Cold Tear Records

Here is an inteview with our hero – Slownoise aka Jeremy Davies. He has just released his debut album “The City’s Shore” on Cold Tear Records and agreed to answer to some of our questions. He shares about a lot of experience he had through out his life. Enjoy:

Hi, how are you?

I am really well, although I had a narrow escape at the weekend when the car chose to break down in the lion enclosure at Knowsley Safari park. It did get a bit worrying at times but we all came out of it unharmed.

Can you give us a background about how your musical journey started?

My musical journey started when I was a child. My dad used to play in brass bands (and still does!). I used to get taken to concerts and I started to learn to play the cornet. I enjoyed playing the cornet but brass band music wasn’t really what I liked. i much prefered music by artists like David Bowie and when Punk came along that really struck a chord with me I was 10 years old in 76 but my older brother introduced me to bands like the Sex Pistols, The Stranglers and the Clash along with many other more obscure punk bands. I started going to gigs in Manchester and Blackburn in 1980. I think it was this music that really got me passionate about becoming involved in making music myself. When I was 16 some school friends approached me to join their band, they needed a bass player, I couldn’t play ( that has never stopped me :0) ) and didn’t own a bass but saved up for one by picking tomatoes during the summer holidays and bought a bass and I have been involved in making music ever since.

Do you have any musical education?

My dad was very patient and taught me the cornet which I never really mastered. I used to play bass in bands, with anyone who would have me and spent a lot of time jamming, rehearsing and gigging. As for keyboards which are my main instrument now, my playing is really basic. I would love to improve my playing skills but haven’t got time. I am too busy writing and producing new stuff to sit around practicing my scales.

Have you played any shows? If yes, do you like playing gigs? Any special experiences with that?

Oh yes! I have played loads of gigs in my time as a bass player. I got the job of playing in a hardcore punk band when I was 18 and toured Germany and Holland, that was great fun! I met loads of German Anarchists, that was a real eye opener for me. I really enjoyed playing at the Melkweg in Amsterdam. I didn’t really know much about Amsterdam before I got there… It all seemed quite surreal! the support act was a film by the Residents. I remember loads of really enthusiastic people at these gigs going mad for the music. I met some really cool people and I think this had quite an impact on my outlook on life.

I think my best memories from gigs are from the smaller venues where there is a good vibe and connection with the audience. I played in a band from Hulme in Manchester and we did a gig in their squat in the Cresents in Hulme and everybody got really into it, this must have been 1987 and house music was becoming popular in Manchester but we were playing psychedelic guitar music. Our set came to a crescendo and this particular song had a solo played on a bong/water pipe (it was miked up and the bubbles were the solo). During this rather intense and smokey part of the set there was a guy in the audience that had started hitting a Calor gas Cylinder with a pool cue as a makeshift percussion instrument. I really thought it was going to blow up as he was really wacking it. I remember initially being really anxious but kept on playing the bass like my life depended on it. I came round to thinking that We were going to be blown and I thought what the hell, I was having a great time….. I guess you had to be there.

What are your favourite artists and bands?

Now this is a tricky one! I like so much stuff it is difficult to say I love loads of Electronica and techno music I could listen to Trentmoller, Goldfrapp, Leftfield, Massive Attack, Kruder and Dorfmeister, Gui Borato, Ritchie Hawtin, Tania Vulcano, Loco Dice, Derek May, Juan Atkins, Joey Beltram, Kraftwerk, Autechre, Aphex Twin. Speedy J, Steve Bug, The Chemical Brothers, Black dog, William Orbit, Lemon Jelly, Layo and Bushwacker. I really enjoy music by artists that have developed their own style within electronic music. I Enjoy listening to so much diverse stuff I have respect for so many artists from 60s bands through Kraut Rock and Punk to OnUSound stuff and Deep House, Stuff on Harthouse and RandS, House Music from the 90s to Minimal sounds. I like some of the dubby stuff that is around today like Bvdub, Quantec and Mr Zu. I think I should also mention P funk, Parliament, Bootsy Collins, Tom Waits and Neil Young.

What has formed your taste of music mostly?

I think the music of the 80s and 90s including bands like Tackhead and Adrien Sherwood changed the way I listened to music, they were awesome at the time! Going to clubs and listening to what the DJs played had a big impact I used to go down to Sankey’s Soap for Bugged Out nights I loved the stuff that they played there particularly the deep house played by James Holroyd and Rob Bright. In Manchester in the 1990s everyone and his dog wanted to be a DJ so I was in an environment where you were bombarded by music 24 hours a day. I used to work in Bars and Clubs at night and lived in Shared Houses with DJs and music mad people. Being in Manchester in the 90s had a profound effect on the music that I listened to and also the music that I wanted to make. Tony Wilson used to go on about the environment shaping the music of Manchester, I think this is definitely true. The music that I have been making over the past couple of years has been a reflection of my life in Manchester and the landscape of the area. Quite a few of the tunes were produced in the Winter of 2009/2010. The weather in Manchester can be really grim at times and it can have an impact on the way you feel and consequently the sounds that that you make.

Any other influences?

I have tried to do stuff in my own style, I think too many electronic producers are too concerned with emulating the sound of other producers, often they are really talented people who I think should follow their own musical direction. My friend Mr Zu and I often discuss musical ideas and influences, he has often provided encouragement and inspiration. There is a guy called Throbber 1 on You tube who makes vids for music that he likes. I often check his and other sites for new music I hear some excellent and original stuff there.

It is said that you have played with analog gear for 18 years or something like that. What’s that about? Did you produce other musical projects or it’s something else?

I used to make music under the Name Mondo Del Fuego this was slightly different to my current stuff, a bit more techno than dub I changed the name as it didn’t fit what my music eventually morphed into. I did have a gap decade after studying in which I played music continuously, I wrote hours of my own music and also helped develop a couple of bands in terms of production. I came to the conclusion that I much prefer doing my own stuff!

Is your album “The City’s Shore” just a collection of tracks or is it something more? Can you tell us about making of it?

The City’s shore is more than just a collection of tracks, they were composed at roughly the same time and for me are a snapshot of my life during that period, they reflect where I was, what i was listening to and what I was doing. Its not a concept abum though and is written to be listened to and taken at face value.

Does the name of an album means anything special?

It just refers to all the people that I meet in Manchester who appear to be washed up on the city’s shore. I think I might have been influenced by a film set in Manchester called Hell is a City, I was definitely interested in this at the time of writing the tracks.

Can you tell us about what gear you are using (hardware and software). Do you have a studio?

I do have my own studio, although its fairly basic. I now use an Imac running Logic 9. I use the plug ins that come with this a lot, I think it is the best software out there. I also have Ableton which doesn’t get used. I use Native instruments plug ins including Kore. I also have Lowcoders and Bitplant’s King Dubby delay. I like this! My Hardware includes Novation SL 61 for controller keyboard, Mackie monitors and a RME fireface 800. I have set up in the studio a Future Retro 777, a Moog Voyager RME and a Machinedrum sps1. For me these pieces of kit do their job really well and regularly come up with the goods when I need new sounds. I have owned and used loads of analog kit over the years: Roland TB303s, 909, 808, SH101, Juno6, Juno2, SH09, Korg MS20 and MS10, SQ10, Monopoly. Oberheim OB8, DMX, Moog multimoog, Sequential Circuits pro1 and drumtraks and different mixing desks and tape delays. I have also owned access Virus Korg EMX Yamaha AN1x, Roland Dep5, line 6 pods. I sold nearly all the hardware as I found that I spent more time trying to get it work than making music. Old, vintage gear needs regular servicing which is expensive too! I also noticed that a lot of my best sounding stuff was being created using software. I think that most people can’t tell the difference between software and real analogue stuff. Having said that I do want to get another SH101 or juno 106. I also really like the look of Jomox drum machines I could definitely get excited about getting one of those!

Do you have any future plans with music?

I think my best music is definitely still in pipeline, I plan to continue making more, darker and dubbier tunes. I will be using more broken beats and I will also be doing some ambient tunes which I hope will be darker and moodier than my previous stuff. I would like to release more music in 2011 and hopefully continuing to build on what I have been doing for the past 12 months.

Tell us more about your life. What are you doing when you’re not producing music?

I work, I am lucky and have a job that I enjoy with great collegues. I also have a family, this takes up a lot of my time and energy but is also really rewarding and provides inspiration for all things creative.

Any other hobbies other than music? What do you enjoy doing in your free-time?

I enjoy Martial Arts, I currently study Ju Jitsu but have also done Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, Krav Maga and BJJ. Basically I have been beaten up in a variety of different styles. I do the martial arts to keep fit and to de-stress. I also really enjoy reading about history, its a subject that I have always liked.

Thanks for taking time to answer my questions. Keep doing great music mate!

Thanks for the questions.

[fb_like]