INTERVIEW

A Kenickie Corner EXCLUSIVE! Name:pete x Real Name:pete gofton No, really:frank syntax Date:15/8/00 'Xaverre': I presume that's what the 'X' in 'Johnny/Pete X' always stood for - what's the story behind the name? Have any 'X-Men' lawyers sued you yet? the name comes from an incorrect entry in the 'guinness encyclopedia of rock'; refering to my real name as being 'j xaverre' (pronounced 'zay-vee-er');it just seemed so deliciously wrong that i had to adopt it. I'm sure you're not a great believer in the classification of music genres, but how would you describe the sound on your latest release? it's a bit gumbo- some electronic stuff, jim o'rourke's pop songs, carl & the passions, easy on the ear. i'm not actually as dismissive of genres as some people- they can help 'find' some musics- give them a stable reference point in relation to other similar stuff; it can help people discover things of a similar ilk that they may have missed otherwise... What were your influences for 'Nilsong'? directly, the third big star record, cornelius- 'fantasma', felt, the magnetic fields-'with whom to dance'... indirectly, the song relates to a particular place in a small county durham village called stanley- the woods on the edge of town are where the song takes place. Apart from the pitch-bent synth noise which is slowly becoming your trademark, is 'Lights Out In a Provincial Town' in any way connected to 'Nilsong'? the only connection is probably the mention of streetlights- tenuous, although some of the people mentioned are in 'nilsong' as well... Who provides the vocals for 'Nilsong'? that would be me, unfortunately... Did you ask Lauren to provide backing-vocals for 'Nilsong' or did she volunteer? it's not lauren, it's lea, my girlfriend. she's the one who cajoled me into singing.... What were your influences for 'Wild Weekend'? a song by u-ziq (mike paradinas) on the 'royal astronomy' album called 'the fear', has the same idea of using vocals that are almost incidental- badly recorded, first take- and centering the performances around them. as well, a brazilian psychedelic band called os mutantes- check them out, the wacky bastards Is vocalist Lea on 'Wild Weekend' really your 'other-half', and if so, has she recorded previously? yes, we are very much a long-term prospect. j xaverre is essentially myself and lea; i'm pretty lazy, and she offers the right amount of encouragement and threats... musically, she's done far more than me- she's got loads of qualifications, and has done everything from sing joni mitchell to doing musique concrete. she's done sessions with people like ac/dc, but doesn't rate it, as it was brian johnson not bon scott era... Do you and Lea plan to record together again? oh, i think so; she's doing her own single, and i'm recording it. Which is harder for you - starting to write a song, or knowing when to finish/make the final edit? it's knowing when to stop; in kenickie, mainly due to the fact that we would be spending hundreds of pounds per hour in studios, we would have to be reasonably quick, or possibly less than satisfied with what we had. the luxury of having my own studio means that i will spend literally weeks on one song; working on it for an hour or so, tweaking it, going away for a few days. admittedly, it's a ridiculously decadent way of working, but it has it's advantages... How do you typically begin recording your songs? Is there a set routine/formula or is it generally improvised? musically, the songs are pieced together from fragments that i record on a discman- again, like the studio, it's a luxurious way of working, and means that i'm not the most prolific of songwriters. lyrically, i have a book that i've carried round with me since i was in the bands i was in before kenickie. i jot down lines that grab me, and piece them together later on; kind of like automatic writing- them meaning of the song becomes clear after it is finished. If you were offered an awful lot of money for 'Wild Weekend' to be used on a car advertisement, would you agree without hesitation? i do have ethics regarding this- mcdonalds wanted to use 'punka', years ago, and i felt kind of uncomfortable about it; but if it was a product that i would find cool, and i could justify it to myself, say, if i needed money to buy a piece of equipment... then possibly. What instruments/equipment did you use on your debut release? the gear that i bought with my publishing advance- a 16 track digital recorder, a 32 channel mixing desk, some outboard effects, my fender mustang, moog source, rhodes- nothing especially unusual. Is it true you record and produce all your work at home? If so, have you run out of room yet or do you plan to move into a bigger studio? yes, i have my studio set up in the same attic conversion that kenickie used to practice in. i would love to move, but it would be hard to find somewhere with as understanding neighbours... 15. Which do you prefer - producing, writing your own music, or performing live? i enjoy all three- although studio work kind of comes top; i've actually gotten more and more into the idea of playing live- i used to be incredibly disdainful of it, generally due to the lack of control one has over the event, but now i think i could let things just ride. I really enjoyed the diversity of Lauren's session this week on Radio One - her voice sounds better than ever. How did the Session recording go - did you enjoy getting back in the studio with Lauren? i've never really been out of the studio with lauren- i did all her demos, the single, and (hopefully) the album. i generally enjoy radio sessions- this is the 4th radio 1 one i've done- but the engineers there seem to hate music- which makes for an interesting atmosphere if things run late.. 'Mexico' appears to echo memories of 'Pavement' - was this intentional or is it sometimes the case [y]our influences are subliminal? it's funny that you should mention pavement in the context of that song; they are one of my favourite bands ('slanted and enchanted' hovers in my top three records of all time), and i kind of based my guitar playing on steve malkmus' style- folky and kind of piecemeal in places. the arrangement was based more on a palace brothers song called 'west palm beach' (on the 'lost blues' album) What are the easiest and hardest things about producing your sister's work? easiest; she's incredibly prolific- we have over 40 songs to demo for the album, and no shortage of ideas in terms of arrangement, instrumentation etc- lauren is a very creative person. hardest; she suffers (occasionally) from self- doubt, which most musicans probably do, but it seems to affect her more acutely. Will you be writing for as well as producing Lauren's eagerly anticipated debut album? i wouldn't like to say, really; it's best not to set things in stone. we have defined roles (musically and technically) which we both agree on- occasionally we overstep, but having rules does help. Which is your favourite song from Lauren's forthcoming E.P. and why? 'some kind of other prescence', because it is closer to what she should be doing musically than the other songs. also, it is an interesting synthesis of the more guitar oriented stuff, and the electronics that i hope will be on the album. Is there a J Xaverre session in the pipeline? possibly; best not to jinx it by giving too much away. What can "the kidz" expect from your next release/work and when can they expect it? it will be another 7", two songs- sorry again all the people without record players! the songs are recorded. the people who've heard it say that it's more 'out there' than the last single- the rhythm track for one of the songs is a sample of a basketball game, and they are a more instrumental. sorry, i'm terrible at descriptions! hopefully, it will be out in october/november. What is your greatest day so far in your life, and what record sums up that day perfectly? the best day i've had so far would be the day i saw new order at reading festival in 1998, as it was a formative time in my relationship with lea, and practically all of my friends were there. myself, arab strap, adele who sings with them, and a bunch of others went on the karaoke (the first and only time that i have done it) and did a spice girls song. i went down on the train with dj downfall and got completely pissed on the way there. this one day was full of stuff like this, but central to it all was this relationship with lea; i know it sounds gooey but it is the most important one in my life. it sounds weird, with regards to the idea of it being the best day, but 'regret' by new order perfectly sums all this up, as they opened their set with it that same night. Which is the best song you've ever written? in terms of the stuff i am doing now, i couldn't really say (only having done one7"), but in terms of kenickie, side one of 'get in', or songs 1-6 on the cd, stand out as the most pleasing and consistent work it think i've done; everything about it- the songs, the playing, the production, even the song order stands up today. not a popular view amongst kenickie fans i know, but.. What is your musical ambition? to keep working on projects that i enjoy. boring, but true. Would you ever consider writing the score for a movie? If so, what kind of movie would you most want to compose for? i definitely want to work on a film score. if not that, i think that i would enjoy compiling the soundtrack for one- i hear songs in my record collection and think 'hey, that would be great for that scene' etc. i had the idea to use 'good morning captain' by slint years before lou barlow did it in 'kids'! the films i would probably most like to soundtrack would be the harmony korine stuff- the cinematography is amazing, or redo the soundtrack to a 50's film called 'night of the hunter'- it's a beautiful film- incredibly impressionistic. What car do you drive? i can drive, but i can't afford one yet. Do you ever get recognised in your home town? it used to happen more often, but since i filled out and grew the beard people don't seem to notice me... Do you find it flattering or a nuisance when you get recognised in public? it is flattering, but i am very shy, and find it incredibly difficult to make smalltalk with people i don't know; i don't mind, i just come off as being a bit aloof without meaning to. What would you entitle your autobiography? i had a really witty response to this, but i forgot it. bastard.. What's more important to you - making music for yourself or for "the kidz"? i think if you make music for 'yourself' it will find it's audience- it's terribly patronising when people like travis talk about music as if it's fast food, and should just go in one ear and out of the other; music has to open up a dialogue with the listener; questioning their motives for liking something. one needs rigour in music- it demands your attention, otherwise you may as well be sitting in a dentists waiting room. making music for yourself will place demands on you that hopefully will touch others, or encourage them to listen in a different way. possibly. mp3 technology. Good or bad? good- anything that scares the majors must be doing something right... What was the last mp3 you downloaded? actually, it was our evening session mp3's! before that, it was a song by brave captain (martin carr who used to be in the boo radleys) called 'third unattended bag on the right'. Outside music, how else do you spend any spare time you get? generally with lea- we hang out, do usual couples stuff. enjoy fine foods, listening to music etc. we travel a bit- we're planning to go to australia next year. really just do what makes us happy. How did you get involved with Mogwai? they supported kenickie at the garage in london- i got talking to them about slint (who they had obviously heard) and we kept bumping into one another at various things.. they asked me to play on 'fear satan' on the first album, so i went up to chemikal underground's studios, which are in the middle of an estate next to a railway line on the outskirts of glasgow, and got drunk with them. i don't think that my playing made the final cut... Do you have plans to work with Mogwai again? i haven't seen stuart or any of the others in over a year, but i would, probably. Which is your favourite Mogwai track and why? a song called 'now that you're taken' on the '4-satin' ep- aidan from arab strap sings on it; there's a section in the middle- the band sort of descend into a lull, aidan delivers this killer line; 'i should tell you i adore you/ but i'm sure that i'd just bore you'. it doesn't sound like much, but just his delivery, it's just spellbinding. Apart from Spraydog and Mogwai are there any other bands you've guested with? loads, in my riot grrl days. lauren and myself were in a band called 'muchos gratisias'; we did a split cassette album on slampt. the other side was by pete and rachel slampt attacking kenickie for selling out. i never really worked out their logic.. Are you still making money from Kenickie records? not really, but a cheque comes through the letterbox every now and again. Just how popular were/are Kenickie in Japan? not as much as legend has it. When was the last time you listened to a Kenickie record, and what song was it? the entire peel sessions cd, when i wrote the sleevenotes for it. What one thing did Kenickie teach you? to trust your own judgement. the amount of crap that we were talked into doing by those 'who knew better' still astounds me to this day. What was it like being the only male member of Kenickie? lonely. Had Lea heard of Kenickie before you met? If so, what did she think of the band's music? lea actually knew the girls before she knew me- she went to school with them. she says her favourite kenix song is 'classy', because of the drumming. You worked with Andy Carpenter throughout Kenickie's lifetime - will you be working together in the future? it's kind of sad about andy- he expected loads of recognition for 'at the club' and didn't really get any, despite being intergral to the recording. the last time i saw him he wasn't even working in music. he's one of the nicest people i know, esp. with regards to kenix, but it's a business where good guys sometimes finish last. What is the story/influence behind the 'Get In' album sleeve/cover? we just wanted something that had a different feel to 'at the club' (which is the worst record cover in the history of music). i know that thers's a lot of theories as to what it means. in terms of those, i couldn't possibly comment.. Please feel free to plug any up-and-coming appearances/events! buy the next single. buy my sister's single. buy 'introducing the aluminium group' by the aluminium group. thank you for your time. Many, many thanks to Pete/J Xaverre for taking the time to carry out this interview. J Xaverre's current single, 'Nils Song/Wild Weekend' is available from all good record shops and online at Rough Trade.

scott.wills@Virgin.net