‘I WANTED THE CHALLENGE OF MAKING ENTIRELY ELECTRONIC POP MUSIC'
Future perfect I
The Beta Band are dead, King Biscuit Time has been offed, Black Affair is here. The elusive Steve Mason refuses to sit still musically as Malcolm Jack discovers
be last many people will remember hearing of
Steve Mason was when. in April 2006. be
prompted much head scratching amongst the press by cancelling a nationwide tour with his post- Beta Band project King Biscuit Time. before leaving a curiously oblique message on his MySpace profile: ‘Peace to you all. I‘m out of here . . . Over and out.‘
It was assumed that he intended to quit the music industry. In reality. Mason — who has previously described himself as a “reclusive. depressive maniac‘ — was on the verge of quitting something much more serious. ‘It was more life.‘ he admits. with a hearty chuckle. as firm an indication as any that his horizons have brightened somewhat since those dark. doomy days. luckily I had some good people around me at that time.‘ he adds. ‘and I got over it. I‘m still trying to push forward into the ether.‘
The enigmatic Fife-based musician returns to the limelight this month with debut album Pleasure l’ressure Point from his newest endeavour Black Affair. Rooted in 80s hip hop. new jack swing. old school house and classic electronica. it harnesses tightly wound programmed drum beats. razor sharp synth lines and simmering sexual undertones to create an engrossing pop record with an infectioust cluhby feel.
The album‘s release is the culmination of a two—year
period of creative re—genesis for Mason. ‘To me. King Biscuit Time felt like something that someone the band I was in would do after they'd been in that band.‘ he explains. ‘l‘ve always kind of thought of myself as an artist really before a musician. and artists never rest on previous works. The things I'd done in that band were
always about pushing things forward and trying to do things we'd never done before. So. really Black Affair is just an extension of that.
‘I wanted the challenge of making entirely electronic pop music really. something I’d never really done before. It gave me a chance to go back and listen to a lot of records I hadn‘t heard for a long time: Montell Jordan. Blackstreet. Bell Biv l)eVoe. I wanted to do something brand new and exciting.’
The Beta Band. who split in 2004 saddled with hefty debts to their record label. remain a touchy subject for Mason — he insists there’s ‘no discontent from that period’ but never once mentions them by name throughout our conversation. referring to them only as ‘that band'. llis stance on their material has evidently softened of late however. At the l’ence (‘ollective's llomcgame festival in Anstruther last April. he played a solo set featuring a number of the influential folk-hop outlit‘s best loved numbers. including the seminal 'l)ry the Rain'. It was a special moment.
"That was for those people that go to there. because a lot of those songs really inlluenced that scene.‘ Mason explains. ‘I just thought it would be a really nice thing to do. It felt like the right time to do it.’
He scoffs. however. when I ask him if he intends to wrap any of The Beta Band‘s material into Black Affair shows. ‘l’uck nol‘ Mason proclaims. laughing. ‘You've got to be kidding me. With this. I'm putting as much distance between me and the past as is humanly possible.‘
The GRV, Edinburgh Sat 12 Jul.
HST
www.li$t.co.uk/music
>l<
THE BEST ROCK, POP, JAZZ & FOLK
fit 1' in the Park Scotland’s festival colossus rolls round again with a beefy bill of indie A- listers: Kaiser Chiefs, The Fratellis, a few living legends: REM, Rage Against the Machine, Aphex Twin, a few left of centre gems: Battles. Fucked Up (pictured), Justice, and some total random bloody nonsense: Eddy Grant, Will Young. But hey, it's T. anything goes. See feature, page 19. Ba/ado, Kinross, Fri 77-Sun 73 Jul. (Rock 8 Pop)
>3: Duty Free More bargainous live music with Fangs, Sellotape and Pearl among the new music coming to you free of charge. Cabaret Voltaire. Edinburgh, Thu 3, Thu 70 & Thu 7 7 Jul. (Rock 8 Pop)
3% Stapleton This angular post-hardcore clan have mellowed a little with age, which is ideal as it lets the blinding quality of their songs shine through on newest record Rest and be Thankful. See preview. page 68. Nice and Sleazy, Glasgow, 8 Jul. (Rock 8 Pop) Come on Gang! Despite the jolly hockey sticks name this Edinburgh trio knock out a tremendous line in shimmering, melodic guitar growl topped with the brittle vocal brilliance of Sarah Tanat Jones. See preview, page 68. Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Thu 70 Jul; Tin the Park, Ba/ado, Sun 73 Jul; The Ark, Edinburgh, Thu 77 Jul. (Rock 8 Pop)
Harmonia Old krautrockers never die. they just rediscover their ARPs. This trio of krautrock legends are back to garner more of that well deserved praise. See preview, page 68. ABC, Glasgow, Fri 77 Jul. (Rock & Pop)
Black Affair See preview. left. The GRV. Edinburgh, Sat
72 Jul. (Rock & Pop)
‘--‘ THE LIST 67