Two Banks of Four Interview

Two Banks of Four, a band of two English gentlemen, deal with undefined mixture of electronic and instrumental music that is obviously beyond genres. So they might feel themselves on the right place when releasing a new album called Junkyard Gods on Sonar Kollektiv. We caught up on with 2bo4 via e-mail and asked them a few questions about their forthcoming release.

Responsible for 2bo4 two of Robert Gallagher (aka Earl Zinger) and Dill Harris (aka Demus) might have different hair-cuts (referring to the "about us" page on their official website), but they do share one sense of music. Feeling the edge between improvising music and electronics for it not to sound as an unconvincing experiment is something not easy to develop. But Two Banks of Four, together with Valerie Etienne as a leader of a vocal troupe, managed to find the concord way back in 2000 when their first City Watching released on Sirkus. Before that, Earl Zinger took part in Galliano from Talkin' Loud's early years and has been in charge of Red Egyprian Records. Enough for not questioning the level of Two Banks of Four, though.

Sonar Kollektiv’s Jazzanova once said Junkyard Gods is a killer one, and they said it for sure. There are quite a lot of unexpected ideas embodied by a band of flutes, saxophone, trumpet and piano with charming vocals of Valerie, Paul Jason Fredericks and Bembe Segue. Plus electronic beats, of course. There is a strong prejudice against genres, but if there is a definition for future jazz, it’s the one. You might recognize the distinctive 2bo4 style as you come across Queen of Crows (already appeared on Jazzanova's Neujazz compilation), but what exactly is 2bo4 itself?

Let's make it clear: 2bo4 is Robert Gallagher, Dillip Harris and Valerie Etienne as a vocalist, and Paul Jason Fredericks and Bembe Segue as recruited, we would say, contributors? You also have a piano, a bass, a fluit and a sax in your band, don't you?

Demus: 2bo4 is really just Rob & Demus piecing together the scattered ideas of two aged eccentrics while press ganging innocent vocalists like Valerie Etienne & Bembe Segue to voice those ideas. There is also the very important process of the re-informing of ideas when we take the skeletal ideas to musicians who reinterpret and regurgitate them back to us - the music we make writing with each other will dictate what kind of sound we want and therefore who and what instruments to use. Often this means the same players but inevitably everything will change over time, so who knows what will happen on the next album.

It's rather hard to stay, referring to Jazzanova's album, "in between", and 2bo4 is probably too "improvisive" for being considered to be electronic dance music (like music for clubs - it basically doesn't have a beat), and too electronic to be feel themselves comfortable among jazz bands. How do you manage to keep your unique and exciting style, and do you feel yourself part of any musical scene?

The term "scene" can only really be attributed to a forum where shared musical concepts are furthered through collaborative or competitive means and in our history this association has frequently centered around a nightclub/DJ or circuit of social events. These days our music has evolved on a different trajectory to any club circuit and as such, although we take a lot of inspiration from the ever pioneering methods and sounds of London club life, is a music on the periphery of any scene. We have always maintained our music is not for clubs but these days it no longer needs to be stated.

What's your music for then?

My uncle Ernie uses it to ease his lumbago. He does this by piping a live feed of it into the pig pen, this in turn produces a mild hog hysteria and the pigs chase him around the pen. Subsequently, he has to run and this eases his aches - as he has to move fast he heats and stretches the muscles.

In your press release I ran across the statement that 2bo4 is a band with Soviet constructivist design. And I cannot pass it by as I’m from Russia. Is Soviet constructivism something that inspires you?

Soviet Constructivism is a style that has always influenced us - have you seen how much it goes for now? The cut and paste elements are fully in keeping with our own techniques of composition and lyric writing. The social relevance of that art is also important to us - reflecting and mobilizing the present and the future, the way the early soviets used art and, in particular film, as important social forces should be an inspiration to all states, organizations and individuals.

Any Russian composers influenced on you?

Only the obvious ones - Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, Prokviev, Scriabin. For this record, particularly the wonderful themes of Stravinskys Rite of Spring & Prokvievs Andrei Rublev score.

Okay, who is your role model then?

Zinger: Demus is my role model. Once I have mastered the art of organization I will move on to studio management and moving house many times. Yet I fear I will never master drinking beer and talking about hip hop like he does - this may remain something I can but strive after.
Demus: Earl Zinger is, of course, my role model. His pioneering Special needs glasses & western shirt look is something that has been absorbed into the mainstream in a way that could only be dreamed of and his ability to spot a quality Henley shirt amongst a sea of shady imitations is unparalleled. To have this much influence on the mainstream and still be a core member of 2 banks of 4 takes major commitment to the underground.

Please tell us a few words about the Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards 2008 and your part in it.

The worldwide awards is an annual awards night honoring artists that have been highlights in the previous years recorded & live music. Obviously, since there has been no 2bo4 record for 4 years we were surprised to be asked to open the nights proceedings (after legend Steve Reids history of the drum intro). This year it was held in London’s fashionable Hoxton club, Cargo. 2 banks of 4 played three tunes with a 7 piece line up. We were very happy the way it turned out. We had done minimal rehearsal but maximum thinking and, surprisingly, this worked because the musicians and vocalists worked very quickly and with great feeling for what we were trying to do. Then we all got drunk and Rob and Valerie ended up on stage again at the end of the night, but that’s a whole other story.

Matthew Herbert's remix of Street Lullaby is one of the best tunes on his Secondhand Sounds album, and though it might be a better question to Mr. Herbert himself, I cannot miss a chance to ask how did this collaboration happen.

We paid him an inordinate amount of money. And then we leant him some of our band. And then we bought him a house by the sea…
Actually, we talked of government atrocities in the hallowed halls of the BBC world service one evening whereupon he agreed to remix a song for us for a deeply nominal fee. He was subsequently extremely civil when our 2 bob record company took 200 years to pay him. Our paths have continued to cross since on the treadmill of underground music that straddles any distinct definition or genre and we hope it remains so as the man is an extremely important and inspirational figure in most areas of the music business.
Remixing, or reworking as we prefer, is not so much a collaboration as a recycling of a songs raw material into something else.
So we gave Matthew some bottles and he gave us a water purification device in return. Fair exchange is no robbery.

Now a few words about your new album. Why released on Sonar Kollektiv? Because of your friendship with Jazzanova since working on Mwela Mwela track?

They have a press department and other things like offices and law degrees that we don't have. We have no prospect of acquiring these things. All in all it seemed like a sensible move for two constructivist art fans of increasing years.

Is Flags & Words a protest song? Against what?

I still can't work out where nature starts and compliance begins. It's irritation wearing a hat with a few badges.
Like all great labels, protest song puts you in a room with some other familiar faces. It is about shouting louder and protesting but also getting a narrative of meaning going for yourself.

They say the album is not only 9 tracks, there's a bonus track which is Japan only. Japan seems sort of El Dorado for music lovers as the best music always has to be Japan-only. Just one question I have - why?

We are trying to make the new Japan, an independent community on an island in the southern Indian Ocean, and have been for some time. We want this community to be a kind of Shang-ri-La for music lovers and so we put a bonus track called The ballad of Oliver Law on the Japanese release of Junkyard Gods. As soon as the community is established we can all move there from all over the world - millions of us. Then we can talk and listen to all the bonus tracks ever supplied and swap stories for expensive constructivist posters and songs for remixes and dance naked round open fires. That, of course, is optional but after the explosion of joy that will be the new Japan you may want to join in, so don't say no too soon.

'Junkyard Gods' is out on Sonar Kollektiv since March 24

originally in Russian on Mixmag.info
http://www.myspace.com/twobanksoffour
http://www.sonarkollektiv.com/