When I was 9 or 10 years old , I was discovering pop music and was completely obsessed about the artist and wanted to listen to everything from beginning to end . I am sad in a way that the art of listening is disappearing and it is all about listening to a 30 second clip on Tik-Tok . Music can and used to be just as powerful a medium as literature and cinema could be .
This is the most succinct album of yours . Was that by design , or are you responding to the shortening attention span of the modern listener ?
That would be a very shallow reason to have done it . To be honest , I think it is something I have believed for a long time that most of the classic albums are about 35-40 minutes long . I believe that is the right length . What I am looking for , is for someone to listen to the album , get to the end and to not be exhausted but to actually be able to say “ I really enjoyed it and want to listen to it again ” straight away . I feel that it has been a problem for decades since CD came along . Lot of albums went from 40 minutes to 80 minutes and I find them quite exhausting .
I was determined to make a succinct , intense , direct and sophisticated record - something that didn ’ t feel exhausting to listen to .
How do you overcome creative blocks ?
I go to the studio everyday and bash my head against the metaphorical wall and sometimes a month will go past , I look at the metaphorical wall and realise that I haven ’ t even made a dent . And then , after a couple of months I realise there is a little crack and suddenly it becomes a hole and something starts to happen . I find writing so hard . I have found it the most painful part of the process but ultimately most rewarding . The fact that it might come after days of nothing , almost makes it even more amazing when it finally happens .
I try to write a lot more than I need . I wrote about 30 songs for this album but chose only 9 . A lot of the music sounded too much like stuff I had done in the past . I look for music that sounds fresh to me .
Tell us about your work with Jess Cope on the music videos . The creative dynamic between you two is certainly unique .
Jess also doesn ’ t like to repeat herself and it ’ s exciting to work with her . It ’ s nice to work on something different with her because she is also so excited about visuals . It has been very inspiring to work with someone that also feels like they want to reinvent themselves .
Does your artistic personality shift from one album to another , given the different sounds you create for each ?
I don ’ t think it does , I think I am the one that is always the same . It is almost like I ’ m changing everything else around me . Like if you take the case of David Bowie or even Madonna , they are always the same but they were good in changing the people and the context they worked in .
That is one of the ways in which an artist can continue to reinvent themselves despite putting yourself in different situations . The musical forces and people around you are changing .
Tell us about your upcoming book
My book has a little bit of autobiography in it . It has my ideas about music and what it means to be a professional musician in 2021 as someone that started 25 years ago in a different music business . It was unrecognisable then . It is almost like I prevailed through the change .
It has been frustrating and fascinating . I have written about how the way to be a professional musician has changed . I have never been a mainstream artist but have created a direct dialogue with my fans . I thought it was an interesting subject to write about . I have also written about my relationship with my fans , experiences I have had with them and some lighter aspects too . I tried to make every chapter feel like it was a different aspect of the experience . A journey through my ideas , career and my imagination .
What albums / artists are you listening to currently ?
I ’ m still discovering things from the past that I didn ’ t know . I discovered this artist named Shawn Phillips who was a folk singer-songwriter from the early 70s . I have been listening to music for 40 years of my life but never knew him .
Last year , I heard the Max Victor ’ s Album . I absolutely loved it , it was so beautiful .
Your biggest pet peeve
Litter ! It drives me absolutely nuts ! If I ever get famous like David Bowie , I will definitely have a campaign for this .
5 pieces of equipment that you cannot live or work without ?
I don ’ t think there is one . The one thing I have noticed about myself being a musician is that I don ’ t have any particular love for the tools that I make my music with .
My love has always been making records and the tools for me are just tools .
If / when the pandemic releases us , what ’ s next ?
To tour ! I have a tour planned for September / October and let ’ s hope that goes well . I hope to come back to my beloved India to play for you guys too !
The Score Magazine
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