Kev Hopper recently released his fourteenth solo album, titled XiX. Having started out playing bass with Stump – a band who in just five years released two albums and a bunch of EPs, attaining a cult status and critical acclaim over commercial success – his career has been defined by quirkiness and eclecticism. This is nowhere more apparent than on XiX, which got a thumbs up from us here at Aural Aggravation. Since Stump called it a day in 1988, Hopper has been keeping busy, dividing his time between music-making, both solo and with a few notable collaborations, and painting. And because a new release inevitably brings the cycle of promo, John Wiesniewski hopped on board to chat with Kev about the new album, inspiration, and his various collaborations.
JW for AA: What was the experience like recording your new album, Kev?
KH: Pretty much like all the others in that I always have a lot of track doodles and sketches on my hard disk and it usually takes a month or two to arrange them properly and get them into shape with proper intros, verses and chorus etc. I have to stop painting while I do that and put in long days.
When did you begin playing music? Did you play music from an early age?
I started playing bass in bands around ’78 at the age of 18 or 19. I didn’t take it seriously till I was in my twenties. I didn’t grow up in a musical family and didn’t like music lessons at school but loved Pop from a young age and knew I wanted to get involved eventually.
What was it like being in Stump? What kind of music did you want to create in Stump?
It was crazy. Stump was a smart band of loud hotheads and big personalities. You couldn’t relax. There were a miss-mash of different influences in the band but the main prerogative were good lyrics, interesting rhythms and wobbly, funky lines. Bread and butter drumming and bass lines were out. Writing was a four-way collaboration and followed a typical pattern of starting with the bass, then the guitar, then the drums and finally the singing.
What inspires you to paint and compose music?
I don’t believe in ‘inspiration’ – that’s a flawed concept IMO. It just comes naturally – and I advise anyone who doesn’t feel ‘inspired’ to just put random notes or (paint marks) down… and the missing content will usually prompt structure.
I feel an urge to create something most days even if it turns into an unruly mess. If I don’t create I feel useless. I’ve had this feeling all my life. If I’m honest, I am slightly less motivated than I used to be – a natural and inevitable consequence of advancing years and other concerns filling my time, I guess. I also have to remind myself that not everyone will appreciate what I do, (or indeed value it). As an artist one has to learn to live with indifference and get used to it… especially with my kind of music.
How did you come to collaborate with Ticklish and Prescott?
Ticklish was a merger of friends I knew from the experimental and free-improv scene in London and was a very electronic, improvisational, abstract collaboration which involved minimal preparation beforehand. We would identify ‘sound areas’ and have a rough idea of how we would transition through them in a live set. Prescott was totally different in that I wrote all the music then rehearsed it with the band. It was very influenced by the ‘Canterbury’ Prog sound and minimalism. There wasn’t much room for improvisation in that format.
6. Any favourite albums among the many that you played on?
I don’t have favourites as they’re all stages in musical development, however I can unfortunately identify the weaker recordings or the albums that didn’t hang together well. Fortunately there are not too many of them (IMO!)
How would you describe your music? Any favourite bands? Any artists who inspire you?
I’m often asked how I would describe my music and I wish I could say something like ‘blues’ or ‘Funk’ or ‘Indie Rock’ and have done with it. The truth is it’s a very personal, hybrid musical style where odd sounds meet melodic content. It has a strong electronic element and uses influences from the avant garde as well as Pop and Jazz. That’s where I see myself: somewhere in the exciting middle of those two things.
There are so many bands I like. Too many to list. Here are some things I’ve enjoyed lately:
Daniel Landois – Goodbye to Language
Ichiko Aoba – Windswept Adan
Cathal Coughlan -Rancho Tetrahedron
Oval – Romantiq
Arch Garrison – the bitter lay
Christobal Tapia De Veer – Utopia Soundtrack
Pino Palladino – That wasn’t a Dream
Any future plans and projects, Kev?
I am writing songs for my old friend, singer, Kelsey Michael for an album next year and there’s a plan to re-issue my Kevlington bass album on vinyl also on Dimple Discs. My motto is ‘keep buggerin’ on’.
XiX is out now.
AA
Aural Aggravation 