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.Mr
Hudson and the Library -
INTERVIEW |
Blending
classic songwriting with hip hop and grime production
may, to some, sound like a rather uncomfortable
and disjointed mix. However, on the rare occasions
when a band successfully fuses the two, the results
can be startling, which is precisely what Mr Hudson
and the Library manage to do. With a seemingly effortless
sound, which is at once familiar yet almost impossible
to quantify, they are one of those wonderful musical
oddities which eschews genre stereotypes in favour
of making music entirely on their own terms; think
Nick Drake with J Dilla beats.
PIMP: You guys have developed quite a reputation
for your live performances. Do you consider yourselves
to be a live band first and foremost?
Mr
Hudson: Our live approach is quite different to
recording. Live, you want to get hype and get a
sweat on. With the early recordings, it was more
about staring out of the window at the rain with
a cup of tea, a piano and a drum machine –
so the results were more downbeat and sparse. You
will hear the two sounds coming together on the
first album. Too many bands just play the record
live, or just record the way they play live. Dull,
I'd say. |
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VIDEO:
Mr Hudson & the Library on Later With Jools
Holland |
How did you go about inventing your sound, was
there an initial plan or was it a case of trial
and error, bringing instruments in and dropping
others?
MH: It's fifty per cent manifesto and another
fifty [per cent] accident. For example, Joy came
in to sing and play percussion. We got chatting
and she started talking about steel pan. I saw
it as a challenge to take an unorthodox instrument
that you associate with the carnival and make
it sound sad or thoughtful.
For
anyone who hasn't heard your music, how would
you guys describe your rather unusual sound?
MH: Well, I call it English R&B. Old fashioned
songwriting with 7002 production; Ray Davies with
a drum machine.
You
have recently finished your album, how did you
find the recording process?
MH: Well, it was kinda clumsy because [on] some
of the tracks, we took a very traditional live
band approach – trying to get one take Motown
style, others were built on a beat or a sample
with very sparse arrangements. It's a hybrid of
two records really.
www.myspace.com/mrhudson |
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