An interview with Christ (no, not that one)

elliott · 31st August 2004, 07:51 PM

Christ is the alias of Scottish Chris H who makes electronic music, a bit like Boards of Canada or a more ambient Aphex Twin. He is signed to Benbecula records and you can check his stuff out here. Christ was supposed to be playing with Alias on his tourâ€™s Scottish dates, which will be rescheduled to later this year so hopefully you will be able to catch Christ live very soon.

We had a chat over the interweb and this is what he had to say.

First of all who are you and where did you come from? I know you are a guy called Chris but not much else...You are a bit of a mysterious character, is this how you like to keep things?

I don't know about mysterious, but I'm a private person. I think that the music should speak for itself, so to that end, I shy away from interviews and press coverage generally. If people like the music, then they're going to buy it, regardless of whether there's pictures of me in the press.

So...what's with the name? You've got a lot to live up to...

It's is an abbreviation of 'Christopher' which is my first name. It does have the advantage of standing out, though. I'm making no claims to divinity as regards my lineage.

Can you tell a bit about your musical history? When did you start making music and have you always wanted to make the kind of music you make? (I tried to come up with a way of describing it, but it just sounded stupid....atmospheric electronica anyone? didn't think so...)

Well, i've been a musician all my life. I play several instruments, and this is probably one of the key reasons why I make the music I do. I started using a pc based set up for recording and mastering, simply because it takes up very little room. I use cubase, and some VST's, and plugins, but most of the sounds I use are derived from old monophonic synthesisers, guitars, a Rhodes piano, and various other bits of analog kit. The percussion noises I use are more-or-less exclusively 'found' samples, and hits taken from tapes which I make, containing random sounds I've recorded from anywhere and everywhere.

Can you describe how your songs come about? What kind of equipment do you use to make it and how do you get the ideas for songs?

To me, writing music is not a linear process. I don't, for example, start a track and work through it until it's finished. There's usually several tracks being worked on at a time, and for every one that gets a release, or an outing in a live set, you can be guaranteed that three or four have gone by the wayside. I have literally thousands of 'bits' of unfinished tracks on disc. Some of them as small as two bars of music, or a basic beat. I'm a hoarder, and I like to regularly review stuff I've got on disc from the past, and rework or develop things that appeal to me. That way the tunes don't get stagnant.

You are signed to a Scottish label. Why did you choose Benbencula?

For various reasons. I spoke to phase 6 (who runs the label) at length before any contracts were signed. He displayed to me an understanding of the needs of any artists or performers he was likely to work with that seems to me to be quite rare amongst label bosses. Also, it's a local label. If i have a question, or a problem, I can meet up with 6 over a drink, and discuss it without having to rely on email.

You have played a few gigs abroad this summer. Do you enjoy playing live?
Any particularly enjoyable experiences? And how did the whole supporting Alias on his tour thing come about?

I love playing live. It's the best way to bring music to an audience in my opinion. I enjoy it all, except sometimes the travelling, but hey, it could be worse! the Japan mini-tour of 2002 sticks out for me. Not only was it my first live performances in a long time, one of the gigs was at a festival in front of twenty-odd thousand people, so it was a pretty memorable experience as I'm sure you can imagine. Also, Japan is about as different from Britain as you can get in a developed country, and I got the opportunity to look around a bit. Tokyo is a truly
stunning place.

Touring with Schneider tm last Christmas was also excellent. They are a fantastic live band, and coupled with playing at Maida Vale for the John Peel show, it was a very positive experience and one that I'm unlikely to forget in a hurry.

The Alias support slots came about kind of organically. Alias emailed Benbecula some time last year. He'd got a hold of 'Pylonesque' and 'Metamorphic...', and liked them. Benbecula admin kindly forwarded me the email, and Alias and I got chatting. He's a really decent guy, and I love his music, and he was touring in Europe, so the subject came up. Don't worry too much about the cancelled gigs, he's going to be back later in the year, and I hope to be supporting him then. I'm in the process of remixing one of his new tracks at the moment, so keep an eye on the Benbecula website for details.

written by elliott

SuperMike! · 5th September 2004, 09:02 PM

His album "Metamorphic..." is okay. Nothing startling but pleasant all the same. Benbecula is a cool wee label.

ana_saba · 7th September 2004, 02:21 PM

he supported shenider tm at stereo

boy i wish i seen THAT gig

Germlin rules more though

grnr · 22nd December 2004, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ana_saba

he supported shenider tm at stereo

boy i wish i seen THAT gig

Germlin rules more though

schneider TM was fucking great. christ was incredibly dull. about as dull as FAOjesus (ok maybe not quite as dull). too many people trying to emulate BOC and failing.

ana_saba · 28th December 2004, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grnr

schneider TM was fucking great. christ was incredibly dull. about as dull as FAOjesus (ok maybe not quite as dull). too many people trying to emulate BOC and failing.

I heard as much, if schneider tm plays glasgow again drop me a line gav!

zipzopzap · 28th December 2004, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ana_saba

I heard as much, if schneider tm plays glasgow again drop me a line gav!

aye, me an' aw!

jihadsoldier · 11th January 2005, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grnr

schneider TM was fucking great. christ was incredibly dull. about as dull as FAOjesus (ok maybe not quite as dull). too many people trying to emulate BOC and failing.

Well, it must be a good thing that both FAOjesus and Christ have The Flying Matchstick Men to rely on to make them look positively exciting and original then, no?

SuperMike! · 11th January 2005, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jihadsoldier

Well, it must be a good thing that both FAOjesus and Christ have The Flying Matchstick Men to rely on to make them look positively exciting and original then, no?

Dunno about FAO Jesus, but Christ is dull!

Nice to see it's a competition though.

parsley lion · 12th January 2005, 04:08 PM

this is blasphemy! you pissing cunt-whores! god will kick your ass.

save me jeebus.

grnr · 15th January 2005, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jihadsoldier

Well, it must be a good thing that The Flying Matchstick Men have both FAOjesus and Christ to rely on to make them look positively exciting and original then, no?

ps my favourite artist is marvin gaye's dad.

31st August 2004, 07:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
elliott i'm every woman Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: dundee Posts: 1,001 Band: kaput	An interview with Christ (no, not that one) Christ is the alias of Scottish Chris H who makes electronic music, a bit like Boards of Canada or a more ambient Aphex Twin. He is signed to Benbecula records and you can check his stuff out here. Christ was supposed to be playing with Alias on his tourâ€™s Scottish dates, which will be rescheduled to later this year so hopefully you will be able to catch Christ live very soon. We had a chat over the interweb and this is what he had to say. First of all who are you and where did you come from? I know you are a guy called Chris but not much else...You are a bit of a mysterious character, is this how you like to keep things? I don't know about mysterious, but I'm a private person. I think that the music should speak for itself, so to that end, I shy away from interviews and press coverage generally. If people like the music, then they're going to buy it, regardless of whether there's pictures of me in the press. So...what's with the name? You've got a lot to live up to... It's is an abbreviation of 'Christopher' which is my first name. It does have the advantage of standing out, though. I'm making no claims to divinity as regards my lineage. Can you tell a bit about your musical history? When did you start making music and have you always wanted to make the kind of music you make? (I tried to come up with a way of describing it, but it just sounded stupid....atmospheric electronica anyone? didn't think so...) Well, i've been a musician all my life. I play several instruments, and this is probably one of the key reasons why I make the music I do. I started using a pc based set up for recording and mastering, simply because it takes up very little room. I use cubase, and some VST's, and plugins, but most of the sounds I use are derived from old monophonic synthesisers, guitars, a Rhodes piano, and various other bits of analog kit. The percussion noises I use are more-or-less exclusively 'found' samples, and hits taken from tapes which I make, containing random sounds I've recorded from anywhere and everywhere. Can you describe how your songs come about? What kind of equipment do you use to make it and how do you get the ideas for songs? To me, writing music is not a linear process. I don't, for example, start a track and work through it until it's finished. There's usually several tracks being worked on at a time, and for every one that gets a release, or an outing in a live set, you can be guaranteed that three or four have gone by the wayside. I have literally thousands of 'bits' of unfinished tracks on disc. Some of them as small as two bars of music, or a basic beat. I'm a hoarder, and I like to regularly review stuff I've got on disc from the past, and rework or develop things that appeal to me. That way the tunes don't get stagnant. You are signed to a Scottish label. Why did you choose Benbencula? For various reasons. I spoke to phase 6 (who runs the label) at length before any contracts were signed. He displayed to me an understanding of the needs of any artists or performers he was likely to work with that seems to me to be quite rare amongst label bosses. Also, it's a local label. If i have a question, or a problem, I can meet up with 6 over a drink, and discuss it without having to rely on email. You have played a few gigs abroad this summer. Do you enjoy playing live? Any particularly enjoyable experiences? And how did the whole supporting Alias on his tour thing come about? I love playing live. It's the best way to bring music to an audience in my opinion. I enjoy it all, except sometimes the travelling, but hey, it could be worse! the Japan mini-tour of 2002 sticks out for me. Not only was it my first live performances in a long time, one of the gigs was at a festival in front of twenty-odd thousand people, so it was a pretty memorable experience as I'm sure you can imagine. Also, Japan is about as different from Britain as you can get in a developed country, and I got the opportunity to look around a bit. Tokyo is a truly stunning place. Touring with Schneider tm last Christmas was also excellent. They are a fantastic live band, and coupled with playing at Maida Vale for the John Peel show, it was a very positive experience and one that I'm unlikely to forget in a hurry. The Alias support slots came about kind of organically. Alias emailed Benbecula some time last year. He'd got a hold of 'Pylonesque' and 'Metamorphic...', and liked them. Benbecula admin kindly forwarded me the email, and Alias and I got chatting. He's a really decent guy, and I love his music, and he was touring in Europe, so the subject came up. Don't worry too much about the cancelled gigs, he's going to be back later in the year, and I hope to be supporting him then. I'm in the process of remixing one of his new tracks at the moment, so keep an eye on the Benbecula website for details. written by elliott

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5th September 2004, 09:02 PM	#2 (permalink)
SuperMike! Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Dundee Posts: 3,511 Band: Kaput. The A Forest. The Kays Lavelle.	His album "Metamorphic..." is okay. Nothing startling but pleasant all the same. Benbecula is a cool wee label.

7th September 2004, 02:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
ana_saba Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: motherhell, near glasgow Posts: 1,209	he supported shenider tm at stereo boy i wish i seen THAT gig Germlin rules more though

12th January 2005, 04:08 PM	#9 (permalink)
parsley lion Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: dundee Posts: 40 Band: eye	this is blasphemy! you pissing cunt-whores! god will kick your ass. save me jeebus.