A Deleted Interview

Prelapsarian Linear Obsessional

This is an interview I gave (on two occasions) to the print zine “TQ”, following my “cancellation” the interview was dropped and has remained unpublished. I present it here as a good indication of where I was at before the label was attacked because of my “wrongthink”, and a refutal of the claim that LinOb was “just a bandcamp label”

THE LINEAR OBSESSIONAL LABEL – AN INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD SANDERSON

By Andy (TarQuin) Wood

This interview originally appeared in TQ4 in September 2018.

Thanks to Richard for speaking with me 3 years later to see what he’s been up to

TQ - Richard, thanks for agreeing to talk with TQ. I became aware of your Linear Obsessional label via twitter, and from that original connection I've heard several LO releases. It's a pretty eclectic bunch of stuff, difficult to lump into one genre or style. What's the ethos behind the label, and how did it get started?

RS – Thanks, I'm glad you spotted the diversity of releases, I haven't decided whether it's a selling point or a hindrance! The fact is although I admire labels like, say, Incus, who basically put out improvised music, or Impulsive Habitat who release just field recordings, my tastes range so widely that I would have found such an approach quite restrictive. The ethos is simple, if it's something I like, I'll release it - whether that be a micro-electronic splatter album by Phil Maguire or a collection of anti-songs by Steven Ball. There's no commercial imperative at all, and I've often been confounded by what sells - the most far out/difficult stuff can often be a best seller (by my meagre standards!)

I started the label in 2012, initially as a netlabel. I'd spent about a year investigating the phenomena of netlabels, and the rules (everything should be free to download and under a "creative commons" licence), and the sheer openness of this approach really appealed to me. There was a downside to it too - firstly there's a gazillion netlabel releases out there, and as you start working your way through them (scratching the surface) you discover pretty quickly that a lot of it is not very interesting and there's a limit to how much "nice" ambient music I can absorb. Secondly, when you run a netlabel you realise just how easy it is to just release anything, and there's a tendency for the quality control to really dip.

So I looked at the netlabels I really admired- Test Tube, Three Legs Duck, Impulsive Habitat, and basically nicked a few ideas from them, decent recordings, PDF booklets available with the download with notes and photos, the ‘creative commons’ thing. So in the first year I released 30 odd albums - not all of them are brilliant!

It was after that first year that I decided to issue limited edition CDs alongside the still free downloads, and I was pleased to discover that people rather liked having something physical to hold and were happy to pay for it. It did however slow the release rate down to about 10 albums a year, which was probably a good thing!

It's interesting what you say about some people wanting a physical copy. I personally rarely download, and would rather cough up my hard earned for something that the postie will bring to TQHQ. Do you still get people downloading the earlier stuff, maybe those like myself who are newcomers to the label, and want to see back catalogue? I must admit, I get disappointed when I see physical product is 'sold out', and only available as DL

I do download, but only for specific reasons; 1) to sample before buying, and 2) ‘cos it's only on download! Yes, the early stuff still get regularly downloaded, some have had thousands of downloads now!

Do you have a notion of which release(s) generated the most interest and/ or sales?

The most downloaded albums include The Original Beekeepers albums and Hannah Marshall's Tulse Hill - which is pretty impressive for a solo album. The most sales belong to an album called For Syria which was available for only a week or so to generate money for the relief effort in Syria - it was a compilation of special tracks recorded by various LinOb artists, and will never appear again. It did its job! You can read about that here; https://acloserlisten.com/2014/07/19/various-artists-for-syria/

Far Rainbow (reviewed in TQ1) is numbered LOR083, and the catalogue is now at LOR099. I was impressed with Dave Clarkson's field recordings and the Browne, Thompson, Sanderson release. What about some of the more recent releases (remember this original interview was over 3 years ago – Ed) that may excite the TQ readers?

Thanks, the catalogue numbering system is a bit abstract as I give artists a cat. no. when I agree to release their stuff, but it might be a year before it appears! Of recent stuff there's the Lost Robots album Arms which is kind of avant rock, with definite nods towards Can, The Fall and Sun Ra, it even has a few songs. (Lost Robots featured in TQ10 – Ed). The most recent release is Hidden Bomba a collection of intimately recorded duos for viola and bass clarinet by Chris Cundy and Benedict Taylor - its real edge-of-the-seat improv’, almost telepathic and at times rather beautiful.

There's also a physical re-issue of a previously download only album by Steve Beresford, Anna Homler and I which was recorded at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 2003. It's not jazz!

We all play toys, although Steve and I augment them with electronics (and in my case accordion). Anna is a vocalist from LA who also records as Breadwoman - she invents her own language and is totally unique! It ends in a rather joyous fashion!

Are you keeping LOR100 for a special release, or is it just another number as far as the label is concerned? I’m a sucker for special releases, limited editions etc

I am keeping 100 as a special release! Although I haven't decided what - I'll probably released stuff well into the hundreds before I think of something to do with it!

As well as running the label, you also play. I very much enjoyed (what appeared to my untutored ears) the free form improvisation of the Solitude, Reef and the Stary Veil with Mark Browne and Daniel Thompson which was released in February 2018, and I know you have released other material on the label. Tell us a little about your musicianship, are you self-taught, how long have you played, do you prefer improvisation or composed, solo or collaborative etc. Just give the readers an insight into Sanderson the performer....

I've been playing for over 40 years. I'm entirely self-taught (unless you count a bit of clarinet at school) although my background is in rock music, punk and post punk to be exact, and a pre-punk affinity to Can, Faust and Hawkwind!

I was an electric guitarist and singer to begin with and I got seriously involved in the London improvised music scene at the start of the early 90’s after moving there and was a director of the London Musicians' Collective for many years. In improv’ I started using cheap samplers and children’s toys, before gravitating towards the squeezebox following a fascination with English traditional folk music.

What I do with the melodeon is basically do as much as I can to stop it sounding like a melodeon! I do this through technique, and effects pedals.

I've always enjoyed the peculiar, rather ego-centric practice of solo improv’, but really love playing in duos and trios, especially with people I've never met before, t's very exciting working towards a common language.

The thing about improv’ is it can go from enormously dry and ascetic, to furiously noisy, to completely hilarious, often turning on a pin.

Free improv’ is for me the most exciting music to play and to watch. As a composer, I've written songs and some soundtrack stuff, but I've pretty much given up on songs as they take so long to do, and I've lost confidence as a lyricist.

If you come to a solo gig of mine you'll see a grey haired bloke take his glasses off, sit on a stool and play a melodeon (diatonic button accordion), largely through various pedals, often getting a bit noisy and incorporating a bit of feedback, and I sometimes end by singing an English folk song.

I think I read somewhere that you have a North East connection, is that right?

Yes, I lived in Middlesbrough until 1985 when I moved to London to study education.

In Middlesbrough I dabbled in free-improv as well as playing in a series of post-punk bands ‘Drop’, ‘Tick Tick’, and ‘The Euphoria Case’. I don't know whether Teesside had much of an effect on my music. It is of course (or rather was) a very industrial area surrounded by chemical plants and steel works, and I used to work at the docks as an import clerk (weirdly Mark E Smith did the same job in Salford!).

Middlesbrough has tended to gravitate towards noisy music, Techno, Metal and Punk, the later was certainly very important to me. I still have family and very good friends there, and I have come back and played some gigs there. There's even regular gigs of experimental music there put on by an organisation called ‘Feed’

You're a self-taught musician who plays his chosen instrument through effects so it sounds like anything but the instrument in question. You run a label with a catalogue of almost 100 releases from such a wide and wild diversity of artists and genres, that anyone who appreciates music and the independent, DIY aesthetic prevalent since the mid 70's can explore and find something new and exciting. You are also a member of a Morris Dancing Group. Is the dancing a totally separate interest or do you see links with your other endeavours?

There are very few links, although I do remember a conversation between four Morris Men about the music and style of Derek Bailey!

It could be argued that both activities (Morris dancing & experimental music) occur below the radar of most people going about their daily lives. I confess getting into Morris dancing was possibly a way of exploring something I was totally unfamiliar with, but it's been so much fun I've been doing it for 13 years. In the early days I did try to work traditional stuff into the experimental, but I found the results unsatisfying and unconvincing. I think it's best to keep them separate, but I strongly encourage your readers to give ‘The Morris’ a go. It's a great way of keeping fit, travelling the country and drinking lots of beer!

What does the future hold for the LO label, and for Richard Sanderson the performer?

Well, without putting too much of a downer on it, I consider packing it in on a near daily basis. It's a lot of work and I have a day job of looking after two kids, but I always manage to squeeze another release out, and I've promised so many releases to amazing musicians I can't really stop.

I have a load of exciting new releases coming out, and by the time this interview is published in TQ4, there should be a solo album by James O'Sullivan, a guitarist of amazing invention and technique, and the listener spends a lot of time thinking, "how is he doing that", it also sounds pretty unlike any other solo guitar record I can think of. SubSongs by Steven Ball should be out. Steven is a member of legendary post punk band ‘Storm Bugs’, and this represents his more singer/songwriter side, although again, unlike anybody else. Conceptual songs about songs (I think).

I have a CD by the secretive female artist ‘Me, Claudius’ who creates a kind of skewed dub from field recordings and screwed up samples, astonishing stuff. There’s a modular synth CD from electronics guru Phil Durrant, and an extraordinary new album by Dave Clarkson, which feels like a conclusion to his shoreline trilogy. A split album by two young avant artists from my hometown of Middlesbrough; Plastiglomerate, and boringcharlie, which I’m finding hard to describe.

I'll continue to promote live music in South East London under the ‘Linear Obsessional Live’ name, and have the second festival next May (2019). At some point I'd like to move into vinyl properly, but the cost is so prohibitive. Personally I'm hoping to continue to play more gigs outside of London. I'm always rather amazed that there is an audience for the sorts of music I like, which often defies easy categorisation or falls between the gaps. And it's people like you and TQ zine that keep me going. Thanks!

Finally Richard, If you could only listen to one performer or band for the rest of your days, who would it be, and why?

OK…I'm finding this very difficult. After discounting Beethoven, The Fall, Derek Bailey and Miles Davis, it will have to be Can. From the Velvetsy noisy early stuff to the futuristic sheen of the mid-seventies work. From Monster Movie to Landed would hit the spot, and there's plenty of improv’ as well as stuff to dance to.

Thanks Richard, it’s been a real pleasure, and I look forward to meeting you at one of your gigs sometime, good luck with all your endeavours, and maybe we can catch-up again sometime.

…and catch up we did……..

Hi Richard, wow, where did the time go? How the hell are you?

Not too bad Andy, all things considered! I've had Covid and I've had both vaccinations, so I must be pretty much indestructible.

A lot has changed since we last spoke. How have things been with the label from the time we spoke and the pandemic decimating all in its wake, so I guess Autumn 2018 to early 2020? Hey, and did you ever allocate that Lin Ob 100 catalogue number?

A lot has changed since then, for LinOb and TQ! The label has had a few up and downs - the down being about a year ago when I got very close to packing it all in, as we dealt with the pandemic, lockdown and a malicious attack on the label by a deeply flawed male individual which gave me a few sleepless nights, that, and being unable to put on gigs as I lost two venues and then Covid, and of course we lost Kassia Flux. The ups have been the rise of the label after that, when a group of women composers and musicians wrote in support of me, the surprising success of the cassette imprint, and the start of the singles series with David Little.

You had your sights on possibly releasing vinyl, I guess the cost of doing so has prevented that? Is it still a dream to be realised?

I've kind of gone off the idea to be honest - I love vinyl as a medium, but it is so prohibitively expensive, probably more so since Brexit, and the waiting time is (I'm told) the best part of a year. Compare that to a cassette which can go from sending the WAVs off to getting a box of tapes ready to sell in little more than a week.

That said, there is a plan to release the final album by Kassia Flux on vinyl, so we'll see.

The label had a hiatus for a period. Did you think that was the end?

Not for long. It was pretty depressing at the time, but I can be quite stubborn so I pressed on. To be honest there’s enough chaos in my life, and I find concentrating on LinOb quite therapeutic! I do think I over-reached a bit - but I learnt a few lessons - only go with stuff I like, if something feels wrong don’t touch it, and make sure every release pays for the next one. It’s for the latter reason that releases tend to come in fits and starts, some stuff will sell out almost immediately, and that will pay for the next two releases to come swiftly after it, a more slow burning release will mean a bit of a gap...

You moved into the cassette market whereas previously you were mainly CD. Why was that?

Several reasons - I find CDs annoying to do, I prided myself on the CD packaging, mainly using half size DVD cases (that are the same size as a jewel case, but don’t break the moment you drop them) and then getting A4 sheets printed up for the inserts, these then have to be painstaking cut to size, then the CDs were pressed up by a third party - so you had to bring three sources together and then work really hard. I did a couple with cardboard wallets but always found them a bit disappointing to look at. Also, I find CDs just don’t sell that well! So I got together with David and we had a rethink- we decided the cassette imprint should have a uniform clean look, which David came up with, we then match the colour strip to the cassette shell colour. We ended up with an imprint that looks really good on a shelf! I think the tapes are really nice, aesthetically pleasing objects, and, it would appear my customers agree. About two years ago I decided to stop doing CDs altogether - and life has become much easier!

You have added the download ‘single series’ to the label, tell me more about the thinking behind that and what future plans you have for the series. (The first 3 in the series were reviewed in TQ41 – Ed)

I’ve long been interested in field recordings, but I wanted to come at it from a different angle - I find a lot of field recording CDs are very long, and need you to invest a lot of time and attention into them. I thought it would be interesting to have much shorter releases, with a couple of three minute recordings. Also the idea of releasing singles that have no music on them appealed to me, it’s a slightly absurdist idea. We then took a kind of “Dogme 95” approach - so the tracks had to be under 4 minutes long, with no overdubbing, no edits, no processing or effects and absolutely no music! Those paying attention will have noticed we’ve broken several of those rules already.

The first release, and the one that sparked the whole thing off, was a rough recording of the Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough, where I grew up, that Duncan Chapman sent me. It immediately suggested a single release to me.

David and I discussed how to package the singles, and David again came up with a uniform design (we did toy with duplicating a single bag with a whole in the middle, but rejected it in favour of a picture sleeve) which works really well - the cover image is always taken by the artist and shows, sometimes in quite an abstract fashion, the source of the sound you’re hearing.

At no point did we ever consider making actual vinyl singles, but they are accurate in every other way - as well as the two tracks (A and B side) you get both sides of the 7” cover and we even priced them at 75p each, which was the classic single price when I was a lad.

With life returning very slowly back to normal, are you resurrecting the live events, and are you recording?

I’m playing live myself - I’ve got a very nice and, crucially, portable set up for my melodeon and I’m keen to play in public as much as possible. I've got a gig at Oto coming up with the duo with Bill Thompson which is very exciting. I’m promoting a one off gig at the Hundred Years Gallery for Linear Obsessional, with Viv Corringham, Paul Khimasia Morgan, Amy Cutler and Stefan Scszelkum which will be a stopgap before I start putting on gigs again regularly. I still need a local venue - I have approached a brewery who seemed interested!

Thanks for your time Richard, and the very best for you and your endeavours. Have you anything else you’d like to bring to the attention of readers, maybe one final word of wisdom?

I’ve changed my mind about Can, I think it would definitely be Beethoven now.