Matters

On the 12th of July 2000, I had the honour of sitting with Tanana’s, Wired to the Floor and a plethora of other collaborations’ pianist and composer Paul Hanmer.   Playola was the album we were aiming to unpack in our time together. Apologies as always for the ambient distraction. This cassette recording is raw and entirely unedited if only to give you a sense of the moment we shared.  ...

Yes, Matters caters to a broad church, yet this one is a little different from what I usually share. In going through my many cassette interviews, many incorrectly labelled, I stumbled upon an interview I hold very dearly. In mid-2007, after two years of negotiating, I was finally afforded an audience with the late great Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. This is it, an unedited insight into a man...

In December 1999, I had the privilege to chat to Steve Louw on the eve of his first Greatest Hits album, highlighting his first decade as Big Sky and a solo artist. Fast forward 22-odd years and Steve continues to record brilliant records with his lifelong legendary South African producer, Kevin Shirley. On the eve of his 2021 album, Headlight Dreams’ 2022 South African Music Awards (SAMA) nominat...

In 1998, Birmingham-born reggae supergroup UB40 decided to drop Labour of Love III, the band’s twelfth and third covers album, released on DEP International. To celebrate the highly anticipated covers collection, I got on the phone with percussionist Norman Hassan to share what motivated the band’s selection of classic tracks.

I had the opportunity to speak to Jason Ross, he of grunge rock’s Seven Mary Three “Cumbersome” fame. We collided headway into the release of their Atlantic debut, RockCrown . Jason speaks perspective, doing what they did best. They could write good songs; commercial and critical acclaim was the intangible they ignored; they focused on making music that mattered to them. They started out as friend...

Recorded over a near-year-long period that saw Pantera take The Great Southern Trendkill on the road, I got the rare privilege to speak to the late-great founding member of Pantera, Vinnie Paul, about recording their first live release, Official Live: 101 Proof.  Live is where the magic happens; tell me otherwise…

Thirty years into his career, since his first 1976 hit, Johnny Clegg was very much in control of his destiny when I had another rare opportunity to speak to this late-great icon in late 2006. Celebrating but still pointing fault at legacy politics, Johnny spoke to the past but always looked forward. The juxtapositions are jarring, but it shows a level of grit that made him an extraordinary narrato...

And now for something completely different.   When I spoke to Kåre Wanscher in 1997, one of the four people who made up Michael Learns To Rock (MLTR), new territories like South Africa were hearing their infectious pop for the very first time.  They became one of this county’s most significant late 90s, early nulls, favourites. After this interview, multiple tours to the country followed...

In 1999, the Australian three-piece Silverchair could do no wrong. I got to meet up, albeit via a phone call between Pretoria, South Africa and Cleveland, Ohio, to talk through their third album release, Neon Ballroom . Lead singer and songwriter Daniel Jones spent 10 minutes with me, taking me through the journey to where they were at the time. They were incredibly young but no less mature in the...

Thievery Corporation made up of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, had the world sitting up and paying attention when they released their debut album, Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi . The year was 2000, four years after the album was first released by the band independently. 4AD called the duo up and rereleased the album at a time when remix culture abounded, so getting to chat with Rob to discuss their j...

In October 2000, I got 15 minutes with Nine Days’ founder member, guitarist, and vocalist Brian Desveaux. This is an interview that highlights the fact that time-in pays dividends. Nine Days took ten years to achieve success with The Madding Crowd , an album that’s a testament to a commitment to the belief in what later became and remains a critical modern rock statement.

I was gifted a rare opportunity to speak to the American singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and actor Lenny Kravitz on the eve of his 2000 Greatest Hits album release. In the 10 minutes I was given, we spoke about how he successfully melded rock, blues, soul, funk, reggae, folk, and everything psychedelic in-between to become one of the biggest and most respected names in p...

Maxim, the English musician, best known for his vocal deliveries across the better part of the Prodigy’s rich catalogue, hooked up with me in September 2000 to talk about Hell’s Kitchen , his critically-acclaimed XL debut. It took a few minutes for him to settle and open up, and the next twenty minutes revealed a true artist on a respectful journey he could proudly and humbly claim as his own. Enj...

On the 21st of November 2000, I reconnected with Buffalo Tom’s guitarist and founder member Bill Janovitz. This session captured a decade into the band’s career, is an interview all things retrospective, post- Smitten ’s success. For the unincubated, Buffalo Tom is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986. Its principal members are guitarist Bill Janovitz, bassi...

Embrace began life as a band in 1990. I was privileged to get to lead singer Danny McNamara in September 1998, three months after the band’s seminal Hut/ Virgin Records debut, The Good Will Out rocked the world. Since then, they’ve released no less than six more albums, each one brilliant. If you’re curious about what and where their earliest motivations came from, this one is for you. Enjoy. Disc...

In early 1998, 12 March to be exact, I got less than 10 minutes with Marcy Playground, an American alternative rock band consisting of three members: John Wozniak (lead vocals, guitar), Dylan Keefe (bass), and Shlomi Lavie (drums). The band is best known for its 1997 hit "Sex and Candy" from its debut self-titled album. These interviews are always unedited, captured from decaying analogue cassette...

This is a very candid, unedited interview with Goldfish, made up of Dominic Peters and David Poole, making waves throughout the better part of the early nulls. On the cusp of releasing Perceptions of Pacha , I got to sit with the group to deep dive into what made them tick at the time. Enjoy.

Kula Shaker, a band that bloomed and faded – all in record time.    I got to the band in early 1999, at the beginning of their sophomore album, Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts ’ journey. Never an easy album to make for any band or artist, and in the case of Kula Shaker, this sadly proved to be the case.    I had the privilege of speaking to the then bass player, Alonza Bevan wh...

Coming through the fire that was 1996’s First Band on the Moon , today, The Cardigans remain one of those bands that became suddenly popular with their third life-changing album. Of its many celebrated singles, “My Favourite Game” made them instantly famous, thanks to MTV – today’s Twitter/ Instagram reality, all of which threw them into a vortex of pop mayhem. “Erase/Rewind” swiftly followed whil...

Picture it, 4 June 1997, at a time when clearly opinionated Springbok Nude Girls (fresh out of Stellenbosch and surrounds) was cementing grown-up, First World, modern rock made in ZA. This is a playful, in-the-moment, interview with a band on the cusp of global domination, all whilst hanging on the coattails of INXS.

In 1998, Paula Cole was already a Grammy award-winner and respected artist, post cutting her musical teeth with the likes of Peter Gabriel. He features on This Fire , her second album I got to unpack with her, 18 months after its initial release. If her music is not known to you, think the very best of Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Melissa Etheridge and Sarah McLachlan, and you’ll be in ballpark she o...

The early nulls were a time filled with rich re-invention of what had become a rather tired modern rock model. Hoobastank was one of the few that led the charge to reimagine the genre. Hoobastank is an American rock band formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, by lead vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen. They were signed to Isl...

The Seduction of Claude Debussy broke Art of Noise’s 10-year-long musical drought . I was fortunate enough to interview Paul Morley at the beginning of the collective’s next exciting chapter. Besides being a journalist for the NME and co-founding the legendary record label ZTT, he was also a member of Art of Noise, along with Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, and Lol Creme. Harvested from a decaying C90 c...

Chatting to Steven Hewitt – album two for Placebo was a collective success. Without You I'm Nothing was the second studio album recorded in mid-to-late 1998 and released on 12 October 1998 by record labels Hut and Virgin Records. The album went platinum in the UK and gold in France and has sold over one million copies. The album spawned five singles, including "Every You Every Me", "Pure Morning",...

Scott 4 may be a band you missed in the late 1990s, but one that most certainly left its mark on the UK indie music scene that’s still felt today. After the critical success of their debut album, Recorded in State, in 1998, Scott 4 secured a record deal with V2 and headed into the studio to build on its success. With lead singer Scott Blixen, this interview unpacks the band’s musical journey to de...