Stuart Aitken

Digital portfolio of stories for a range of publications including The Guardian, Wax Poetics, bbc.co.uk and Mojo.

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The Orb - “That Top of the Pops changed my life” - Sabotage Times, June 2015

(Sadly the Sabotage Times is no more, so this story appears via the magic of the Wayback Machine).

The story behind The Orb’s famous appearance on Top of the Pops in June 1992 when Alex Patterson and Kris Weston played chess “live’ on prime time TV.

The story features an interview with Alex Patterson who explains how the performance transformed the life of a young Robbie Williams.

The story also references the time when Inspector Morse went raving and national TV stations provided live coverage of Castlemorton to highlight the importance of an odd two months in the history of UK broadcasting.

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Aphex Twin: his Soundcloud dump shows how musicians can shock and delight - The Guardian, January 2015

A blog about Richard D James' decision to flood Soundcloud with unreleased recordings and early demos. 

The article explores James' evolving relationship with his fans and the methods that he employs to communicate / share music with them - and argues that more musicians should follow his example and explore the creative opportunities of the web.

See also my history of Rephlex written in 2003 featuring an interview with Rephlex co-founder Grant Wilson-Claridge.

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No tartan, no shortbread – King Creosote portrays a different Scotland - The Guardian, June 2014 A feature for the Guardian on King Creosote's soundtrack for the film From Scotland With Love. The film, commissioned for the Commonwealth Games, brought together Kenny Anderson (King Creosote) and film maker Virginia Heath to create a poetic film exploring the history of Scotland. The finished work was compiled entirely from archive footage and set to King Creosote's music.

Read the full story.

In July 2006 I interviewed King Creosote for a piece for Flux magazine. Read it here.

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Mistletoe and Chime: the story of Orbital's acid house - The Guardian, December 2013 A feature on the legacy of Orbital's seminal first hit Chime.

To coincide with release a Christmas version of Chime, the piece features an extensive interview with Paul Hartnoll about the history of a song that changed the public's perception of dance music - and the thoughts of Michael Eavis on the duo's legendary appearance at Glastonbury in 1994.

Read the full story.

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The 25 year anniversary of Stakker Humanoid - The Guardian, November 2013 A feature for the Guardian to mark the 25 year anniversary of the first credible UK acid house record to hit the mainstream, Stakker Humanoid. The story features an extensive interview with Brian Dougans the track's creator. Also featured are interviews with unlikely early champions of the record, ex Radio 1 DJ Bruno Brookes and Pete Waterman who explains the back story behind this legendary piece of footage from TV programme The Hitman & Her http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMSap7ZbJA0

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Charanjit Singh's Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat - The Guardian May 2011

A feature for the Guardian on the unlikely story behind Charanjit Singh's unlikely record Ten Ragas To a Disco Beat - seen by many as a forerunner of acid house.

This was Charanjit's first ever interview with a UK journalist.

The interview took place on a sunny Sunday afternoon in a suburban house in Acton during one of Charanjit's rare visits to London. Read the whole story here. Following the publication of this story, I did an interview for US radio. Listen here.

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Italian synth-wave - Flux September 2010 A feature on the re-discovery of 80s Italian synth wave. Featuring an interview with Mannequin Records founder Alessandro Adriani whose compilation Danza Meccanica sheds new light on a forgotten scene.

The artists featured on Danza Meccanica were fascinated by the latest electronic innovations and influenced by English labels like Factory, 4AD and Mute.

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Arthur Russell - Wax Poetics June 2007 A feature for New York based magazine Wax Poetics on avant garde disco legend Arthur Russell. Featuring interviews with key players from the time (including Nicky Siano, Francois Kevorkian and Bob Blank).

The article also features the thoughts of Arthur's friends and family (including parents Chuck and Emily and boyfriend Tom Lee).

The story is now available to read here on the Wax Poetics website.

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R&S Records / Optimo - Flux Magazine, June 2009

A feature to mark the release of In Order to Edit a remix collaboration between R&S Records and JD Twitch of Optimo. Features interviews with  R&S founder Renaat Vandepapeliere and legendary Glaswegian DJ JD Twitch.

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Steve Reich - Flux, June 2009

A feature about avant-garde minimalist composer Steve Reich on the eve of his concert with Kraftwerk at the Manchester Velodrome. The story features an interview with the composer who surprisingly admits that he was unfamiliar with Kraftwerk's music. 

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Staff Benda Bilili - Flux, March 2009

A feature on Staff Benda Bilili, a collection of Paraplegic street musicians who were discovered living in and around the grounds of the zoo in Kinshasa, Congo. The feature tells the story of how the band were formed and discovered - and charts their tentative progress towards what would eventually become worldwide fame.

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Flying Lotus - Flux, July 2008

An interview with Steven Ellison AKA Flying Lotus.

The hip hop producer talks about his love for classic Warp artists like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher and explains why he supports Obama.

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Suicide - Flux magazine, September 2007

An interview with Alan Vega of Suicide in the run up to the 30th anniversary of Suicide’s ground-breaking debut album.

Vega talks about the influence of bands live Silver Apples, Can and Neu! and explains that one of his proudest moments was when Bruce Springsteen covered Dream Baby Dream. 

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Arthur Russell - Plan B, March 2007

Wild Combination - A feature focusing on Arthur Russell's more avant garde compositions.

Featuring interviews with Arthur's partner Tom Lee, his mother and father Chuck and Emily, long-time collaborators Steven Hall and Peter Zummo and producer Bob Blank.

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Arthur Russell - Flux, December 2006

A feature outlining how Arthur Russell's music is being re-discovered. Features an interview with the man responsible for a large number of posthumous releases, Steve Knutson of Audika Records. The article also tells the story of Another Thought, the album released on Philip Glass's Point Music just after Arthur's death. Don Christensen, the album's producer tells the story of how he put the album together - and why he was driven to do so.

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King Creosote - Flux Magazine - July 2006

An interview with King Creosote where he talks about the early days of Fence Records and explains why he chooses to spend most of his time in a small seaside town on the east coast of Scotland.

In June 2014 I wrote a feature for the Guardian on King Creosote’s soundtrack for the film From Scotland With Love - read it here.

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George Clinton - Flux July 2006

George Clinton, Funkadelic & journeys aboard the Mothership - A feature on George Clinton. Featuring an interview with the legendary funketeer discussing everything from the Dogons and their influence on the Funkadelic sound to acid adventures with Iggy Pop.

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