for the public to use, photocopying and other office services. I maintained the computers, repaired computers for people and sorted out their software problems, did some training and ran courses, photo restoration, and various other odd jobs that came in. I'm still working there voluntarily a couple of days a week, and also doing some freelance website work.
What kind of films, art & books do you go for?
Films: I'm not keen on that one that forms on the surface of unidentified remnants of food in that forgotten plastic box in the fridge. The last time I went to the cinema was to see Chicken Run when it first came out, and I think I watched a couple of films on television last year. When I do watch a film, I tend to go for fairly dark ones, particularly road movies and sci-fi, juvenile humour (South Park, Beavis and Butthead) or animation. Also I've enjoyed many biog. films of musicians, often even those whose music isn't among my favourites. If there was an 'arthouse' cinema within easy and cheap travelling distance I'm sure I would make the effort more often - but the views from my windows will do for now! I do like film, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather spend a couple of hours listening to music, messing around on the decks, trying to learn to make my own music. If there were more hours in a day, I'd probably read more books rather than watch films.
Art : my partner Sue does work that I find really inspiring (have I got that right, Sue?); my tastes are wide, put I'm particularly inspired by much abstract art, Islamic design, and political work that makes a point with humour (e.g. see Brian Jones http://www.artofbrianjones.com , a long-time collaborator until recently with Jamie Reid, of Sex Pistols fame - though I must admit bias as he was the person I originally set up The Dragon Collective with, and I do his website - though didn't choose the colour scheme!).
There is some wonderful digital art about these days, and as with music, the computer has enabled people who might not have done it through more traditional means, to actually turn their ideas into 'art' - and there is some truly strange and disturbing stuff out there!
Books: as with film, I don't find nearly as much time to read as I would like, though from about 7 years old I was a voracious reader. Fiction-wise, I have read most of the 'beats' books, the occasional sci-fi, and a random assortment of more contemporary fiction.
I read more non-fiction - 'popular science' (Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawkings, Richard Feynman, Stephen Jay Gould, James Gleick), natural history (particularly about plants and insects), contemporary culture (Hunter Thompson, sadly missed, early Tom Wolfe are old favourites) and many books where music is a central part of the story (Greil Marcus, David Toop). And of course the music press - The Wire, Straight No Chaser, Songlines, iDJ.
More and more of my reading these days is on the web, particularly news and humour - it's easy to find topics of specific interest, and also just as easy to come across the completely unexpected. The web will never replace books for me, but it has become an essential source of entertainment and interest - I just wish I could get broadband!
Is there anything strange youd like to tell us about yourself that no-one would suspect in a million years?!
I have a 12" penis, but much of it is invisible.
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