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Blackdog InterviewMany people have stated that Black Dog can't work alone, that he's difficult to work with and he's a mad man, the thing is, Ken is one of those rare things these days, he's honest, and if the critics are honest they have to admit to not want to be a critic when they first saw their careers officer, failed musician exit left please...Black Dog speaks his mind, he goes with his feelings at the time, sure he gets things wrong sometimes, who doesn't, but Ken is good at being wrong and one of the many reasons DUST likes Ken is that in a world of bullshit and lies he isn't afraid to stand alone and say NO or FUCK OFF. Those who choose not to scratch below the surface are only judging a book by it's cover, for those that care to, they'll find a highly talented and magickal individual who has choosen the lesser walked path of life. The music and magick speaks for itself and needs no defending here. He refuses to play the game and we salute him. How the devil are you? older and wiser since we last spoke, dude. How would other people describe you in 23 words? ken who? oh, that twat. Is techno dead? nah man, you can hear it on the internet. hopefully it will live forever. And do you care? I care passionately about the 'spirit' of Techno, yeah. It was disappointing when it morphed into safe middle class electronica. To say the least. It happened to punk (when it got turned into 'new wave'). Originality is watered down and sold by the corporations. I suppose I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. What would you say is the "spirit" of techno? "I found that Essence rare.....it's what I'm looking for". Essence Rare ~ Gang of Four What's the future sound of techno? you are! (tenner in the post, yeah?). The price has gone up Ken, it's £23 now... jeezz...then i'll have to come round and clean your house, or something. Aren't you doing some loops with the boys from DUST? I did give it some serious thought, because i like what the dust people are doing. But i've since decided that my retirement from music will be complete. So i'm sorry to have to dissapoint. There have been so many rippoffs and battle wounds along the way, it's time to rest up. And maybe leave England. I'd like to live the rest of my life smiling, not stressed out. What is/would your DJ name be? DJ dogshite Is that because you are always under people's feet? lol. yeah, sticking to their souls. Loads of people have ripped off Black Dog and you are often very bitter about it, why? ...because it's BOLLOCKY, dude. "stealing from the corner shop". I'm not overall, a bitter person. As you know. You do bang on about it a bit tho, why not just let it go? haha, that's a difference of interpretation. personally, i think i'm "not laying down and taking it quietly". if it was an isolated incident that happened years ago, i could understand your viewpoint. but it's like *almost every time* we turn on the telly. or listen to the radio. Pfft... you see, we're living off beans, with the baliffs banging on the door...while the people who ripped us off got to pay their overpriced london mortgages, and put coke up their nose. That's why i'm pissed off, dude. The people who've leeched, and syphoned royalties from BDP have put NOTHING back into the vibe. And that's what it was all about. Not lining our pockets, but putting it back into ARTISTIC ENDEAVOURS. So, bollocks to them. (spits). Do you really hate WARP and Plaid that much? I don't hate anybody. they are blood sucking leeches. who i would prefer not to think about. like, ever again. the both of us could go away for 10 years, and come back, only to discover that they're STILL doing the same old things. Touring the same old venues. Ad Infinitum. Yawn.. You have been very vocal about it, and that shocks some people but it's one of the reasons I've always liked you, because you say what you feel. But it does get you in a lot of trouble doesn't it? of course. nobody ever wants to hear the truth, especially in the music industry....which is built on falsity, and ass kissing. Plato said that the honest man should always expect to be vilified. And Napoleon said he (the honest man) would always be poor. So i was prepared, dude. At least i can sit in my comfy chair with the consolation that i'm not *them*. (consumed with ego, greed, and money lust). i'm still human after 11 years of frontline musicmaking. and that's actually something to celebrate (i think). How comes you've never done anything with Jimmy Cauty? We both have very different styles, dude. Jim (bless him) is a "get in the studio and DO IT NOW" chap. While i'm a get in the studio and "maybe it will happen today, maybe it won't" type chap. Drives people nuts. And i haven't wanted to inflict myself on him (though he has offered the use of his studio, should i ever be brave enough to venture out from the safety of Black Dog Towers). One day it may happen. I think it would be a good idea, you just need more discipline don't you think? i've tried to be 'disciplined' in a studio situation before, and it just doesn't work. i prefer to work from home, at my own pace, in my own way. you don't get "the happy accident" by having to watch the clock all the time. professional studios.... Jim loves them. I loathe them. So we're gonna have to meet in the middle, somewhere. smile.. Plus, I think you help Jimmy get off the KLF tip, move him on so to speak, the reason I mention this is because I've heard a few things he's done and not released, and while they are brilliant they are still very much "KLF". I'd never presume to tell Jim what to do, dude. I've heard his mixes too, and they're blinding. But (as we've touched on previously) the climate has changed in the music industry. Piracy and Paranoia are rife. And even somebody with an awesome talent (like Jim's) can't get a straight deal. It's not worth sweating, only to be ripped off, again and again. There becomes a point where it is "pointless" to even strive, because the outcome is inevitable. The last time i spoke to him, it seemed that his paintings were bringing him more smiles. So big up to him...whatever he feels best doing, i reckon. What's the future like for Black Dog? "Hanging on by the fingertips". business as usual, dude. When are we going to get something that send the dance floor right off Ken? dude, i've never written stuff for the dance floor. i preferred to write more 'intimate' music. Who's the true godfather of techno and who do you think is going to take up the mantle in the next year or so? thats a tough call, mate. on the one hand we have kraftwerk, and on the other, the detroit posse. i find it impossible to think of life without either of them. and i don't think we'll ever see their like again, so no 'picking up the mantle', cos they will wear it forever. To try and stick the pin in the donkey's tail....i'll go for RALF from KRAFTWERK. He makes me smile, anyway. What you working on now? ..ways to keep the state off my back, while i develop new ideas. i've had to take a year off cos my partner shattered her knee in an accident. Some people have suggested i write a book, so i may look into that. What will the book be about? Everything and Nothing? It's at the "pool of ideas" stage at the moment. My grandfather played Clarinet with Louis Armstrong once, so i think i'd like to kick the book off with that scene....and see where it goes from there. Also, a transdimensional portal and some bending of the fabric of space and time is in order. Hopefully, it won't be a DULL book... :) Who would you like to work with/write about? I figure it's best to work on my own, as it leads to the least dissapointment and backbiting should things not work out. Really, people have accussed you of not being able to work on your own, I'm thinking about Tim Barr in his book on Techno, how do plead Black Dog? I don't care what Mr Tiny Tim Barr thinks. The Music for Adverts LP, and the Babylon EP are out there to refute him. If he doesn't like them, then what we have in print is his subjective opinion. so what? Conceptual Art, shite or Art? It can be both, i reckon. It doesn't hurt anybody....like say "the arms trade", does it? If somebody wants to pay 500,000 for a brick and a used condom... that's fine. Top 5 all time albums. 1. quadrophenia - the who 2. my life in the bush of ghosts - david bryne & brian eno 3. electric ladyland - jimi hendrix 4. ralf & florian - kraftwerk 5. akhnaten - phillip glass Top 5 all time techno tracks and why. (i've blurred the lines between techno and house, sorry..) 1. Strings of life ~ Derrick May (cheap equipment + paradigm shift). 2. LFO ~ LFO (hey, we english can do it too). 3. Humanoid ~ Stakker (slick, slick, slick + very very tight). 4. Ooochy Coooochy ~ Baby Ford (dirty sex captured on vinyl). 5. French Kiss ~ Little Louis (cos it was underground, and funny). Listening to at the moment. boombasticradio.com while typing these answers out, but now the kettle is boiling, and the seagulls are chorusing for dawn. it's nice to be out in the country. having "no sound" sometimes, is great. Fave Club/Night out. i moved out of the city, dude. big night out, is a walk on the beach. in torquay, people regularly get their ears bitten off in drunken brawls. not for me, mate. been there, seen that. Ask yourself a question you'd have liked to have been asked. "the navy ?!" yeah, i'm glad i did it. it helped me become a better person. and i've nothing bad to say about it at all, really. much of what happens on dry land is complete bullshit. Ask yourself a question you wouldn't like to have been asked. "why are you such a twat?" a) Because trying to live honourably in a culture of greed, ignorance, and stupidity has taken it's toll. b) I have a mental illness. A bipolar disorder. But, i'm not mad, bad, or dangerous to know. c) I enjoy it. Links http://www.dogsquad.co.uk |
