John Parish - Once Upon a Time and Other Stories

John Parish is a warm, open man and, above all, always ready with a smile. A superb multi-instrumentalist, respected producer and eclectic musician. “Once Upon A Little Time” is his beautiful new album, which isn't going unnoticed. Just as well, since it would be a real shame if John Parish were remembered only as “the guy who played with PJ Harvey”.

When and where did you write “Once Upon A Little Time”?

Most of the tracks that make up the album were written in the second half of last year (2004), though a couple date back even further. The writing was finished in Bristol, but the initial ideas came from all over the place. I travel with a laptop and a walkman, jotting down ideas for music and lyrics as they come to me. Then, later, when I'm home, I try to piece all these ideas together so they make sense.

This record was recorded between Brescia, Bristol and Copenhagen. Why did you choose to record in different cities instead of a single studio where you could take all the time and comfort you wanted?

Well, to begin with, when we started recording I hadn't finished writing all the songs yet, but I knew exactly which musicians I wanted to work with. I also like working with improvisation, especially when it comes to my own material. It's very hard for me to be objective about records I make under my own name, unlike when I'm producing records for other artists, so taking time between the various sessions helps me get the distance I need to understand, as best I can, how the songs are turning out. It was also interesting to "test" the tracks live during the period when we were recording them.

The press release describes "Once Upon A Little Time" as a record about "nonsense". … Nonsense

It's not exactly about "nonsense", but some of the lyrics can be absurd. I'm thinking in particular of "Kansas City Electrician". I wanted there to be something light to balance out all the serious songs I had.

"Even Redder Than That" is a very funny song, it always makes me smile and sometimes it even makes me laugh. Did it ever happen that you burst out laughing while recording it? What's it about?

This song definitely fits into what we were talking about before, it certainly helps balance out the record. It's crazy and fun, and we had a great time recording it. It's a song about Hopey, my youngest daughter: she has red hair and the classic redhead's temper.

My daughters are fundamental to my life, so I knew I'd end up writing about them in my songs — in fact "Sea Defences" is about Honor, my other daughter — but I didn't want to fall into the trap of writing something saccharine and sentimental. I think I managed to avoid that…

"Once Upon A Little Time". Could you explain the title of your new work? What about the photographs and the drawing? I find them very much in tune with the title.

The title comes from Hopey. She used to start all her stories with this phrase, it was a strange personal take on the classic opening of every story: "Once upon a time…". I really liked how simply adding "a little" to this phrase completely changed its meaning, shifting it from an epic register to a much more intimate one: I find that very fitting for the songs on this record.

Michelle, my wife, drew the cover. It refers to Etna and also to the cover of the soundtrack for "Once Upon a Time in the West".

The photographs inside were taken by Michelle, they're objects that Honor used to arrange around the house. When she was 2 or 3 years old, I don't quite remember exactly when, she was going through this phase where she'd line up similar objects around the house, as if it were some kind of installation. Michelle started photographing them, and when we began thinking about the CD booklet, they seemed to fit really well with the whole spirit of the record.

I imagine working alone is very different from working with a band, and yet this record — despite being credited to "John Parish" — seems to be more of a group project than a solo record.

In my opinion, this is a band record, we just didn't have a name for the project. I'm not entirely comfortable with the situation, but I wouldn't know how to fix it. There's no easy way to avoid "labelling", and since it's a collection of my own songs and my name is the one most people recognize within the project, also because I'd already released a couple of records under my own name, it made a lot more sense to release the record as John Parish. I'm completely uneasy about it: it undersells the contributions that Marta (Collica, vocals in Sepiatone and keyboards in Hugo Race's True Spirit, ed.), Giorgia (Poli, ex- Scisma , ed.), Jean-Marc (Butty, formerly in PJ Harvey's band, ed.) and also Marco (Tagliola, the sound engineer, ed.) have made to this project. I expect this lineup to develop further, and I hope to find a way to give it a name that represents it in the most fitting way.

The Automatic Dlamini record can easily be downloaded from the internet, did you put it up? What are your thoughts on the fact that it's generating so much interest after all these years?

Look, I didn't know it was available for download, so it definitely wasn't me who put it up!

Automatic Dlamini made three records, but the first, "The D Is For Drum" (1988), was only released on vinyl. The second, "Here Catch Shouted His Father" (1990), was never officially released, but I know there are unofficial recordings of it circulating. I imagine you're referring to the last record, "From A Diva To A Diver" (1992). I still think that's a great record, there are definitely some very good songs on it, and it's the only Dlamini record I feel attached to lyrically.

I guess it's natural that some people who've become interested in my work want to dig deeper and find out where I started. And besides, these are the first recordings featuring Polly Harvey, so I'm sure there are plenty of curious people out there. I have no idea how many copies are still around, I only have a couple myself.

You started your career as a musician - how did you become a producer?

Actually, I became a producer by accident. I was really curious about everything that happened in the studio, I always had my own opinions and I wasn't at all afraid to voice them to the producers I was working with.

In 1986, a band from the same town I was living in - The Chesterfields - were asked to make a record. They'd never set foot in a studio before and asked if I'd be willing to help them out. The record that came out of it, an EP called "Guitar In Your Bath", was released three months later and became a hit on the English indie circuit. My name was credited on the back as producer, and other bands started calling me.

You've also worked on a couple of soundtracks: for the film "Rosie" and for the theatre show "Zien En Zien". How did they choose you?

"Zien en Zien" is actually playing in Paris these very days, only in French, so it's called "Voir et Voir".

I really enjoy writing music for films, theatre, performances, and so on. The first time I did it was when I was teaching a performing arts course at a college in the south-west of England: I wrote music for a production of "Hamlet". It was shortly after Automatic Dlamini had split up, and I found it incredibly liberating to have the chance to write music that didn't have to follow the constraints of a pop song. It was definitely an experience that helped me grow a lot as a composer, it was one of those periods where you feel like you've made more progress in the last three months than in the previous five years.

The music I wrote for "Hamlet" led me directly to what I wrote for "Dance Hall At Louse Point", the album I released a few years later with Polly Harvey. The first instrumental piece on "Louse Point" is what got me contacted to score the film "Rosie". Next week I'll be heading home and starting straight away on the music for a Dutch drama series called "Waltz", about a complicated circus family.

You've already answered a question I was going to ask later on: so it's true that you used to teach!

Yes, it was a college for boys aged 16 and up.

"Dancehall At Louse Point", on the other hand, was entirely choreographed. How did that come about?

Mark Bruce, a London choreographer, had talked to Polly about the possibility of a live collaboration. It happened around the same time we were recording "Louse Point", so she invited him into the studio to hear what we were recording. He loved it and thought it could easily work with dance. In the end we found ourselves touring the show with his dance company. We travelled all over the UK and did a couple of dates in Salzburg. We had an absolute blast.

What was your idea of Italian music before Cesare Basile contacted you to produce his record "Gran Calavera Elettrica"? What do you think of it now? (After working with Basile, Parish produced Nada's "Tutto l'amore che mi manca" and recorded Ballate per piccole iene by Afterhours, not to mention that his band includes two Italian women)

I had no idea at all until Cesare got in touch with me. Before then, it was even hard for me to play in Italy. I was actually surprised, the first time I arrived in Catania, to be introduced to so many interesting musicians.

Cesare's record then led me to work with Nada, and that's how I got to know other fantastic musicians. It wasn't just about how they played, but also their attitude and the way they were, which won me over right away. It was actually while recording Nada's album, in Rome, that I realised I wanted to work with Marta and Giorgia, and that I wanted to record it in Italy with Marco.

You've always been much in demand, and I bet your schedule is packed with new commitments. Could you give me a tiny scoop?

Right now I'm very focused: I want to finish the music for "Waltz", and then we – the band, I mean – will play more shows in February, including some dates in Italy.

Ride the wave of great music

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