AV: You spent quite a few years as a
teacher of drama/art and as the head of that selfsame department before setting out on another
path completely. What was it about electronic music and your
acquisition of the Roland D50 that acted as a catalyst moving you away
from being a teacher?
RF: Actually I never moved away from being a teacher
(!!)…..I still am one.....that’s still what I do (Head of Drama and
Theatre Studies at a school in North Wales). But, in the early days of all
that I was very much into all sorts of music, both personally and in my
work.....and particularly electronic stuff. So.....when the
technology became relatively affordable, and having had a certain amount
of piano training there was a totally accidental experimentation with
making music myself. That D50 (which I still have) was the early “icing on
the cake”......a
sonic heaven that simply had to be had…..and the rest
is history!
AV: Tell me about that "certain amount of piano training" that you mentioned previously having.
RF: I was sent for piano
lessons between the ages of 7 and 14, - and HATED it! I simply wasn’t self
disciplined enough to go through practising all those scales and
stuff....I just wanted to mess around and play! But, I guess I was blessed with a
better pair of ears than hands, and it is the ears that seem to be the
musical means
rather than anything else.
AV: What was some of the music
that you listened to prior to enhancing your career as a teacher and adding electronic musician to your resume?
RF: I actually had no deliberate
intention to become an “electronic musician”.....or any sort of “musician” for
that matter, and to this day it STILL feels strange that I seem to have
acquired that reputation! I would have to say that the early
listening would be heavily influenced by Oldfield, Floyd......and, of course,
Vangelis. But.....the “leap” was more a tumble than
anything. Was he pushed or did he jump??? Er......no......rather....er....yes, a
stumbling tumble!!!
AV: Tell me about your involvement in creating the soundtrack
for the Midsummer Night's Dream production by the Cheshire
Youth theatre. Is it more difficult to coordinate your music to action
on a stage or screen than just writing music in general?
RF: Ah....right, now we get to the REAL beginning, and with
trusty D50 and a 4 track tape recorder!! Yes....I did the soundtrack for
that, and the Times Educational Supplement in reviewing the show described
that soundtrack as
“stunning” (thanks guys!!).....and that really WAS the
start of it all. Sound tracks (theatre rather than film) still form the
core of a great deal of what I do, since the music that evolves seems
to have a dramatic purpose (which, of course it would have!!). Whether
dramatic action or images, it doesn’t really matter as a start point....I
seem to think in both, but where the music comes from is actually a
mystery.....a total mystery!!! Coordinating music to action is for me a
damn sight easier than working with a blank canvas and I find it enormously
satisfying!
AV: Your first release was Asfafa back in
1991. How did this release come about and how did you hook up with the label that was to
end up releasing it? Were you expecting the critical acclaim
that followed?
RF: Asfafa was actually the first release, but not the
first album.....there were two that preceded it, and have since been released
as “The missing” albums.....”Voices from the Inner Ear” and “Far distant
Shore”. The reason?? I really wasn’t sure that they were good
enough.....that I wasn’t good enough, I suppose (ah.....the restrictions of self
doubt!!) It was my youngest sister who latched on to all this, and
particularly Asfafa. She took a copy without my knowledge into Blood Lloyd
records as then was and presented it to one Andy Garibaldi. He in turn passed
it on to Dave Shoesmith at C&D Compact Services (as then was!) in
Dundee, and he in turn rang me to say that he loved it!! So.....I paid the
manufacture costs, and he took on the distribution!! And a definite
“NO”........I was really NOT
expecting anything,- let alone the critical acclaim it
did receive, - that self doubt again!! One thing is for sure.....I owe my
little sister big time, for having that belief and faith that I somehow
didn’t! Well.....I’m not really a musician, am I??! I’m actually a Drama
teacher!!
AV: Your second release Fire and the Rose
followed in the same year but it was also a time of great loss for you. (Robert's wife died from cancer that year)
Looking back
from this point in time 16 years later what changes were wrought by
this event in your life and in subsequent music? What role did your
wife play in your music up to this point as far as encouragement
and inspiration?
RF: My only regret that she wasn’t around to
share that early success. “The Fire and the Rose” of course was for her,
and in memory of her but as for her “role” in all of this let’s just say
that she was a central part of my life and as such had to play some
part in the development of the music. That she was there at that
time was a very significant part of the process, but very difficult to
quantify. The music I suppose has always been emotionally charged and
dramatic and maybe she became a catalyst in that process.
AV: When was it that your path first
intersected with AD Music and at the time did it seem like a significant event in regards to
what the future would hold?
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RF: Oddly it was very soon after Gill died that I first had
a call from David (Wright) He, it would turn out, was in similar
circumstances both musically and personally and the link in this
particular contact was Dave Shoesmith. It seemed, at the time, no more significant
than two people doing similar things musically and in similar
circumstances making contact, but that we seemed to have survived some 16
years as close friends and musical collaborators is of ever increasing
value.
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AV: Tell me about some of your early
collaborations with David Wright and the music that was born out of these
collaborations. What was it that each of you brought to the table in regards
to your individual approaches to music that made these
collaborations so productive?
RF: I think it was actually a very instinctive thing in
that whenever we sat and played something happened that was neither him nor
me but uniquely different. We brought to it very different musical
styles, that’s for sure!! But we never tried to change what either of us
did, but rather use it collaboratively. In its simplest form Dave is
extremely good at textures and soundscapes, whereas I seem to have a
penchant for strings or piano or both! Some really strong melodies have come
out of that same process.....we didn’t seem to fight each other but
rather simply....er....play with each other!!!!
AV: And then came Code Indigo. What was it
that you wanted to achieve with the formation of Code Indigo that you could not do
on your own? Was everyone in the band pretty much on the same page
as to where Code Indigo was going right from the
beginning?
RF: Code Indigo was a natural extension of our
collaborative “extension” and the addition and input of Nik Smith brought with it not
only an additional expertise in the studio but, more importantly, a
guitarist.....and a damn
good one. And, yes.....everyone was very much on the
same page from the beginning, -
at least for a while!
AV: Was it difficult to step into the role as a band member of
Code Indigo after having done solo work for the most part? How is
it that the lot of you decide what to write, who writes it and how
it gets produced?
RF: Well....it wasn’t all plain sailing. I don’t think it
is difficult to step into the role of a band member after the solo work,
(since I’m not that precious about the solo work, - after all I’m not
really a musician, - I’m a Drama teacher!!) but the writing is entirely another
matter. There is a huge difference between input and takeover, and it was
the “Uforia” album that damaged things...very nearly permanently. But,
without going into the gory detail, we survived....or at least Code Indigo
did, but without Nik Smith. The important thing to me, though, was that the
musical integrity that was Code Indigo survived, too, - not only survived
but developed further......much, much further! Lessons were learned,
though, and further tears have been avoided. We now have a band that is a
true delight to work with!!
AV: Tell me about your first ADML release Into the Light. How
did you feel about your music at this point in time and how would
you describe the music that was included on this CD?
RF: I suppose if I were to be honest I was feeling far better
about the music at this point (don’t forget that I’m really a....yeah,
ok!!) and there was a very conscious decision to try to do something
different here, and do something with voices, - but I knew not what. I just
happened to be working with two very talented girls (yep.....Drama
teacher again!!) and I simply gave them the idea I was playing around with in
my head (before a note had been struck!!) and asked them to write
something, - anything!! And they did, - and I loved what they came up with.
So......I used their words and their voices, - and effectively built the
album around that. That album for me had a real FEEL to it, - with their
words giving it a dimension that musically alone it couldn’t achieve. How
would I describe it?? Different!! Certainly so far for me!
AV: How do you feel about performing your
music live both as a solo artist and as a member of Code Indigo? What is it that you
take away from these experiences and what is it that you hope
the audience takes with them for having been at one of your
shows?
RF: Answer....it scares me to death!! All I hope is that
the audience enjoyed what they heard and that I didn’t let anybody down. It
is a very humbling experience knowing that people have shelled out good
money on my music
(either live or on CD) Don’t forget.....I’m not really
a musician, - I’m.........!!!
AV: Lets jump ahead a bit to your latest
effort called Touching the Serpent's Tail. When did you first start work on Touching
the Serpent's Tail and did you have some idea in mind as to what
kind of framework that you wanted this project to exist
within?
RF: “Serpents Tail” was actually very fast in its creation
and was based very loosely on a book of poetry with the same title. All I
wanted to do was use some of the ideas in a musical way.....yep.....as
vague as that!!
AV: The title is rather interesting. Could you expound on
the meaning that you had in mind when you chose this title to
represent the music that was going to end up on this CD?
RF: Which, of course, follows on from the above! It seemed
to me that somewhere within this as a title (whether poetry,
painting or, indeed, music) was the idea of facing a fear, and that in so
doing it turns out that the serpent (whatever it may be) is not as
frightening as it might at first appear. How that is interpreted musically is
totally beyond me (!!), but that IS actually the line that I pursued! I suppose
that a great deal of this comes down to one very simple thing, and that
is finding something to hang it all on. It’s the same with a piece of Drama
(I’m actually a
Drama teacher, y’see!!).....what is the piece trying to
say?? Find that very elusive answer and you have the line of
development of the piece, but overcomplicate it and you end up with a very confused
audience!! Good drama asks questions, - poor drama gives answers!!
Could it be the same for a piece of music, I wonder??
AV: As I was listening to the CD I of
course noticed the chants that were scattered throughout. What made you choose to use
these as part of the music?
RF: There is, I think, a bone of contention here in that I
have been pilloried from some quarters for using stuff like this.....”its
all been done before” they say. Its very “Enigma”. Actually, no it
isn’t....its me!! For me, though, I actually don’t really care about that, -
its what works musically, - or how its used. IF, and only IF it does
what you want it to do then you use it, and in many ways it is all about
adding texture. I’ve actually asked the question do I avoid this because its
“chanting monks” again.....or do I try to use it as I would want to use
it. The eastern stuff is another thing all together, - but the
principal is the same.
AV: Do you see Touching the Serpent's Tail as a continuation
of your music along the same path it has followed up to this point
or does it represent some new ground you are breaking? Or both
perhaps?
RF: I think it as actually a natural progression, but one
which takes me to the point HAVING to do something either different or
unexpected next, but still recognisable as being me. Or me and David, - or
me within Code
Indigo. But there is another project that has already
been completed that does promise to break new ground (at least for a
release of mine!). You will have to wait and see though....it remains under
wraps for the moment!
AV: When you are working on a project such as this do you hear
bits and pieces of music that you have written before in the music
that you are currently working on? At these junctures do you
incorporate them and move on or do you stop and try a new combination? I'm
just curious as artists spend more and more time writing music as to
how they avoid recreating something that came before.
RF: I actually don’t think you can avoid it, - I think it
is part and parcel of progression and development, both musically and
technically. Every artist has a signature (again, poet, painter or
musician) and if that signature is wholly unrecognisable in a new work then
an identity is lost. There is so much stuff out there that has no individual
identity in the first place (except for a name on a CD sleeve) that
effectively it is rendered meaningless. That, in my view, has to be true
of an album too in that the album itself is actually the sum of its parts.
So....you CAN recreate something that has gone before, but you have
to use it differently, - within a different context or next to a
different rhythm. I
use the same chord patterns a lot, but I would hope
that the music doesn’t actually sound “samey” because of that!
AV: Was Touching the Serpent's Tail your project from beginning
to end or were there others involved who helped you along the
way?
RF: No.....all mine (but not strictly true)!! The shortest
answer yet!!
AV: When you had finished with this project were you happy
with what you were able to achieve with the music in its final
form? When you look at your music when you've done the final mixes how
is it that you personally know that it is done and that you
should quit tweaking it?
RF: Actually Dave (Wright) did have a very important input
in getting the album balance right and as a result track 2 was added
and the original track 2 became 3.I took out a further track (which has
now been donated to a Spanish compilation album!!) simply to try to get
what I was talking about before, - i.e.. a musical coherence. BUT...there
was no musical interference here at all, merely comment on how the
final end product actually hung together. Quite often what is useful is a
totally objective opinion from a respected opinion giver (!!) If you
wanted an analogy though the question is how much fine sanding do you do
before you apply the final coat of paint??
AV: How as Touching the Serpent's Tail been received by your
fans so
far?
RF: Hmm....interesting one!! In terms of comment it has
been received somewhat quietly, but in terms of sales one of the best so far!
In terms of reviews, generally quite positive, - some good, one or
two very good.....and one not so good (back to those monks
again.....but, hey, don’t forget I’m really a Drama teacher!!) However, the
idea that I (or to be more precise my music!) really has fans never ceases
to amaze me!!
AV: Will fans be able to hear this music live in the near
future? Any venues lined up as of yet?
RF: Already had an airing (or outing??!) at the Fisher
Theatre in Bungay in November 2006. And yes, we’re working on a couple of
venues for this year, too, one of which might well be my school where I teach
(did I mention
that.....yeah, sorry!!)
AV: Any final thoughts you'd like to share with our readers
in regards to your latest release or about your music in
general?
RF: I’ve just written a book in the above!! All I will say
that I am very grateful to all of the fans out there for their loyalty
over the years and I hope I am able to turn stuff out that they will
continue to enjoy for a few years to come!
AV: Thanks Robert for taking the time to answer all of these questions with a sharp wit and a sense of humour. And for those readers that might have missed it I want to stress one last time that Robert is actually a Drama Teacher and is still quite surprised when folks call him an "electronic musician". Robert wove that point very subtly throughout the interview and it might have been missed by those not reading very closely. :) Good luck with Touching the Serpents Tail and keep cranking out those future Shakespearean actors.
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