Worldwide photographer, video maker and now seriously impressive potter. Neil caught up with our GOOD friend Percy to chat all things from his travels with work to MMA fighting and ceramics.

 

So Percy, how did you get into photography and when did it officially become your job?

 

''I hated school, nothing seemed to resonate aside from sports and art. When I got to make my choices I just chose an option called ‘Modular Art & Design’ which basically got me out of doing real lessons.

I didn’t know at the time but there was a photography block in there and the school had a small darkroom. I’m not sure why it all clicked into place in there, maybe it was simple words of encouragement, maybe it was the medium itself. Maybe it was teachers being genuinely enthused about images of my own world. I shot the bands I was into, my friends and skateboarding.

In that cloud of teenage - unbridled selfishness that was all I cared about back then and so to have a teacher understand and care, well it changed everything for me.''

 

You work with some incredible people and brands, can you talk us through some of the highlights of your career so far?

 

''I've never been asked that before and damn it's hard to do. Shooting a book for Carhartt in Mongolia was such a beautiful trip, then travelling on a boat through the tributaries in Myanmar with Bill Nighy for Oxfam meant a lot, but really the hundreds of skate tours made me who I am. Touring with John Cardiel, Heath Kirtchart, Keith Hufnagel RIP, waking up in the Arizona desert surrounded by Coyotes with Geoff Rowley.

I think there’s always highlights  when you work hard with a good crew and make something that resonates with everyone there. When you sit in the dust & dirt at the end of the shoot, trip, tour whatever and you know you’ve made some new mates, it's the absolute best, I've been very lucky.''

 

 

How was shooting Bez? Was he difficult to keep still?

 

''He was great, no weirdness or acting up a nice genuine fella from the outset, strangely enough he was probably the most ’normal’ person in the room.''

 

What’s the key to taking a really great photograph?

 

''I think a good picture arises from a few different things -

You have to be able to connect with people, you have put your emotions on the line and engage with whoever's in front of you. An image is a collaboration, so make sure you and they understand that.

Be decisive, if it's not working move on. Don't try and force an image from a situation or place that you or the subject isn’t comfortable or enthused by. Just take a deep breath and call it, clients or no clients there will be something better within a hundred yards of you.

Put the work in before-hand, you’ll never be good at something you don't love. If your camera's not with you all the time, especially at the formative stage of your career you don't love it enough.

Money or no money, if anyone else sees what you make it or not, you have to be driven. It wont work any other way.''

 

 

Have you got a personal favourite shot that you’ve taken?

 

''No, it changes so much. I’m still not 100% happy with them. I don't have any of my own images up in my house. I’m far too involved.''

 

What type of kit are you using at the moment?

 

''I’ve been Nikon since I was 18 for stills. I also use a Mamiya RZ 67 pro and some point and shoots for analog work. Then for moving image I use Black Magic Design cameras exclusively, I'm just addicted to their look and usability.''

 

Who would you say is the most photogenic member of the Good Measure crew and why?

 

''Fred’s old dog Wilf (RIP) had the looks, there’s no one there now that will ever replace him.''

 

Part of the reason behind these ‘Getting the measure of..’ interviews is to reveal something that might surprise people about the person we’re grilling. With you we’re kind of spoiled for choice as you’re also an MMA fighter, trail runner and have been turning your hand at making some very impressive ceramics recently. You do realise that you’re really showing up the rest of us with your wealth of talents don’t you?

 

''Ha ha when I get into something I go full bore. I started pugilism as a way to get some sort of escape from a life almost too entwined in skateboarding. Fell/Trail running came in a kinda stubborn way when a  surgeon told me I’d never play impact sports again after I broke my hip cycling.''

 

Tell us all about how and why you got into the art of making ceramics.

 

''My wife got me a six week taster course about 2 years ago now, it was something I'd always fancied. I think at that time my work life balance was way off and I needed something to de-stress. The best thing about it is because my hands are leathered in clay for 5 hours I can't check my phone. The pots soon started piling up in the house and my wife forced me to make a little site to try and get rid of them, my impostor syndrome was going through the roof and I still honestly can't believe how crazy it's gone, sold out 3 times in a row. I really appreciate all the comments and encouragement I’m receiving. Thank you.''

 

 

What’s your favourite type of item to make?

 

''I like making the Beer Cups, and small Bud Vases. I love going for a walk and grabbing a few grasses or flowers - just a fist full or so then seeing what they look like in the vases at home. My work is wholly influenced by where I run in the peatland bogs and hills of the North West. The colours and tones all reference the mists, the heathers and the hues of the grasses as they change through the seasons. I also put a lot of sand in the clay to add a texture that sits with the Northern Gritstone you find in these hills.''

 

Where can we buy your stuff?

 

'' www.percydeanceramics.com I’m working on having a new shop, it’ll open up soon. There's a mailing list on there if you’d like a heads up.''

 

Do you still have time for choking people out in the octagon/running up and down mountains? How’s that side of things going?

 

''I feel weird about the MMA thing still, people will think I’m a meathead or some kinda jock, but MMA is like my footy, I’ll  always follow it, but it's not something you can dip your toe in and out of, you can't go once a month an expect to play still. I did it for 15 years, probably 3/4 times a week then I stopped after my hip broke. I went back for a few private lessons maybe a year ago now and gave myself a double hernia from kicking too hard and not warming up.

Running is not even a pastime anymore, I’m at a stage in my life where I need it. I need that time alone, my lungs need that pain of running uphill. It's pure, its clarity. To be able to access those truly wild places on foot - at speed really builds confidence & gives your brain space to breathe.''

 

What have you got lined up for the future?

 

''I just want to run, be with my dog and wife and focus on happiness. If work brings that then so be it, but i’m open to it all!''

 

Neil caught up with our GOOD friend Sally Rodgers from the pivotal electronic duo 'A Man Called Adam'. An integral band from the late Eighties Acid House and Balearic scene.

Her mixes boast a wide range of anything awesome. Sally and Steve of AMCA have a unique sound that when people have tried to categorize, the closest they come is Acid-Jazz-House-Disco-Pop.

If you haven’t seen it already, you should check out their appearance in the great Ibiza documentary ‘A Short Film about Chilling’.

Why dont you listen to one of Sally's Solo Mixes at La Torre, Ibiza 2018, whilst you read trough this interview.

 

So Sally, I just read online that you were born in Michigan but I think that's another singer called Sally Rodgers? Though if this is true it would certainly explain your impeccable house music credentials, just for clarity can you confirm exactly where were you born?

 

''Definitely not me Neil, I was born in the North East - in Middlesbrough to be exact.''

 

Where does your love of music come from and how did it develop into a long and successful career?

 

''I did the usual stuff at school, played the cornet then the French Horn in the school brass band. But our house was full of music when I was growing up. My parents ran working mens clubs so we always had the ‘artists’ who were performing in and out - they used our hallway as a dressing room. I grew up one fire door away from a stage, a dance floor,  microphones, a PA, a piano, a drum kit and later a massive Hammond organ with built in drum machine, all that stuff. On Sundays when the club was shut me and my school friends would play in the concert room - I guess that has its impact on you. But my elder siblings were both music heads, disco, punk, reggae, post punk - all sorts - so I was very lucky to get that musical education too.''  

 

AMCA’s tunes seemed to be defined by having ‘moments’ in them that tend to stop you in your tracks or stick with you for long after the song has finished. How do you go about creating ‘a moment’?

 

''I think it’s probably true to say we do chase that when we’re recording. But it isn’t something we can formularise. We just keep pushing through with a track till we feel it’s there, that wave breaking. It can take time, some of our best tracks have taken a long time to produce - to take an emotional spark and turn it into a great sound recording that has light and energy in it - that’s the goal and that’s what we still do. But we’ll take a track every which way until we’re happy we can do no more.'' 

 

Equally you seem able to create total bangers and blissed out numbers in equal amounts, how do you decide on what direction to take when making new music?

 

''Steve and I have been friends for a very long time. And we talk. About art and life and what we want to be doing with our lives and what will satisfy us. We’re two individuals with differing needs and sometimes different goals - we live our own lives - so we decide together what music we want to make together. At the moment we’re exploring some more experimental ideas, because that’s where our heads are at.'' 

 

Ibiza: A Short FIlm about Chilling is still a really captivating documentary to watch to this day and something of a rarity in a scene where everyone was far too busy having a good time to bother filming anything. What memories do you have of being involved in that genre-defying doc and being in Ibiza around that time?

 

''It’s funny but that doc captured a moment in our young lives and in the lives of those featured. But it also meant a lot to a couple of generations - I have younger friends who were too young to experience that scene but lived it vicariously through that doc and they shared and re-watched on VHS tapes. Life is full of unexpected surprises and I guess the doc is just one of those weirdly serendipitous things that happened to us. Angus and Kevin had the vision to document that trip and we’re still friends with them and all the people featured in it. Ibiza was a lot of fun then and it still is – whatever age you are it has something for you.''  

 

Your tunes have popped up in some interesting places (such as Yachts regularly being dropped on ‘Sex in the City’) where’s the most unusual place you’ve ever heard one of your tunes being played?

 

''Hmmm… I remember being in a bar in Oakland CA and hearing some rad skate kids playing one of our Beachflea tunes at the wrong speed.  That was ace. I get mad messages from friends in different time-zones saying things like ‘we’re in a bar in Guatemala' or wherever and your tracks just come on ‘Thinking of you!’ - I love that.'' 

 

You’ve just started an ace new radio show called ‘Sally & Company’ who have you got lined up to be interviewed so far and who else would be your dream guests, living or dead?

 

''Well I broke myself in gently with Steve and another dear friend Patrick Vidal, and this month I had Vladimir Ivkovic and the architect Tonkin Liu. I have a wish list of guests and I’m working through it - I’m asking people I admire and who inspire me so that there’s some passion in there. I was thinking about that question, you know,' who would you have at a dream dinner party?' and I realised I’d love to have all my guests around the same table. They’re all brilliant, funny, cool and wise and they’d all get on great. In the fantasy realm I guess I’d like to hang with Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan maybe… I reckon they’d compliment each other!'' 

 

Part of the reason for doing these ‘Getting the measure of’ interviews is to discover another side to our talented friends. So as well as being a songwriter, producer, singer, sound designer, DJ, label boss and radio host you’re also a senior lecturer at Leeds College of Music. How did that happen?

 

''Steve and I took a break from releasing as A Man Called Adam in the mid 00s. We both wanted to study and understand the history of electronic music and lyricism better. To figure out where we fit in that continuum, and to get better at what we do. Teaching flows naturally out of that time we spent in Universities during that time I think, and neither of us have kids so at some point I think you just think I should probably share my knowledge with the youth!''  

 

Are your students aware that they are being taught by a Balearic god?

 

''Not in the least! I have one student who calls me ‘teach’ and I like that.'' 

 

In all seriousness it must be great for them to have someone who has walked the walk and is still talking the talk in the music industry. What sort of subjects and areas do your courses cover?

 

''I always say I try to teach them how to make a living - to do what you want to do creatively and turn that into a sustainable life for yourself. In some ways that’s what I do for me and Steve so it’s just a continuation of that - but with that academic structure and critical thinking I learned and experienced in my own studies.'' 

 

What’s the biggest misconception your students have about working in music?

 

''There’s still a bit of the idea that if you’re talented enough someone will come along, a label, a manager or whoever and steer you right. I’m more of the school that even if that person or support does turn up, you should be involved in those decisions and know what’s right for your own creative output. I used to teach a Hip Hop module and if you consider that genre and the entrepreneurs who built it, it’s often the artists themselves - same with Grime.'' 

 

In terms of the business side of music what impact do you think the pandemic will have on the industry?

 

''Ugh. I feel at the moment it’s difficult for new music to have an impact - without a scene to support it. Because music is about the memories you associate with it and we don’t have the same opportunities for experiencing wonderful musical moments. That beach/ club/ festival/ party/ afters when so and so dropped that track and you were with your friends, having a brilliant time… and then later when you hear that track it takes you back to that moment. In some ways our older music has done well through all this because people can access happy times by listening to it. That’s harder right now with new releases. Vinyl is selling but I think it’s for that endorphin rush you get when you make a small purchase to cheer yourself up. Music and memory and people are all bound up together and until we can be together again things will feel a bit flat imo. And of course, there are also all the people that work and make their living in this scene – performers, promoters, techs, security, the ones who make things happen… I’ve seen my friends adapt and do what they need to do to survive this but I feel for everyone who is suffering the loss.''

 

Not that we’re jealous or anything but how come you chose Leeds and not Manchester?

 

''Oh I didn’t really! I LOVE Manchester and play there often. It really is a town that appreciates music and the people who select and play it for a living - I always feel that every time I play there. And I’ll come teach at any Manchester Uni if they’ve have me! I am a bit nomadic so everywhere feels like home to me when I’m there :)'' 

 

What projects and productions have you currently got up your sleeve?

''We’re just feeling around with some new tracks and ideas. We sort of cleared the decks with the Oddities albums - all that music that was sitting on hard disks and shouldn’t have been is now out there so we feel free to explore some new ideas. I won’t say too much because who knows where we’ll go with it musically - but we’re hoping to release new music in the autumn.''  

 

Where can we check you out DJing next?

''I’m on at We Out Here and a couple of other lovely bits in the summer if they definitely go ahead. And I’ll be doing a little binge of London dates and down to Margate later in the summer all being well!''

 

 

Your music is synonymous with the legendary Cafe Del Mar, so what for you is the ultimate Ibizan sunset record?

''Ha! Gawd. I mean I would probably never play them myself now because I’m always looking for new or forgotten music to play but I guess Music For a Found Harmonium or State of Independence take me back to Jose's classic sunsets.'' 

 

Check out Sally's new radio show ''Sally & Company'' on Worldwide FM to listen to her sensational mixes, accompanied by some of her artist friends talking about their experiences in the biz and creative processes. You can find her latest show below.

 

 Interview by Neil Summers.

 

Can you remember the first photograph you ever took?

''Yes, It was a photo of my dad in Trafalgar Square when I was five. I got a camera for my birthday and shot a roll of film when we went on holiday to London.''

  

Who was the most difficult person or group to shoot?

''I generally don’t find people difficult to shoot. It’s my job. If they don’t turn up, that’s difficult - but generally they want to get it over with as quickly as possible, so people are usually pretty cooperative. Having said that, Prince Charles was the rudest most uncooperative person I’ve ever been commissioned to photograph, with John Motson running him a close second.''

 

Speaking of which is Peter hook still asking you to pay him for that bridge photo?

''No. That’s long in the past now. In fact he’s just given me a really interesting interview for my forthcoming Joy Division book''

 

You always attend the entire gig when shooting a band, how do you stay focussed (literally and metaphorically) in the heat of the moment? 

''Again, it’s something that doesn’t worry me. It’s a job, so I just do it to the best of my ability. If you’re shooting from the pit in front of the stage, you just have to remember that other people are there to do their jobs too - stewards, road crew, etc. Don’t be a dick and think the gig revolves around you. You’re just one part of the whole roadshow. If you don’t get the photo you were hoping for, it’s not the end of the world. Go to another gig and try to do it there.''

 

You shot The Smiths and Morrissey quite a lot, what’s your take on the modern day Morrissey compared to his persona back in the early days?  

''I’ve not met Morrissey for quite a long time. He sent me a very nice letter when my Manchester: Looking for the Light through the Pouring Rain came out. All I know is what I read about him, which is similar to how everyone else gets their information.''

Aside from the more technical elements can someone be taught to take a good photograph or is it more of an instinctive thing that either you can or can’t do?

''You can learn about composition and use of light - natural light or studio lighting - and how to expose the image correctly and so on. In fact, you can never stop learning. The art of crafting a great photo becomes intuitive, but never think you know everything. You don’t.''

 

Has digital photography ruined the magic and excitement of gradually developing something  in a dark room?

''Well knowing that you‘ve got the photo makes it more relaxing, rather than waiting for a couple of days to get it processed. Working with it on a computer is similar to darkroom work, and my hands are no longer stained with the chemistry. And I can also work in a darkroom with archive material. Everything I shot up to 2003 is on film.''

 

 

You’ve been involved in some incredible music scenes and attended some phenomenal gigs but is there a specific time and a place that was particularly special to you and is there a photo you’ve taken that reminds you of this period?

''I enjoy all of it. It’s not worth doing if you don’t enjoy it. Punk was great. The energy in the small scruffy venues was great. Nobody moaning that the beer was crap. We were just there for the music. I’ve got lots of good memories. Spike Island for the Stone Roses - shooting it from the stage was quite special. Bowie’s 50th birthday gig at Madison Square Garden was pretty special too - and photographing him the following day, out on the streets in New York City without anyone giving him a second glance. Happy Mondays at the Maracana in Rio. Again, shooting from the stage and seeing the vast crowd loving it, during the heaviest rainstorm I’ve ever known (which is praise indeed when you come from Manchester). We all thought we were going to be electrocuted.''

 

As well as getting to see what you’re up to at the moment this series of interviews are designed to unearth something lesser known or fairly surprising about you. Despite being synonymous with Manchester it may surprise some people to discuss that you’ve spent nearly half your life in London having moved there in 1987. What made you decide to make the move?

''The music press and the media generally was/is based here. It was the only way to make it work.''

 

The following year the acid house explosion happened in Manchester and then Madchester, did you spend quite a lot on trains during that time?

''Yes. I still do - I still go to watch City every match. I know every inch of that west coast mainline between London and Manchester.''

 

It was around this time that you started to shoot more in colour too, was this a direct reaction to the psychedelic influences of this scene?

''Yes, partly. The NME was printing in colour more regularly. Colour suited the bands; the drugs were more psychedelic. To be honest, we got paid more for colour, due to an outdated agreement with the publishers from back when it was a rarity. Nobody had ever thought to change it and we weren’t going to suggest it. So we got paid double the black and white rate for every colour shot used.''

 

Does living in Tooting play havoc with your lifelong dedication to Man City too?

''Not really. It was a bit of a nightmare when the train line was having loads of work done on it. Now it’s pretty quick (although I’ve not used it since last March). It gives me and my friends time to catch up and chat shit.''

 

What also might surprise (some) people is the amount of famous people you’ve shot aside from NME friendly faces. Which big hitters have you had in front of your lens and do you have any favourites?

''Lots of footballers obviously. Actors, writers and so on. I like most people I work with - there are a few exceptions as I said earlier. Eddie Izzard was good to work with, he just came round to my house to do the photos. Quentin Crisp was great. I shot him outside his apartment in New York. I enjoyed photographing Tony Benn too because I admired his politics.''

 

What do you think is the most powerful photograph you’ve taken?

''Probably the portrait of Ian Curtis wearing his overcoat while having a cigarette on a cold late afternoon on 6 January 1979.''

 

What are you up to next?

''Making a cup of tea.''

 

So, how are you guys today and what have you all been up to?

''Howdy! We're going well thanks, Spring seems to have finally sprung (although it is Manchester and we don't wanna jinx it) so we're mostly just lapping the sun up in Ez's makeshift front porch and doing a bit of people watching. The passersbys probably know that secretly we're very chilly but I think our sunglasses and collective ambition will be making us glow at least.''

 

How long have you guys been together and how did it all happen?

''We've been playing together for easily over 10 years now! It's a bit crazy really, we were weans back then, but our friendship/ musical bond has been one of the most consistent and familiar things throughout each of our lives. There's no real way to explain how we all decided to play music together but somehow we were just in harmony with each other the second we came together as a three. We all took a section of one piano and started jamming, so we were writing songs together before we had even had a conversation together. Over time this shared energy became a passion to want to actually play shows and make records, which again was natural and unspoken rather than something discussed like 'should we start a band?', it kind of had already started.''

 

In my head you all live together in one big house like a 1970s sitcom, am I right?

''Haha, on paper that's the dream, a big house with tonnes of music gear and a built-in studio! The reality is that we all have separate abodes in South Manchester and will probably continue living apart so as to sustain the equilibrium we currently have- imagine bringing washing up politics into a practice or something, could be a disaster.''

 

Your (blistering) gig at the Ritz was the last one I attended before lockdown, when was the last time you performed and how has not performing affected you? 

''Shortly after the Ritz show we went on to New York to begin a month-long tour we had booked in America which got cut short by the meltdown of 2020! That was a fucking weird time, being in a post-apocalyptic New York, coming back to a completely locked down Manchester and then not being able to see eachother (or anyone of course) for a solid few months. It was probably the most time we had spent apart since we'd first started playing music together, but on reflection it was a great period for reassessing what we wanted to do as artists, and it birthed all of the projects and ideas that we've been working on since. We were actually lucky enough to play some seated and socially-distant shows in late Summer/ Autumn 2020 during that small window of time when that was a thing, at The Jazz Cafe in London and Belgrave in Leeds. We used them as a little trial performance of most of the soundtrack for our short film La Vita Olistica!''

 

Have you been working on any new stuff and/or found yourself going in any interesting new directions?

''We've been back in the studio more recently and have been slowly bringing to life all of the ideas we have discussed and jammed for the past 6 months or so, which is very exciting! Although we've always tried to experiment a lot in the studio we have started tapping into that a lot more lately, creating sounds differently with analogue gear, for example using modular synths for the first time. Our song writing has also naturally become a lot more contemplative, we're thinking about the formal elements of composing music and writing lyrics a lot more, getting into a headspace that is much more in keeping with the cinematic/ soundtrack direction that we have always gravitated towards.''

 

How else have you been filling the time, are you still well into ‘gong baths’? What even are they?

''Gong baths were something we got into during the recording of Disco Volador. Marta Salogni who produced the record created an improvised drone synth piece to go along with engineer Joel's intermittent hitting of a huge gong that we found hidden away in the studio, all we had to do was close our eyes and meditate for the duration of it. It all sounds a bit whacky but we did some extremely zen takes post gong bath haha. Gong baths, yoga, meditation and exercise have been pretty essential through this past year of lockdown to melt the stress away.''

 

When do you think we’ll be able to come and see you play next, any gigs booked?

''We have been optimistically starting to fill in our calendars with gig dates again over the past few weeks! Not sure if there is much announced yet but it looks as though some festivals are planning to go ahead, so hopefully we'll get our fix of muddy fields again soon. Our main focus is the film that we've spent almost the entire year working on, so screening that in some cinemas and unconventional spaces is our plan for Summer, and we're keen to do some live performances/ expanded cinema kind of exhibitions of it once we're able to.'' 

The Orielles have now announced a Gig Tomorrow at Studio 9294 ,East London, playing at the Big Bank Holiday Weekender.

Part of the intention behind this series of interviews is to find out some stuff that you do or are into that might surprise, so please tell us all about this film you're making....

''The idea for La Vita Olistica began with the idea that we wanted to rework our album Disco Volador into a live, continuous soundtrack piece, adapting and expanding on the cinematic themes and ideas that were already present in the album to begin with and turning it into this film score for an imagined film. It seemed like DV's life was cut a bit short due to the pandemic (and really just the throwaway nature of culture/ news cycles today), but we're all fascinated by the idea that art is continuous and living, it doesn't become final even once it is released but it continues to diversify and grow.

The lockdown also brought huge pressures to adapt to a new climate of live culture, with zooms and livestreams, which we all felt increasingly disconnected from due to how easy and immediate it had become, and reading a lot about live events in the 1960's such as the moon landing, when live media was first introduced, we realised we wanted to do a 'live session' that was kind of a rethinking of this whole concept and an exploration of the thematic soundtrack.

We were really inspired by expanded cinema, artists like Stan VanDerBeek who created huge multi-screen installations that involved a much more sensory experience of watching compared to viewing something behind a computer screen. We finished editing the film just the other week and can't wait for everyone to see it, but experiencing it properly is important to us and so we'll have to wait a little bit longer until venues and cinemas can reopen.''

 

Speaking of films is it true you’ve done some soundtracks for other people too? Which soundtracks have been an influence on The Orielles?

That is true! We were asked, by wonderful directors Rose Hendry and Isla Badenoch, to compose an original song for a short film called The Dead are Jewels to Me which just had it's BBC premiere the other week (and is available on catch-up I believe). You can hear us doing our best 'I Only Have Eyes For You' impression! One of our standout iconic soundtracks that we always turn to for inspiration is Miles Davis' score for the film Elevator to the Gallows, Louis Malle's directorial debut.

If anyone was ever able to capture the energy of Jeanne Moreau looking cool as fuck walking through a nocturnal 1950’s Paris in search of her partner in crime, of course it’d be Miles Davis. Miles Davis and his ensemble improvised the soundtrack whilst performing to a projection of the film, creating the aptly woozy score using a sensory and immediate approach, resulting in such a sparse, tense and noir-ish piece, the holy grail of all soundtracks.'' 

 

I also believe that there’s been some serious culinary skills being honed in the Orielles camp at the moment, so what’s been cooking?

''Between us I'd say that we're covering a few different culinary bases, but when we come together we usually whip up a pretty mean Lebanese spread. It's all about grains, fresh herby salads with lemon (lots of lemon), and our signature riff on the Muhammara dip phwooaaar. Also there's never a wrong time to talk about Halifax's most iconic dish, the Scollop Speziál; chips, scraps, potato scollop, curry sauce all inside a bread butty, get to your local chippy and ask them to make this, TRUST US.''

 

What plans do you have next? Your own chain of restaurants/gong baths?

''we are gonna be cooking up some treats in the studio over the next few months, so yes more gong baths and culinary creations inbound I imagine. Also thinking Orielles aprons could be a hit, maybe a full kitchenware range, keep yer eyes peeled!''

''I rather grandiosely refer to my studio as ‘Solitary Cyclist studios’ in order to give it the air of professionalism I think is required in these days of social media bluff and bluster.

If people call me, I often say ‘I can’t talk just now I’m in the studio’, or ‘I’ll check this out when I get back to the studio’. But in reality ‘Solitary Cyclist Studios’ is a spare room upstairs in my house that doubles, or trebles in fact, as a recording studio, artist’s garret and book depository. So, the lockdown provided no great obstacles to getting to work luckily.

In the early days of the pandemic I had quite a few remixes to do, so that kept me busy, but as the days blurred into one and it became clear that we wouldn’t be sharing the joy of  ritual dance for some months my music making in turn slowed down. I think music exists to be shared and without a place to play it in the real, tangible world I think I lost a bit of impetus. But as luck would have it my wife Sofia is a very talented song writer, so we decided rather than descend into an atmosphere of acrimonious silence, we would start a musical project together. This became Formerlover, an appropriate moniker for what might have happened if we had decided to not to channel the frustrations of lockdown. Starting this project was great for me, because it gave me a good jolt of inspiration and a direction in which to travel, mainly because Sofia made most of the decisions. We went for a languid ‘Compass Point’ vibe and are continuing to work on our debut long player. I think Formerlover kick started something for me, because I’m back ‘in the studio’ quite regularly now.''

 

I’ve found music to be a great source of comfort during these mad times, are there any particular tunes that have helped you to keep from going under these past 12 months?

''Yes! I’m lucky enough to have two radio shows, ‘The Temple of Wonders’ for all things psychedelic and ‘The Rotating Institute’ for the more electronic stuff. These have kept me engaged in constant rooting about for music and an outlet for me to inflict my taste on people. So that has kept me nourished over the months. Here are a few numbers I’ve been digging..

Plus lots of Hawkwind as usual, but especially after reading the Joe Banks book, and a lot of drone music after reading Harry Swords book on that subject. Nothing improves the claustrophobia of lockdown better than Sunn o)))  at great volume.''

 

The last time I saw you DJ was at Moovin festival where you did a genuinely amazing set to a thronging mass of people from the comfort of a massive cowshed. Where’s the maddest place you’ve ever DJed?

''A cowshed is up there, in fact that’s not the first cowshed I’ve played it. I’m a seasoned frequenter of farmyard ancillary buildings. I’ve never been invited to any high-faluting celebrity dos, but I did get to Dj for Peter Blake’s 80^th birthday party at the Albert Hall. I could hardly believe seeing, not only one of my artistic heroes, but also every living rock idol of the late 60’s and 70’s in one room. I actually found it impossible to speak to anyone, though I did offer a plate of canapes to Jimmy Page and Anna Ford at the bar. I have also djed in a public convenience and a Soviet underground military bunker.'' 

 

You’re a pretty amazing artist on the quiet, can you tell us how your love of art started and what your own particular work means to you?

''I’ve never been formally trained as an artist, or as a musician for that matter, so I’d class myself as an enthusiastic amateur. But as with music, not knowing what you are supposed to do often leads to quite interesting results. I’m also no great expert on the subject, but I do love it. I think art and music are some of the activities that lift existence out of the realms of the absurd, and as such should be encouraged and not seen as the preserves of the cultural elite or the wealthy.

I started painting as a way of escaping. It was like being a kid again, sketching these weird worlds and dimensions that popped into my head, but then it took on the role of a vehicle by which I could discuss subjects I found interesting. Each collection of pictures grew out of a theme however tangentially, ‘Everything is Turbulence’ was about the Occult power of the imagination and the intrinsic uncertainty and chaos at large in the universe, which led onto ’The Explorer’s chronicle’ which looked at the importance of the imagination and mythological constructs in scientific discovery. ‘It’s Alive’ was largely about secular animism and a splash of panpsychism, which are basically ways of thinking about how we interact with the objects around us and how those objects might direct us. ‘Alone’, was me finding a way to respond to the death of my Father and the fact that I found myself without any parents. But it broadened out into a discussion about the pros and cons of isolation.

Just before the lockdown in 2020, I put on an exhibition called ‘When the Dark Is Light Enough’ which examined the structure of the unseen fragments that hide in the things around us and discussed how, due to our faulty human perspective, we are often mistaken as to their nature. Even the things we create, like paintings, can have layers of meaning that escape us, once created they take on a life of their own, becoming infinitely mysterious, even to their creator. I think art has become another way to channel ideas for me now, or at least share some ideas. But what is key for me is that the pictures are the focus and not me, like the good ole days of djing when the collective dancers were the focus and the DJ was only the conductor with the chants, before confetti cannons and entourages, I like to hide behind the work and let people judge that.''

 

Where can we see/buy your work?

''Well my online gallery is justinrobertson.co.uk/shop and my Instagram is @Justin_Mark_Robertson, those are the best places in the digital world. I’m hoping to get some stuff up on some real walls this year and I’m doing ‘The Other Art Fair’ in London Kings Cross in July.''

 

Rumour has it that you’re also writing a novel, what’s the score with this? 

''The biggest project for me over lockdown was finishing my debut novel ‘The Tangle’. The novel is basically a supernatural adventure, part Ballard, part Hammer. A meditation on estrangement and metamorphosis. A trans dimensional trip into the mysterious knot of nature; a journey into the ‘brilliant darkness’ where the timeless divine spirit of the ‘Tangle’ weaves its spell and all mankind’s hubris is rendered insignificant by the radically non-human force of phantom ecology.  I started it a while before the lockdown, but the enforced isolation helped me focus and finish it. It comes with illustrations which I’m working into an exhibition for Halloween, when the book is published.''

 

What made you decide to write a novel as opposed to a rip-roaring account of your adventures on the acid house high seas?

''Mainly because absolutely nothing of interest happened to me most of the time, bar a couple of spurts of vigorous narcotic experimentation in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and a brief resurgence of hedonism in the mid 00’s, I tend to favour the early bath and bed. So, my tales of acid house abandon would be largely a blend of tedious odes to favoured service stations and a list of poorly sound proofed hotel rooms. Don’t get me wrong I have been known to stay up to greet the sunrise, but usually it’s the same story over and over again ‘Had a nice time with mates, got pretty high and attempted northern soul dancing’.''

  

Do you know when you’ll be DJing to a crowd again? What do you reckon will be the first post-lockdown tune that you play?

''I think sometime in June for the Chems movie showing. It’s a Bugged Out do where I’ll be dusting off some old Spice and Most Excellent joints. I think Massimo Barsotti’s version of a Whole Lotta Love, it sounds like a statement of one’s intention to get down without relent. ''

 

Speaking of which, what’s the most ‘Balearic’ record of all time?

''That is like knowing the secret of alchemy or possessing the key to immortality, though I have no desire to live forever, I will spend the rest of my days attempting to answer this question. ''

 

Pre Order Justin's new novel ''The Tangle'' HERE.