July 2001
Future Music Interview

Alucidnation have produced one of the most unusual tracks we've ever featured on our cover CD, the quite glorious 'I'm Not Bad', that somehow works so well in spite of (or maybe because of ) some rough-around-the-edges treatments. Bruce Bickerton, the man behind the band (and mixer of the new compilation album from the Big Chill, 'Glisten') reveals all…

The first and obvious question is what inspired the track
'I'm Not Bad'?

I wrote this one back in June '99. I'd been tinkering around with some backing loops over the course of one evening, and then my mate Tony Fisher turned up. As the night wore on, we started talking about his love life at the time (or lack of it). He'd seen this girl, and vaguely knew her, but, because he's a shy type of guy, couldn't summon up the courage to talk to her. After he'd gone, I turned my attention back to what I'd been farting around with earlier. I set my DAT machine rolling and recorded a live take with improvised lyrics; just making the words up as I went along : the only overdubs are the harmonies, which were added a couple of months later. You can tell it's live, 'cos the phone rings (fortuitously enough) at the end of the track!

Tell us a bit about your background.

Well there's me, and that's about it really. Alucidnation was conceived back in 1993, when I took out a bank loan and invested in a 486 PC and some outboard gear. I needed to satisfy my desire to expand on ideas that I'd had while I was learning to play the piano throughout my childhood. I used to work as a sound engineer and tape operator at a studio in Hull called Fairview in the mid to late 80s and I must have picked up a fair bit of subliminal information while I was working there. This means that I do all my own composing, sequencing, programming, engineering and producing (and singing!). I also think that the image of the project is important, so I also do all my own design and photography for my releases too.

What are your influences?

God; there are loads. My record collection is pretty extensive, and contains a bit of everything. If you want me to be a bit more specific, I'd mention dub, particularly LPs like Present Arms In Dub from UB40 (when they were good), LKJ In Dub by Linton Kwesi Johnson and other gems from people like Scientist… I'm a big ELO fan, and really rate Jeff Lynne as an all-rounder. I also love mellow electronica from the 70's. You have to check out 'New Age of Earth' by Ashra from 1977 on Virgin for genuine chillout, plus of course Steve Hillage's Rainbow Dome Musick. That's a classic! Plus you've got people like Eno, Pink Floyd, John Martyn, Blue Nile and Joni Mitchell. Plus I'm really interested in labels like Basic Channel and Scape… basically anything contemporary that's deep, housey and dubbed out. This list could literally stretch on for pages!

What Music do you chill out to?

Well there's all of the stuff in the list above, but at the moment, I'm finding myself listening to a lot of David Sylvian, and a track called 'Casseopia' by Visitor 2035, which I found in a secondhand shop for 50p! For a record produced in 1976, it's way ahead of its time…

Has chillout got too commercialised?

If you're talking about the chillout scene in general, then I think if you've got people like Ministry of Sound getting involved, that's not necessarily good news really, because they're just licensing known brands and formulas - people like groove Armada, William Orbit - all the stuff that's already been commercially successful. The people who compile these things have a duty to be a bit more adventurous and give people something a little more diverse. I'm really interested in the potential of the internet. I make up my own compilations using mp3.com artists, so when I'm Djing out, I'm promoting unsigned artists material. A lot of it sounds far more superior than what's out on general release, such is the state of the 'record industry'…

Did you use any neat instrumental or production techniques on 'I'm Not Bad' that you can tell us about?

'I'm Not Bad' is mostly electronic! It's pretty much live, bar the vocal harmony overdubs. I tried to steer away from quantising anything too, which gives it that rough kind of edge. The tables were stiched together from a live recording, but are pretty low in the mix anyway. I've been performing the song live on the last few occasions that I've gigged… because the vocal was embedded on the original, I've had to recompose the whole piece from scratch, which was a challenge. When I write, I get bored with stuff very quickly, and rarely keep things like arrangements, so the new mix is very similar to the original, but with some Rhodes, more vox and some dubbed out FX. In some ways, I think I prefer the new one, actually!

What are the main elements of your recording studio?

I run everything via Cubase VST 3.7 on an oldish PC Pentium II 233mhz machine. It seems to do the job reliably enough, touch wood! I have a whole bunch of other software too, things like pug-ins and the like, but I guess the software that I sue most is Sound Forge - the best sound editor for the PC I reckon, plus MESA, a neat utility which allows me to control my Akai samplers from my computer. As far as outboard kit is concerned, the original components are still there; a Fatar mother keyboard, unfortunately with no pitch bend, a Mackie 24:4:2 desk - beautiful - an original Novation Basstation keyboard, Akai 2000/S01/S3000 samplers, a Korg 05R/W module, plus an Alesis Quadraverb+. I'd say that the more kit you accumulate around yourself, the less focused you seem to become. It's amazing what you can squeeze out of very little. You tend to develop neat little tricks to wring the maximum out of what you've got. In addition to the list above, in recent years I've acquired a Roland Juno 106, which provides me with the most lush pads, providing you've got the time to set it up, plus some more outboard FX, in the shape of another Alesis and a Yamaha REV100. FX are very important in what I do… I've also got a few mics and guitars, plus other sundry instruments - bass, ocarina, tables…

Any bits you want to add to your studio?

The problem with starting to build a studio is that it's a) very addictive, b) it's a bottomless pit, and c) it's bloody expensive! There's a lot of stuff I'd like to get hold of, but my primary concern is to look into upgrading my computer to something that can handle more soft-synths, as my present machine struggles with a lot of recent software.

What have you got planned for the future?

Well, there's the stuff I've been doing with Pete Lawrence and the Big Chill, such as mixing and blending 'Glisten', the new Big Chill compilation - check it out - it's an example of quality 'chill' that'll appeal to all quarters.
(we reviewed it in issue 114 and said just that! Ed)

I'm also busy with other projects. My long time friend and collaborator Stuart Nisbet and I record under the name of Artec and produce deep, dubby tech house. Also I work with Ed Richardson under the name of Broadbend - a project that utilises a fast internet connection. Plus I'm doing some remix work for Deep Water recordings out of Leicester… then it's off to Greece with the Big Chill later this year.

Life could be worse, I suppose!

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