THE LEGENDARY
PINK DOTS
An Interview with Edward Ka-Spel
By Jennifer Harnage

J: Hello
E: Hello Jennifer
J: Hi, how are you
E: Oh not to bad
J: Good good, thanks so much for calling us. What time is it over there?
E: Oh kind of midafternoon, i think around 5
J: And you're in Holland?
E: Yeah making a little afternoon arrangements we fly on sunday. Its insanely hectic. It's actually a rest when we get out there on tour
J: Yeah.... like a vacation
E: In comparison to the preparation it really is
J: What cities are you most looking forward to playing in for the tour?
E: I've got to say Ft. Lauderdale is amongst them because its probably as far south as we've been in the states and its just a prospect of fine sunny weather and the beaches. I haven't seen the beach in quite a long time so Im going to enjoy this
J: Have you played in Ft. Lauderdale before?
E: No. Palm Beach once, which I believe is quite close isnt it? This was a long time ago.
J: The new album is really amazing. Im rather impressed with it. I have a particular favorite. I think Soft Toy...what is your favorite and why?
E: Yes, its probably my favorite too... I can't even explain why. I think its because it reminds me a little bit of the first [roxy?] music album...its always like a real old favorite of mine...especially when I started listening to music that was one of the first albums I listened to and it has something of the flavor of the music they were making then. That track anyway by chance rather than design.... you know nothing wrong with that... you know sometimes fate smiles the right way
J: And the lyrics are just absolutely beautiful in that, Im very impressed with that. Is there any particular music group or artist that tends to inspire your lyrics
E: no not really
J: It just kinda comes
E:It's basicly keeping an antenna up all the time taking in what goes on around you, you know anything you see, anything you feel. I tend now to be a little more organized about things I usually have a pen on me I usually have a piece of paper on me. Normally a lot of lyrics tend to be lost I would just like pick up a scrap of newspaper somewhere and just start franticly writing on the train or something like that and you can lose these things. So now I'm really trying to stay on top of things for probably the first time in 20 years...you know which is a little late to begin but you know Its never too late you know?
J: On the tour coming up will you be performing any songs from the [poppy variations?]
sure one.. Ive been working on it with the equalizer
J: And when is the date for that release?
E: It could be any moment in a way....we received the covers last week in fact...and the digi packs and the cds themselves are supposed to be in the mail to us... right now we were hoping they would turn up today. In America? Im sure its already there but its just not officially released yet.... but it will be out by the first day of the tour. That's for sure. Its not like one of those releases that you can say it will come out on this day its just going to be as soon as possible. We finished them 4 weeks ago.. we didn't even know if it would be ready in time for the tour. Did you hear that one?
J: No we haven't received a copy of that one and according to the website they just have spring summer of 2004....
E: for certain at the very least Ill bring you a copy.. its actually a very nice album. Poppy Variations...The two releases are quite different from each other and even though they are made almost parallel they sound completely different.. its one of the very odd things that can happen
J: What about your new solo album, [Pieces of 8?}...will you be performing anything for that or are you going to do a separate tour just you?
E: I'll probably wait. Not on the tour for sure but there may be some solo shows here and there.. not for a while, maybe next year sometime early. We've got so much lined up for the dots in the next month in fact when we finish the American tour we are going to do a similar tour in Europe for possibly up to 2 months as well. So its really like the most intense experience probably I've ever put myself up for
J: That's kind of a good segue-way into the next question, I'm sure you get this all the time... but are there any plans for the tear garden doing a tour in the near future
E: In the near future? That would be difficult to confirm, in the next year its quite likely. Because there's nothing lined up for the pink dots next year yet and there's nothing as far as I know nearly lined up for skinny puppy next year and we both really want to do something. Certainly there will be a need to get out an album next year because pinning down plans to actually record of course we also want to play live we never really did it before, and its time. And a lot of people are asking... and you know, Skinny Puppy wasn't around a year ago and they just reformed and I think they've got a hell of a schedule themselves, you know that has to clear first and we have to clear ours and it will happen, it will happen when it happens.. but I would say count on it
J: Well you will make a lot of people happy we got a little bit of a tease on the last dots tour with Isis Veiled, so a lot of people are like ..oh! We need the Tear Garden to tour..
E: Its kind of funny to play Isis while in Los Angeles because Kevin didn't realize that we were going to play that and he was really moved. It was so nice because he came to see us of course and we didn't tell him beforehand that we were going to play this song and he was so moved, it was lovely.
J: We were too we saw you in Tampa and I was with a friend of mine Dustin and his local band here in Jacksonville 1919 they did a cover of it of Isis Veiled. They would play it live just a couple times they did so as soon as you started playing it I looked at him and he was very happy. That's his favorite, so we are all very much looking forward to a Tear Garden tour
E: Oh, me too
J: I recently read an article on you guys, its actually a couple years old but I just got a hold of it.... and in the article the Dots were referred to as the perfect Twin Peaks lounge band
E: I kinda like that I must say, I read that one as well.
J: I was very happy with that because I'm a huge David Lynch fan and I always kinda get that feel with you guys... so you are a fan of the show too? and David Lynch in general?
E: Oh sure
J: What's your favorite Lynch movie
E: Strangely it might be actually one of his straighter ones, the Elephant Man. I think its such an incredibly classy movie. As an Englishman it really touches a nerve because I mean I'm from London and Im fascinated by Victoria Elanore and that period and it was a superb piece of cinema and just the atmosphere that he created and the choice of main actor as well. I mean hell...how good can it be to have John Hurr... one of the greatest english actors..having said that I do love that whole Twin Peaks, I really really liked Blue Velvet. He's just made a lot of great work.
J: Do you like Angelo Badalementi?
E: Oh absolutely. Wonderful yeah
J: On nemesis on line there's a song called abracadabra and I've been curious for years.. what is being said in that song?
E: I have no recollection. None whatsoever...It was something that was written at the time, it seemed to fit and then as usual forgot all about it.
J: I have tried and tried to listen to it very closely, we tried playing it backwards.. can't really make heads or tails of what's being said, but its a funny song
E: Sometimes it's like that. You know I can write something. I will sing it once and then it appears on the record and then its gone. I mean sometimes I'm giving titles to songs and I'm literally sitting at the computer emailing the titles to the person who's going to release it and I would have forgotten that title by the end of the evening. that can be embarrassing in some ways, but life tends to move quite fast..
J: That's sort of like Tori Amos when she plays live sometimes she'll forget her own words.
E: Oh that's happened to me and its embarassing moments.
J: Its almost like a prophet that comes to you and then it doesn't really stick, like an entity
E: I had one of those moments the other day when someone said, "oh yeah.. by the way what is your phone number?" and I just could not remember my own phone number and I was like oh my god, you know.. ive got this bad
J: what would you say is your greatest artistic accomplishment?
E: I'm quite sure of what it is its actually the chemical place called 11 12 13 box. Mainly because its something that I spent a year with that thing you know I was working on it every day and it was really conceived its not like a collection of jams or something, it was actually planned out in my head. I actually.. yeah, lived slept, ate and drank with that thing. I must admit since it came out? I haven't been able to listen to it since because it just became too close and kept me awake at night when it was finished and in a box and there was nothing more that I could do it was over. For me? I don't think it can be topped in some ways. I still hope to do it, but it was the closest to what I heard in my head and I know its a very difficult thing to listen to, I won't deny it, but Im kinda proud, very proud of that thing
J: Do you have anything that you think would be valuable for our readers to know about what's been going on with you guys or your solo work?
E: Just that we are in a very intense period at the moment... it comes in waves. This is a particularly hyper sort of year so far. The amount of stuff thats coming out right now is quite alot. Theres also alot that is in the can as well that came out of all these sessions very extreme in the most positive way really this year and I think people will get a taste of that when we play live because it helps that theres this new blood in the band as well, new guitar player Eric. Of course we miss Martin but he wanted to make his own music, we're great friends with him still, but Eric has brought something very fresh to the band I think and this is very positive I find, hes a noisy guitar player but its very nice to have this element again actually.
J: Was he on the album? or is he just going to be on the tour?
E: He's on the album yeah he's on all the albums yeah
J: Well thank you so much for calling us, thats really all I had for you unless you wanted to add anything
E: I fancy it would be nice to see you, you'll be in tampa?
J: Ill probably actually be in Orlando this time, its a little closer to us
E: I think you wrote about us before... in Movement, the name is very familiar to me. I'm sure Movement did something on the Pink Dots either 2 or 4 years ago.
J: I believe one of our friends Jason
E: Yeah that's right Jason
J: That was a few years ago, he's in Serbia now
E: He's in Serbia?!
J: He went over there with a friend of ours, that's from there our friend Alle is working with a television company thats kind of an equivalent to MTV almost? but serbian version and a little more underground.. making documentaries, fun stuff like that. So that's why I got to interview this time, I'm sure if he were still here he would have beat me up for it
E: If you speak to him do wish him all the best...
J: Oh I will, I will we will probably send him an email soon letting him know that we interviewed you again
E: Thats fantastic...We've never played in Serbia. I like the idea of trying, you know a show...but its hard I think at the moment its a different life there.
J: Well you have a great day
E:You too Jennifer
J: Thank you so much and Ill see you in Orlando.
 

Photos courtesy of Frederic Loridant (Photorock)



 

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