‘IT'S ME DELIVERING SONGS AS OPPOSED TO BREAKING UP FORMS,
TAKING EVERYTHING APART'
lidell voice
David Pollock talks to the enigma that is JAMIE LIDELL in the run—up to his Record Playerz and Pogo Vogue live gigs.
ake a snapshot of Jamie Lidell at any point in his
career or his life. for that matter - and you
could almost be looking at a procession of different men. I‘rom a lluntingdon childhood to studying philosophy in Bristol. followed by the move to London which saw him fornr his first group. Subhcad. 'l‘hen. most famonsly. collaborations in Brighton with (‘hristian \‘ogcl as one half of Super ('ollider.
But that was all a while back. and it looks like the non—pseudonymotis .lamie l.idcll years are about to hit their peak. He's been living in Berlin for half a decade now. and has already released one album under his own nanre llllllll‘s .llrrr/r/lrrr' (it‘rll‘. which married a heavy dose of electronica with tentatiye forays into Ré’cB and eyen doo-wop). lt's this month‘s .llrr/Ir/r/y. however. which sees l.idell the performer step confidently into the limelight ahead of l.idell the producer. He has. to all intents and purposes. rcinyented himself as a 31st century soul singer.
‘I wouldn‘t quite say “rcinvented”.' laughs the e\ubcrant l.idell. ‘but I guess I'm coming out with that style in a less obtuse way than in the past. It’s definitely me delivering songs as opposed to breaking tip forms. taking cyciything apart. I suppose .l/rr/rr/rl_\"s an attempt at a daytime listen. \"know. slap it on in the morning. bit of sugar on your corriflakcs . . . ycah.‘
So how did the production of this record differ from that of Ills earlier releases'.’ ‘\\'ell. the rnttlorit) of the tracks haye their origins in acoustic songs.‘ he says. About ()ll'r’ of them. in fact. I have trsed electronics on this album. but l‘yc tried to keep them very much in a supplementary role. and make the flayour of the record
very live. But it‘s mainly an opportunity to show people what I could do with my voice. which I really discovered on later Super_(‘ollider stuff and singing with Matthew Herbert's Big Band — although this stuff’s more approachable. more "for the ladies". y'know'."
He laughs at this. as he does when I ask where he started singing: ‘What. you trying to dig up some dirt on me'.’ Yeah. I was a squirrel in the school play. totally not ashamed of that.’ .»\s it turns out Lidell was inspired by his mother (a singer herself) and one of his primary school teachers. who wrote for children‘s songbooks. Plus a few more universal influences.
‘l’ve always listened to Stevie [Wonder] and Marvin [(iayel.‘ says Lidell. ‘and they keep coming back to me stronger and stronger. Whenever I hear “What‘s (ioing
()n" it stops me in my tracks. just the crazy purity of
Marvin‘s voice. It's definitely something to aspire to. and it’s like an untouchable blueprint. but I always come back to him for inspiration when I try to improve as a singer.'
And the stage show‘s more than a bit (icorge (‘lintorr we hear. ‘Yeah. or Sun Ra.’ he says. '.\ly friend l’ablo's designed these lo-tech glam "media suits" covered in I()IIIIII tape. Performance is a mask. performance is a game. and when I look down at my body I don‘t want to see just my T-shirt and think. “Have I checked my emails?" or "What do I have to do tomorrow".’". I want to step out of myself and get my Superman btig onl'
Jamie Lidell plays Record Playerz at the School of Art, Glasgow, Thu 23 Jun; Honeycomb, Edinburgh, Fri 24 Jun.
Chakra The theme this month is Flintstones. If yOu feel you can do a good Wilma. then get your rags on. The Sound/raus. Glasgow, Sat 25 Jun.
Progression The second in a series of very cheap but very good residents‘ nights from the tribal house crew as they gear up for summer. Tire Liquid Room. Edinburgh. Sat 25 Jun.
The Buff at the Spiegeltent Say goodbye to the Royal Bank Glasgow Jazz Festival and Mark Robb’s fab Buff at the Spiegeltent with Soundbone & the Funk Out-Fit and DJs Dema and Nice. George Square. Glasgow. Sun 26 Jun.
The Black Rabbit Whorehouse /\ night devoted to the beautiful sound that is microhouse. Twitch and Wilkes call on fellow glitch-whore Basteroid and his bag of analogue noises. succulent bass sounds and electro-tech beats. ABC. Glasgow. Sat 2 Jul.
68 Crasher New York techno master Adam X (pictured) heads this bill of 17 DJs and live acts all dealing in hard tech, industrial. trance and 088 to entertain the masses up for the C38 protests. leviot. Edinburgh. Sat 2 Jul.
Backyard An event hosted by the Multifunctional Free Collective in association with Jammin Adventures and alongside Ya Basta! Trojan Soundsystem, DJ Daddy Ad and Mungo's Hi Fi provide the sounds. Budda '3 Backyard. Glasgow, Sun 3 Jul.
Make Poverty History It's like a who‘s who of Scottish indie as Mogwai. ldlewild. Teenage Farrclub. Arab Strap and more take to the decks for this very worthy cause. plus a live set from El Presidente. Cabaret Voltaire. Edinburgh. Sun 3 Jul.
23 Jun—7 Jul 2005 THE LIST 33