RICHARD FORMBY
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MIND EXPANSION RECORDS IS ABOUT TO RELEASE THE SECOND VOLUME IN RICHARD FORMBY'S TECHNOLOGICAL FORGERY SERIES. IT IS A POWERFUL ALBUM FEATURING 12 INSTANT CLASSICS OF PURE SONIC BLISS. PUSHING RHYTHM AND HARMONY TO THE EXTREEMS FOR A LISTENING ADVENTURE THAT ONLY THE GENIUS OF RICHARD FORMBY CAN UNLEASH. HERE IS A BRIEF INTERVIEW WITH THE LEGENDARY RICHARD FORMBY.
1. THE SECOND VOLUME OF YOUR TECHNOLOGICAL FORGERY SERIES IS ABOUT TO BE RELEASED BY MIND EXPANSION. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THIS RECORD AND THE SERIES ITSELF?
Volume 2 is hopefully a partner to Vol 1, but not necessarily a follow up to it These first two volumes have largely been made up of tracks that have been finished for some time, years in some cases. Some of the sounds and influences seem old to me but I feel all the tracks still have relevance. After all these years of making music my methods and reasons have not changed too much. I still deal with rhythm and texture, only elements of the process have changed, and of course the recording technology. Most of the tracks on Vols 1 & 2 are analogue tape recordings. Much of the editing, of which there is a considerable amount, was done on quarter inch tape with a razor blade.
Technological Forgery Series is not actually a reference to the three CDs, but a title used for a number of tracks where I feel as if I am working in someone else's territory, using tools and sounds I would not normally use to try to create something that is 100% me. The TFS tracks are consciously of a particular style, a formular.
2. YOU HAVE PRODUCED AND WORKED WITH SOME OF THE GREATESTS SPACE ROCK, SHOEGAZE AND EXPERIMENTAL ACTS OF ALL TIME INCLUDING SPECTRUM, THE TELESCOPES, MOGWAI, FUXA AND DEAN AND BRITTA JUST TO NAME A FEW. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS PRODUCING AND WORKING WITH THESE GREAT ACTS?
Much of the early work is now rather hazy. I remember enjoying most of it. Working with the Telescopes was very rewarding. I appreciated being able to work with them over so many records, being able to develop along with the band. Of the recent work the Fuxa and Dean & Britta sessions were great. I like the responsibility of being left alone to get on with it, and being given a free hand to do whatever I like. It's really only on these kind of sessions that I feel I am really putting myself into it without having to think about record company/radio needs etc. The Spectrum experience was just wierd. I couldn't find space to properly express what I would have liked to do. I have never listenned to Soul Kiss, I can't even remember what most of the tracks are like. I don't regard it as a great piece of work. Mogwai asked me to play lap steel on one of thier tracks and play Glastonbury with them. That was my only involvement. Most of my favourite records I've made are quite obscure. Bush Pilot, Wigwam, Quack Quack, Electric Sound Of Joy....
3. YOU WERE ONCE A MEMBER OF SPECTRUM AND PERFORMED & PRODUCED ONE OF THE BANDS GREATEST ALBUMS SOUL KISS (GLIDE DEVINE). WHAT WAS IT LIKE RECORDING THAT ALBUM AND WORKING WITH SONIC BOOM?
Not easy to be honest. I think Pete felt the pressure to follow on from Spacemen 3. At the time it felt like we were doing something important, but as the recording progressed there was an impression that we were trying to find our way, and we hadn't got there yet. The record company kind of pulled the plug on us in the end. To be given a deadline should have been good for us but the deadline was way too tight. I think there are some good songs there, but its the sound that really works. A theme was beginning to come through, but in the end, with much work still to do, we were given a week to finish it. By the time it was done Andrew Lauder, who comisioned the album had gone, probably forced out by Zomba, and we were left to deal with men in suits who quite clearly didn't have a clue what it was about. It's been unavailable for many years now. I don't know why. I have never really listened to since it was done. I should play it again.
4. WE KNOW THERE IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN FUXA AND SUICIDE'S OWN MARTIN REV YOU WILL BE WORKING ON/PRODUCING AS WELL AS A FUXA/SUKI EWERS (EX-MAZZY STAR) COLLAB. WHAT OTHER PROJECTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
As I write this I am in rural Nolfolk with a Domino Records band called Wild Beasts, making an album. I have just done some tracks for a Leeds band called Cissy, another couple of pieces for the Quack Quack LP, I'm half way through doing an EP for Newcastle based Les Cox (Sportif), and I'm doing a couple of remixes for Norwegian band Sleepyard. Plenty more coming up too.
5. THE TECHNOLOGICAL FORGERY SERIES IS A 3 CD SET. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE 3RD AND FINAL INSTALLMENT?
It's still in the early stages. I could have it ready immediately as I have enough tracks I am pleased with, but I am interested in seeing what else I may come up with. I have a rough idea of the overall feel for the next CD. I have a head full of sounds. But I don't know what it will be like. Previously I have worked with loops. Snapshots of sounds and rhythm. I feel I may start to work with other people on this one, especially with drums. It will most likely be a mix of new and old stuff.
6. IS THERE ANY CHANCE OF YOU PERFORMING ANY LIVE SHOWS IN THE FUTURE AND IF SO, WHAT COULD WE EXPECT FROM A RICHARD FORMBY LIVE SET?
I would like to play live. I don't know how, and I don't know if I can get it together. I suspect it would be largely improvised. Jamming is far more enjoyable than rehearsing. If I was offered a series of gigs, that may be the impetus to get it together, although I have no idea if there would be any interest from anyone. I get little feedback from my music, and I do very little to get it out there. This is a situation I need to rectify. I'm my own worst enemy.
7. ONE OF MY FAVORITE RELEASES YOU PRODUCED WAS THE SECOND TELESCOPES ALBUM. WHAT WAS IT LIKE PUTTING THAT RECORD TOGETHER AND ARE THERE ANY INTERESTING STORIES OF THOSE SESSIONS? I KNOW THE STUDIO WAS HOPPING WITH MY BLOODY VALENTINE RECORDING LOVELESS NEXT DOOR AT THE SAME TIME.
You are mistaken here. I only made the first Telescopes LP. To this day I have still never heard the second one. It was badly reviewed at the time I seem to remember, I think it has taken a few years for people to appreciate it for what it is rather than judge it by what was going on around it at the time. I remember recording early versions of the songs - High On Fire etc - but they were not released. Good songs though, still have the tapes somewhere.
8. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME / MAJOR INFLUENCES?
That would have to be Can. I'm an obsessive. Have been for a few decades now. I think Ege Bamyasi would have to be my favourite, followed closely by Tago Mago, but the track Future Days is probably my all time favourite track by anybody. There are many influences on my music. To me they are quite clear what they are. Terry Riley, Faust, Coltrane, I could go on and on. It's a strange thing about influences. I should probably mention Eno, yet I rarely listen to him and I don't own many of his works. It's his approach and method that are influential. Charles Ives is another. As much as I like his music, it's the ideas behind it that are influential. Robert Wyatt has been a big hero of mine for over thirty years, but I'm not sure he has ever influenced my music. I find many other musicians/bands inspiring for many different reasons. For the past year or so I have been listening constantly to Swedish Progg - Trad Gras och Stenar, and especially the amazing Arbete och Fritid. That scene in the early 70's was unlike anything else. Previously I couldn't get enough of early 70's Turkish music. Mogollar's first LP is really a classic that should be renowned across the whole world. Plastic People of the Universe from Czechoslovakia were extraordinary. To make such vital music under such difficult circumstances, they should be praised for ever more.
9. WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY LISTENING TO?
As I said in the previous question, Swedish bands from 67-76, the two I mentioned plus Archimedes Badkar, Baby Grandmothers, Algarnas Tradgard, the earlier incarnations of Trad Gras - Harvester, International Harvester and Parson Sound. Parson Sound were around from 66 to 68 and played lengthy improvised drone rock pieces. They were a conscious amalgam of 60's beat music and Terry Riley. Their double CD is over 40 years old but sounds contemporary. I've been listening to a lot of the original 1960's Mothers Of Invention, especially Reuben & The Jets, and a lot of concert recordings from '68. I'm getting the urge for some old do-wop stuff now. Mojo magazine each month asks a selection of people what their favourite Saturday night and Sunday morning music is. For me it would be Lee Perry, Black Ark and just earlier for Saturday night, and you can't beat the MC5 for those lazy Sunday mornings.
10. YOU RUN A STUDIO IN LEEDS UK. WHAT IS YOUR SET UP AND WHAT IS YOUR RECORDING PREFERANCE? ANALOG OR DIGITAL?
I have both analogue and digital. My preference is to use both, track to tape and transfer to Logic. I like the effects of tape. It acts like a glue, especially at the bottom end. Bass sounds just sit nicely and blend. The studio has a myspace site that I have just set up, hallplacerecording is the URL. The studio is a mess of wiring and old boxes of tape and strange looking things with dials on. There are plenty of photos on the site so you can see the accumulating piles of dust for yourselves.
