IAN STAPLES: "We were the first band to play what might loosely be called free punk metal"

You are famous in various musical spheres: band RED SQUARE, project with JON SEAGROATT (CURRENT 93, COMUS), THE PSYCHEDELIC RAIDERS. What collaborations are the most interesting to You?

I've mainly worked on my own over the years or with Jonny Seagroatt who now also plays with Current 93 and Comus. Jonny and I first started working together in 1972 as an improvising duo, we also experimented with tape multitracking.

Around 1974 we formed a trio called Red Square with a free jazz drummer called Roger Telford. We decided that all our music would be improvised and it was very loud and forceful. I played a heavily distorted Fender Mustang through 2 big speaker cabs,urban legend has it that we once drowned out a Cliff Richard concert. As far as we know we were the first band to play what might loosely be called free punk metal,we wore knee length boots and leather jackets and had (and still do) long hair. Very different to the mainly apologetic improvised music that was being played at that time. We did a number of gigs over a 5 year period, sometimes with Henry Cow. A vinyl album of some early recordings from that period are about to be released by a record label in Spain.

Jonny and I still work together and recently released an album based on the novel by Steven Sherril called,"The Minotaur Smokes a cigarette."
it was very kindly described by David Tibet of Current 93 as the perfect album.

What ideas are main to You?

Main ideas behind music....I went to Art college in the 60s and developed a parallel  interested in the audio as well as the visual. Although I can and do play fingerstyle folk guitar and write all my own songs, my main interest is in pushing back the barriers of established music forms so improvisation is what I enjoy most.

I don't have a favourite album, but I have great regard for Captain Beefhearts Trout Mask Replica. (When he died I played a short improvised tribute to him that is on youtube (Ian Staples Captain Beefheart) however other albums that I really like would be by Gong, Bob Dylan, Hendrix, Ornette Coleman, Can, early Pink Floyd with Syd Barret (who I shared the stage with a few times) and Weather Report I sing the Body electric. Bitches Brew and live Evil, Miles Davis, the list is long.

What end when there's no Sound?

What ends when there is no sound.... Life

What about Sound Art?

I think like visual Art where the line between figuarative art and abstract art can be very blurred the line between what is and what is not sound Art is very blurred, music of any style Its just an arrangement of noise.

It's just different ways of arranging noise and all combinations that are possible seem worth doing.

What music do You value most?

I'm interested in all forms of music, the only kind of music I'm not inspired by is something unimaginative and very like what I have heard many times before.

What inspires You most?

What inspires You most?... Life.

Thank You.   

Links:

https://jonseagroatt.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/thegreatsquarions

https://psychedelicraiders.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/psychedelicraiders

https://soundcloud.com/the-psychedelic-raiders

https://soundcloud.com/tracks-from-deathless