Matthew Herbert: A personal manifesto

Matthew Herbert would have to be one of the most prolific names to emerge in leftfield electronic dance music over the last eight years or so, releasing tracks under a seemingly ever-growing coterie of new identities, including Herbert, Radioboy, Doctor Rockit and Wishmountain. Marking Herbert out as particularly distinctive amongst a sea of experimental house producers is his complete avoidance of sampling other records or commercially available sounds, Herbert instead choosing to create his own productions completely from ‘first generation samples’ i.e., noises that he has either created himself or at least has ‘captured’ at their point of source. Central to this principle as well has been the much-discussed formulation by Herbert of his own ‘Personal Contract for the Commencement Of Music’; an overarching framework that has guided the construction of much of his work over the last several years.

More recently, Herbert’s album projects have begun to take on a more distinct political edge, with many other innocuous sounds and textures present in the recordings taking on a new pointed significance, once you’re aware of their origins. While early Herbert albums such as ‘200 lbs’ and Doctor Rockit’s ‘The Music Of Sound’ showed him using the sounds of wood and dropped objects to construct his swingtime-based compositions, by the time of 2002’s download-only ‘Politics Of Destruction’ album by Radioboy (a record consisting of Herbert making music from samples of him destroying commercial objects he hates), you were just as likely to find the sound of sloshing oil or burning Nikes in there alongside the snares and synths.

2003’s Matthew Herbert Big Band project ‘Goodbye Swingtime’ saw Herbert expanding on these sorts of explorations (witness the sound of an entire big band tearing Murdoch newspapers in unison together), while also returning in a sense to some of his earliest musical beginnings. While he won’t be bringing the entire Big Band down this way for his antipodean visit, there’s still much exciting stuff in store from the man who seemingly never stops. ITM’s evilchris caught up with Matthew Herbert to discuss the logistics of juggling your myriad identities, the research that’s gone into his upcoming ‘food’album and some of the things upcoming on his Accidental label.

ITM: Your first band at school was apparently a ‘25-piece Glen Miller-style 1940s big band’ and 2003 saw you tour extensively with your own Matthew Herbert Big Band, plus record the album ‘Goodbye Swingtime.’ Was this like coming musically full-circle in some respects? Surely getting a big band around the world must have presented its own share of logistical headaches!

MH: It was more a logical next move rather than a revisiting of my musical past.

ITM: Was your father’s background as a BBC sound engineer one of the ways in which you were first introduced to the idea of music production? Surely it must have led to a sympathetic parental attitude at home when you were first getting into electronic music?

MH: He gave me a love of technology and taught me not to be scared of taking things apart. My parents also bought me my first synthesizer, which was an important first step.

ITM: Have you had much dialogue with other artists in response to your formulation of P.C.C.O.M (Personal Contract for the Commencement Of Music); and what were the central factors / concerns that led you to draw up this creative framework?

MH: It was always intended as a personal way of working. It was to encourage me to stick to certain principles of originality that I hold dear. I get asked about it a lot, but as it was never intended as a blueprint for others, it has largely been ignored. Which is fine by me.

ITM: A while back in an interview (I think it was either The Wire or Jockey Slut; sorry I can’t precisely remember); you hinted that your next album project might centre around the topic of food, with the sounds of food being cooked and prepared being incorporated into the tracks; is it still planned along these lines?

MH: I’ve nearly finished it, although I’m in Australia when I should be in the studio mixing. It has taken 2 years of research and a lot of work to get to the point where it is at. It contains, amongst other things, 30,000 chickens in a barn, the sewers beneath London, a Nazi gun, a Chieftan tank, an Agent Orange derivative, celebrity-endorsed foods and bottled water.

ITM: When I downloaded the Radioboy “Mechanics Of Destruction’ album from magicandaccident.com a couple of years ago; I was intrigued by the idea of you creating music out of the sounds of you destroying modern cultural artefacts you hate (such as fast food containers and sweatshop sneakers); is Radioboy an ongoing project? What future directions can you see Radio Boy moving in next?

MH: Retirement!

ITM: Do you see yourself continuing to have numerous parallel projects running as Herbert, Wishmountain, Doctor Rockit and Radio Boy, or have some of these ‘identities’ been trimmed back in order to focus on others? Do you consciously separate projects along certain lines?

MH: I have one more album to make as Herbert. Other than that, everything else will be done as Matthew Herbert. Doctor Rockit and Wishmountain have already ended.

ITM: Last year you released a collaborative 12” with Mouse On Mars through your Soundslike label as DJs Collapse ‘Jawfunk’; was this a one-off collaboration or an ongoing project?

MH: A one-off. Although it would be good to spend more time with them.

ITM: What sorts of activities do you have planned for your three various labels (Soundslike, Lifelike, Accidental) during 2005?

MH: It looks like we will absorb everything into Accidental. We have an amazing new rock album from Mugison, my food record and a new signing of a one-man experimental outcast/kid creole/prince type thing.

ITM: Any clues as to what sorts of things audiences can expect at your upcoming Australian shows – will you be performing with other musicians / vocalists?

MH: Expect records that I like strung together in a reasonably coherent fashion.

You can see Matthew Herbert on his upcoming DJ tour down under at the following venues – check local guides for further dates:

Sat Jan 29th – Beck’s Festival Bar, Sydney
Sun Jan 30th – Honkytonks, Melbourne

You need to be logged in to add comments... Login Now

There are 0 user comments