I’m speaking to Axel Willner, aka The Field, in fairly strange circumstances. His UK tour was thrown in to disarray over the weekend after the British police stopped the tour bus and decided that it was too heavy, meaning that some of the band had to begin travelling around the country by train while the rest remained on the bus with the equipment. Still, the Swedish producer - responsible for 2007’s hugely acclaimed ‘From Here We Go Sublime’ and this year’s follow up ‘Yesterday and Today’ - has soldiered on despite the setbacks, and is set to perform with his live band for the sixth night in a row, this time for free in an old fire station (now a trendy bar and music venue) in Sheffield. Not one to grant Axel any respite from the weirdness of his weekend, I’ve chosen to conduct this interview in the dingy and oddly scented broom cupboard of tonight’s venue, having failed to find anywhere quieter. So, with a room-full of mops, buckets and cleaning products for company, let the interviewing begin...
It sounds like you’ve had a hectic week touring in the UK, how have you found it?
It’s been pretty good actually – Brighton and Bristol were good, the Manchester show (at the Warehouse Project) was huge. Newcastle was pretty much the opposite, but then we played Glasgow which was fantastic.
Was the Warehouse Project the first time you’d shared a line-up with Michael Mayer?
Yeah, it was the first time with the band – we’d played together once before at an after-party three or so years ago. He’s a really, really good DJ, and he plays whatever kind of music, it was a big progression him coming on after us.
What drew you to signing to Mayer’s and Wolfgang Voigt’s label Kompakt in the first place?
I was attracted to Kompakt because for a very long time I’ve been in to Wolfgang’s music, like Gas and Love Inc., and it was the knowledge that it was his label that I liked. I just sent in a demo, and he wrote me back an e-mail.
Playing with a band is so much more open, you can do whatever you like to keep more of a jam style, and push it further and just keep going.
Where’s your favourite place in the world to play?
It’s hard to say... Portugal is very nice. I like the people, the food, and the energy when you’re playing. The whole atmosphere in Portugal is great.
You started out doing live shows just by yourself with a laptop, but now you tour with a band. Which do you prefer?
With the band, big time. It’s so much more open, you can do whatever you like to keep more of a jam style, and push it further and just keep going. I felt a little bit that I couldn’t really do what I wanted to do with just the laptop – even though there aren’t really any limitations, it just didn’t really suit me.
Your songs feature a lot of micro-samples– how do you choose which songs to sample, and how long does it take to create the samples and fit them all together?
Usually it’s pretty fast, when I finally get down to work! Often I have some kind of relation to the song that I use: either I like it very much, or it could be more like Lionel Richie’s ‘Hello‘ (sampled in ‘A Paw In My Face’) – I do like that song, but in a different kind of way.
You seem to be a pretty big fan of Kate Bush...
Yeah I am. I’m a big fan of Kate Bush. I love her soundscapes and the atmospheres in her songs. And, of course, her voice.
You’ve sampled artists like The Korgis and The Flamingos, as well as Lionel Richie and Kate Bush in your songs. Were these the kind of artists you listened to when you were growing up? What else inspired you musically?
Yeah, I heard Lionel Richie, of course, through my parents, while The Korgis and Kate Bush came later on. The Flamingos had been there a long time ago, along with The Four Tops and all this kind of Mo-town stuff. When I first got in to music it was punk, so it’s totally different from what I’m doing right now.
I think it’s a little bit different to remix The Field in a way, because what you get to work with is not really what you get from other songs
In the past you’ve produced some more guitar-based stuff under different monikers, are you still pursuing any of your other projects?
Not really. I’m still making music with other names, not as The Field, but nothing really special that I know what to do with at the moment.
You originally started gaining prominence a few years back with your remixes of Annie and 120 Days – do you still enjoy making remixes, or do you just concentrate on your own songs now?
I don’t know, it’s two different things to do. It’s always kind of intriguing to make a remix as it’s not your product in a way, even though it is. You also have starting points from the beginning so you already know a little bit of what to do and how to do it, compared to when you make music directly from nothing, which is harder. But with The Field it’s kind of the same process all the time, taking bits and pieces from everywhere, so in a way what I’ve already been doing is like making a remix. So yeah, it’s the same but very different!
Are there any songs you’d want to remix in the future?
I’d like to do a Wolfgang remix if I can manage it. I’ve just made a Harmonia remix, which was pretty big for me to do.
Talking of remixes, there’s a remix album of ‘Yesterday and Today‘ out on December 7th, are you pleased with how other people have remixed your work?
Yeah I am, I think they complement the originals pretty well. Also there haven’t been that many remixes of The Field before, so now with this remix album it’s funny to hear what people can do with it. I think it’s a little bit different to remix The Field in a way, because what you get to work with is not really what you get from other songs and I think it might be a little bit harder to do something with.
Were you surprised by the success of ‘From Here We Go Sublime‘? How does it feel to have the album appreciated by such a wide range of people?
Yeah of course, I was blown away! I could never have imagined that it would be anywhere near as successful as it was. It feels good to reach out to more than just techno fans. I don’t really like the techno that’s only used in the clubs, and I find that any music that’s used only for one purpose is pretty boring. It’s better if you can put it in whatever context you desire. I’m very happy that my music works in a lot of different places.
After ‘From Here We Go Sublime‘, what approach did you want to take with your next album?
As we started to play live, I wanted to use the band to make something like a live recording with them, and that’s what we did. It worked really well, to work with musicians and samples and to get something out of that, I was pretty happy with how it worked out.
To someone who hasn’t seen you live before, can you describe what to expect ?
Now, it’s three angry men and one happy drummer (laughs).
~Erica (November 25th, 2009):
Int-er-esting. More like this please
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