Tricky has always been one to deliberately taunt the supposed boundaries of modern music. Ruthlessly bending what is sonically acceptable into a warped, gritty, 3am-and-too-tired-to-sleep, low-lit masterpiece, the man otherwise known as Adrian Thaws has constantly and consistently redefined his sound over the past 19 years and indeed redefined music in general. If you’ve looked up the word ‘experimental’ in the dictionary recently, you’ll find that Tricky has already ripped the page out, folded it into a paper plane, lit it on fire, and sent it sailing in slow-motion towards a gasoline-soaked heap of melancholy soul, gun-metal slide guitars, hazy and blurry whispered pop melodies, and dusk.
URB spoke to Tricky about his forthcoming album Mixed Race – which drops in October – and dives into his thoughts on Public Enemy, Kurt Cobain, working with his brother, his accidental collaborative recording sessions, living in Paris, and how writing lyrics to his songs is like picking fruit.
Was Mixed Race a natural continuation for your music or a turning point?
Y’know, this is my ninth album, and after all these years people don’t seem to see that every album is different to the other, there’s not one album I’ve done that’s the same. I think now maybe people might realize that. It’s kind of weird how people don’t really understand. People ask if every album I do is a turning point. Every album I do is a turning point. Every album is a turning point for me.
If you had to sum up Mixed Race in your own words, how would you describe it?
I rarely hear my music after it’s mixed or after the album is finished, but the other day I was playing it to my friend’s mum. And it made me think of early Public Enemy. Like when I first heard Public Enemy, I thought, this is new music. People are either going to really get it or they aren’t. And if they aren’t getting it, then give it time. They’ll get it.
Has Public Enemy been a big influence on you?
I’ve always loved Public Enemy from the first time I heard them. They changed the face of music. Whether it’s rock or hip hop, they changed everything. I’ve always wanted to be like Public Enemy, as in I want to bring out new music, I want to bring out music that no-one’s ever heard before.
Was there any other music that had an influence you during the recording of Mixed Race?
No, I wasn’t really thinking of influences. On this album I had a lot of people around, just having fun in the studio. Usually I’m more isolated. When I’m recording people aren’t hanging out with me, but this time I had family and friends over while I was recording, just hanging out in my house and cooking while I was upstairs recording. So this album was a lot more fun.
Did you record a lot of it at home?
I always record at home, unless I’ve got to record drums and then I’ve got to go into a studio. But I like being at home because, if I’m in the studio, the recording process carries on from the start until the end till I leave the studio, but in my house, y’know, I can be just about to do vocals and then decide I want to cook some food, or make coffee, or watch TV, or watch a movie for a couple of hours, and then record again. So I love recording at home.
You’ve collaborated with a lot of people on this album, including street musicians that you met while living in Paris. Was that the first time you’ve done that?
Usually if I’ve got someone playing on my album, they come in, play, and I’m like ‘Okay, I’ll get back to you’. With this, they came in and played, but people stayed around and had a beer. So I might have a brass section in and a guitarist, so when the brass finished, the guitars go in, and the people who did the brass stayed around and drank with us. Usually it’s like ‘Okay, next!’ For instance, my friends and family hearing the album in demo process, that never usually happens either, people don’t usually come into the studio and hang out with me, d’y'know what I mean? So it was like playing it to people way before it’s finished and just letting people hang out while I was doing what I was doing. So even if I was in the recording process, people just sat around, drinking a cup of tea, someone might be having a beer, and just hanging out. I’d be on the keyboard doing my thing, and it was like, they’re not waiting for me to finish, they’re just hanging out. And I think that must have come into the sound.
Is there any music that you’re feeling right now? Anything that you’re particularly into?
Not much to be honest with you. There’s not much I’ve heard that’s blown my mind. I think nowadays they only come around every now and again. I think the last one we had was Kurt Cobain. Like really special. Like someone who’s very heavily special. Like a Billie Holiday. Like a Kate Bush. That heavy. The last heavy person like that was Kurt Cobain. And there hasn’t been anyone like that since. It’s not happened yet. We haven’t got him yet. Or her yet.
What was your favorite part of making Mixed Race?
Every day for me was my favorite. When I first started people used to write about my lyrics, and not just about my music. My lyrics were a big thing. I think over the last few albums that’s gotten lost a little bit. I think with every day it’s brought my songwriting back.
Where do you get your inspiration for your lyrics?
My lyrics are just like little rhymes. It’s very childish the way I write. Very simple, very childish. It could come from seeing something, y’know, seeing a girl tuck her hair behind her ear, and just that action alone – ‘tuck her hair behind her ear’ – I’ll just take those words and then that’s the beginning of a song. D’y'know a few years ago I was in LA in the studio and one of the mix engineers said that his friend died one day while eating? I said ‘That is a fucking crazy way to die’ and he said ‘Yeah, it was the wrong breath at the wrong time’. And I took that and wrote a lyric around it. We all say incredible things but I don’t think we notice it.
It’s great that you can pick up things like that for your lyrics from scenes in everyday life…
Yeah, it’s all around us, it’s like picking fruit, y’know? Words are all around us. I’ve always been into words and I just see them everywhere. I see words more than I see music. All you’ve got to do is just pick them off the tree.
What’s the most exciting track on the album for you?
‘Bristol to London’ because that’s new hip hop. That’s new hip hop there I think.
How was it recording that track with your brother Marlon Thaws?
It’s cool ‘cos now he’s good. He’s been writing since he was 17 and now he’s 25. I wouldn’t have put him on an album before because he just wasn’t good enough. I’m not going to be like, you’re my brother and you can just get in, y’know? He had to become good, and now he is good. So it was a pleasure to have him on my album because I’m a fan now. He’s got his own sound, he’s got his own vibe. I’m proud of him, and I’m also a fan. He’s got a 9 track album mixed and ready and it’s going to drop at the end of this year.
7 out of the 10 tracks on Mixed Race are under 3 minutes. Was that a conscious choice?
I didn’t realize this until we were mixing. I don’t really know if that’s too short or too long, but it sounds like it’s finished to me. It sounds like there’s no more that needs to be said.
What did you learn from making this particular album that you didn’t know before?
I think that everything is easier now because I’m into what I do now more. I love what I’m doing. Before I always saw press and touring as hard work. Now it’s not a problem for me, I love it. So what I’ve learned is to be thankful that I get to travel, get to record, and just remember how lucky I am. I think that will always be the way I should record albums. If I go in with that attitude, the next one will be very easy to make.
You’ve made boxing the theme for the ‘Murder Weapon’ video as well as the ‘You Don’t Wanna’ video from Blowback. Any special reasons for this?
Well I do boxing to keep fit, so it’s basically just using a part of my life for the video. All the people in the video are people I train with, or they’re friends of mine. It’s easier doing a video when you’ve got people around you that you know, and it’s fun, making up a story. I box for fun, but I’m not a professional boxer. In the video I could be a professional boxer for the day, so it’s just fun.
How’s living in Paris treating you?
It’s good. It’s a watching city. And I’m a watcher. I do miss a lot of my friends in LA, and I do want to go back there, but I think of living in Paris as a long holiday. Then I’ll go back to LA.
What do you like about Paris in particular?
Walking around, that’s what I love. You can walk all over the city. You don’t really need a car or taxi, you can just walk everywhere. Walk everywhere and get lost. It’s a nice city to get lost in. Some cities you get lost and it’s frustrating, other cities you get lost and it’s cool, you’re seeing something new all the time.
Where’s your favorite place to play live?
Wherever there’s a good reception. If you get a good vibe with the crowd and you do a good show, everything gels together.
Any update on working with Massive Attack again?
Well they’re saying I’m going to be, but I’m not sure yet. But that’s what they’re saying.
Finally, any other collaborations with other artists in the near future?
There’ll always be, down the line, there’ll always be. But it’s usually who you bump into, who you meet up with. A lot of it is accidental.
Mixed Race is Tricky’s ninth studio album and will be released in the US on October 5 on Domino. The album’s debut single ‘Murder Weapon’ is out now and a US tour is currently being planned for December.
Find out more at www.trickysite.com and www.myspace.com/trickola
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