Neil Davidge’s musical heritage is a mighty impressive one. As a member of Massive Attack he played his part in three great albums, including the legendary Mezzanine. As a musical collaborator he has worked with David Bowie, Snoop Dogg and Damon Albarn. As the composer, arranger and producer of the soundtrack to Halo 4, Davidge is responsible for the highest charting video game soundtrack ever made.
As Neil prepares to launch his first solo album, Slo Light, he spoke to us about musical collaborations, album launch preparations, and some of the artists who have provided inspiration.
NE:MM: Slo Light feels epic in scope, did it take an epic length of time to write and record?
ND: Not really, at least in comparison to other albums I've made over the years. I think in total it took around 8 months although I had two song ideas before that. It might seem a long time compared to a typical 'band' album but for an electronic / sonic / cinematic album it's not a lot of time to write, record, arrange, programme and mix.
NE:MM: Where was the album recorded?
ND: Most of the album was recorded in or around Bristol, the majority in my apartment studio in the centre of town. A few of the vocals however were recorded elsewhere on the planet. 'Zero One Zero' and 'They Won't Know' were recorded in NYC, ‘Home From Home’ in Iceland (the country not the supermarket) and ‘Gallant Foxes’ in South Wales.
NE:MM: You’ve worked with many of the biggest names in music, how did the other artists on this album come to be involved?
ND: I came across them in various ways, by accident and through reaching out. I met Stephonik in NY when I was recording with Massive Attack, we were at a studio in Williamsburg with TV on the Radio. Cate Le Bon was recommended to me by the owner of Toy Box studios in Bristol. Claire Tchaikowski I met at a Temple Meads train station in Bristol, she was a friend of Andrew Morgan who'd been working for me on Halo 4 and the album. Karima Francis and I had written a few things together for her project in the past. Patrick Duff is local and someone I always fancied working with. We reached out to Ryan from Low Roar after Drew caught something with him YouTube, we finally tracked him down in Iceland. And Sandie Shaw... I've been a fan of hers since I was a kid, I dropped a list of people I'd like to work with to my management company and coincidentally her management had enquired the same day as to whether I would be interested in working with her. It's a bit of a list, most of the hook ups were really a matter of chance and ultimately chemistry.
NE:MM: Was the album conceived as an album from day one, or did it ‘become’ an album as the recording process progressed?
ND: I had the two songs before I decided to make an album but there was a conscious decision made and finance sought in order to make it happen. In part this album was conceived as a 'coming out' after years behind the scenery with Massive Attack but once the decision had been made it became personal and I sweated blood in order to make the best record I could.
NE:MM: Do you work exclusively on one project at a time or do you always have a number of projects on the go?
ND: I much prefer to do one thing at a time, when I put 100% into something (which I find it hard not to do) and then switch to something else I really struggle to make that transition, it really fucks with my head. I imagine it's a bit like those glasses that turn everything upside down, after a while the brain compensates so the person can see right side up, until they take them off again, in the periods of adjustment there's a lot of falling over and feeling nauseous... Even switching to normal life can be a challenge when I'm focused on an album or score so I try as best I can to factor that in and give myself a buffer. I'd say 9 times out of 10 I fail miserably to make that happen!
NE:MM: What kind of emotions do you experience during the weeks approaching an album’s release?
ND: The build up to this album release has been very different to any other album I've been involved in, principally because it's my album so I'm doing the interviews, checking artwork, videos etc. At the same time I've been working on a film score and as previously mentioned, I find it bloody hard to do more than one thing at a time. I've been working in the studio till 1 or 2 in the morning then coming home checking emails, approving artwork etc. That's 7 days a week, I even worked through the New Year. So, I've felt overwhelmed, excited, scared, happy, lonely, fired up... You name it, It's been a challenge to stay sane much of the time.
NE:MM: Who is your musical hero and why (and do you also admire them for other reasons beyond the musical ones)?
ND: I've been dreading this question because I honestly don't have one... I admire many musicians and artists work but I've never 'hero worshipped' anyone even when I was younger. From the Beatles to Bowie to Can to Radiohead, there's a very long list of artists and albums I keep going back to and have inspired me at some point in my life. I think it's the ingenuity and creativity of the human spirit in general that I find myself most in awe of and what keeps me striving to do better, that's all around me.
NE:MM: If you were to recommend to new listeners the artists who have inspired you, which of their works would you suggest starting with?
ND: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band, Bitches Brew, Y, Tago Mago, OK Computer, Clair De Lune, Dummy, Solaris (Cliff Martinez score), Aladdin Sane, Absence.
Slo Light by Davidge is released on 3 March 2014 0n 7Hz Recordings.
Check out the album review in NE:MM issue No. 7
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