PROBE
Goldie
Interview by Rada Djurica
While the Echo Festival demonstrates how Belgrade is becoming a contemporary
arts and music world center, another great example is the visit last October
of British drum & base club music star Goldie.
To the British club scene, Goldie is what Andy Worhol was to New York
in the '60s and '70s. He is the face of the contemporary London club scene.
Goldie’s image means not only golden teeth and gold rings, but also
great talent.
Goldie wasn’t a DJ during the '90s, but he was influenced by those hard drum and bass sounds. That was rave's revenge, the beginning of plugging into a whole new dimension, the beat of a dancescape. With his charisma, Goldie turned his Metalheadz clan, into one of British electronic music's most influential labels, and he's popularly called the Godfather of Jungle.
In the '90s, under the name Refuge Crew, he recorded the singles "Rollin’ like a Scottie," "Manslaughter" and "Fury." Than came the singles, "Terminator" first and second part, for synthetic Metalheadz.
His fans are teens, scarred by using ecstasy, living deep inside their computers. Goldie is the perfect image of a golden middle class, already the veteran of a decade of living a hip-hop lifestyle, and an established artist with a computer vision.
The graffiti boy got his first big success with the single "Angel." Goldie is the first artist to mix a raver beat with the classic singing values of Massive Attack or Bjork. The luscious track "Angel" is a ballad mutated by infectious high tech harmony and delicate vocals.
His first album, Timeless, came out in 1993. Timeless brought jungle to the mainstream. However, Goldie refuses to call his music jungle, naming it "inner city ghetto music."
His music travels from electronic darkness to light, across oceans, across streets, ambience and jazz. When a chord sounds, you don't know if it's a harp, a choir of angels or a machine. He creates liquid space and rhythm you can get lost in.
In 1995 he tasted his first international success. On his album from 1998, he worked with David Bowie, Noel Gallager and Bjork. The 1998 LP included a very long song called "Mother," dedicated to his Scottish mother, who left him when he was a child.
Goldie is also trying out his skills as a film star (Everybody Loves Sunshine with David Bowie) and a writer, with his autobiography, 9 Lives.
What’s it feel like, being in Belgrade?
It feels like the revolution. It feels good. It’s a really good thing. I've never been here before. It’s always interesting to go to places where there are big social changes. It’s very important that there is a social revolution over here. There’s an acoustic that changes everything around here. And that’s exciting.
Why now? Is that politics?
I can’t help it. It's not about politics; it's about being put into the environment
What do you prefer to do: graffiti art or music?
I’ve always been involved with urban art soul and was brought up in that kind of social system with an urban environment where subculture hip-hop had took off. It's something that had been interesting me because it was different. Then I realized that transition was something that always has been, with subculture and graffiti and hip-hop, which is very similar. And I kind of applied same method to music and graffiti writing that was always the same thing to me, you know. It's about the same messages, and it takes you to the same energy.
Can you define your music?
The music I can’t define. It’s all about music wherever it is. I think that we take music from everything, and it’s a wonderful thing, trying to make something out of nothing. You just take it as it is, and that’s what it is. For me, the definition comes when it becomes commercial, but it doesn’t really matter. I can’t tell you, you can always say this is drum and base or something anything like that.
What’s your theory of music?
Of course, my theory of music and everyone else’s theory is different, I don’t mind commercially cause commercially spoiled music... I like music that starts right from the bottom and works right to the top.
One of the funniest things, and things that I would like to know is, I say to turn the TV off. Because as long as you are making music, there was a Serbian or Yugoslavian version of it. And that is fantastic, because commercial, it is -- and that’s what it is, the cover version of a drum and base record.
And I think that any good music gets the new generations involved. When it comes to social aspects of music, I think that everything has its place, and if you have a contrast in music then it’s going to be just great. That’s why punk in the '80s was so diverse, and we were all using that kind of sound. I think that drum and base questions its viability to affect the youth culture.
What are the places where drum and base is popular?
Brazil, Seattle, Austin Texas, Manila, Korea, the places that are labeled by older generations. You know, Texas is the place for cowboys, Seattle is the place for guitars. And you always think that you don’t want to be part of the normal thing, you want to be different from the rest of the world. I find that exciting.
How do you see Brazilian drum and base?
I just think that music is not about drum; it's about sound. And at the end of the big cycle, where the drum and base revolution is concerned, people forget that Latino music was always there, it just wasn’t synthesized. It wasn’t a sequence. So when you get in that kind of situation, it’s got to make you think.
The Latino music market now is massive. Alsoo in the USA, because the Latino market was always about drums. It's never been about, not about electronic music. But a mixture of that. It’s not like they westernized the sound; it’s about drums.
The same in Africa. The beat coming out of Africa, from Africa to Jamaica, from Jamaica to America... and this is a big circle. I like that; we generally like that. And that’s a long period of time.
Latino music sounds fantastic. A lot of great sound came out of it. Every place in the world has it coming out; even America finally has it. But Brazilians' music has influential labels, and that’s it.
What are the best places in London?
There are definitely lots of places to go. Most definitely. I think Leeds, Natos is pretty good. Obviously, The End is good.
Lots of places are playing commercial music, but you got to accept that because, it's getting into the audience. The audiences like that; they got to go around. There has to be lots of good clubs, I mean. Special. Rage, Speed, Oxford as well. Oxford is a great place to play music.
Who's your favorite DJ?
My favorite DJ is Mark Intellect. I think that he has got lots of style. My favorite is DJ Fabio. Besides him, I think that Intellect has definitely something inside. Hard and smooth.
How did you feel about playing the villain in Everybody Loves Sunshine
with David Bowie?
That was good, but I was very disappointed when I’ve realized that the director would be an actor in the film, as well. I think that people who direct and act at the same time do lots of work. I kind of enjoy that.
David Bowie once said that he knew people like that in the past?
I think that there are so many people like that. And it wasn’t hard to play that role. I mean, I do enjoy acting, you know.
Any more films?
My first screenplay is coming out, I think. Which is my opus, as they say. I’m working on the film…
What do you enjoy most?
All of it. I spend seasons doing stuff I’m doing and a half year doing some music, new music, doing film, in February 2003, I am starting new film, I’m doing a new album in March 2003, and a film soundtrack. It finally all goes back around. And I’m doing painting shows every other August. I’m writing a new book, which is out end of the November, which is called Nine Lives. I enjoy it all. I wouldn't stop doing more things; I would always do it all.
What about graffiti on the walls? What do you write about?
I think that when you start doing it you just keep on doing it. I was doing it in Sheffield [last time]. That’s what I love about it. So many artists generated. You get trained to do things when the company employs you. But this art, it's a totally different energy. Takes same enegy, just like in making music.
What about more work with David Bowie?
I’ve got a few things I'm working on with him.
You got married few weeks ago?
Yes, that’s me. I’m done; finished!