What happens when two people who like to talk have a blether? Between sound-check and performance, Dave Hook (aka Solareye), rapper with Stanley Odd, took some time out to have a chat with me while he was having a stroll round Camden.
Roddy: You’re playing the Barfly in London tonight – looking forward to the gig?
Dave: Aye we really are, very much so, we’ve not been down here since about April so, it’s good to be back
R: Are you anticipating any problems with the audience tuning into your accent?
D: No we’ve been down and certainly we’ve played London a lot in the last couple of years, and, eh, the general reaction’s been great. Aye the accent issue doesn’t really come up. People are just really interested in seeing folks doing stuff from different places so it’s been great, and maybe something a wee bit different. So, no it’s never been an issue and the fact that we like to talk about social commentary that might be about Scottish issues and places, it’s generally been met with genuine curiosity and interest.
R: Of course you’re not alone with the likes of Hector Bizerk, The Lafontaines or Loki all performing in the vernacular . . . how would you characterise the Scottish hip hop scene in that respect, is it really quite vibrant?
D: Yeah, I think that’s a brilliant word for it to be honest. It’s a genuinely burgeoning scene at the moment and like you say it’s vibrant and diverse and I would say that there is a lot of really high quality music being made and everyone is doing it in a very individual way. It’s exciting times to be making hip hop music in Scotland.
R: It’s a pretty broad church – who or what do you most identify with?
D: Any individual artists in Scottish hip hop?
R: Aye
D: Well obviously there is the established artists and those who’ve been kind of making a name for themselves for a while. But one thing we’ve been trying to do on this tour is to put on an established act and then put on a more ‘emerging’ act on any bills where we’ve had a say.
So, for example we had Tickle from Black Lantern with us in Edinburgh and we also had erratic Sleeping Patterns who are really good. We’ve done a thing in Glasgow with Loki who has quite a following and then for The Ironworks we’re absolutely delighted to be playing with Spring Break because I’ve been a fan of what Butterscotch does as a rapper for a decade or so -really excited to hear what they’re doing now.
R: The new album is a lovely product – did you have much say in the design or the background concept?
D: Yeah, to be honest I think this is the first time that we’ve felt really happy. The concept like with the music and with the album as a finished product as well, you know it’s felt like it’s just all tied together nicely. As an idea – A Thing Brand New – it came from a Loudon Wainwright III album, ‘Be careful there’s a baby in the house and a baby will not be fooled, it’s a thing brand new, does what it wants to do til you get it schooled’. So it seems like, obviously it’s a brand new album and we were writing about new arrivals in the Stanley Odd family and also because Scotland has been a very reflective place this year and for obvious reasons, so it’s just an opportunity to reflect on some of that.
R: It’s interesting you should say that because, I don’t quite know how to put this, it’s kind of a google-rich album, the references included in the lyrics are vast whether it be, colonialism, Bradley Manning, or the Ethiopian abductions, and Thatcher and Boris Johnson, and books and songs . . . How do you write, what’s the process
D: Well, that’s a really nice question to get as a writer, because I basically – technology has really transformed writing for me – because I write on my phone every single day. I walk 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes at night, and I put my headphones in and I write every day on my phone. So, it means, it’s not that it all ends up being any good, but it means that you’re constantly kind of ticking over, I think if you’re writing all the time then it’s easier to do. And then sometimes, like some songs, a whole idea, will get done in a walk and then other times it’s maybe just little bits going back over a week or so, things I’d been talking about over and over again and then it just kind of comes together.
R: And then of course the other thing I’m really curious about is that you have a fabulous musicality to your voice – is rapping a hard habit to break, do you find yourself just rapping in chip shops and things like that . . .
D: Eh well again, that’s a very astute observation; I do indeed. I basically drive the rest of the band mad – I will’ny shut up, particularly once alcohol’s involved! Aye the band and my wife, they are all long suffering.
R: You write well about issues that were perhaps before your time – I’m thinking about Thatcher and ’79 etc – how do you go about researching that, constructing your material?
D: Well, as somebody that grew up in the 1980’s (born in 1979) when I was well aware of the situation we found ourselves in as a country, that was something you were absorbing as a kid and even sometimes you don’t know that you are. I grew up outside Airdrie on the periphery of Glasgow and I was in the middle of nowhere so . . . I think it’s quite interesting because that feeling of ‘outsiderdom’ is quite a common theme in a lot of my writing.
R: It certainly is. In terms of moving on from your writing to putting an album together – is it possible to describe that process?
D: Well this album was actually quite a while in the making, it was probably over a year and a half in the making – certainly over a year and one thing for us was we’d felt we hadn’t done a very good job of, or we weren’t entirely happy with everything in the past – sometimes we felt it was words over music and the two kinda weren’t fitting together on every song. So, we really wanted to write, sounds almost like a silly thing, but one of the key things when we started was right, let’s try and write 11 or 12 ‘songs’, you know – where the music and words just compliment each other. So I feel like we’re certainly happier in that respect than we’ve been before.
R: Do you feel it’s a lot more cohesive than your earlier stuff?
D: Yeah I think with the first record we just got in the room and recorded some live stuff and we felt we could have shaped the songs more, on Reject, we did a lot of production on it. But these ones feel like songs – so yeah in that respect it’s great and I think probably because not everyone in the band would call themselves a hip hop head or say that hip hop was their first love musically. So that means that, in a good way, you get a much wider range of musical influences in there.
R: Yeah well that comes across really strongly, you still have a really cohesive album even with all of the different influences in there whether it be from yourself or from the other guys in the band you kind of get real story songs and blues influences in there . . .
D: Yeah, I mean that’s it: it’s definitely got a whole load of musical styles in there and I think that’s always been one of the nice things about hip hop: it’s that hip hop has always been a musical style that has borrowed from other genres. But it still does have that overarching feel to it so that it still feels cohesive.
R: There are a couple of songs or aspects of songs on the album I’m particularly intrigued by – for example on Her Name Was Hip Hop the lyric ‘Tick Tock and yi don’t stop’ – is that a reference to The Sugarhill Gang?
D: Yeah absolutely, you’re totally right. Her Name Was Hip Hop is a song I’m quite pleased with because it’s basically a hip hop is dead song. It’s almost that every rapper who is writing for a new generation comes along and seems to write something like that. It’s almost like a common theme, hip hop’s dead or it’s not what it used to be. But I’m writing, aware that I’m not exactly the first person to do that. But then because I was personifying a human being, ehm, that’s been taken advantage of, used up and spat out sort of thing, then Paula (Veronica Electronica) is pretty much the voice of hip hop – Tick Tock yi don’t stop . . .
R: You have Veronica Electronica on this counterpoint vocal with often a refrain and a complimentary melody – how do those come about, do they suggest themselves naturally or is it more complicated than that?
D: Some present themselves really well, like that ‘Tick tock yi don’t stop’ one we came up with just when we were working in the studio when we were working on the tune. I think what Veronica Electronica does is really important in the band because, it’s like the antidote to the really intense rappin’ . . . So I think the refrain is really important because it just opens songs back up again. And also she really concisely summarises the content of the longer stories so . . .
R: The other one I’m curious about is Draw Yir Own Conclusions – is that real life or fiction?
D: Well . . . I think’ that’s em . . .
R: Or would you rather not say . . .
D: You’re only the second person to ask specifically that question . . . It’s observational. It’s not one complete story, it’s just observational.
R: So that kind of mash up word ‘faction’ might best to describe it?
D: Correct. It’s just things that you see and things that are kind of common in wider communities.
R: For me I think that’s a proper Country & Western or folk song there, a real story song.
D: Yeah it’s nice of you to say that because that was one of those ones that actually pretty much did write itself in a 45 minute walk, you know once you’ve got the idea . . . and the concept of how you’re going to tie it together. And it works really well because it is essentially a duet as well, you know going back and forth between the two vocalists.
R: On that point, you’ve expressed your admiration for the guys in the folk scene and that storying tradition, is there any chance of some kind of genre mash up, a collaboration with some of Scotland’s finest folkies for example?
D: I would love to do something like that. It’s funny you should say that, I’ve just been thinking about that; obviously we’ve just got the album finished and really only just started touring it last week, so we certainly haven’t had any thoughts of what we’re going to do next; but I would absolutely love to do a collaborative work with some of the folk artists around the country. I think that could be something really cool.
R: The other thing then, thinking about your bio, which strikes me as being as much a manifesto as anything – what hip hop and folk music have got in common is that history of protest songs. You’ve declared that you definitely want to be associated with the protest song – what’s your own personal favourite Stanley Odd protest song or maybe it’s a lyric
D: From us . . . eh that’s a good question. I certainly don’t have one that I would always choose . . .
R: OK, because this whole album is littered with them, and I think you express complex things really well and you cut across generations and genres – is that broad scope something you’re aiming at rather than something more focussed?
D: Yeah I think so, the plan is never like let’s sit down and find a cause and champion it.
R: I suppose in the broadest sense a protest song is one which addresses a political issue in a way which aligns itself with the underdog – do you see yourself or Stanley Odd as underdogs addressing those causes?
D: Yeah I think that would be a lovely way to be seen. I think in some ways we lend ourselves to that, in that, we’re under no illusions really as to how widespread Stanley Odd are ever going to get. And I think that’s really liberating because it means that you just don’t worry about that, and you just try and . . . like the key aim for us is always to try and do something better than we did the last time.
R: Well certainly thinking about the history of protest songs there’s a real danger that some people have compromised the musical quality just to get the message across. From your perspective, what get’s you most excited if you get feedback from fans, is it the message or the medium – or both maybe?
D: I get most excited personally, when somebody really ‘feels’ a tune – like when a somebody, a fan or an audience member says “I really liked that”, that works for me; that’s the most important thing to me, a song that really works. One thing that we’ve really tried to do with this album that I feel is a big step forward for us as writers is – certainly from my perspective – is, I’ve got a lot of songs pointing the finger and questioning things. But I found it harder to write more personal stuff, self-reflective things, and it feels like with this album there’s a much better balance there of personal reflection and social commentary as well.
R: I suppose picking up on that, I covered the Usher Hall Gig in September, 5 days before the vote. You know there were some people crying in the hall during Son I Voted Yes, there were tears out there. So you definitely hit the mark with that song.
D: The Usher Hall for us was an amazing experience because obviously, I mean, firstly, compared to everybody on the bill – everybody on that bill was on a different level from us in terms of profile and reach.
R: But you didn’t look the least bit out of place, I get what you mean but . . .
D: Well that’s great to hear, but you know it was just such a brilliant response to the song really. And the song had never really been intended to be released. To be honest I was writing the last things for the album in July this year and I was thinking, how can I release an album in 2014 and not talk about the referendum? But I knew it wasn’t coming out until November so it was really just a song form of how do I write something now, that’s still relevant after the vote, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. So I thought I’ll just write an honest wee story to my wee boy. And then it just came from there, it meant I could use these kind of nursery rhyme images and I could comment on things and I could talk about things you could hope for in the future, and it all just fitted together.
R: The other thing about that night – you know I took some photographs and I wrote a few words, but I wrote something about, that I had a sense that on the night I thought that you had a lot to say but that time wasn’t on your side. Was I right or . . .
D: Aw right, I remember your article, well yes. I felt like I certainly could have said a lot more but we were constrained by the time there. But at the same time I think that maybe we were fortunate in that respect as well, because, we were writing about the issues so the songs were telling a lot of the story anyway. So it meant that I didn’t end up just kind of eh, not managing to get my point across or maybe no managing to express myself as well as I would have liked.
R: Well there was certainly a lot of energy in the room that night and I thought you were up for having a right good chat with the audience. But coming back to the new album a Thing Brand New and new single Pastime – how did you decide on that as single.
D: I feel it’s a very disorderly way that we do any of these things, it just felt like the right one. I always feel like we’ve got no clue when we’re picking the singles. My wife thinks it one of the most kind of listenable tunes we’ve ever done so she was quite an influence on making that the first single.
But it just felt like the right one to start with, a bit topical. For me it was good fun to write because it’s essentially a campfire, sing-a-long, bluesy hip hop song. So it meant that you could pull in the blues concepts of like the Muddy Waters ‘I’m the greatest man alive’ sort of style, which fits really nicely with rap, so lyrically we could tie all that sort of stuff in.
There is a bit of a ‘point’ in it, it’s not a pastime – it also, to be perfectly honest – it comes from comments that somebody, a guy, had written about Rachel Sermanni, when she did her advert with the RBS. I took exception to the fact that this guy had said that she shouldn’t have done it.
I thought it was so vitriolic and unnecessary, so it’s just, there is a little bit of the last verse of that sort of mentions Rachel – I mean no one will know unless they know, but it was basically just about saying there’s no need for this. And some of the things he said were like basically – beyond all the other insane things that he said in that article – was that artist only wanted to be full time musicians to feed their egos; implying that you could get just as much done and be just as creative having worked for 60 hours a week and then doing it in your spare time.
R: You’ve talked about this album being less instructive and a bit more reflective and personal – but it is the case that your personal experiences and thoughts are going to resonate with folk. The lyric that got me right away was – ‘Here’s what’s troubling me, where’s the agitators?’ – what were you talking about there?
D: Just a feeling that it’s always a good thing to have people offering a counter-argument, a counter-balance to everything.
R: Ah, because I found the 70’s and the 80’s really rich in terms of artists responding to the social situation, and I’ve felt that that’s been lacking this time with this austerity programme and other stuff. So I was curious to know if that’s what was on your mind . . .
D: Aye, you’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head. Y’know protest songs like you were mentioning earlier, is something that was – that did seem to have been happening much more significantly it seems to me in the 70’s and the 80’s, and it’s felt like there has been a dip since then of people using art and music to question authority and social structures.
R: So, come the revolution will you be manning the barricades or entertaining the troops?
D: Ha! Well I don’t know, I’ve no idea. I like to think that I’ll continue to be asking questions of things, and doing it with a wry smile but hopefully causing folks to engage with stuff a bit.
R: OK so some silly stuff to finish: just daft stuff, just one word answer or no answer if you prefer.
R: East or West?
D: Of the country? What’s wrong wi north?
R: Can you get a one-word answer from a rapper
D: No.
R: Oor Wullie or The Broons
D: Oor Wullie – although I’m a big fan of The Broons too.
R: Book or Kindle
D: Book
R: Favourite Season
D: Summer.
R: Macintosh or Microsoft
D: Oh man, they’re as bad as each other. I’m a Mac user, but I’ve just chucked away my iPhone and got a ‘fair’ phone: sourced without going to Malaysia and the Democratic Republic of Congo for their parts and also hoping to improve the working conditions of the Chinese manufacturers who put it together.
R: Salt n vinegar or salt n sauce
D: Salt n vinegar.
R: What’s the first thing on your Santa list. Turns out to be a particularly daft question, with a new wee baby, it’s all about their Christmas.
R: Stanley Odd’s New Year resolution
D: Stay Odd.
Stanley Odd, supported by Spring Break, at the Ironworks on the 28th of November. Tickets available online or at the venue.
