In the second of our occasional series, Colin talked to musician, reviewer and Oxford student, Alex Lloyd, a.k.a. PRDCTV. Alex was recently signed to electronica label Ninja Tune and we figured his experience would be useful to other young musicians, particularly solo artists. We also figured that it would be a good excuse to sample the Lamb and Flag’s ‘Old Peculier,’ which is a humdinger.
CHM: To kick off, could you give us a quick sketch of what PRDCTV is all about?
AL: Well, it is electronica based, but it’s kind of built up from organic samples which I’ve recorded live. Guitars, drums recorded in a room, speeded up, slowed down, chopped up and then pieced together again.
CHM: The organic stuff: where was that done? Studio? Bedroom? Bedsit?
AL: Oh, bedroom. Would be nice if I had a studio…
CHM: It’s almost like we’ve got a little scene-within-a-scene in Oxford, of people like yourself doing this mostly-instrumental, DIY music. Message to Bears is another standout, which I know we both rate highly…
AL: Seabuckthorn, too. Can’t really think of another place that does this sort of electronica, ambient thing. Dead Pilot Records is an important label for people like us.
CHM: So, and this may be a daft question, but what is the intention behind this music? It’s electronica, but it’s not dance music. When you play a gig, do you want the audience raving away Madchester-style…?
AL: Oh, no. Sitting down and listening! To be fair, I’m listening to some minimal techno and dubstep, so my music might be moving in that direction, but I do want the audience to pay attention. Like the idea of playing in a really quiet, hushed environment. Maybe a church or something…
CHM: Yeah well the C of E needs all the rent it can get at the moment, after its disastrous property speculations. You might get a good quote for the cathedral at the moment.
AL: But Joal at the Wheatsheaf is great, too. I’d like to take him everywhere.
CHM: What started PRDCTV on the route towards Ninja Tune? How did you achieve that initial bit of success? There’s clearly several ways to getting signed but you didn’t do what Alphabet Backwards did and tour every toilet venue in Dunoon….
AL: Well, two strands were important. I teamed up with my manager, Nick, very early on-I’d only played one show when we started working together. And the internet is really vital these days. Obviously, there’s Myspace and alongside it I ran my own website. Oh, and I run a blog. You can do all sorts of online marketing stuff, though it takes a lot of time and energy….
CHM: … your tutors are gonna love hearing this! Third year undergrad….
AL: The degree’s in hand! Anyway, Myspace is important- I got Nick on board from a Myspace message. It’s really important to have decent-quality stuff uploaded there, cos people might only listen to the first ten seconds of your track and you have to grab them immediately.
CHM: Just like a demo tape, really.
AL: Right.
CHM: So, where does NT come in? Did you get a lot of activity on your websites, and that attracted them? Or did they just see something in your music from the get-go?
AL: Well, my manager’s day job is promoting to club DJs so he knows people, and he put the word about with various record labels. Ninja Tune asked to be kept in the loop. I actually did some work experience there, unrelated to PRDCTV. On my last day, they called me in for a meeting and offered to sign me right then and there.
CHM: Bloody Hell! Best Work Experience Ever! I bet they even paid you!
AL: Best lunch break I ever had.
CHM: What do you think NT will bring to the table, regarding recording? Will they be there during the recording process, demand final cut and all that?
AL: I think a lot of labels do, even the small ones, but Ninja are experienced at dealing with musicians who work on their own, and they give me the time and space I need. If I need something for recording they’ll provide it, but they allow musicians to work at their own speed. They’ll get someone to mix and master it properly, but they’re not hassling me all the time for immediate product.
CHM: Sounds like a different era! You read the music papers, you get the feeling that the whole industry is collapsing and people are desperate to make a few bucks before the whole thing disappears. Ninja seem quite serene about it all.
AL: I think it’s a good example of the independent/major divide. And the independents are smart-they have to be,-much smarter at using the internet for example. Blogging is so vital these days. The bloggers are the new taste makers.
CHM: I guess the bloggers act as a bit of a filter before the A and R guys hear it.
AL: Yeah, Pitchfork, Gorilla Versus Bear etc. and these sites are huge. A review in Pitchfork is bigger than a review in NME. And there’s now a website that collates the various blogs- so you have a blog of the blogs. Crazy.
CHM: Infinite regress. Doing my head in. Let’s move on. What about live? That’s where a lot of the money is these days. Are Ninja pushing you or requesting you to do a bunch of live gigs?
AL: No, again they are really cool about it. They want me to focus on the album, get that right and then think about performance.
CHM: There’s some fun acts on the label, aren’t there? Fancy touring with Roots Manuva?
AL: Who knows? And I’d love to collaborate with visual artists who could use my stuff, and create a really good show. At the moment in the live show, I use a German film of a Rube Goldberg Machine-you know, like in the Honda advert where one component knocks another over. It’s amazing. Must have watched it twenty times.
CHM: Alex, it’s good to hear you’re so positive about the record label. Labels get a lot of flak, no doubt a lot of it deserved, but I guess the worry is that talented guys like you in thirty years time won’t get any support because the industry’s disappeared.
AL: It’s a worry, but the majors don’t help themselves. They’re still fighting technology, file-sharing, but they’re wasting their energy. Just give up, guys. Find new ways to make money from music. The pirates are so much cleverer than us.