Ok, I was feeling lazy. For anyone who doesn't know, me and Josh are in fact housemates and good friends, so this interview was pretty easy. I started the interview after he returned home from shopping at Aldi one day, and it went something like this...
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| Josh, at the UEA lake near some snow. (Credit : Charlie Wallis) |
Josh (TSC): I make really repetitive music. I bought a loop pedal last month, after using a simulation in MainStage for the last six months. This development has not been fruitful for those I share a house with (eg. you), but one by-product is this latest song, 'Lines'. It will be released upon MiniCD and Betamax in April 2012.
James: Having "MiniCD and Betamax" and "2012" in the same line seems almost contradictory. Was there any reason for this particular release format?
Josh: I be repping them retro formats. Sadly, unless someone could volunteer use of their Betamax equipment, the latter will remain a mere pipe-dream for now. I suppose the choice of miniCD was more of style over substance or practicality.
I think I jokingly mooted the idea of my second single being a triple release some time ago and it just stuck in the end. I sketched the design for triangular packaging and it snowballed from there.
James: “MiniCD”, “triple release”, “triangular packaging”? Do you think ‘style over substance’ is a phrase that describes your music well, or would that be unfair?
Josh: Totally appropriate.
James: Is this strange/niche method of release something that you’ve done in the past?
Josh: I released a cassette last April, which is a kind of a mini-album/demo. I have more ambitious plans for the future, I have designs on a zoetrope, piano roll, VHS and some video games for the future. I occasionally even think of putting some music with the merch.
James: Releasing some music with the packaging might help! Last year you also released one of your songs on a 7” vinyl single [NEPOTISM ALERT!]. Can you tell me about that?
Josh: http://zigguratcreative.bigcartel.com/product/zig001-7-split-single-vinyl
James: Thanks for that, Josh. [NEPOTISM ALERT OVER!] Your side of the vinyl has a very special inscription for your true love, didn’t it?
Josh: Bill [from Collider, the band on the other side of the 7”] put song lyrics on their side. I put a hex code on mine. It was the junction code / motorway number of my favourite motorway service station.
James: You have a favourite motorway service station?!?!
Josh: Don't we all?
James: No. No, we don’t.
Josh: Oh.
Well, I travelled around England quite a lot as a child whilst racing and on holiday, and these days I do a reasonable amount of late evening service station sojourns as a travelling musician. So I've experienced a wide variety of fast food joints on roadsides. I've always liked the stations that span across the motorway.
James: So, Top 5 motorway service stations?
Josh:
1. You would have to buy the vinyl.
But it's not Birchanger (despite the frequent visits and twitter hashtag, #birchangerforever).
2. Birchanger, gateway to Norwich (from London). Long KFC hours on the weekend, just far enough out of London to warrant stopping, knowing that if returning to Norwich around midnight that the roads from here on will largely be empty. All good things. Starting my birthday there this year after a gig was satisfying. I had some cake.
[James: You seem to have a very different idea of what constitutes a good birthday than I do.]
3. M1/J23A - lovely view out behind it, kind of lived there during Download 2010.
4. M1/J15 - with cross-motorway footbridge and near Milton Keynes... Win.
5. Dutch Service Station?
James: Near Milton Keynes doesn’t sound very “win” to me. And when was the last time you drove through Dutchland. That aside, what has been the highlight of your last year?
Josh: Almost touring. The vinyl was a nice moment, and finishing the film score was an achievement I value.
James: The film score was a very interesting to experience as a member of the audience. How did you come up with the ideas for the score?
Josh: I make really repetitive music... But I nicked bits from old songs, some bits of future songs. I went through the film a few times without music and figured out sections, and went from there. There was a deliberate reference to Long Way From Home, the vinyl song, placed in the score in a referential manner to try and bring a nickelodeon-style punning to the table, if only briefly. Two people might have got that joke.
James: Two people? Isn’t that optimistic?
Josh: Yeah, you're probably right.
James: Anyway, thanks for the interview. Any final words?
Josh: Lines. Of Lines. Of Lines. Of Lines.
Ok, thanks for that Josh. I feel it appropriate to end with some of Josh's songs. You can listen to and download for free some excerpts from his film score (mentioned in the interview).
James
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