Sinister: Looper interview

[Sam Norman]

Just found this somewhere on the web can't remember exactly where though. 

Indie popsters Belle & Sebastian may have been fairly quiet since 
controversially winning the Brits Best Newcomer award earlier this year. 
But for B&S bassist Stuart David, things are busier than ever as he 
forges ahead with his 'other' band, Looper. A whimsical blend of 
spoken-word monologues, samples and experimental beats, Looper's quirky 
world revolves around spaceships, treehouses and a cat called Elvis  
while their new single 'Who's Afraid Of Y2K?' turns its attention to the 
timely subject of the Millennium. What's more, Stuart has also found time 
to publish his debut novel, Nalda Said. Click on the links above to hear 
Stuart talk about his work with Belle & Sebastian and his first novel.

     
 
Dotmusic met up with the multi-talented Looper frontman to discuss 
pre-Millennial tension, celebrity fans such as Pulp and discover just why 
the next Belle & Sebastian album is almost a year behind schedule.

Dotmusic: "So, Stuart  are you hoping to rival Robbie Williams' 
'Millennium' in providing the ultimate end-of-century party track?"

Stuart David: "Well, we hoped we'd get lots of airplay because of the 
subject matter, but it doesn't seem to have worked! I think the 
Millennium is interesting because it's always been depicted in popular 
culture as 'the future'. It's interesting how unlike that vision things 
really are. Next year will be like living in the future and the present 
at the same time, but also something of an anticlimax."

Dotmusic: "Are you worried about the Millennium bug?"

Stuart David: "I think there's a chance that the bug could cause a 
natural creative revolution. Because of how technology has developed, 
people can be a lot more independent in how they work and there's not 
such a need for big corporations, which could be brought down by 
something like computer malfunction. People seem more bothered about Y2K 
in America than they do here in Britain but I've already storing up 
tinned food! I'm staying very close to home on New Year's Eve."

Dotmusic: "Pulp have remixed a track on the single  how did that come about?"

Stuart David: "Jarvis Cocker came to see us play at the Bowlie Festival 
earlier this year and he liked the song. Actually we were Jarvis-spotting 
at Bowlie but we kept missing him. One time we were kidding around and 
chanting his name in our chalet and it turned out he was actually walking 
past outside. Cornelius and Badly Drawn Boy should be remixing tracks on 
future singles, and we've asked Beck to remix a track  we saw him hiding 
behind a speaker at one of our shows in California."

Dotmusic: "How useful have you found the Internet in your work?"

Stuart David: "It's been really good. In fact, it's how everything came 
about. Our first single was released after I met the girl from the SubPop 
label online. A lot of samples and things we use in the music we got off 
the Internet  there are sites where you can download or buy collections 
of samples. We're also now editing our own videos on the computer, so 
we've spent months online working out how to do it. Our own website, The 
Treehouse came from an idea to have a venue with an art gallery, theatre, 
a cinema, a music place and a shop in it  just all the things we liked. 
We realised we could do it right now on the Internet without having to 
wait years to have the money to do it in reality."

Dotmusic: "So, what's next for Looper?"

Stuart David: "One of our songs, 'Burning Flies', is on a film that's 
coming out by the Kids In The Hall team, and the people behind the 
Simpsons are using it on their new carton, The Downtoners. I've started 
work on a new novel and I'm negotiating the film rights for Nalda Said. 
The next Looper album, 'Geometric', is quite far to being finished. The 
new songs have a lot of analogue synth and are more instrumentally based, 
rather than spoken word. With the book coming out it takes care of the 
storytelling side of things for a while, so we'll have less of that. 
Besides, I can't stand the sound of my own voice!"


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