Barry Adamson - The Return of Jazz Devil

When I prepare an interview, I pay close attention to the order of the questions: I try to save anything that might irritate or offend my interviewee for the end of the conversation.

When we're talking about English Gentlemen!

So many people continue to describe you as a founding member of bands like Magazine and The Bad Seeds, even though Magazine broke up in 1980 and you left The Bad Seeds in 1986. We should also consider that your solo career doesn't sound anything like either of those two bands. I imagine that's annoying, after all these years.

I'm glad you felt the need to ask me this question!!

I think those two bands were very important, and the fact that I was part of them 'places me well' and helps some people get a clear picture of my path.

Even though my music isn't similar to what those two bands played, I think the spirit of those groups influenced me and continues to do so.

You were also part of another cult band: Visage. Yet nobody ever mentions it.

Actually I was just a 'session guy' and I wasn't on the payroll, so...

Exactly twenty years on, what memories do you have of those bands? Was it easy playing with them?

I seem to remember getting up off the floor I was lying on, every now and then...

As I've said several times already, the sound that characterizes your solo work has nothing to do with the sound of the bands you started out with. How did you manage to achieve this kind of sound? Did playing with bands like Magazine and The Bad Seeds help you in any way?

I think what I said earlier about the spirit is true: in both bands there was a part of me that was drawn to them, and vice versa, but at the end of the day you are yourself, and the real goal is to find that 'yourself' and let it turn into music.

You've always managed to give your music a strong visual imprint. Do you think of every record you write as a kind of soundtrack?

I always try to give music a 'visual quality' — sometimes it's like writing a soundtrack, I try to 'give images' to a track through a story.

Have you ever written an actual screenplay?

Actually I've written several screenplays and short stories, and I've composed soundtracks for a number of films!

In fact, your music has always been used in films and commercials, and you even wrote the theme tune for a CNN show. Is it easy to grant permission and see your songs associated with a commercial?

Nowadays it's a perfectly normal thing to have the result of your work end up in commercials, films and on television. It's just another aspect of having made music your job. Most of the time I accept it, I suppose I should draw a line at "promoting pain", but come on, an ad for the new phone? I imagine that's more than fine!

You took a long time to accept the role of singer: the first record you sang on was "As Above So Below", which is your fifth solo album!

It's true, and just think, I'm only getting used to the role now!!

You described your previous album, "The King of Notthing Hill", as: "Illusion versus Truth". How would you describe "Stranger on a Sofa"?

"Stranger on a Sofa" is a psychological reflection of today's world. There you are, on the sofa, left alone with your worst fears about a world that will probably destroy itself in the very near future. You might as well stop thinking about it and listen to some good songs.

"Stranger on the Sofa" is the most cinematic title you've chosen for your records. Maybe even more so than "Soul Murder". It could have worked for Hitchcock's new film. On the other hand, "Stranger on the Sofa" could just as easily be considered the least cinematic record of your career. Is it simply a natural evolution?

I think I'm trying to avoid the usual clichés and repeating myself, to make the songs above all an expression of a cinematic language and get the listener to ask questions. As if they were part of the script?

Who is the stranger on the sofa, and whose sofa are they sitting on?

That's like asking Hitchcock exactly which "Birds" he was referring to.

On previous records you tended to work with other people. What pushed you to work on this record in complete solitude?

I wanted to "limit" myself, to position myself like a painter would: the television on, and me capturing all the ideas and manipulating them like a possessed Basquiat.

A curiosity: is "Who Killed Big Bird?" inspired by Charlie Parker?

It is now!!! Let's put it this way: it raises an entirely new question about who killed Big Bird!!

"Stranger On The Sofa" gives me the impression of having been influenced by 1940s jazz. Was that a wrong impression?

Actually I don't know anything about '40s jazz, BUT one day there was this programme on television about '40s jazz, and they showed these photographs of guys playing in big bands, and there was this guy playing the trumpet, and I could have sworn it was me!! My kids even started shouting: "Look, that's dad!!" So... maybe...

You don't play many shows. Can I ask why? Does that mean there won't be a chance to see you live even to promote this record?

For this record I will be playing shows, I'm confirming a lot of dates. This week I'm doing a couple of shows in London and then I'll be taking it on tour.

You've done a number of remixes for other bands (from Einsturzende Neubauten to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion). How do you approach a remix, and what makes you want to remix another artist's song?

I like the fee, and the creative freedom of bending something to your own point of view.

Has it ever happened that one of your songs was remixed by someone else?

Yes. I like the Aim & Funkstorung versions of "Whispering Streets"

With this latest work of yours, you decided to leave Mute Records and start your own label, Central Control International. Is it out of line to ask why? I've heard it said around that you never quite got on with them.

That's probably right, and it led me to feel the need for my own, very personal team.

Every single version of your official website is practically gorgeous. I imagine you're involved in making it.

I talk in detail with the designer about how I picture the site and the feelings it should give off, and from that point on I let the designer feel free to develop the ideas.

You moved from Manchester, your hometown, to London. Why was that?

On paper it looked like we were spending more time in London than anywhere else. I stayed in London, but when I went back to Manchester for a while, I missed it straight away. These days we wouldn't live anywhere else.

Last question: I've heard that, as a child, you never left the house unless you were in costume. Is that true? What kind of costume was it? How did your parents react? And what about the other kids?

Even now I don't leave the house without my mask! Yesterday I was a stockbroker.

The other kids didn't care, since they were all wearing costumes too, and my parents cared even less.

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