9. Philip GlassEinstein On The Beach
In summer 2012 I had the most amazing weekend I’ll ever have. I went to see The Fall on Friday night, an absolutely stonking gig, then the night after I went to see Einstein On The Beach at the Barbican, and then on Sunday I went to see Damo Suzuki with Bo Ningen as his backing band. So there was this whole musical mindfuck of a weekend, which sowed so many seeds in me. Strangely, it didn’t feel all that much of a step from going to see The Fall into a five hour-plus avant-garde opera.
My band had just split up at that point but the guitarist Ben and I had booked way in advance. It was odd because our personal relationship had strained by this point but it turned out to be a really lovely healing moment. Just to be sat next to him for this odyssey that I’d kill to see again but almost don’t want to because it was such a special moment.
Seeing that performance really impacted on what I felt was possible with music and what was possible with the production of putting something on stage. Having been so heavily into guitar music and being part of the lineage of a gigging musician, even though I had an interest in weird classical music, this was a totally different world to me. I could see the idea of using these two worlds would be really potent. It was just an unbelievably mind bending experience. It was really visceral, as visceral as watching The Fall. Both totally different worlds that you’re seeing in a completely different context but it gave me the same effect.
The record is a really great placeholder for going to see it and having my life completely changed and having this really special moment with my friend Ben. He sadly died the year before last very suddenly. We had an incredible chemistry; I have never had a relationship like that with anyone else. I always felt like, oh we’ll get back together one day. I feel sad that we won’t be able to rekindle anything but at the same time I’m really happy that we were able to share this thing together. So if I think about these totally defining musical moments of my life, Ben is part of that and what this record represents to me is something much bigger than music.
