paris, up and a gratuitous bald patch
an interview with peter gabriel
In Box the air is crisp, though the stream flows languidly around a building only a mother could love. We set foot on the premises knowing full well that we are trespassing and that this is not the first time we have braved risk of prosecution. Our last interview with Peter Gabriel went rather well, but ended on less than satisfactory terms. But still Real World studios has a certain magnetism about it. There are things happening here that we are very keen to find out more about. Peter gave us some enigmatic comments regarding the release of his new record titled Up, but there was nothing concrete, nothing specific. So we took it upon ourselves to travel across the oceans to the opposite side of the world.
While our intrepid Plausible staff member battled his way from Heathrow to Box (the Picadilly line was the worst of it and that only got him as far as Victoria Station), Peter was stepping off the Eurostar fresh from his Paris gig for Amnesty, his first gig since 1994.
pp: Hi Peter.
pg: Um, hi.
pp: Are you tired?
pg: Yeah, but it was a good gig.
pp: What did you play?
pg: Ah, Red Rain, Signal to Noise and In Your Eyes. the last two were with Youssou N'Dour.
pp: Three songs? Hmm, mind you that's a pretty good set even if it is just three songs. Red Rain is an unusual choice. Any particular significance for the Amnesty concert?
pg: Years ago I had a recurring dream. I was swimming in a swirling sea of red and black. I remember a tremendous turmoil as the sea was parted by two white walls. A series of bottles, of human shape, were carrying the red water from one wall to another, then dropping down to smash into little pieces at the bottom of the second wall. I used this scene for a scene in a story in which the red sea and the red rain from which it formed represented thoughts and feelings that were being denied.
pp: [evidently humouring Gabriel] Hmm, okay. Actually I saw you perform Red Rain at your Brisbane concert, it's an underrated live song.
pg: Thanks.
pp: Was it difficult to return to Signal to Noise without Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan?
Peter's only other live performance of Signal to Noise at the VH1 awards was heavily reliant on the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's inimitable vocalisations.
pg: He was an extraordinary artist. I've never known someone who can reach into people and lift you up in the way that he could with his voice. He was always warm open and generous and willing to try anything we would throw at him. It was a tremendous loss for me personally and for all those who worked with him.
pp: How cognisant were you of Nusrat's condition before his death?
pg: We'd been aware that Nusrat was not well for some time with dialysis, the diabetic problem as well as the weight problem and we were and we were trying to encourage things along with this kidney transplant. It's very sad and tragic that he was coming to London to stablise his condition in preparation for the kidney transplant when he died... it's a terrible loss.
pp: Early reports from Radio Real World cite your new influence in the songwriting process as none other than the guitar. You must be one of the few modern musicians to not have been already influenced by rock and roll's instrument of choice.
pg: [long pause] Ah, I suppose so. Actually writing songs on the guitar was a new experience for me.
pp: Was there any actual change in your approach to the songwriting process?
pg: Sometimes writing a song is like scaling a mountain: you think you're at the top but there's still more to climb. Then you look down and you know you've reached the goal. A lot of things come out of playing around with rhythm machines, synths, effects and computers in ways that were not intended. Boredom and fatigue are also great creative tools; sometimes you have to kill ideas off in order for new ones to emerge.
pp: Been doing a lot of scaling mountains and killing ideas off lately?
pg: Something like that.
pp: Fans are literally salivating about Up (well we are anyway). After such a long time any new information is siezed upon and relayed throughout the globe to the point where we're all very dubious about information now. I read information the other day stating that this would be your most African album to date. any truth these rumours?
pg: I wouldn't like to spoil the surprise for you. It will be different from any other previous record.
pp: You're using a different studio team to any previous release.
pg: Yeah, Dickie (Chappel) and Meabh (Flynn) have helped me construct the songs out of the sounds and samples we recorded last summer. The core of the band is the same though of Tony, David and Manu. There's quite a few songs now, but we still have the art work, the remixes and other projects to complete before we can release.
pp: Still remaining tight-lipped about the release date?
pg: Of course! It will be released in spring next year. when I know a specific date, I'll let you know.
pp: [Mutters something under his breath]
pg: Pardon?
pp: Nothing. [Clears throat] In fact the only reason we know this much about the new record is because of the statement you made when REM beat you to the title. That must have been irritating.
pg: At first it was. When I first found out about the REM album title I thought that my Up project, which had always been related to rivers, was now going up shit creek. However, after some reflection and consultation with REM, I have decided to keep the name of the album intact. I have always loved REM's music and respected their commitment to social change and human rights. To find myself sharing a title with them is therefore not a problem.
pp: For something that could have been a potential disaster, it was all very gentlemanly. I love the statement made by Peter Buck (incidentally a hero of mine along with your good self): "We first considered calling our album, Peter Gabriel's Up, but decided that just Up was the way to go. We hope in the future that all bands will also adopt this title in a showing of solidarity."
pg: There is no band I would rather share a title with.
pp: Have you heard anything about our webpage empty white noise?
pg: Is that the one with all the coffee references?
pp: Never mind. One more thing before we let you go. Can we get a decent good look at the new freshly shaved look?
pg: [Grins, shaking his head slowly, then graciously bows forward] Here.
The sound of the stream continues scuttling away as Peter pads towards the infamous Real World Big Room, chuckling at the cheekiness of this uninvited Australian interviewer. As he opens the door a tantalising burst of music wafts across the grass. Is this a glimpse into the world of Up? Maybe. maybe not. For all our boasting we still managed to get very little out of this tight lipped musician. Suddenly the idea of waiting for Up seems less like an ordeal and more like a resigned subconscious excitement. What is he working on now? Is it the cover art? The new videos? Could he possibly be in the planning stages of the Up tour? Is he scrapping the whole lot for the forty-eighth time and starting from scratch again? Somehow our imagination is more vivid and no doubt more interesting that the reality. Is he sitting on the bog? Shit, I hope not. And so Plausible Publications leave Box for the second time, not with a sense of foreboding dread (and bruises) as before, but rather a warm and fuzzy feeling. Our confidence in the talent of this man continues to astound us. Maybe they are putting something in the water in Box....
