Hope you all had a 5 stars Christmas. A couple of days ago, I've asked Tim a few questions. He's a very nice character, very low-profile, continuously paving his way in the musical industry or whatever you want to call it. I've met Tim last February in Lisbon at The Charlatans Gig. Hope and certainly he'll continue this way, so, here is a quick dialogue between to 'lads from the same generation.
Thanks a lot Tim and all the best!
King_leer (KL): What's behind (the storyline) on "The Misbegotten" lyrics (watch video on the "player")?
Tim Burguess (TB) : erm ..i wrote a couple of stories/set of lyrics and then used the cut up technique used by David Bowie and William Burroughs.
So quite literally i cut up the stories line by line and then pulled them out of a hat to see if anything interesting and new came out of it. The first line i pulled out was “if you don’t have the guts” which i thought was an amazing threatening opening line.
(KL) :"Then I found two girls in matching bathing suits...". Looking at the single sleeve, are these the girls in matching suits? What's the reason for this sleeve?
(TB) : Well the line came from a Diane Arbus story i was writing, she did a quite famous photograph called 'two girls in matching bathing suits' (i think you can google it) i loved the image and i used it as the inspiration for the sleeve! Issie and Mikyla are friends of mine and are members of the dj conglomerate 'the she-set'.
(KL) : Comment 2008 in music. What were your favorite acts, the surprises and the disappointments of this year?
(TB) : My favorite record was Ladyhawke by a mile
Now, on society: (KL) : For you, resident in the US, tell us what is changing after the recent elections.
(TB) : There is a new found hope for a better America, there is no doubt he has probably the hardest job as president in the history of America.
(KL) : The Global financial and not so crisis: Who are the responsible and what's your personal opinion and what you think should be done to minimize the effects?
(TB) : People got greedy, people earning $30,000 a year were driving $90,000 cars living in $400,000 houses.
The world has been living on credit not reading the small print and now we are paying for it..It is everyone’s fault. From the corporate banker for encouraging us to live this way and to the man on the street for falling for it.
To minimize the effect fuck knows we just got to ride it out.
After last post and a few days off, let's continue this chapter. With "For Lovers", we've seen a different view on creating a track. This was the tune that made me interested in Jake's work. After that we've talking sometimes and this was a good time to ask him a few questions
on his work and Pete Doherty solo album project that he conducted for a long time but ended to be delivered to Stephen Street. Probably it'll be out in the first months from 2009.
Let's "hear" the gentleman: (words from December 1st)
King_leer (KL):
How did you get along with Peter and how you decided to go for "For Lovers". The lyrics credits are yours or from Wolfman (the music is yours i believe).
Jake Fior (JF):
This is a song Wolfe wrote some time ago. Peter Doherty re -wrote the lines 'I paid the penalty, heard the jailer rattling the key. But the key was mine, I keep a spare one every time'.
I re -wrote some of the instrumentation and structure and the general feel of the record is from my input, but there was collaboration from other musicians who played on the track as well.
(KL):
In your own words what is like to be a producer nowadays ?
(JF):
It seems to be that there are 2 different types of people producing records these days but maybe this has always been the case. The more technical approach is to work from a young age in studios as an assistant and go from studio assistant to assistant engineer to engineer, to eventually become a producer. The second way is to work with an experienced engineer from the outset and concentrate on the creative side of things and structure.
But either way its only the end result that matters.
I am in the second category but spent a lot of time playing and writing in bands so as develop the ability to do this, so it’s also quite a long process but a different discipline. Being a producer requires a belief in your vision and also that your approach to the song is the correct one.
It is also a question of confidence, for example I personally really like some of Mick Jones work with the Libertines but didn’t understand why he decided to use an almost live approach when I first heard the albums.
I don’t think a polished production would have worked as well at all and I now think his decisions were brave and interesting.
(KL):
You've became Babyshambles manager during the summer after the other former one been sacked. Are you still with them?
(JF):
I was never Babyshambles manager. I did however manage Pete briefly in relation to the solo recordings and some solo gigs .This was always a temporary role and managing Pete's daily life is almost impossible unless you are prepared to live it full time. Which I was not.
It is also an unusual dynamic for a creative process. I don’t think this helped.
(KL):
This one i have to ask since i was envolved in this almost secret project. You were supposed to record Peter's first solo record. You've done sessions, your were supposed to be here in Portugal recording it (that's the part i get involded) and suddenly he does it with ex-Smiths producer Stephen Street. What went wrong and how can a situation like this be conducted this way?
(JF):
The problems started when the press on the solo recordings started to build. It’s sometimes difficult to imagine how interested the media seem to be in his day to day life.
So e.g. a camera in a studio results in a Youtube post which becomes a story in NME which
results in British tabloid newspaper coverage.
Some people seemed to have the idea that because he was doing some recording without his other band members that Babyshambles would split. This was just a press invention. Plenty of people do some solo recording eg Alex Turner without it effecting their main band. The Portuguese recording idea came from Pete himself and one of the reasons was to have a bit of calm and then to record some songs that wouldn’t sit naturally on a Babyshambles record. I was keen to do it in Portugal to get away from other pressures and since the sea was going to be an influence on the way the record should sound, it really seemed like a good idea to make it in a country with beautiful sea breeze.
The tracks we worked on stand up well and I’m told some have been re-recorded whilst retaining some elements of my work.
The reason it wasn’t completed with me came down to Pete wanting to take control of the project and use the same team he had for “Shotters Nation”, it is after all his solo album and as long as my input is acknowledged then I have no problem with it.
(KL):
What are your next projects?
(JF):
I am finishing mixing the tracks that I have. Can and hope to include them on my first album which should be out sometime in 2009 with a variety of different artists.
I am also looking to get back in the studio with the "Thirst" and start recording their next single.
(KL):
Last, and skipping music. What it's your opinion on this economic worldwide crisis and the latest events on India?
(JF):
The world economic situation has been brought about through greed and short term thinking .It really is insane to offer expensive loans to the people in society least able to repay them and expect a result different from what we are seeing now.
The brutal killings in India are depressing in the extreme and i can only offer my deepest sympathy to anyone directly affected.
(KL):
All the best, thanks for your time and hope to see you in Portugal soon with another project.
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