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Interview
by SashaS
9-5-2001
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| Brian Eno: Original muso 'head' |
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Sound professor
Original muso 'head' and ambient godfather Brian Eno unveils his latest project. "When I close my eyes I need to see that there are pictures behind it all," he says.
Music careers can be viewed like the three basic formats: single, EP and LP. The instant career is occupied by boy-/girl-groups and one-hit-wonders. Intermittent stars, like EPs, manage several more seasons, and long-termers are a minority group that shape our living sound track over decades. Above all tower the very few, and the undisputed champion of reputation-over-commerciality is Brian Eno. Talented musos are lucky to contribute a footnote to history while Brian Peter George St. John Baptiste de la Salle Eno, to give him his full name, has written quite a few chapters.
Ever since leaving Roxy Music after the first two trend-setting albums, the self-titled debut (1972) and 'For Your Pleasure' ('73) -Roxy are on the comeback trail but Eno flatly refused this exercise in nostalgiacommerce. Eno's preferred to map-out a journey of experimental sounds he calls 'ambient' which continually trigger movements, and inspire legions by example, cementing his reputation as the most innovative and important musician of the modern age.
'Drawn From Life' sees him partnering German percussionist and DJ J. Peter Schwalm who, despite his conservatory-training (but typically for Eno), doesn't play but is a co-composer, arranger and mixer.
"It's funny, people keep on asking me," Eno slips immediately into tutorial mode, "what attracted me to work with Peter but he never has. It's the sense of spaceyness in music he's interested in and his ability to bring some stories to life... It is important to feel that a piece of music is telling a story and when I close my eyes I need to see that there are pictures behind it all. It doesn't matter that it is an instrumental piece, it is even better if it is an instrumental because I find vocals interfering..."
"My feeling;' Schwalm explains, "is that we wanted to create music we both like to listen to. As a composer you are always heading towards making records you like to hear and there are melodies, noises, samples, cross-editing, re-arranging the elements... We ended up with an atmospheric record, an ambient piece that is not limited by any concepts."
The Anderson factor
Parallel to his own recording career Eno produces and he was behind the David Bowie's trilogy of seminal 19705 albums, 'Low', 'Heroes' and 'Lodger'. Other projects included Talking Heads, U2, James and even collaboration with Luciano Pavarotti. Also busy with 'Audio installations', holding seminars and lectures, he still found time to write a book, 'A Year With Swollen Appendices' (1996).
One of the tracks on the album, 'Like Pictures Part #2' features Laurie Anderson, but the performer of 'Oh Superman' fame didn't actually present herself in person.
"Unfortunately I didn't get to work with her," says Schwalm with a sigh of regret. "The vocal track is a leftover Brian found around the studio. It dates from 1995 and she's never used it. When Brian asked her permission, after we sent her the tape of the finished track, her reply was that she'd be happy to be part of the project."
Outside these walls
Eno's London studio is a large open-plan area, partially decked out as an audio installation, partly a kitchenette and a library corner; but we find the two in a partitioned/windowless control-booth where all the aural sculpting happens. Eno, dressed in a camouflage jacket 'holed' by thousand bullets all (mis) treated into mini-fringes (sic), and Schwalm, in his simple designer shirt, are surrounded with banks of keyboards and cyber gadgetry; the walls are decorated with a huge world map and a calendar featuring naked ladies. On the floor is a bass guitar with a strange, cello-style neck that will see some action as a band has been assembled for touring.
"I wouldn't call it touring," Eno sounds amused by the notion, "but we've agreed to perform two dates, one in Japan, at the Fuji Festival and another one in Portugal."
"We'll see how it goes," says Schwalm sounding upbeat. "And we might agree to present it live in a few other places. If there is interest, obviously."
Is he really so modest or parading a pointed sense of the ridiculous?
SashaS
25-8-2004
'Drawn From LIfe' by Brian Eno & J. Peter Schwalm is out now on Ventura/Virgin
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