It’s extra than simply an album recorded by two males on the prime of their recreation who’re separated by land and sea – though Tall Tales is that too. Made by fabled digital musician Mark Pritchard and Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, Rolling Stone described it as a “progtronic journey stuffed with freaky soundscapes and actually sturdy songwriting.”
However it goes deeper nonetheless. A 3rd collaborator, Perth-based artist Jonathan Zawada, turned Tall Tales into a movie stuffed with Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel-like imagery, including to an suave sense of dislocation, displacement and surrealism.
Songs about know-how with uncanny movies, akin to This Dialog Is Lacking Your Voice, trace at a looming dystopia that’s virtually upon us. Furthermore, massive cash – in step with the theme of coin-clipping that runs by the file, impressed by Benjamin Myers’ The Gallows Pole – have been produced by Warp Information. They’ve been hidden in secret areas, on the market to be discovered.
An actual-life treasure hunt could be interpreted as a solution to make tangible a challenge made largely in isolation with simply recordsdata, emails and video-calls facilitating its growth. It’s additionally a thumb within the eye to AI – a priority that imbues Tall Tales with a way of tension.
Pritchard, initially from Somerset, is an ambient techno artist/producer who burst out of the 90s underground dance scene and made a reputation for himself beneath plenty of aliases together with Harmonic 313 and Troubleman, in addition to in duos International Communication and Africa Hitech.
He emigrated to Australia 20 years in the past, and his music has change into broadly much less dance-orientated and extra hypnagogic since he reverted to creating every little thing beneath his personal identify.
You have been commissioned to remix Radiohead’s Bloom in 2011, and also you met Thom Yorke the next 12 months. How did all that come about?
it was Clive Deamer, the drummer for Portishead who’s labored with Roni Dimension and numerous different artists. He informed me, “I is perhaps coming to Australia –however I can’t inform you what it’s but.”
He was enjoying as Radiohead’s second drummer. I suppose with Radiohead every little thing must be stored very secret, as a result of followers are wanting exhausting for any bits of data. Then Clive mentioned, “Thom wish to meet you.”
They got here to one in every of my gigs with Steve Spacek [of Africa Hitech], then they performed two reveals right here and I bought to hang around with them a bit. At dinner, I requested Thom whether or not he’d be up for doing one thing in some unspecified time in the future, and he mentioned: “Yeah, cool – ship me some stuff!”
You first collaborated on Stunning Folks out of your solo album Below The Solar in 2016. Work on Tall Tales didn’t get going till 2020. How did work pan out between Sydney Oxford?
I didn’t know Thom that effectively; I’d solely met him as soon as, then there have been plenty of emails. There’s all the time going to be some distinction of opinion in a challenge; I suppose I’ve labored with sufficient folks and he’s labored with sufficient folks to know methods to take care of that scenario.
He wasn’t snug when he bought very well-known. Folks lose it after which must disappear
It grew to become simpler once we had a Zoom name. He’s straight-up and I’m straight-up; I suppose we trusted one another right away. If it will get a bit tense, you’ll be able to sit back with a joke and a few self-effacing feedback – Thom’s actually good at that.
Some folks is perhaps stunned to listen to that. His public persona is sort of intense, wouldn’t you say?
Should you’ve listened to his music and seen his imagery, you may come to the conclusion that he’s a really critical character. However most of our emails are in a West Nation dialect: “Wasson there, bey?” “Alroight, moi luvver?” He’s bought a home in Cornwall and he’s spent a variety of time within the West Nation. We’re primarily having amusing once we’re discussing issues. It’s very simple going.
I can see why folks assume he’s intense. There have been interviews the place he wasn’t snug throughout that interval when he bought very well-known. Folks lose it after which they must disappear; so he disappeared to Cornwall and painted for a 12 months to get himself again to a state the place he wished to work once more.
One other shock is Yorke’s baritone on tracks like The Males Who Dance In Stag’s Heads.
I employed a studio off Martin Barre from Jethro Tull as soon as. I checked out all of their albums. Very time-changey!
Yeah, I used to be actually stunned too! I’ve heard him sing low, however not for an entire music. He mentioned he’d all the time wished to do it however had by no means actually discovered a means. He used a type of varispeeding that helped him get into character, and I believe it allowed him to really feel extra assured. There was different manipulation of his voice by modular programs and numerous pedals.
He was looking for tonally how to slot in as effectively, having enjoyable along with his voice and doing various things. There’s a Black Sabbath music referred to as Planet Caravan – a really peaceable, mellow, psychedelic music – and I’ve all the time wished to place stuff by an actual Leslie speaker, like they did. I’d been ready for the proper music, so we tried to see if we may do one thing like that.
You clearly love basic rock. Are you a prog fan too?
I used to be into King Crimson fairly early on. I’m undecided how I got here throughout them but it surely was the early 90s once I was digging for samples. Then I found Light Big, who I actually like! There was a interval the place I used to be listening to them greater than anything. I went by their catalogue and found these unbelievable albums.
I employed a studio off Martin Barre from Jethro Tull as soon as. I checked out all of their albums too. Very time-changey music! I’ve continued to dip into plenty of totally different kinds – I’ll take a look at some prog, then some people, then I’ll flip by music from Peru, Egypt and so forth. That’s what I’ve all the time carried out.
