Colin Robinson: interview in The International Times

English avant-garde musician Colin Robinson (Jumble Hole Clough) had a nice chat with Dominic Rivron for an interview in the International Times. About his modus operandi and the importance of using the right words (and cover art):

I’m interested in word-play such as anagrams. Quite a lot of the Jumble Hole Clough titles may contain anagrams… My dad used to win lots of crossword competitions; perhaps I picked it up from him.

I also like to use chance in my compositions. I used to use a variety of aleatoric techniques to construct songs; dice and so on. I use the Brian Eno ‘Oblique Strategies’ card pack of aphorisms when I’m recording; and we also use them live with Abrasive Pheasants to structure our improvisations. I am now trying out generative procedures with my synthesisers, making pieces that gradually evolve in a random yet structured way. I’m not interested in just chaos – I want to create something that evolves. And something that is listenable to as a piece of music rather than as a technical exercise.

So, I use surrealism and random elements during the initial construction of the music and also in the lyrics. But I want to create a piece of entertaining and listenable-to music, rather than something totally obscure. The songs all mean something; they’re not just random collections of words! The process is important, but the finished product is more important – I got that from Russell Mills. I like Zappa’s concept of conceptual continuity – fragments of songs appear in much later songs, in different ways. It ties the whole project together.

One thing about 20th-century experimental composers such as Stockhausen, Cage and Varese – I can read books about them and think what fascinating ideas they had, very inspiring. But then I listen to the music and don’t find it as inspiring as the ideas…

A quote from the late Richard Knutson: ‘Titles are of the utmost importance. They’re a window into the soul of the composer.’ I hate going round an art gallery and seeing paintings called ‘Untitled’. I put a lot of thought into the titles of my songs and albums, and make sure I choose a cover photo which matches the title and the feeling of the album.

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