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  Edan Interview
interview 0297 added 28.04.05 words: Louz
technical:
QED
Jazz Café, April 2005
featuring Duplex (aka Edan & Insight) and Dagha.
Somewhere between
throwing Judas Priest album sleeves around the stage, getting
crushed in the centre of his excitable North-London audience,
and dealing with overpriced Holiday Inn room service, I managed
to pinch a few minutes of Edan's time to talk beauty,
spirituality, surrealism, beef stew, and obviously - the beat...
L - The new album Beauty and the Beat
is like a journey through a whole range of musical genres. Do
you feel like it's proved to people that you don't have to be
restricted to one particular sound in hip hop? Is this what you
wanted to achieve out of it?
 Edan - That is what I wanted, I'm not sure everyone receives it
that way, but definitely. There're people that are so dogmatic
with hip hop that they would swear they're defending it and
protecting it, when they're really just choking the life out of
it. I just think that when things get predictable and redundant,
it stagnates. Me, I love artistic expression, human freedom - so
to me it's like, what can I do that I haven't really heard
elsewhere? You know, how I can make a unique contribution to
this shit? I figured I'm one of the few people I know that has a
deep love for a certain era of rock music, the late 60s stuff
but also the fundamentals and essence of hip hop. I'm definitely
never gonna claim to be the originator of anything...
L - But then who else do you know who
has a similar sound?
E - No one exactly, just like, no ones got the same
fingerprints.
L - In which case you are an originator
really...
E - In some ways, but I'm not the originator, the blueprint for
all life is what I would rather give thanks to than to myself. I
was talking with Insight about this- to me God isn't really a
thing, its more like a adverb- its more like the way things
happen, so therefore it's found in all things. I'd rather give
praises to that whole phenomenon, definitely not any specific
religious sect, I don't believe in all of that nonsense...
L - You don't at all?
E - I believe in spirituality and a higher power but as far as
branding it goes, I believe all brands are legit, do what thou
will, in a sense. Don't inflict pain on others, and then as long
as you're not hurting anybody be as free as you wish to be. As
opposed to all that Christianity versus Judaism, versus Buddism...
its all here for us to learn from, and that's a great thing, if
only we could see it all under one greater sort of umbrella.
Basically, all I'm saying is that I did try to do something
unique with the record, that I thought was unique, but I can't
ever conclusively say that it was some sort of innovative
accomplishment because I'm only learning from what was already
here, and I can only use the physics and the laws that have been
given to me by being thrust in to this life... I mean I do take
credit for it on that basic human level where we're all trying
to do certain things, but a little further than that I just
credit all things to a higher power, not on some religious
spiritual shit, its just how my belief system has shaped itself
as I've been alive. I don't think it's a new thing to blend rap
and rock, of course its not, but to do it in a certain way and
with a certain aesthetic, I think everybody's got their own
fingerprints, so this is who I am, and I do feel the record did
capture a good deal of what I was trying to get across, and I'm
proud of it.
L - Where did the psychedelic influence
come from?
E - That word - it's just a way of describing something ornate
and colourful and very stimulating to the mind. Hopefully it
loses those hippy or drugs connotations, because it's really not
about that, it's really just about beauty. You listen to enough
records and after a while, listening isn't enough, you want to
start to see things. In some sort of fruitless attempt at that I
just try and make the paint splash across the canvas as wildly
as possible in order to give that illusion that something may be
happening in 3D... you know what I'm saying? I'm just trying to
make the most vivid shit possible... maybe I go about it crassly
but I just use a lot of delay and echo! [laughs].
L - It feels like I'm on drugs when I
listen to it.
 E- That's the whole goal! If you can feel that way without
taking anything...
L - It's not so good when I'm driving.
E - No, see that's the whole thing, you're not actually going to
crash, you'll just hopefully get a delightful feeling.
L - There's obviously quite a few
complex themes running through the album, what are the more
central ones, in your opinion?
E - Overall I wanted to interject some surrealism into it, maybe
some imagery that's not quite tangible in everyday life,
L - So you're quite interested in art?
E - Yeah I'm no an expert but I go to museums and there are
obviously certain things I like. People like Marcel Duchamp and
the sort of statements they made directly and indirectly. I see
stuff like that going on in hip hop, I mean the whole ready-made
thing of simply nominating a certain object that already exists
and saying that its valid all over again in this new context,
just because I've plucked it out of everyday life and nominated
it as a work of art. That's sort of what went on when dj's were
just finding breaks, stuff that was already on other peoples
records and then just nominating those breaks and deeming them
funky. I mean there's people like Ghostface Killah with songs
like Holla which is him just rhyming over a Delfonics tune.
There's such a thrill that comes with just recognising something
that's already there and seeing it through new eyes, realizing
in some sense that what's theirs is also yours.
"...I
don't think it's a new thing to blend rap and rock, of course
its not, but just to do it in a certain way and with a certain
aesthetic - I think everybody's got their own fingerprints..."
It's very
liberating. When you start to view all the works of art that
human kind has produced as your own, not in the sense of 'I did
this, I achieved this', but 'we all made this for each other to
enjoy, and do what we will with it.' That's what I see from it
and I really think its great, as opposed to 'I made this, it's
mine, if you touch it you better pay me every cent'. Its not
really the best way for human beings to conduct themselves, but
capitalism has some shitty side effects. Whatever. So I wanted
to inject some surrealism, for example I say something in this
one song, the notes on the page become ants that run frantic.
You've probably seen that image in a Dali painting, when there's
sheet music above a piano and there's ants crawling off the
page... I was also inspired by this film, 39 steps, old
Hitchcock, the British era in the late 30s - and in that same
song I'm describing this scene like,
The numbers they fall off the clock, midnight, at the museum an
apple was storming out of a still life.
And just stuff like,
 Scientists explain that they no longer know things, a dog takes
a shit on the floor and grows wings, planets of the solar system
now trade places, statues of national fame become faceless, man
with the moustache reveals the three aces, briefcases open to
expose sheet music, the thief hears the piece performed and
weeps to it.
So now with all these irrational images I'm vaguely suggesting
that there's a thief or some sort of character involved. Then
it's like,
The thief hears the piece, he's weeping, master violinist plays
the solo one handed, notes on the page become angst and run
frantic, slowly the symphony dissolves into noise.
Now as the ants are running off the page, the people in the
orchestra are trying to play what they see, but they can't
because these notes are running off the page...
The baron with the glass eye sweats and loses poise, a scene is
made, the chiefs brigade is summoned, the man in the mask walks
fast and starts running, a officer fires a pistol in black
apparel but instead of lead, a red rose grows from out the
barrel, the criminal escapes through a disappearing door marked,
beauty exiting the world for ever more.
So it sounds like some bullshit like I'm trying to get deep, but
really I was painting a pretty specific set of images to try and
evoke a feeling or scenery. The song that those images are from
is called 'Beauty' and to me, beauty and desire go hand in hand.
I just wanted to kick all these images where things are
happening beyond our understanding. Just when we think we've
figured everything out, the universe is infinite or beautiful
enough to throw us through a loop all over again and destroy
what we know to be scientific fact. Basically, the illusive
quality of truly beautiful things is what I was trying to touch
on in that song. Does that make any fucking sense?
"...There's
such a thrill that comes with just recognising something that's
already there and seeing it through new eyes, realizing in some
sense that what's theirs is also yours..."
L - Yes - How long did it take you to
write?
E - I don't know, I think I knew I wanted to go in that
direction then I reckon it took me three weeks or so to get it
together. Once the images started flowing it probably took me
like 2 hours, and that's just the 2nd verse. The first verse of
the song is more of a direct ode to beautiful things. I say
things like,
Birds fly out of the top hat slow to join the brilliance of
wilderness and soar through the congo,
Then shit like,
 The sun splits the waterfront causing prismatic effects,
butterflies come alive to have sex.
Just beautiful imagery, like imagine the sun hitting the water
then some sort of reflective rainbow hitting your eyesight. I
don't know, I was just tired of fucking hip hop just being
about, misogyny, my cheese-roll, materialistic shit, just
because there's so much more to life and I happen to like using
hip hop as a form of expression. I don't necessarily look to the
trends in hip hop and ask myself how I can do that, I'm just
looking at how can I express what I know about life through this
hip hop medium. It can be any medium, I can express these things
if I want with a painting, with a haiku, with a fucking collage,
maybe even by cooking a meal, who knows. So for me it was quite
a personal thing where I was like, I want to say something about
beauty and good things because I feel like our age is just
becoming cynical and we're not really stopping to smell the
flowers.
L - Were you surprised when more
experimental + progressive magazines like The Wire showed an
interest in your music?
E - I don't know, I think my music is kinda brainy, so I think I
would be more surprised if they didn't even acknowledge it. I
respect those types of publications that seem to put the art at
the forefront to some extent. I would love it for any
publication that's thinking artistically first to check for what
I'm doing, artists are the types of people I feel most
comfortable around.
L - You mention quite a few other
artists in yours songs do you feel almost like you owe them for
the inspiration they've given you?
E - Yeah, definitely, but I get quite a lot of flack for it.
When some people run out of things to criticise me on they say
I'm too much of a fan. I think you can be both an artist and a
fan.
L - You and Insight obviously have a
great dynamic on the stage, does a lot of work go into the stage
show, and what almost resembles dance routines?!
E - Haha cool thank you, I don't think I'm a good dancer so I'm
not gonna try take any praise from you on that one, I don't
deserve it. We do rehearse a lot although some things are
obviously left for the moment and some things are spontaneous
but as far as rhymes and stuff goes, its rehearsed. In terms of
me and Insight on stage, we both love hip hop probably a little
bit too much, its good, we put our heads together, we both have
a mutual respect for the art form... and good things happen.
"...I
want to say something about beauty and good things because I
feel like our age is just becoming cynical and we're not really
stopping to smell the flowers..."
L - Would you rather, completely lose
your sense of rhythm, or only be able to eat beef stew for the
rest of your life?
 E - I would say, I'd rather have no rhythm. I can still help
people in other ways, plus - without rhythm... and I'd be able
to eat whatever the fuck I wanted.
L - What would you do with yourself?
E - I'd teach kids or something, I think that music, as great as
it is, and as much as it's been the focus of my life up until
now, its just one thing. Life has so much to offer, so take away
my rhythm. I'll draw or do something else.
L - Would you rather... Beauty or the
Beat?
E - Again... the beat is the rhythm, beauty doesn't have any
beef stew in it. So beauty.
If you haven't already got Beauty and the Beat out on Lewis
Recordings, I highly recommend you slap yourself around the face
and resolve the situation. Massive thank you to Edan for his
time of which I know he was short of, and also to Insight and
Dagha for the flawless entertainment.
-
Louz
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