it's abigail's party

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INTERVIEW WITH A FODDER #10: BAZZ SMITH, TOUR GUIDE

Been a busy year in Fodder-Land. First came the release of the fantastic album Variety in July 2013… then came the very welcome reissues of Monkey Banana Kitchen and Schizophrenia Party in January 2014… which in turn led to a European Tour, which took place over the month of May this year (2014). 

The tour saw the “Schizophrenia Party” band of Alig Fodder, Grahame Painting and Bazz Smith, joined by new member Bee Ororo, visiting Switzerland, Germany and France, on their first tour in…well, in quite awhile!

And, to top it all off, we now have a new Fodder record coming out on September 30... a limited vinyl edition of Just Love Songs (which you can buy here or here), a collection of re-worked Fodder classics of recent vintage. We're being spoiled, right?

I'm getting ahead of myself though.

Let's dial it back to the Spring of 2014 and give the floor to our favorite drummer, the legendary Bazz Smith, who has kindly agreed to talk us through this Family Fodder tour. Ok?

Which show/shows really stuck out for you on this tour?

To be honest all the gigs were great, but the one in Hamburg was amazing! The club was full to the brim, so some people had stay in the entrance hall of the club to listen. The organizer who is a musician, told us that the new generation of musicians in Hamburg were very influenced by Family Fodder, and quite a few had come to see us. So there were two girl singers from different groups at the front of the audience, and they knew the words to all our songs - they were singing from our opening song (New Kind of Love Song) to the last one (Backstreets of Affinity). The audience were with us all the way as well - truly amazing gig. 

The mini-residency in Perpignan: Other than the three Family Fodder sets, what performances did attendees see/hear?

Yea, that was very interesting. Seeing 3 different support acts for Family Fodder, that were all members of Family Fodder. Alig did the first support spot on accordion, playing some great tunes - traditional french, classical, folk, etc. While playing he was walking around the people outside the club who were having their sunny aperitifs. It was really enjoyable to see him enjoying himself.

The following night it was Grahame and our wonderful new lead vocalist Bee to take to the boards. They played a blues set that was full of emotion, power, high-tension and supercharged, wow! Bee and Grahame weaved over, through, and around the audience like two surfers riding waves. What a show.

The final night of self-support, and it was my turn. I played two compositions for drum kit. The first was based on Japanese festival music and contemporary rhythms. Titled 'MILES AWAY', it depicts traveling from Japan to Europe and the different colours each has - especially the weather and music. This piece also features electronics. The second composition was a piece I dedicate to the great Congolese guitarist Pepe Felly Manuaku, with whom I also play (Kinshasa2Brixton). Please check him out. Called 'KOBUNDA' - Congolese for worrior - it is a based on some great Congolese rhythms. The audience were dancing and reacting to what I presented, so I was very pleased.

Having only four people on stage must have necessitated a fair amount of rearranging, song-wise. Which songs do you feel benefited most from a streamlined Fodder?

Well we didn't have any problems as we - The Schiz Band - have always toured as a four piece. In the eighties it was Alig: keyboards, guitar, bass. Grahame: guitar, bass, cello. Ian: main vocals, keyboards. Myself: drums. In fact it was a really good test for us, as this tour we played some numbers we had never played live. We played  'Film Music' and had to work on it quite a lot - especially the tempo - but it come out really good.

When we played Hamburg the gig was great - the audience knew most of our tunes and were singing along. However, one guy wasn't happy that we sounded too much like our albums. He actually rushed on stage screamed into one of Grahame's ears, 'You sound like the records' - amazing!

There was a review of 'Schizophrenia Party' a months ago and the journalist said that it was an album with lots of edits. Wrong! We we recorded 'Schizophrenia Party' live with a few overdubs. I'll contact this journalist and put him right.

We are all well seasoned musicians with a lot of very diverse musical experience.

It’s been 30+ (true?) years you’ve played live with Alig and Grahame. Was there a familiarity there as you started playing again? Or does a break that long create an essentially “new” band?

After such a long break, although I was a little concerned, at the same time I was confident that it was going to work. As I said in my last interview, it has always been easy playing with Family Fodder for me and I'm sure it's the same for Alig and Grahame - we really have a good vibe together.

Of course it was a little like a new band, because Bee has joined us now, but she fitted in beautifully. She's a great front person, with a lot of diverse musical tastes, which is really important for Family Fodder, as we never know what musical direction we are going in. 

Which song/songs seemed to go over best with the audiences?

In general we had a great reception for the whole set and the newer songs - 'The Pain Won't Go', 'Hippy Bus to Spain', 'It's 1965', 'The Onliest Thing' and 'Back Streets of Infinity' - went over extremely well also.

It seems that 'Bass Adds Bass' was the most popular for dancing - yes audiences do dance to us - but 'Film Music' and 'Dinosaur Sex' received the best response, particularly the improvisation section of 'Dinosaur Sex'. 

Favorite musical moments from the tour?

Definitely the improvisation section of 'Dinosaur Sex'. Alig hitting some incredibly wonderful low dinosaur notes on the synth - making any building shake - as well as playing guitar at the same time. Grahame was on bass for this one and getting some amazing sounds. We were flying every time we played this section.

Favorite non-musical moments from the tour?

I have a few non-musical moments from the tour  which I can share with you - nothing particularly crazy but ... .

Our first stop was the sunny city of Perpignan in France. We played three nights in a great little club/bar/record shop called the 'Ubu'. If anyone reading this ever goes to Perpignan, please check out this club. Staubgold, the record company which have just released a compilation with 'Monkey Banana Kitchen', 'Schizophrenia Party'' plus some singles on it and vinyl releases of 'Monkey Banana Kitchen' and 'Schizophrenia Party' are based in Perpignan and it was a pleasure to meet Markus Detmer the man responsible for the releases. He showed me around Perpignan, etc. Markus is also a wonderful DJ. It was one of my favourite non-musical moments.

Another favourite non-musical moment was in Koln, Germany. As I walked past Koln's famous church - amazing - a man approached me looking as if he had just walked off a Hollywood cowboy film set. Anyway, he started preaching to me, you know, 'Blah,Blah,Blah. Then he asked me a question: 'Who runs the world'? I told him I didn't really know. He said, 'Come on guess', so I gave him an answer which thought would please him and get him off my back. I said 'Jesus'. He said, 'No,no,no. Are you crazy! It's George Osbourne in London'. I apologized and then walked on down the street, with him screaming at me, 'You're wrong it's George Osbourne, it's George Osbourne'. Another non-musical moment.

My favourite one goes to Grahame. After doing the last gig on the tour in Wurzburg, Germany, Grahame, Bee and myself, decided to go for a celebratory drink in Wurzburg at 2 o'clock in the morning. However, all was closed and Grahame wasn't amused and came out with: 'What's the point of being on a 'Rock Tour' if you can't get a drink at 2 o'clock in the morning! Absolutely ridiculous'! He was so serious that Bee and myself laughed till we cried and then Grahame joined in. An amazing line.

Having completed this tour, are you more or less likely to want to do another?

Definitely. We worked really well together musically and socially, so we're all up for it. We're actually getting together in October to work on some new material - in Neuchatel, Switzerland. We may do a local gig at the end of October, if possible. We should be doing some gigs this autumn/winter in London, if the conditions are right.

    We're looking for an agent and we'd like to play in the States and Japan. Is there anyone out there who can help us???

We have the 'Vibe' and we're ready to 'Rock' - we wanna move!

Thanks, Bazz!

Places to go:

Family Fodder Official Website: http://familyfodder.co.uk/

Family Fodder Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder

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INTERVIEW WITH A FODDER #9: GRAHAME PAINTING, TOUR GUIDE

Been a busy year in Fodder-Land. First came the release of the fantastic album Variety in July 2013… then came the very welcome reissues of Monkey Banana Kitchen and Schizophrenia Party in January 2014… which in turn led to a European Tour, which took place over the month of May this year. 

The tour saw the “Schizophrenia Party” band of Alig Fodder, Grahame Painting and Bazz Smith, joined by new member Bee Ororo, visiting Switzerland, Germany and France, on their first tour in…well, in quite awhile!

This week, we hear from Mr. Grahame Painting!

Which show/shows really stuck out for you on this tour?

Most of the shows were good in different ways. The residency at L'Ubu in Perpignan was really enjoyable because after the initial sound check we were already set up for the second and third shows, so that gave us time to relax and explore the city a bit and get to know people there, such as the club's staff and its proprietor, Lionel. Bee and I found a very nice restaurant,  L'Arago, that we went to a couple of times. We also met Markus Detmer (head of Staubgold, our record company) for the first time, and he proved to be a real gentleman and an impeccably generous host to us. A very nice guy, charming, modest, efficient, likes a drink, lots of fun. Köln (Cologne) also is a fantastic city with a really good vibe, and we had a great audience at the King Georg club. The people who ran and worked at Club Alpha in Schwäbisch Hall were absolutely delightful, as was the venue itself in its ramshackle way. The gigs at Rakete in Stuttgart and Roter Salon in Berlin were the best organised and where we had the best sound, onstage and out front. Accordingly they were our best performances technically. Again, the venues were superb. It was very nice to be back in Berlin again, where I was able to hook up with my friend Yelka Wehmeier, who sings and plays bass in her band Eagle Boston (very good they are, too). I'll describe the Golden Pudel in Hamburg below.

The mini-residency in Perpignan: Other than the three Family Fodder sets, what performances did attendees see/hear?

On the first night Alig gave a solo performance on unamplified piano accordion sitting outside the venue in the warm evening. It's always good to see him with a broad smile on his face. He's a brilliant accordionist. On the second night Bee and I gave a blues-jazz performance from her repertoire that we perform regularly in the UK. And on the third night Bazz did a solo drum performance of two pieces he'd composed. He's astoundingly good at West and Central African rhythms.

Having only four people on stage must have necessitated a fair amount of rearranging, song-wise. Which songs do you feel benefited most from a streamlined Fodder?

It was quite demanding performing as a four-piece but although we were a bit stretched at times we're all fairly capable musicians. So for the most part we kept song arrangements pretty much as on the records. Technology allows for the creation of a huge range of sounds live, either by computer in Alig's case or effects pedals in mine. We'd never previously performed "Film Music" live, and it took us a while in rehearsals to come up with an arrangement -- not so much in arranging sounds and individual parts but in restructuring the song to make it work as a live piece. As with all live song arrangements of this type it's simply a case of taking the most important instrumental and vocal parts and using those, knitting them in to a framework. Sometimes it's necessary to cut a section here or there, or shorten or lengthen a certain passage, but Alig's songs are so well written that it was never a problem to come up with a good live arrangement. I'd say the songs that benefited most from our small line-up were "Hippy Bus to Spain", "Savoir Faire", "Organ Grinder", "The Onliest Thing" and "It's 1965".

It's been 30+ (true?) years you've played live with Alig and Bazz. Was there a familiarity there as you started playing again? Or does a break that long create an essentially "new" band?

Yes, it's been 32 years, though we did spent a day together in a rehearsal studio in the countryside outside Norwich just after Christmas last year. I've recorded with Alig on and off since the early days but Bazz lives in Switzerland and has done for 20 years. It was instant familiarity, though the band had something of a "new" aspect because the three of us have all developed musically over that span of time. And of course Bee was with us for the first time, though for me the "new" aspect of that was tempered because we perform together all the time in Britain and live together too. It's very nice touring with your missus.

Which song/songs seemed to go over best with the audiences?

"Silence", which surprised me greatly, "Dinosaur Sex", "Bass Adds Bass" and "It's 1965", which I think simply beats the audience into submission through its sheer relentless heaviness. :)   And Bee did a truly great job singing it. The words are superb.

Favorite musical moments from the tour?

Playing at the Golden Pudel in Hamburg. Markus (Detmer) had flown up from Perpignan for the Berlin gig and joined us in the tour bus to travel from there to Hamburg, and there were a couple of other friends there who had been at the Berlin gig too. The club itself is great in its grungy way and has a long history. If I remember correctly it was formerly a dock workers' social club; it's now fully owned by the people who run it, so is safe from developers and the like. It's in a fantastic location overlooking the harbour, which is enormous. The gig started badly for us because of technical problems but we turned it around completely and took the audience with us on a wild and intense musical journey. They were completely up for it. We did a superb version of "Dinosaur Sex" in which Bazz and I totally connected on the improvised section. I really enjoyed playing bass again, too, as well as jumping around my guitar pedal board and doing a bit of singing.

Who are some of your influences when it comes to picking up the bass, Grahame?

In no particular order: Jack Bruce, Willie Weeks, Donald "Duck" Dunn, George Porter Jr, Dave Holland, Ronald "Kool" Bell, Paul McCartney, Earl "Flabba" Holt, Robbie Shakespeare and Billy Cox.

Favorite non-musical moments from the tour?

Well, for a start, we had beautiful weather all the way so I dubbed our little jaunt "The Sunshine Tour". We met some very lovely people throughout Switzerland, France and Germany, some of whom will surely remain friends. Perpignan is lovely, as is Neuchâtel. And I fell in love with Germany. It's a gorgeous country covered in trees, the food's very good and the people are charming and friendly. Driving on the Autobahns is simply a great experience. There are no speed limits on many sections, so from time to time we'd hear a whoosh as a superfast Audi or BMW hurtled past in the fast lane and disappeared rapidly into the far distance. They're very good roads and it's perfectly safe. German road users are law abiding and obey the speed limits where they exist. I'd been there many times before and my parents lived there for a few years but this visit was something of a revelation. Our promoter in Köln , Jan Lankisch, was so welcoming and we got on so well that he came to the Berlin gig too. At the Hamburg gig we had a great time after the performance, hanging out with our promoter there, Joachim Schütz, and talking and drinking till the wee small hours with him and a small group of friends -- a very interesting conversation that ranged from music through ornithology, fishing and sailing to philosophy. I remember also discovering some beautiful little allotment gardens when we arrived at the home of our Stuttgart promoter, Mortitz Finkbeiner. And the Stuttgart venue itself was bizarre in a rather amazing way: it's in a working tram station. During the course of our gig two trams arrived and parked up for the night -- not in the same space as the performance, of course. And hanging out with the guys at Club Alpha in Schwäbisch Hall was a lot of fun. Very nice people indeed.

Having completed this tour, are you more or less likely to want to do another?

I'd love to do another -- many more, in fact -- but it largely depends on finances. Alig organised this one -- apart from the Perpignan residency, which was set up by Staubgold -- and did a great job. But it's an awful lot of work.

Thanks, Grahame!

Places to go:

Family Fodder Official Website: http://familyfodder.co.uk/

Family Fodder Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder

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INTERVIEW WITH A FODDER #8: ALIG FODDER, TOUR GUIDE

Been a busy year in Fodder-Land. First came the release of the fantastic album Variety in July 2013... then came the very welcome reissues of Monkey Banana Kitchen and Schizophrenia Party in January 2014... which in turn led to a European Tour, which took place over the month of May this year. 

The tour saw the "Schizophrenia Party" band of Alig Fodder, Grahame Painting and Bazz Smith, joined by new member Bee Ororo, visiting Switzerland, Germany and France, on their first tour in...well, in quite awhile!

Without further ado, let's hear about it from the people that matter most. Let's start with Alig Fodder, ok?

Which songs were played on this tour and what went into deciding which you'd focus on?

Set List: New Kind of Love Song. The Onliest Thing. Film Music. Bass adds Bass, The Organ Grinder, The Pain Won't Go, Savoir Faire, It's 1965, Silence, The Big Dig, Hippy Bus to Spain, Playing Golf, Dinosaur Sex, Backstreets of Infinity.

We had a longer list of songs to tackle - these were the ones we got round to - there were a couple of other songs that didn't work out.

The mini-residency in Perpignan: Other than the three Family Fodder sets, what performances did attendees see/hear?

Alig played an accordion set: tangoes, continental repertoire and balkanalia.

Grahame and Bee played a set of blues for Hofner guitar and voice.

Bazz played a set of his drum compositions.

Having only four people on stage must have necessitated a fair amount of rearranging, song-wise. Which songs do you feel benefited most from a streamlined Fodder?

You're not kidding. The main result was that the keyboards played 'bass' on most of the tunes. This worked better on some songs than others. I liked 'The Onliest Thing', 'Bass adds Bass' and 'It's 1965'.

It's been 30+ (true?) years since you've played live with Grahame and Bazz. Was there a familiarity there as you started playing again? Or does a break that long create an essentially "new" band?  

Well, we had a jam at New Year and built the tour idea from that. It was both really: like a 'new band' and also like something very familiar.

Which show/shows really stuck out for you on this tour?

The last night at Perpignan was good and most of the gigs after that were really good - although some of them had bad sound or feedback problems. For me the Cologne show, Stuttgart, Berlin and Hamburg were the best shows.

Which song/songs seemed to go over best with the audiences?

That changed from night to night - depending on which fans were there and which songs they knew. Sometimes 'Savoir Faire' sometimes 'Dinosaur Sex'. A newer song that went down well was 'Backstreets of Infinity' One tune that didn't go down quite so well was 'The Big Dig' (Gnossienne No 1; Erik Satie). That's probably because audiences prefer to see a singer than an instrumental performance. In the end we inserted that tune into 'Bass adds bass' - which solved the problem.

Favorite musical moments from the tour? 

I enjoyed Bazz's drum solo piece - probably because it was more fresh to me. I appreciated the fact that we all sang backing vocals (for the first time) and that Bee started playing some rhythm guitar on some tunes.

Favorite non-musical moments from the tour?

Nice views of the Alps from the Lake of Neuchatel. Excellent meals cooked for us by Moritz in Stuttgart.

Surprisingly good Pinot Noir in Germany!

What did you imagine this first Fodder tour in many moons would be like? How close was the reality to what you imagined?

It didn't work very well geographically or financially - but I knew that before we started. The drives were very long and tiring. The response was very good - which made the hardship worthwhile.

Having completed this tour, are you more or less likely to want to do another?

Yes, please.

What next for the good ship Fodder?

We have more releases planned - of new and less new material - but one priority is to work on new material for an entirely new album release.

Thanks, Alig!

Places to go:

Family Fodder Official Website: http://familyfodder.co.uk/

Family Fodder Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder

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INTERVIEW WITH A FODDER #7: BAZZ SMITH

Following the successful reissues of Monkey Banana Kitchen and Schizophrenia Party and ahead of their upcoming mini-tour of Europe, we have the proud privilege to share with you this seventh in our series of Family Fodder interviews... introducing the drummer, Bazz Smith!

Places to go:

Family Fodder Official Website: http://familyfodder.co.uk/

'Monkey Banana Kitchen' and 'Schizoprenia Party' reissues: http://www.staubgold.com/en/albums/

Family Fodder Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder

TOUR DATES:

May 08, 2014: Bleu Cafe in Neuchatel, Switzerland

May 15, 2014: L'Ubu in Perpignan, France

May 16, 2014: L'Ubu in Perpginan, France

May 17, 2014: L'Ubu in Perpignan, France

May 21, 2014: King Georg in Cologne, Germany

May 22, 2014: Club Alpha 60 e.V, in Schwabisch Hall, Germany

May 23, 2014: Rakete in Stuttgart, Germany

May 25, 2014: Roter Salon in Berlin, Germany

May 26, 2014: Golden Pudel Club in Hamburg, Germany

May 27, 2014: Die Kellerperle in Wurzburg, Germany

April 12, 2014

You had an extensive musical background before joining F.F. Give us a little history.

As I come from Brixton, South London, It's no surprise that my first band - The Town Hawks - was a Ska, Blue Beat, High Life, Calypso, Soul Music, situation, which was amazing. I learnt such a lot from those guys. They were from Jamaica, Trinidad & Guyana - what a chance I had! We played all the West Indian clubs in  & around London in the 60s. After a tour of Germany I left & formed a band called 'Killing Floor' - British hard blues. We did very well: played, toured a lot, backed some blues greats such as, Freddy King, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Span, etc. We recorded 2 albums, which did quite well. 

After leaving 'Killing Floor', I just wanted to play  as many different types of music as possible - which is what I did. I ended up in L.A. playing in a British style rock band. Their manager called from L.A. to invite me to go over, but it wasn't really for me. I lasted about 6 months.

'Killing Floor' reformed about 8 years ago & have recorded 2 albums. The band plays festivals mostly in Europe. 

How did you come to start playing with Alig?

When I arrived back in England from L.A. in 1980, I was a bit confused as to what direction to take musically. It was a dream to play in L.A. but I just didn't feel comfortable. The band where fine, but ... 

My partner Lynn (singer) - who joined Family Fodder a few years later - was in a band & the drummer went to play with a group which was about to start touring. He thought they were okay, but a bit 'weird' for him. He mentioned this to Lynn & thought I would be interested in this 'weird' music. I spoke to Alig on the phone & we arranged to have a play at Family Fodder's rehearsal room. We met - Alig, Grahame, Ian & myself - chatted a bit & then had a jam. I thought  they were interesting musicians & I felt quite excited. Then they explained that they weren't very inspired at the moment & asked me if I had any musical ideas. I then went into one of my rhythmic drum patterns - which other musicians had difficulty in playing - & they just fell straight in on the vibe. It was an amazing feeling, I felt great, didn't want to stop. We played with some more of my rhythmic drum patterns as well as some Family Fodder bits, & I was thinking, 'I really want to play with these guys. So, I joined.                                                                                                                     Family Fodder was the first band in which I could really express myself, & they were/are such good writers. It felt so good!

Which Fodder releases can we find you on? 

The first piece I recorded with Family Fodder was 'Film Music'. Then it was 'Schizophrenia Party', the singles: 'The Big Dig', 'Plant Life', 'Room', 'Carol', Frustration'. These were all with what seems to be now called Family Fodder - Schiz band. The last album I recorded was 'All Styles'. This was mainly, Alig, Lynn Alice, Felix Fiedorowicz & myself. 

What were the old Fodder recording sessions like? Any memories of the making of 'Film Music'? It's my favorite song ever, Bazz!

The old Fodder sessions were really all good vibed - well they were for me. We recorded mainly at Elephant Studio in Wapping, London.

The studio had a really good vibe & the engineers were great - Chris & Nick. I had never felt so comfortable in studio as I did there. I wanted a live drum sound & they just got it - no hassle. We all played well there.

Making of 'Film Music' was a bit strange from the start. Alig would say to me quite frequently, that we would be recording film music, which I understood to be music for a film. After a few weeks we started working on it & I asked where the rest of the music for the film was, he said 'No,no, it's just one tune called 'Film Music' that we're going to record with Dominique'. 

When we went to the studio - Berry Street in London - to record, something unusual happened. We started recording & it was feeling pretty good, but the other guys were making little mistakes & after 4/5 takes I was getting tired. As any drummer will tell you,drummers have to give 100% every time when recording as any take could be the one & drummers don't have the  possibility to over-dub, as do other musicians. I suggested that I could try to record the drum track alone, which the guys agreed to. It was really strange recording alone, but the second take was the one. I gave it my all & could then relax, while Alig, Grahame & Ian finished the song.

Alig says you contributed 'harder rock elements' and 'African polyrhythms' to early Fodder. What do you feel you brought (and continue to bring) to Family Fodder material?

Good question. Don't want to come across as egotistic. Firstly, I would turn the question around and say that the Schiz band - Alig, Grahame, Ian, - gave me a lot freedom. They brought me a lot - very generous guys.

Anyway, to answer your question, I think I really brought stability. Really love the way Alig once described my style as 'Muscular Drumming'. I played modern jazz, all types of Caribbean music, Soul, African, Greek, Scottish, etc. Put this all together with the fact that I played a lot of blues/rock and studio work - that's what I brought to Family Fodder.

Favorite Fodder song and album you've played on?

Song has to be Dinosaur Sex - it covers most of what I'm about and it was fun.

The album would be 'Schizophrenia Party' without a doubt. It was all so easy. A close second would be 'All Styles'.

Point us in the direction of some of your favorite work done outside Family Fodder?

Favourites would be:

Bill Fay Group, 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow' - Bill is an unbelievable song writer.

              'Peeni Waali', lots of people on this one - Rico Rodriguez, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Lee Perry, Dennis Bovell, etc. plus Alig. Alternative reggae.

Killing Floor - 'Killing Floor', 'Out of Uranus', 'Zero Tolerance', 'Rock & Roll Gone Made' - heavy British blues/rock.

Kinshasa2Brixton - a band I formed with guitar great from the Congo(D.R.C.) Pepe Felly Manuaku - please check him out. C.D. etc will be available soon (Afro/Alternative/Trad). We hope to play live in the near future.

Do you think we'll see Family Fodder live or on tour soon?

Well, as I think you already know, we'll be doing a mini tour in May. It'll be Alig, Grahame, myself and new singer Bee. We'll be rehearsing in Neuchatel, Switzerland, play a warm up gig on 8th May in Neuchatel and hit the road a week later - I'm happy were playing again.

Thanks again Mr Raffles for all your work with Family Fodder, bye for now, 'Bazz'

Thank you, Bazz!

More to come, always...

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INTERVIEW WITH A FODDER #6: ALIG TALKS MONKEY BANANA KITCHEN AND SCHIZOPHRENIA PARTY!

Tonight, we celebrate my love for... the brand new reissues of ‘Monkey Banana Kitchen’ (on vinyl, cd and download) and ‘Schizophrenia Party’ (super limited vinyl and download). It is my great privilege to present to you the sixth in a series of Family Fodder interviews… Alig, on early Fodder!

Places to go:

Family Fodder Website: http://familyfodder.co.uk/

'Monkey Banana Kitchen' and 'Schizoprenia Party' reissues: http://www.staubgold.com/en/albums/

Family Fodder (Unofficial) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder

January 20, 2014

What was a typical week in the band like back in 1980 - 1981? Group meetings? Recording Sessions? Bowling? Trips to the cinema? 

  Yeah pretty much like that: rehearsals, meetings, recording or gigs a bit less often. Part time jobs in factories, warehouses and shops! We didn't do much bowling. Cinema was important and an influence for sure. we used to watch a lot of European Cinema in those days ... Bunuel, Resnais, Godard. They used to have all-nighters at the King's cross fleapit: Warhol, Altman, Young Frankenstein. You could drink and smoke in your seat! There was a lot of listening to music and going to gigs  ... Going down the pub - which was much more culturally popular in those days. Days without a pub visit were rare.

What did each of the central players bring to these early releases, musically or otherwise?

  Drummers  Rick Wilson and Marc Doffman brought along rock, funk, jazz and ethnic drum and percussion elements. Dominique supplied the Gallic influence. Mick Hobbs brought humour and musical intelligence, Felix Fiedorowicz introduced a wide knowledge of experimental music as well as Baroque and Early Music. Martin Harrison was the high prophet of Dub and Reggae. Grahame Painting added a Classical and Blues influence. Ian Hill transformed from English prog rock to avant-garde pop and then tango. Charles Bullen played us his eclectic record collection. Bazz Smith contributed some harder rock elements as well as African  polyrhythms. I must have been responsible for the rest!

  "Darling" "Monkey" and "Banana" -  what went into the making/conceptualizing of the 3 connected numbers that frame the album? "Monkey" in particular is a great favorite of mine.

  Those tracks are dub mixes of a 24 track loop. This was a direct influence from This Heat. Basically we were copying the technique that they were using in a studio just down the road. Until that point Monkey Banana Kitchen was recorded on 8 track and 16 track. We went into a 24 track in Borough and made a huge loop from a jam session. This was 2 inch tape moving very fast, so the loop was very long: it went right across the control roon, round mike stands and table legs to tension it! When the loop was up and running, we overdubbed a series of nonsense phrases in 'harmony'. Judy Carter's phrase 'with a banana' was particularly memorable. The end result is very different from This Heat - we were much more consciously 'pop' and song-based. If you think about it in an abstract way, multitrack tapeloops are the direct antecedent of (MIDI based) dance music.

  Savoir Faire: How does one go about inventing Stereolab in one fell swoop? Memories of writing and recording this fantastic single?

  I wrote this tune on a small out-of-tune piano at my home in Finsbury Park. Dominique added and changed some of the chorus lyrics. It was recorded at Cold Storage - This Heat's rehearsal room, using a 16 track mobile. David Cunningham of the Flying Lizards very kindly lent the money for the mobile. The backing track was recorded with Charles Bullen on drums and myself on bass. I overdubbed guitar and Farfisa organ (using a space echo). Charles added the distinctive two-note guitar line, which was derived from one of his obscure African records. Martin, Charles Hayward and Ian provided percussion and Dominique the lead vocals. I no longer remember where we mixed it, but I think it was in the mobile.

Does any video footage of early Fodder exist at all?

  There is nothing that I know of. Video was pretty much rocket science in those days.

Any significance to the album titles? Monkey Banana Kitchen sounds like military radio alphabet code!

  Just extracts from the lyrics of the 24 track loop. 'Reasons in the Monkey-House - with a Banana - Cooks never cook in the kitchen'.

  Was there a sense of wiping the slate clean between these releases or do you see a direct line running from MBK through Schizoprenia? Do I sense more of a rough and tumble live-band feel on Schiz or are my ears fooling me?

  Yes, the two releases are very different animals. MBK was very much a recording project and Schizophrenia Party was the product of a live band - with the same core members as the current live band.  In the later record the songs were devised together by the band members. I still brought finished songs in: Dinosaur Sex and Silence - but they also became group compositions by arrangement and extended impro. Other differences were that Dominique was no longer with the group, and that Ian Hill wrote some of the lyrics. On the re-release we have included Film Music, (with Dominique on vocals) and The Big Dig. These songs were recorded by the same line-up.

Listening to "Emergency," I wonder if early hip-hop was part of the Fodder listening diet in 1980/1981?

  Well we listened to everything that was happening. Early hip-hop was in the mix too, but so was square-dance calling - which was the original model for some hip-hop vocals.

At that time, there was a sense that everything was permissible  ...... except 1. The Bee Gees, 2. Abba and 3. John Travolta: Those guys were pretty universally acknowledged as Public Enemy Nos. 1, 2 & 3. It was only when postmodern irony came in that people started pretending that crap music was good.

  "The Big Dig" is quite an achievement... and a wonderfully bizarre single choice. Was there much reaction in the press to the continuously novel moves early Fodder was making?

  Actually suggested by Charles Bullen in a conversation about the influence of Celtic traditional music on reggae. The press were pretty much indifferent to FF - we did get a couple of reviews, but there was nobody dancing in the limelight, networking, or shooting their mouth off - so no big story there.

  Love the artwork for both of the albums. Give a little background on how the visuals came together?

  In the Schiz Party band three of us were - at that time - also visual artists. Ian and Grahame did the cover of SP and also came up with the title. I delivered the concept of MBK, but it was actually executed by Ian. There are two walls featured in this artwork: one is the kitchen of a squat in King's Cross where we lived, with rising damp and peeling stucco, and the other was a mural by Judy Carter in her flat. I commissioned the late Nicholas Goodall to photograph both walls in colour. We took the photos down the Xerox shop on Holborn and wiggled them about while they were scanning - much to the amusement of the secretaries and suits. At that time colour Xerox was a major luxury - you could buy three meals for the price of one print. Ian put it all together in a collage with painted Calligraphy.

Looking back, after 30+ years, how successful were these albums in getting across the spirit of early 80s Fodder?

 The albums didn't have much commercial impact, but I think that then - and also now - people who know a good thing when they see it appreciated that there was nothing else like it. I think younger musicians and critics are finally noticing the seminal and influential role they played. At the time it was very difficult: not enough gigs, no press, no interest in new material, no money. In 1983 the band broke up because we were banging our heads against a brick wall of indifference. Now we're back ... younger ... newer ... heavier ..

Gracias, Alig! Indeed you are.

I think this is where we say "stay tuned"...

[itsabigailsparty-blog]

INTERVIEW WITH A FODDER #5: DOMINIQUE LEVILLAIN

In celebration of the hit new big album ‘Variety’ (plus the new reissues of 'Monkey Banana Kitchen' and 'Schizophrenia Party') and 30+ years of fantastic music, I present to you the fIfth in a series of Family Fodder interviews… introducing Family Fodder's post-punk era vocalist supreme, Dominique Levillain!

Places to go:

Family Fodder Website: http://familyfodder.co.uk/

'Monkey Banana Kitchen' and 'Schizoprenia Party' reissues: http://www.staubgold.com/en/albums/

Family Fodder (Unofficial) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder

Family Fodder’s “Variety” on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/FamilyFodderTV

Interview conducted first week of January 2014.

How did you come to join Family Fodder?

This is a fairy tale....I l'll try to make short. In fact I first met Charles Hayward in 75 ... in the south of France. he was drumming for a group, Quiet Sun, if my memory is right. A friend of mine gave me that record and I started to play my violin on it and then had to sell the violin A few months later I arrived in  London because I couldn't live in France anymore. After a month or so, on a sunday afternoon I met Peter Bullen in the tube, we were alone in the coach no one else on the platforms, nor his nor mine. He lived in the street right next to the place I was going to meet a girl who was a canadian singer who spoke french and was involved with music, (she was just boring) ..... he asked me for a cigarette and I told him that I would give him a cigarette if he had in his case a saxophone   which he had!..... any way long story.

One day he took me to meet his brother's band, This Heat, who impressed me so much. later I had a dinner with Charles Bullen who played in that band, and still so impressed by this amazing people, very shy speechless most of the time I found the Quiet Sun record in the hundreds of records there.... Charles Hayward reappeared.... who let me play his drum kit, a very special treat indeed! no one could touch it.... Then I met Alig and asked him to sing with him. He was so different from all the people I met till then, silent and always playing music even on a 3 strings old guitar...... i went to the San Carlos studio which was a deep dark and dump cave where he lived with an other friend and I sang with a group of musicians... I don't know what I sang but Alig asked me to come again and then I started to be the Family Fodder first female singer..... but if you want the full story it is in the stripey record of FF... ("Savoir Faire: Best of" on Dark Beloved Cloud - Carlos)

  What were your influences (musical or otherwise) as a young musician during the early Fodder days?

Not much, classical music my favorite was Debussy, the beatles....the radio sometimes, nothing much really, but I used to spend hours in the desafected store of my family house and sang, improvising and pretending that I was on stage.... and singing was a natural state.  But along the period I was in this landscape I loved Eno,Captain Beefheart, Velvet Underground... i am not so good with remembering names...

What was a typical week in the band like back in 1981 or so? Group meetings? Recording Sessions? Bowling? Trips to the cinema? Were the Fodder musicians more like friends or co-workers?

Group rehearsals, Recording Sessions,spending evenings listening to music or strange stuff like the Firesign Theatere or somethin like this, But i must say that I have always been quite a solitary person staying at home playing the piano listening to records at the same time as watching the TV and taking care of my first daughter Menelle who appears in Big Bad wolf... The relationship between us was very warm, that is my perception, very fusional. There were a lot of us really. I remember a session in the Cold Storage who was then just a huge fridge for the rehearsals of this Heat, but there too was the group Flying Lizards in an other part of the buildings... any way we had a big van full of recording equipment and we were playing all together , I don't know may be 20 musicians in different place of the site.... Never heard the result of this dodecaphonia But the musicians for the FF were changing We never had a permanent team, except from Alig and I.

What are your memories of "Film Music" taking shape? (It's my favorite song ever... and your vocal is just perfect, btw.)

It was as well the favorite song of my little Titus dog!!! I just had to start singing a bit of it and he was starting howling and then we use to howl together ! that was so funny! I used to really love singing it it was really a journey for me and I enjoyed the high pitches part of it very light and dreamy, vivid imagination.

Did Fodder play live much or were you mainly a studio concern? The shows that were played... what were they like?

A lot of rehearsals, and studio  then tours, which were great with a lot of friends all over Europe... and incredible relationship and a lot a funny stories.

What is your favorite of the Fodder songs you performed on and why?

My favorite song is Warm, because I was just so spontaneous and innocent It was so incredible to be singing the music was so original and ... warm... Then I liked very much Savoir Faire" I had this song in my blood I didn't have to remember anything it was coming out of me me just like perfect, the music was comfortable and joyful. There was an other song as well I don't remember its title and I dont think it had ever been released, Galapagos I think. that song was an incredible confusion of sounds and I could really make my way through it like in a complete jungle of noises I loved singin that one. But in fact I loved all the songs that Alig was making, they all were special and attractive and very poetical for me.

Have you made much music outside of Fodder?

A little bit with Vicent Fiedoroviczt, but no, singing was a story with Alig.

Are you aware of later popular bands like Stereolab who owe a clear debt to the Fodder sound... and, in particular, your singing style?

Yes and no. As I said my relationship with music was linked with Alig I am not really a musician, It happens that I met him and that helped me to keep alive.

How surprised were you to see Darlini joining the Fodder family in the '00s?

I was very happy, it was not so surprising for me but so glad that the story  of the Family carried on. Darlini is a real musician.

Do you ever get the desire to share new music with the world?

Maybe, who knows where my life is going to take me next.  I think of it, I feel sounds coming up in me, singing sounds like invisible stories with crystal bowls and loops of insects, birds and cast and GOATS... This is it !

Thanks a bunch, Dominique!

[itsabigailsparty-blog]

INTERVIEW WITH A FODDER #4: DARLINI SINGH KAUL

In celebration of the hit new big album ‘Variety’ and 30+ years of fantastic music, I present to you the fourth in a series of Family Fodder interviews… introducing second generation Fodder Darlini Singh Kaul!

Places to go:

Family Fodder Website: http://familyfodder.co.uk/

Family Fodder (Unofficial) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder

Family Fodder’s “Variety” on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/FamilyFodderTV

Darlini at Cosmic Event Productions: http://www.cosmic-event.com/?albums=darlini-singh-kaul

How/when did you first hear Family Fodder?

i heard family fodder on my first heart beat.. most likely in my mother's womb dominique (Family Fodder's original vocalist - talent runs in this family, no? - carlos) on an indian summer's day in the pink of london..

When handed lyrics to a new Fodder song, your first reaction is...?

Are you kidding me?? I mean out of any veggies and animals i have to sing about ponies and carrots? Love and goats.. I reckon it's pretty educational stuff though who would have known that one needs to peel a carrot before feeding a goat or viceversa...

Favorite Fodder song you've performed on?

LOve is like a goat

Favorite Fodder song you haven't performed on?

Dinosaur sex

Tell us about the music you've made outside of the Fodder?

I am a traveler at heart and i like to keep myself challenged, so i collect songs from different places in the world as i meet musicians and singers along my journey. I put my heart in it and make it mine for a few moments... I search for arabic afrikan and indian influence... mix it with a little western twang and a ping of salt to make the savor give the best of itself. I also perform my own composition solo and/or on "momentary collaboration" project.

What have you been listening to/watching/reading/eating this week?

Indeed i have been watching the goats.. with love. placid and self contained, reading women who run with wolves, eating pumkin whilst listening to the worker fixing the frozen water pipes in the mountains of Mendocino county to the rhythm of Dirty Projectors and Ojos de Brujo and indulging in crazy sound making by Sainkho Namtchylak

What's next on the horizon for you?

the sky, the other side of the world .. cities, stars upside down, hustle and bustle, music, more sky and india where i will be writing and collaborating with different artists to create a world music collection album.. and this is a long term project. and eventually sit still by the well

Most importantly... how has singing with Family Fodder changed your life?

Haha i don't think i would be who i am if it wasn't for family fodder.. like Mae says it made me a Rock Star.. and that from the word go.

Thanks a bunch, Darlini... and Happy New Year all!

BUY:

http://familyfodder.greedbag.com/buy/variety-6/

TRY:

Family Fodder – Variety

[itsabigailsparty-blog]

INTERVIEW WITH A FODDER #3: MAE KARTHAUSER

In celebration of the hit new big album 'Variety' and 30+ years of fantastic music, I present to you the third in a series of Family Fodder interviews... introducing big deal famous rockstar Mae Kartnauser!

Places to go:

Family Fodder Website: http://familyfodder.co.uk/

Family Fodder (Unofficial) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder

Family Fodder’s “Variety” on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/FamilyFodderTV

Mae & The Midnight Fairground : https://www.facebook.com/maeandthemidnightfairground

28th of September, 2013:

How/when did you first hear Family Fodder?

I first heard FF when I was still at Dartington College of Arts... I was sat in the Barn Theatre next to a very smiley looking man/child who was wearing a leather jacket over a colourful woolly jumper, and I thought I would like to be his friend. I knew he was up to no good. So he gave me the rough demo version of Classical Music and I told him he must teach me it. So he taught me how to play the pony song on marimba in the old Dartington Studios. And bought me cake. 

When handed lyrics to a new Fodder song, your first reaction is...?

Actually I typically get the demo version first and I listen... Getting raw lyrics doesnt really happen. I dont know if there is a universal reaction. Usually I am destroyed by the bonkers instrumentation and go straight to my car and turn it up really loud. 

Favorite Fodder song you've performed on?

My favourite? Dont be mean! Thats hard... But ones I really love...Hippy Bus to Spain, Love is Like a Goat... 

Favorite Fodder song you haven't performed on?

The Moon Told Me So... and the old classic Savoire Faire...

Tell us about the music you've made outside of the Fodder?

I have my own project, "The Midnight Fairground" which has been my dearest friend and nightmare since 2009... Its sort of antifolk/pop/circus. Dark, moody and playful in equal measure. Am currently recording the third album in collaboration with phenomenal producer and friend Jered Sorkin. Due for completion at the end of the year.

What have you been listening to/watching/reading/eating this week?

This week I have been eating a lot of eggs as omelettes are prime food for the recording studio! Ive been listening to Chavela Vargas a lot. And my Learning French Audio Book as I drove the hour commute every day to the studio...

What's next on the horizon for you?

Im going to finish my album... and this autumn I'm doing a little tour. And then Im getting myself over to warmer lands as fast as my legs/van can carry me..

Most importantly... how has singing with Family Fodder changed your life?

Singing with FF has resulted in an increased intake of cake, a better understanding of the importance in ones life of cats and all nice creatures stroke able. But most importantly: because of FF now I am a famous rock star. And being a famous rock star is quite a big deal. So FF has changed my life quite a lot.

Thanks a bunch, Mae!

[itsabigailsparty-blog]

INTERVIEW WITH A FODDER #2: ALIG FODDER

In celebration of the new hit album ‘Variety’ and 30+ years of fantastic music, I present to you the second in a series of Family Fodder interviews… introducing the legendary Alig Fodder!

Family Fodder Website: http://familyfodder.co.uk/

Family Fodder (Unofficial) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder

Family Fodder's "Variety" on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/FamilyFodderTV

10th of October, 2013:

In the early days of Family Fodder, who did you feel your contemporaries were? 

Do you mean contemporary influences? More or less of the same age? That would rule out earlier influences (Beatles, Kinks, Zappa, Velvets, Syd, Tamla), This Heat were an important influence - but by concentrating on 'pop' songs we were a bit different from them. We all liked Brian Eno, Talking Heads, The Pop Group, The Slits, Flying Lizards, 23 Skidoo and so on. In a less obvious way,  The Eurythmics and Siouxsie and the Banshees were also contemporaries. Laurie Anderson, Steve Reich, Lee Perry and Ennio Morricone were also big influences. Strangely enough, last night I dreamed that Lou Reed came round my house - I made him a toasted sandwich with falafel, melted cheese and salad; he really enjoyed it.

Of your early work, which songs/albums most represent what you were trying to achieve?

Nearly all of the singles! Also 'Monkey Banana Kitchen' and 'Schizophrenia Party'. I loved singles at a time when musicians were into albums. I wanted to do something as good as 'Strawberry Fields', 'Good Vibrations', 'Heard it through the Grapevine', 'I am the Walrus'. Still do.

Your work has taken in a number of musical styles. Do some songs start as genre exercises for you or do you just tend to follow your nose? 

When we did do genre exercises, they were usually tongue-in-cheek - and seriously inaccurate. But by now it has become normal to be eclectic. We all have access to a huge resource of styles, cultural memes, and historical artefacts - and it just keeps growing. Most recorded music is, and most people are, hybrid - we are all postmodern mongrels from a vast gene pool.

Indulge me briefly with tales of the writing/recording of 'Film Music' please? It's my favorite song.

Actually, I wrote that song for Hermine Demoriane - weird cabaret singer. For one reason or another, we never got round to doing it. Anyway the song was clearly FF - rather than cabaret. We recorded it in London with the 'Schizophrenia Party' band: Grahame Painting (guitar, perc. backing vox), and Bazz Smith, (drums) with Dominique Levillain on lead vocals. I played the synth and overdubbed guitar and backing vox.  I wrote the song on the piano at Dominique's house; it started with the lyric "Film Music is empty - it pleases me - come and see". Later I developed the verses - which are kinda surreal contradictory vignettes about a female film star in various exotic locations. Bazz and I recorded the backing to a click track - which was kinda weird, because there are quite a few time signature changes. Ian Hill does the vocal adlibs on the fadeout.

I have to confess to a bit of a blind spot regarding your work from the late 80s through the early millennium. Where should one start investigating this period and what should be expected? 

I became a professional busker (piano accordion) and lived in Europe - Italy, Switzerland and France. I never stopped recording, but FF was deeply unfashionable in that period. I think there were 15 years that I couldn't get a release. In the mid 80s I was touring with a band called 'Lo Yo Yo' that I started with Mick Hobbs (ex FF, The Work).

As a music fan, what do you most enjoy listening to that doesn't necessarily show up as an influence in your music?

A lot of African, Arabic and Indian music. Those guys are streets ahead!

Congratulations on 'Variety.' It's a fantastic record. What interested you about re-recording/re-framing some of your more recent (and not so recent) work on this album?

Thank you. 'Variety' came about by accident; it was a kinda elaboration of the idea of a band (Family Fodder) that has more 'Greatest Hits' albums than official releases. This one was going to be called 'Latest Hits'. Last year we did six download singles - one every month: this album collected (different versions of) those - in a traditional Tin Pan Alley way. I wrote a couple of new tunes and also remastered some material from that 'lost' period you referred to (1986-1999). There were originally quite a few instrumentals, but later it became clear that it was a record about songwriting and lyrics. The title alludes to an earlier, not entirely serious, album: 'All Styles' - but also to the rather antique kind of show business variety performances: a ventriloquist followed by a singer, a dance troupe, a comedian and acrobatic poodles.

How do you decide who sings a Fodder song? How do you choose your collaborators?

In the early days Dominique was the main singer; I wrote a lot of lyrics from 'her' point of view - like other lyricists I am often expressing an imaginary narrator as well as more direct, sincere, first-person situations. Many songs don't work for my voice, so I often looked for collaborators. Recently I've worked with Darlini Singh-Kaul (daughter of Dominique) and Mae Karthauser - both excellent singers/musicians with their own styles and material. I choose collaborators for their good humour and dedication - I don't believe they are in it for the money! On 'Variety' there are wonderful contributions from Professor Zoom and Bill Brand. Other FF vocalists have included Ian Hill, Lyn Alice and Felix Fiedorowicz.

What does the future hold for you musically, Fodder or otherwise?

Keeping on keeping on: Playing, learning, revisiting, composing, experimenting, celebrating, dreaming ................

There will certainly be some busking - weather permitting!

We hope to get the live band back together for touring soon - but we need more serious gig offers - they tend to come in ones and twos instead of the tens or twelves that we need. Everyone is older - with families and stuff- so it takes a bit more organisation than thirty years ago!

  Bravo, Alig!

[itsabigailsparty-blog]

Interview With A Fodder #1: Grahame Painting

In celebration of the new hit album 'Variety' and 30+ years of fantastic music, I present to you the first in a series of Family Fodder interviews... introducing guitarist, bassist, cellist and percussionist Grahame Painting!

(Where possible, these interviews will be presented verbatim, the only edits being from follow-up correspondence. With so little Fodder info out there, I'm loathe to leave anything on the cutting room floor.)

Family Fodder Website: http://familyfodder.co.uk/

Family Fodder (Unofficial) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder

Without further adieu:

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this, Grahame. 'Variety' is a FANTASTIC record and I have a lot of respect for what you're up to!

Many thanks. That's very heartening.

- We share a birthday. April 15th. Knowing this, does that make you more or less comfortable about the interview to follow?

More comfortable. And I hope you'll be pleased to know, if you didn't already, that we're in the company of Leonardo da Vinci, Henry James, Émile Durkheim, Nikita Khrushchev, Bessie Smith, Arshile Gorky, Marty Wilde and Benjamin Zephaniah. I won't mention Jeffrey Archer . . .

    (edit: i will mention Samantha Fox and Kim Il Sung. what does it all mean?)

- You've created Incidental music for the BBC, yes? Where can we hear this work?

I've done four pieces over the past couple of years, all for Newsnight, a nightly national news analysis programme on BBC Two TV. The first broadcast was about the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which you can find on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMEB8OlnHwc). The next was about rare life-forms in the fragile Croatian cave systems being under threat from development (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/9577248.stm). Then early this year I did music for a very interesting story about geothermal and solar energy in Kenya, which was also broadcast on BBC radio and BBC World News TV (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n3csrmz5/broadcasts). And the most recent was for a story about Syrian refugees fleeing the internal conflict and trying to make their way to a safe new life in Europe via Turkey and Greece (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b02xdtdb). A truly heartbreaking tale.

- From the FF fb page, Andrew Cowen wonders "Can you hold your own in a fight with a badger?"

Doubtful, though I've never been put to the test . . . I'm gonna get me a gun.

    - What brought you back to Family Fodder after all your time away?

I gave up music for the second half of the Eighties and then played sessions in pop, dance and funk during the Nineties. I got in touch with Alig again in 2005 after about ten years of intermittent contact and of following our separate ways, and it seemed natural to think about resuming working together. I've done things with him on and off ever since. From the late Nineties I played a lot of experimental music as well as jazz, blues and pop, combining that with a 15-year stint in print journalism, which I ended a couple of years ago. About three years ago Alig once again suggested doing some more work together. And so that's what happened. I'd always regarded my time with Family Fodder in the early Eighties as being one of my most creative periods.

- Favorite Fodder song you've played on? 

Film Music, without a doubt. Though I was never listed on the credits, I played percussion (cowbell) and sang harmony vocal. I was involved in the mixdown, too, which was quite complicated because it was done before the advent of automated desks. Good fun though -- all hands on deck, as it were, manipulating the faders, panning and EQ. We started the recording session of the song with Bazz Smith putting down the drum track unaccompanied. I'm also very keen on Room, the B side, and Tea With Dolly and Better Lies, from Schizophrenia Party.

    - Favorite Fodder song you haven't played on?

Cold Wars, from Monkey Banana Kitchen, and Hippy Bus To Spain, from Variety -- first equal.

    - Favorite songs/performances from your other work over the years?

Last year my own band Horseless Headmen (https://www.facebook.com/HorselessHeads) released our first album, The Whole Nine Yards (www.northcircularrecords.com), which I'm quite proud of. I also like some of the things I did in the Nineties with the trip-hop trio Baby Fox (eg. Rain, Johnny Lipshake, Nearly Beautiful (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP2swNWAV1U) and on the eponymous and very funky Principles Of Soul album (eg.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCMqrDfLFQQ).

    - From the FF fb page, Simon Maxwell-Stewart of Brighton asks "How did you manage to make such fun music recording in This Heat's scary former meat locker recording studio Cold Storage?"

I remember Cold Storage as being a bit gloomy rather than scary. But, anyway, Family Fodder recorded mainly at other London studios of the day -- our own San Carlo (4 track), Elephant (8 track, later 16 track), Berry Street (16 track), Village Way (16 track), Vineyard (24 track) and mobile 16 track. Charles Bullen of This Heat played on several Fodder tracks and we lived in a shared house in King's Cross for a while. Lovely chap. I haven't seen him in ages but I'm still in occasional contact with Charles Hayward.

    - Was there ever an ambition within Fodder to be a "bigger" or more "careerist" group? 

We wanted to be as popular as possible, though were always concerned to follow our own path. Our "cult status" is entirely accidental.

- How does Fodder operate when writing/recording now and how does that differ (if at all) from how things were done 30 years ago? 

We record digitally now. Previously we worked on tape, which often involved creating physical loops and doing a lot of bouncing when we had track limitations. Writing when I was first in the band was always a combination of either prewritten songs being rehearsed and then recorded, or pieces that came out of improvising, either in rehearsal or in the studio, which then either were or were not further manipulated either in rehearsal or in the studio, or both. Sometimes parts were very exactly written or otherwise predetermined. In my recent Fodder recordings I did the bidding, to a greater or lesser extent, of Alig, who had written the material and already recorded it, either in sketch form or in the shape it would ultimately take once completed. The band has always been a vehicle for Alig -- it's his conception -- though it was also very collaborative in its early days.

- Possible that there'll be any live shows to highlight the great work on 'Variety'?

That I cannot tell you because I don't know. But it would be nice if it happened. Any promoters out there want to book us a tour or two?

    - Which other artists do you feel have made an album which stands as the equal of their best work, 30+ years into their career?

Well, for a start I think it's fairly common in classical music. Mitsuko Uchida is playing ever brilliantly, as is Andràs Schiff. In recent history I would say the obvious example is Glenn Gould. Composers, too, so often improve with age. The towering figure, beyond even Shostakovich and J S Bach, has to be Richard Strauss, who wrote Death And Transfiguration in 1888-89 at the age of 24 and ended his career with the sublime Four Last Songs, which he wrote in 1948 when he was 84. In jazz and blues I would cite Trevor Watts, Wayne Shorter, Sun Ra, Ella Fitzgerald and John Lee Hooker. Miles Davis at a stretch. Outside those genres, I would say Mavis Staples, Bob Dylan, Martin Carthy, David Bowie (almost) and absolutely definitely Robert Plant. I have a lot of respect for him. The recent Band Of Joy album is equal in its way to anything he did with Led Zeppelin.

    (edit: Grahame agrees with my nominations of Derek Bailey and Morton Feldman for this achievement, but isn't feeling Scott Walker's latest... and, what a crime, did not know Sparks still existed!)

Thanks so much,

Carl

PS: You aren't listed in the credits, but have to ask... did you play on or were you present for the "Film Music" recording? 

It's my favorite song ever.

Thank you!

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