3. Miles DavisSketches Of Spain
This record is a special one for me. In about 1998 I used to live in the Bay Area and I took a trip up to Seattle to visit my family. I took the train up: I had that record and a DJ Shadow record on cassette. I remember being in the train going up the coast through Oregon and hearing that fucking record man. I was just crying the whole fucking way. It made me visualise my life and where I wanted to be. So when I hear this record now, it takes me back to that moment of self-discovery. Of all his records, like Kind Of Blue and Bitches Brew, Sketches Of Spain is the one that makes me cry like a baby every time I hear it.
I saw Miles Davis play in 1986 with my dad when I was eight years old. That was the first concert I saw. A bunch of jazz bands had played then sunset hit, the lights turned on and then I remember hearing the roar of the crowd. I remember seeing him walk up to the stage… he had his back to the crowd a lot. I just remember hearing his horn playing – it was some crazy shit! He didn’t compromise – he didn’t give a fuck what you thought about him.
His sounds helped me to experiment, like with all the Turkish psych-rock. GLK turned me on to a lot of that and Ethiopian jazz, too. I spent a lot of time after A Sufi And A Killer came out listening to a lot of garage rock or rock in general. It was too hard for me to get into growing up – I just didn’t understand it. I guess I wasn’t angry or it was too loud – I just needed jazz or rap or reggae growing up as it spoke to me more.
