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Steve Gilmore
(Interviewed on Friday, December 08, 2006)
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Where do you live and where are you originally from?
I live in St Johns Wood in London home to every wannabe on Earth.
Do you work , full/part time/ self employed?
There is a rumour (probably put about by an eight legged scuttling thing called Spyda) that I never sleep but that's wrong. I raise my boys, I design, build and maintain websites and I write countless unfathomable reviews and, ocassionally, I manage to squeeze a few tracks of my own out to a blissful silence..
Where do you make your music ? (e.g. studio/bedroom/separate room) and describe the surroundings ?
I make music in the corner of my living room (which is why my neighbours hate me and my family are stone deaf). I have a M-Audio keyboard, a halfway decent PC with lots of wallop, a 7.1 speaker system with as much wallop as the PC. It also helps that I have a couple of studio's worth of virtual post and pre-production software to tickle all that lot with.
When did you first really start getting into music, and what was the first single/album you ever bought with your own cash?
S'easy.. I've always been into music except most of the music that was around when I was a kid was completely bland and tasteless, but I did like the Big Band jazz and songs that my parents liked. That automatically led into checking out a thing called Rythm and Blues and I think the first record I ever bought myself was Bob & Earl's Harlem Shuffle in 1962. it was a seven inch 45rpm vynil record and I had an old Dansette to play it on and I drove everyone wild with it for weeks. I've pursued that same interest ever since in one way or another, which is why my neighbours hate me and my family etc etc etc...
Who were your musical heroes when you were at school?
Nobody. The first musical heroes who ever made any real impression upon me was the Beatles and that was after I left school.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Played at, or went to? Dammit, I'm feeling verbose (ooh there's a thing!) so I'll give you both answers. The first gig I ever went to were really local things with local bands - for local people like me. I think the first really serious gig I went to was some 'pop' roadshow around 1966 that featured Spencer Davis Group, The Searchers, Small Faces and a bunch of others. The first gig I ever played at was in a tatty part-time bingo hall in Leicester and I still deny all responsibility for the mayhem and carnage that took place that night. And if that saucy barwench tells you I gave her one in the back of the hall, I'll deny that too.
What was the best gig you ever went to?
Without a doubt, the Isle Of Wight Festival 1970, followed by Phun City in 1972. The combination of talent at the IOW festival was staggering, even though I spent most of the time hanging with Hawkind and the Pink Fairies who were definitely not on the main bill It surely is a miracle that I can remember anything whatsoever do I do remember a blinding Who performance, fragments of Hendrix and a million hours of Hawkind and Pink Fairies performances.
What would you say were your main strengths musically?
Mmmm. I think I know what works sonically and what doesn't and that usually covers a lot of blemishes. If I had to choose I would have to say arrangement and production. Sometimes I wish I could be a more inventive musician but either my hands won't perform the trick or my brain can't encompass it. That's why a lot of my tracks rely on the rhythm to keep the pot boiling. I've always been pretty sharp at really hearing music (as individual instruments) even within a mix, and I guess that also shows in my songwriting. I'd rather the listener got the emotional content of the track rather than any real 'song' structure, because I don't really do those. Which is probably why I have done so many other artists remixes over the past two or three years.
Looking around you, what would you say was the most encouraging aspects of the music industry at the moment?
The music industry? Not much encouraging there. The internet music industry - on the other hand - is gathering pace. To be honest I don't think - at this stage - the music business is even aware of the amount of raw talent hanging around in here. I'd say the most encouraging thing for me personally is to see so many dedicated, committed musicians literally doing it for themselves and - in the process - hopefully enlarging the audience for the new (and very underground) vibrant, living scene that revolves around sites like MP3 Unsigned.
Which track that you have written/created/produced would you say is your best work (to date) ?
This is a completely unanswerable question, or at the very least impossible. I like, for example, All The Children and The Rock for their emotional content and message. There again, I like Massi and Kasha for their world blends. I suspect I am like most musicians, I like to listen to my own music; partly to spot existing flaws and flay yourself with them and partly because once I stop tinkering with them and shove them out of the nest I never wanna hear the damn things ever again.
What would you say most influences/inspires you to write a track, and what is your most regular process in creating a new track ?
Events, dear boy, events. Usually the music comes before the title or style of the track. Whenever I get a spare minute, I'll get a jam going and generally have around 6-10 going at any one time. These usually get added to, and crimped up over a period of time until they form a body of work that could roughly be called compositions. Then I spend days and days listening before remixing everything time and time and time and time again. The most regular process in creating a new track are the endless hours poured in the mix/remix. I have been known to remix a track some 17-18 times but I know some loonies who go a LOT further than that but hey, thats their cross to bear. The outcome, of course, of all this activity is a certain sharpness, accuracy of sound that spells quality, consistency.
Who or what do you admire most in the current music industry ?
The online musicians and the community they have fostered in every nook and cranny of the internet. God bless 'em!.
Who or what do you have most contempt for in the current music industry ?
Corporate A&R;
On Mp3unsigned, what would you change ?
I wouldn't change anything about MP3 Unsigned. It has its ups and its downs but it also has a very distinct personality that distinguishes it from many other OMDs. I like the MP3 Unsigned community too although I don't get to spend near enough time on here outside of my own work and - of course - the reviews.
Which artist on mp3unsigned do you most enjoy ?
This year definitely, in my books, belongs to The Shed, Smalllife, Redshirt Theory.
Iif you were stranded (desert island disks style) and could only ever have 3 tracks to play, which would they be and why ?
I'd have to take the Fifth on this one too, yer honour. I'm really rubbish at this kind of game.
Same question , but which 1 book and 1 movie ?
See above
What track do you hate most in the world, and why ?
The Birdy Song because it typifies everything I hate.
Throughout history, pick someone that you admire most, and tell us why ?
Jimi Hendrix. No question. The man played a central part in expanding musical and spiritual boundaries for a whole generation and for many other since then. He wasn't a bad geetar player either. I admire the courage and conviction of people like Dr Martin Luther King and anyone else who stands up for what they believe in - whatever the consequences.
If you had the time to learn a new instrument, what would it be, and why ?
A sitar, because I love the sound of it. I can strum one, of course, like any other Western musician but to really play one... Mmmmmmmm
Who (where or what if needs be) would you say are your true musical influences ?
Early english pop (circa 1960's), heavy rock, reggae...
If Beethoven were alive today, which genre of music would he be making, and would he be a success?
He'd be lining me up for a review of his latest 'soundtrack' peice and going by that action, no he would not be a success. Anyone who thinks getting a review from me is going to do anything needs their head examined.
Car or Bike?
Car. Big. Mean. Grrr.
You are allowed to slap 1 politician, who you gonna slap?
The Great Pretender, Gordon Brown
How much of your day do you spend listening to, creating or thinking about music?
Most. I'm either listening to music or writing about it.
When was the last time you sat in quiet, and gave yourself time to think?
Saturday. I find it is essential to chill out for a few hours every week, go somewhere new and (literally) read a book. Very theraputic, at least for me.
What was your worst fashion disaster?
I was born one and I guess I will die one. Still, being a fashion disaster isn't so bad. After all, we are all going to go there sooner or later. Best not to worry about it daaahhhling....
Muwwwaaahhhh muuuuwaaahhhhh
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To listen to Steve Gilmore,
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Acoustic
