Saturday, April 07, 2007

Barbed

Barbed

Barbed are two British guys named Alex. They claim to have no interest whatsoever in the "genre" of plunderphonics. More power to them. They have two downloadable albums and two "proper records" under their belt and have appeared on 10 compilations and two remix albums. They also have three live records and even did a film soundtrack in 1996. They seem like good guys.

I probably first heard about Barbed around 1997, because of their participation with Public Works in a five hour long jam at the Cocktail Festival, in Berlin. Other performers included Leumund Fieling, Dominique Petitgand and Muzic Toerist. Barbed took their favorite moments from the collaboration and Public Works took their favorite moments and they each took a side of the 12" record titled "Plunderphonics All Stars" (Kleptones, 1997). I've played it on the show before... good stuff.

Without further ado, here's the SAR Q&A with Barbed...


*Name: Barbed

*Are there any additional names used to describe this project: No

*Members: Alex Burrow & Alex McKechnie

*Founding Members: Alex Burrow & Alex McKechnie

*(Would you classify Barbed as) Tape manipulations, digital deconstructions or turntable creations: No, I wouldn't.

*Another genre descriptor: Like John Oswald and the Toyota Yaris, we also are too unconventional for description by existing language, so we also have invented a new word. It's a secret right now. But we have got one.

*Location: London

*Original Location: Near London

*What is your creative/artistic background: Punk Rock / Art Rock / Band members gradually replaced by machines. Home Counties UK. 1970s.

*History: Since 1984 / From Boyz 2 Men (I mean, since 1984. Then we were boys. But now we are men. As in, "I've worked in that pit man and boy”).

*Born: Are you from the Inland Revenue?

*Motivations: There's always a loose end that needs tying up. It always leads to another thing, with another loose end. Forever pursuing beauty. The naive desire to make something lovely that nobody else could possibly have made, persists.

*Philosophy:
a) Nihilist / Situationist / Dada / BlaBla
b) Different sounds create different realities
c) Sometimes music is too much fun and meaning is saved for later: this is ideal
d) If you can't hum it, dance to it or laugh at it, it's probably s**t
e) If you can't hum it, dance to it or laugh at it and it's definitely not s**t, then you're on to something.

*How would you like to be remembered: As the friends of men / lovers of women, witty, wise, fruity, vain, disdainful, sarcastic, petty, mean, sickly, profoundly sexual, cautious, lucky, shallow and wacky. And for our macabre double suicide.

*Web address: http://www.barbed.org


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