MUX
23rd August 2002, 12:20
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<TD><SPAN class=viewtitle><B>Robots on the rise!</B> :: An interview
with Jamie Liddell of Super_Collider</SPAN>
<P><SPAN class=abstract>
"...Super_Collider is a fairly well known
collaboration between longtime techno-head Cristian Vogel and
enthusiast for all things funky Jamie Liddell. A few years back
Loaded (the same boys as Skint, home to Fatboy Slim et al) released
their debut, <B>Head On</B>, an unlikely fusion of tweaked techno
from the both of them and Jamie’s vocal stylings, which showed the
influence of funk legends such as George Clinton and Sly Stone..."
</SPAN>
<P>
Contributing Editor <BR><!-- now comes the tricky part... each paragraph is a table cell -->
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<P class=indent>In the couple of years since <B>Head On</B>,
Cris and Jamie have each released more (baffling) solo
material, Jamie on Warp and Cris on NovaMute. The second
Super_Collider album, <B>Raw Digits</B>, has just come out on
their own imprint, Rise Robots Rise, part of Brighton’s No
Future collective. Michael Upton played a game of email tag
with Jamie Liddell...
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: <B>Raw Digits</B> seems a lot more
chilled out than <B>Head On</B>, which I guess lived up to its
name. Well, it's not exactly smoothed out, but it's not so
upbeat and tracks like “Gravity Rearrangin'' really are pretty
mellow. What was your intention when you set about writing
this material?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: To mellotize in the face of the steppers
is what we gone done. There was no unity on <B>Head On</B>. It
was full of the spirit but there was not a lot of munging.
This second album is honed and set to give more sustained
pleasure.
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: I read in the press sheet that you
were in different cities during the recording of this album.
Was the music written during times when the two of you were in
the same place, or did each of you do your own thing for
sections of it?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: Oh no, we always need to share the same
room to stop arguments over the placement of bass drums. We
never did do the mail bits about thing, always seemed such an
impersonal, if potentially practical, idea.
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: Despite the title, the music on
<B>Raw Digits</B> strikes me as anything but raw. There's huge
amounts of detail in the sound, with little events gurgling
about, plenty of rhythmic changes, and so on. How much work
would you say goes into any given track?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: Hands are raw from the sheer nudging. I
guess it took a month per track on average. Crazy really. We
write, record and produce (compel?) on the fly quite often
which means it takes a lot longer than it might with a more
traditional approach. If only we were traditional...nah ! We
get there by our means.
<P class=indent>
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: I have to say I've found each of
your albums messes with my head in a big way. Repeated listens
have been required to start to get a feel of what's going on.
A big aspect of this is the lack of repetition which I was
hinting at in the last question. To kinda pointedly pick a
couple of labels out of the air, what's your feeling about say
the metronomic techno of yer average Tresor release or the
accessible riffs of most of the Warp roster?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: Since drum machines slapped the musical
domain, there's been a steady flow of the dull chugs clogging
the floor. How many have let the kick drum roll out a easy
high? I know I've done it and heh, there's nothing inherently
evil in sheer simplicity, but there's not much more to be
added to the whole metronomic empire me feels. There was (is!)
a lot of it about, Prince got into it, we got a lot of boom
chack boom chack from him ... and with good reason, he writes
so fast, and as a single hander it makes good the speed flow
... now no need to mic up a whole kit, toy with the limited
(?) sonic repertoire allowed by skin beating. Like the washing
machine, much labour can be spared, the pain of creating
slackened to a point where suddenly an arranger can be a
drummer can bash out a riddim. I like a metronome to roam ...
but I still bop to the chunk chunk when I'm on various
flavours of high.
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: 'Radianations on the Rise' reminds
me plenty of modern RNB. What do you guys think of that stuff
(eg. Destiny's Child, Missy Elliot, et al)? (I guess the
wandering keyboards are quite Parliament as well... The ghost
of Bernie Worrell)</I> </P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD><!--newcell-->
<P class=indent>JL: Modern eh? This one started out as a remix
actually, we tried to reference the radio chunk in ourselves,
that's as close as it comes these days! It's got the Berlin
Kreuzberg in the fray, this Turkish flurry o’licks to lean on.
They're lodged well in there. Cris conjured them in a daze and
boy/girl does it set the mood, gives the nag...the sparse is
in the mix, the miniepic structure is the funk. We absorb the
RNB through a side alley and it comes out Turk. Nudging all
the way!
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: In the music of artists like
Parliament or Sly Stone a vocal concept is often key to a
piece of music. In terms of vocal style Jamie seems to be
riffing on what these guys were doing, but lyrically, I have
no idea what's going on. How does the writing of the vocals
fit in to the overall composition process?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: It's crucial like marmite. Check the lyric
sheet on the final album (you won't have seen it yet! it's
schweet to behold ... ah yes). There's a load of battling in
the lyrical outburst. No accidents. I'm surprised that nobody
seems able to work out a word. Needless to say, as with all
aspects of the way we work, it's all in there, the impact of
the melodies is strong, the meaning waves to another place,
it's snapshots, thought shots, running in a stream I try to
make my own. Like impressions, never clear and not structured
in a story telling way without wide metaphors at ever turn.
Sheets of lyrics condense in the finished product.
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: I saw you guys play in London in 99,
fairly soon after <B>Head On</B> was released. The live show
was pretty raw, with Jamie singing into what looked like one
side of a pair of headphones, and the tracks getting pretty
crunchy. Given the shift in vibe between releases, how will
you be approaching live shows with this new material?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: With the smooth side stepping that dusts
the new album, we have a tight 5 piece that's been road
tripping about the Europians [sic] for the last few week
months. The old rough’n’tumble approach has been focused into
a pack of 7 tracks with the emphasis on the song. We used to
skip between brilliance and nonsense on stage, now we have it
in a new bag. I get to wear a dress at one point though. Watch
it!
<P class=indent>
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: <B>Head On</B> was released on
Loaded, and i remember from articles at the time that that was
largely because you knew the guys from the label in Brighton.
What's the deal with Rise Robots Rise, then?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: The deal is we deal with the deals from
here to the next level. We're at level 2 now, second release
the album, first the single. They have the look and feel of
organic produce. We like it like that. Loaded were a cool
bunch, we just didn't have quite the right sound for it all to
blow up on their imprint. The split seems to have gone
smoothly. They understood well our new intentions and the
blessings we got make the buzz even stronger. RISE!
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: Since you both write solo material,
what do you each get out of Super_Collider?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: Raw digits! Literally! And a whole new set
of opportunities to bust heads in our unique, unmistakable
style.
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: What're you planning from here?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: I got solo to do for Warp...rather
overdue, should be on it right now actually, something
completely different. Collisions ought to start again in the
autumn, new material in a tempo hyped style might do wonders
for our next outing... I can't divulge more... watch them
robots...
<P class=indent><B> ::..:::.....:..::....:::::..:: :..:::::::......:::...::.:::.. ..::::..:..:::...::.......:::: :</B>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> http://www.igloomag.com/pictures/294-3.jpg http://www.igloomag.com/pictures/294-1.jpg http://www.igloomag.com/pictures/294-2.jpg http://www.igloomag.com/pictures/294-4.jpg
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD><SPAN class=viewtitle><B>Robots on the rise!</B> :: An interview
with Jamie Liddell of Super_Collider</SPAN>
<P><SPAN class=abstract>
"...Super_Collider is a fairly well known
collaboration between longtime techno-head Cristian Vogel and
enthusiast for all things funky Jamie Liddell. A few years back
Loaded (the same boys as Skint, home to Fatboy Slim et al) released
their debut, <B>Head On</B>, an unlikely fusion of tweaked techno
from the both of them and Jamie’s vocal stylings, which showed the
influence of funk legends such as George Clinton and Sly Stone..."
</SPAN>
<P>
Contributing Editor <BR><!-- now comes the tricky part... each paragraph is a table cell -->
<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD><B>::..:::.....:..::....:::::..:: :..:::::::......:::...::.:::.. ..::::..:..:::...::.......:::: :</B>
</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD><!--newcell-->
<P class=indent>In the couple of years since <B>Head On</B>,
Cris and Jamie have each released more (baffling) solo
material, Jamie on Warp and Cris on NovaMute. The second
Super_Collider album, <B>Raw Digits</B>, has just come out on
their own imprint, Rise Robots Rise, part of Brighton’s No
Future collective. Michael Upton played a game of email tag
with Jamie Liddell...
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: <B>Raw Digits</B> seems a lot more
chilled out than <B>Head On</B>, which I guess lived up to its
name. Well, it's not exactly smoothed out, but it's not so
upbeat and tracks like “Gravity Rearrangin'' really are pretty
mellow. What was your intention when you set about writing
this material?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: To mellotize in the face of the steppers
is what we gone done. There was no unity on <B>Head On</B>. It
was full of the spirit but there was not a lot of munging.
This second album is honed and set to give more sustained
pleasure.
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: I read in the press sheet that you
were in different cities during the recording of this album.
Was the music written during times when the two of you were in
the same place, or did each of you do your own thing for
sections of it?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: Oh no, we always need to share the same
room to stop arguments over the placement of bass drums. We
never did do the mail bits about thing, always seemed such an
impersonal, if potentially practical, idea.
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: Despite the title, the music on
<B>Raw Digits</B> strikes me as anything but raw. There's huge
amounts of detail in the sound, with little events gurgling
about, plenty of rhythmic changes, and so on. How much work
would you say goes into any given track?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: Hands are raw from the sheer nudging. I
guess it took a month per track on average. Crazy really. We
write, record and produce (compel?) on the fly quite often
which means it takes a lot longer than it might with a more
traditional approach. If only we were traditional...nah ! We
get there by our means.
<P class=indent>
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: I have to say I've found each of
your albums messes with my head in a big way. Repeated listens
have been required to start to get a feel of what's going on.
A big aspect of this is the lack of repetition which I was
hinting at in the last question. To kinda pointedly pick a
couple of labels out of the air, what's your feeling about say
the metronomic techno of yer average Tresor release or the
accessible riffs of most of the Warp roster?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: Since drum machines slapped the musical
domain, there's been a steady flow of the dull chugs clogging
the floor. How many have let the kick drum roll out a easy
high? I know I've done it and heh, there's nothing inherently
evil in sheer simplicity, but there's not much more to be
added to the whole metronomic empire me feels. There was (is!)
a lot of it about, Prince got into it, we got a lot of boom
chack boom chack from him ... and with good reason, he writes
so fast, and as a single hander it makes good the speed flow
... now no need to mic up a whole kit, toy with the limited
(?) sonic repertoire allowed by skin beating. Like the washing
machine, much labour can be spared, the pain of creating
slackened to a point where suddenly an arranger can be a
drummer can bash out a riddim. I like a metronome to roam ...
but I still bop to the chunk chunk when I'm on various
flavours of high.
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: 'Radianations on the Rise' reminds
me plenty of modern RNB. What do you guys think of that stuff
(eg. Destiny's Child, Missy Elliot, et al)? (I guess the
wandering keyboards are quite Parliament as well... The ghost
of Bernie Worrell)</I> </P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD><!--newcell-->
<P class=indent>JL: Modern eh? This one started out as a remix
actually, we tried to reference the radio chunk in ourselves,
that's as close as it comes these days! It's got the Berlin
Kreuzberg in the fray, this Turkish flurry o’licks to lean on.
They're lodged well in there. Cris conjured them in a daze and
boy/girl does it set the mood, gives the nag...the sparse is
in the mix, the miniepic structure is the funk. We absorb the
RNB through a side alley and it comes out Turk. Nudging all
the way!
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: In the music of artists like
Parliament or Sly Stone a vocal concept is often key to a
piece of music. In terms of vocal style Jamie seems to be
riffing on what these guys were doing, but lyrically, I have
no idea what's going on. How does the writing of the vocals
fit in to the overall composition process?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: It's crucial like marmite. Check the lyric
sheet on the final album (you won't have seen it yet! it's
schweet to behold ... ah yes). There's a load of battling in
the lyrical outburst. No accidents. I'm surprised that nobody
seems able to work out a word. Needless to say, as with all
aspects of the way we work, it's all in there, the impact of
the melodies is strong, the meaning waves to another place,
it's snapshots, thought shots, running in a stream I try to
make my own. Like impressions, never clear and not structured
in a story telling way without wide metaphors at ever turn.
Sheets of lyrics condense in the finished product.
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: I saw you guys play in London in 99,
fairly soon after <B>Head On</B> was released. The live show
was pretty raw, with Jamie singing into what looked like one
side of a pair of headphones, and the tracks getting pretty
crunchy. Given the shift in vibe between releases, how will
you be approaching live shows with this new material?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: With the smooth side stepping that dusts
the new album, we have a tight 5 piece that's been road
tripping about the Europians [sic] for the last few week
months. The old rough’n’tumble approach has been focused into
a pack of 7 tracks with the emphasis on the song. We used to
skip between brilliance and nonsense on stage, now we have it
in a new bag. I get to wear a dress at one point though. Watch
it!
<P class=indent>
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: <B>Head On</B> was released on
Loaded, and i remember from articles at the time that that was
largely because you knew the guys from the label in Brighton.
What's the deal with Rise Robots Rise, then?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: The deal is we deal with the deals from
here to the next level. We're at level 2 now, second release
the album, first the single. They have the look and feel of
organic produce. We like it like that. Loaded were a cool
bunch, we just didn't have quite the right sound for it all to
blow up on their imprint. The split seems to have gone
smoothly. They understood well our new intentions and the
blessings we got make the buzz even stronger. RISE!
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: Since you both write solo material,
what do you each get out of Super_Collider?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: Raw digits! Literally! And a whole new set
of opportunities to bust heads in our unique, unmistakable
style.
<P class=indent><I>Igloo: What're you planning from here?</I>
<P class=indent>JL: I got solo to do for Warp...rather
overdue, should be on it right now actually, something
completely different. Collisions ought to start again in the
autumn, new material in a tempo hyped style might do wonders
for our next outing... I can't divulge more... watch them
robots...
<P class=indent><B> ::..:::.....:..::....:::::..:: :..:::::::......:::...::.:::.. ..::::..:..:::...::.......:::: :</B>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> http://www.igloomag.com/pictures/294-3.jpg http://www.igloomag.com/pictures/294-1.jpg http://www.igloomag.com/pictures/294-2.jpg http://www.igloomag.com/pictures/294-4.jpg