Having been on our list of dream Baker’s Dozens for some time, we were thrilled when Shackleton agreed to pen one for us himself ahead of the second ever live performance (and first in Britain) of his partnership with Holy Tongue. The gig, off the back of last summer’s superb debut album The Tumbling Psychic Joy Of Now, takes place at No90 in Hackney Wick, London, with support from Iggor Cavalera, on 7 February. Tickets can be found here – it’s not to be missed.
Speaking to tQ via email, Shackleton says of his selections: “I have generally gone for records that have been an influence on me, even if sometimes it is just the spirit of a piece of music that can inspire me, and most probably an outsider can’t hear any similarity to my own music.
“I don’t like to get hung up on genre too much and I genuinely listen to loads of different styles. I don’t discriminate, I like it all. I think music can serve loads of purposes. Sometimes transcendent or meditative right though to the transgressive and confrontational. I can’t really say that I have a preference, I like it all in context.
“That said, there’s music that might work in a club or as a 12-inch that has been really special to me but wouldn’t necessarily be music for albums, so although the likes of Digital Mystikz or Jon E Cash made a big impression on me, I had to leave them off.
“Then there have been performances I have been to that have been totally cathartic and left me shellshocked like Whitehouse or Jesus Lizard back in the early 90s, and left a lasting impression but wouldn’t make the albums list either. Similarly, I had to miss out the music from the likes of Johan Sebastian Bach through to Cutty Ranks because, even if I love them, I like it in a different context from the album format. Anyway, here goes, it is by no means definitive and will probably change tomorrow.”
Holy Tongue Meets Shackleton will perform at No90 in Hackney Wick, London on 7 February. For tickets and further information, click here.
To begin reading Shackleton’s Baker’s Dozen, click ‘First Record’ below.
