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Twilight Circus Dub Sound System


    INTERVIEW BY HOWIE FROM RIP IT UP MAG
    NEW ZEALAND JUNE 99

    RIU: The first record I bought of yours was the pink twelve inch ( the name of which surpasses me at the moment ) I heard it at a mate's house and it was one of the biggest bass sounds I had ever heard. Frakkin' huge. I played it once to test a sound system and it was very very impressive, I felt like all night I should only play that twelve because it shook like a monster.

    R: cool! bass rumble in the jungle! rippin' it up in the forest canopy!


    RIU: Are you currently touring?

    R: at this very moment i am chilling at chez circus in the netherlands taking a little breather. however, the twilight circus tour machine is currently in operation throughout europe, having played umpteen shows all over this continent. the touring fun resumes next week for a bunch of dates in poland and finishes with one show in kaliningrad, russia! a twilight circus first!


    RIU: How did Twilight Circus start?

    R: officially in 1995 when i came out with the first vinyl lp "in dub vol 1", but work has been going on feverishly in my nebulous 'dub project' already since the early 80's.


    RIU: I understand you travel between Canada and Denmark. Why do you choose to travel so much between the 2 countries?

    R: well, denmark i usually hit once or twice a year for live dates - but you must mean holland which is where i've been living since '91. i end up shuttling between vancouver, canada and holland fairly frequently as i have lots of friends and family there - in canada that is. i still work on various projects with people in vancouver and tend to record most of the twilight circus bed tracks at a fab studio there - the miller block, nestled in a no go heavy junkie-filled area straight out of a scorcese vision of neon urban hell. its got quite the vibe. the block rocks!


    RIU: Your sound has a very unique flavour and mashed up style like no other. Sometimes it sounds like it comes from a distant alien planet other times it sounds like a very fat David Lynch. Dub in Space?

    R: thanks! i aim to please and do my bit in the search for extraterrestrial life by sending out sub atomic dub rays to trigger the dub-o-scopes on far away globes!


    RIU: I understand you are the alien son of Earth parents. How did this happen? And what were and are your impressions of Earthlings as a whole? Any future?

    R: yes, i'm an adoptee from the planet silly putty. the cyberkinetic space continuum warping stork got confused in an errant cloud of solar gas, made a few wrong turns and ran out of plasma, crash landing in the western canada rain forest. basically i think the earth needs a whole lot more dubadelic vibes massaging the stress away - twilight circus is here to relax and soothe the earth masses with hypnotizing space age dub sounds!


    RIU: I understand you use alot of live instruments on your albums, instead of the Computer like so many other artists. Why is that? (At least you'll be able to continue making music after the New Year!)

    R: ha! i hope so! the reason for all the live instrumentation really has to do with the fact that its so much easier for me to play the ideas that way, as opposed to fiddling with puny buttons for hours on end. basically, the playing live idea works best for me but i'm not against technology or anything like that. i'm completely computer impaired which has worked out well in the end cuz playing the circus music 'hands on' style gives it a more unique sound. programming is a real pain in the butt for me and not really conducive to studio spontaneity - i just wanna grab my drumsticks and smash!


    RIU: Do you have a set sound or structure of a track when you go into the studio?

    R: no - i have basically no plan! the sound of twilight circus you hear is the sound of a maniac going wild in the studio with no preconceived notion at all of how a track should end up. its all pretty much spontaneous and made up on the spot. its pretty strange how it works at times, like, the tracks just seem to literally write themselves and come out of thin air. its almost...'cosmic'..


    RIU: Horsie has a very different feel to your past album , you have coined it Dub Rock Electronica. How do you think it differs?

    R: i'd say 'horsie' is different in that it features guitar a lot more, with some almost 'rock dub' type grooves. but really, each record so far does have its own 'sound' as the individual tracks kinda represent way of thinking at the time they were made.


    RIU: How does the 'live' Twilight Circus differ from the studio Circus?

    R: well, the studio is my own private temple of dub where i can feel free to experiment and amuse myself away from the public eye whereas, with the live show, you get more of a 'show' - live playing, mad antics, fire breathing elephants.so, its quite a different experience all together. i think the live show is probably more interesting to be a fly on the wall for..we will flatten you with our dub flyswatting sub bass rumblings!


    RIU: When you play live you also have artists on stage with you breathing fire and stuff, is this all part of the live Circus experience?

    R: mainly i've been doing the show in a stripped down format with two people. my future plan is to expand the live circus to incorporate all manner of mad circus people, djs and so on , for a mega fun filled all nighter extravaganza. as it is, i do tend to hook up with various guests while on tour and one is the legendary 'fire man' who has also been known to swallow the occasional sword or two!


    RIU: Whats one ( or two!) of the wildest things that the Circus has ever experienced?

    R: well, aside from istvan betyar, the sword swallowing pyrogastric wonder, and various outbreaks of pagan nude dancing, i guess that'd have to be the time extraterrestrials flew past an outdoor concert located next to some mexican pyrimids, dropped a load of space dust, which then transformed the 5 thousand strong audience into a horde of gyrating beetles! they heard the outer space dub plea that night i can tell you!


    RIU: You also paint and draw on your CDs and records. is it to give them an individual quality. Do you have any motives behind this? Is it more economical?

    R: basically, its fun with crafts - kind of like home relaxation therapy with macaroni and glue. "come on kids, turn off the tv - lets get out the crayons, daddy's got a new cd!". i don't like the mass produced vibe of cds so i want to introduce a bit of customization into it, so people feel like they own a unique object. i'm obsessed with details and like to go that bit extra to make it more special. hopefully. i'm just a crazy dub-obsessed madman!