Part 2

How do you feel your sense of identity influences your collaborations? Do you feel as though you are able to express yourself more fully in solo mode or, conversely, through the interaction with other musicians? Are you “gaining” or “sacrificing” something in a collaboration?

As mentioned earlier I don't have great improvisation skills, so I express myself less in regards to playing collaboratively in the moment. So yeah, writing by myself / solo mode, I definitely express more of myself.

But the more one expresses themselves, the more it's all on you ... So there is a big risk to self expression, especially if one has a big fear of failure. Luckily I learnt early doors when studying Art, how to ... how do you say errr ... Fucking get over oneself, and don't be so damn precious about one's ideas and how they will look to others. You want to be the best at something or in any way good at what you do, Get on with it, live and learn.

If we learn from our mistakes and failings, then they are not really mistakes and failings, but twists and turns and opportunities to learn ... So just put one's insecure ego away and get on with it, you got work to do if you want to be good at your craft. Being a perfectionist can really slow down a work rate ... You only live once, so get on with it.

And to be honest, when studying Art I often found I much preferred the sketch book work of great artists such as Dali or Picasso, often way more than I liked their finished big pieces. Their flow of ideas was more inspiring to me. I remembered that and started to feel that people kind of owe it to themselves and the universe to actually record their ideas and put them out there regularly ...

One person's 'perfected piece' can be perceived as quite stale to others. Where as a flow of ideas, sprinting in inspiration in the form of a sketch book, or some lofi demo tape in a basement, can be so alive with inspiration and have magic to it, and is made more accessible to people through its lo fi nature.

It's like, the magic exists, you heard and you felt it, now go make your own magic.

There are many potential models for collaboration, from live performances and jamming via producing in the same room together up to file sharing. Which of these do you prefer – and why?

I like to at least meet people I am working with to check I understand the want and intentions, so there are no crossed wires in communication resulting in time wasting.

I once collaborated with a dance music musician, as he wanted a Punk sounding vocal. I basically did what he asked for, which was quite vague, when in hindsight, I think I should have really worked on writing and crafting a really good song lyrically and delivery wise and give him something more solid and finished to work with. Unfortunately I was in a van accident in the middle of that project and so could not give it that much attention so it never came to anything.

It's a funny one with dance and hip hop stuff, as I often think the person 'featuring', often a female vocalist, can be the one bringing the hook and the selling point to the tune. But at the end of the day, do want to be part of making a banging tune, and learn loads from doing that, or do you wanna be petty about credits, work load, and who does what? Just put that banger into the universe and get over yourself.

So in that case, I would say, if you want big, do the work and bring the biggness. And if the other person isn't feeling it, you have a spare banger on your hands to do what you like with. Win win.

Is there typically a planning phase for your collaborations? If so, what happens in this phase and how does it contribute to the results?

Well yeah sure ... When, where, for how long, what to bring, how to get it there, what can be provided, where people stay, when and where they eat, costs, vehicles, drivers ...

These can be the big things people forget, but are essential.

What tend to be the best collaborations in your opinion – those with artists you have a lot in common with or those where you have more differences? What happens when another musician take you outside of your comfort zone?

I think there needs to be something in common in order for people to communicate and plan well together. In Bruxa we all have a big cross over of influences even though we have quite an age range in the band that can bring differing perspectives. But because we have so many influences in common, whenever I brought a new song to rehearsal it would fall into place quite easily.

But of course big differences can bring up ideas no one would have thought of before, which is really interesting. I think you need good communication and reliability amongst the people you work with, in a basic logistical sense, and then an openness to what the final piece can be, and yeah, it's good stuff.

Do you need to have a good relationship with your collaborator? Or can there be a benefit to working with someone you may not get along with on a personal level?

I much prefer a good relationship with people I collaborate with of course, as I am a fan of functionality and getting things done. Although I guess there are people that are professional enough for that not to be a problem.

Some artists feel as though the creative process should not be a democratic one. What are your thoughts on the interaction with other musicians, the need for compromise and the decision making process?

As long as people are on the same page and are honest about it, people write how they want to write. No one way of writing is correct or incorrect as long as people are straight up with each other.

What's your take on cross-over collaborations between different genres?

hahaha... Yeah that can be some of the most tasteless shit ever when it's contrived and slammed together to a perceived market, with the idea that if they double the genre, they double the market ... when often it just doubles the cringe, and people shuffle away wishing that never happened.

I guess what comes to mind when I think of this is, like, I'm a massive dance music, old skool rave fan ... And nothing makes me contort with cringe more than having to listen to something like 'Chase and Status' .... nothing makes me cringe more than, most Nu Metal … Nothing makes me cringe more than the 'hot new UK indie band' sticking a token Grime mc in the middle eight ... LOL. I think there is a reason that big swathes of genres like Nu Metal and Funk Metal did not stand the test of time well. A lot of it was very contrived, and some of it for PC reasons. Not all of it, but a lot of it.

When it's organic, it shows, and really makes its mark ... But when too many people shoot for the same stars in a contrived way it can suck big time, more than it succeeds. I mean if we go back to roots of that kind of genre mixing, with like, Run DMC and Aerosmith, 'Walk this Way' ... That was more organic as Hip Hop had already been scratching and sampling classic rock riffs. So it was not a made up dynamic.

But the Nu Metal that followed, felt like it was trying to cash in by contriving this dynamic, and to me a lot of that stuff was just horrible. But hey, I'm too old to have ever appreciated Nu Metal. So if you think I'm missing something, fair enough, it's just my old lady perspective lol.

One of my favourite, most inspiring, cross overs was The Body and The Haxan Cloak release, I shall Die Here. The track 'Hail unto Thee Everlasting Pain', blew my freaking mind. They fucking did it, and they did it right ... I was so in awe ... so inspiring.



I remember the excitement as a kid hearing 'Satan', by Orbital, for the first time, which starts with a Butthole Surfers sample, and like the little nerd I was, I spotted a Jane's Addiction and NIN sample in there, too.

[Read our Orbital interview]
[Read our Alessandro Cortini of Nine Inch Nails interview]



I was so exited coz my worlds had collided, made sense and sounded awesome to me. The Body's 'Hail Unto Thee Everlasting Pain', had brought back that same kind of excitement and epiphany.

In a live situation, decisions between creatives often work without words. How does this process work – and how does it change your performance compared to a solo performance?

I just stare at the drummer and hope for the best bruv, LOL.

A good thing to remember is, no matter how funny, try not to laugh out loud on stage, at mistakes or near mistakes, as that is often the ONLY clue to the audience that something went 'wrong'. Laugh about it afterwards if you can help it.

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you as part of a collaboration? In which way is it different between your solo work and collaborations?

Yeah, I have been in a band where we always rehearsed drunk and stoned, so we could always play drunk and stoned. Those days are long behind me.

Collaborating with one's heroes can be a thrill or a cause for panic. Do you have any practical experience with this and what was it like?

Well, I have driven a lot of amazing bands on tour. And when the band I drive gets onstage, plays amazingly, and everyone is loving it, I would stand at the back so proud. I was part of getting them there.

So when bands are professional and play really well, it makes those long hours driving all worth while.