Slowdive Music interviews The Unravelling

Slowdive Music blog recently interviewed The Unravelling covering everything from Malcolm X and Black Sabbath to Keith Richards and the Zapatista's. Below is a sample of one question from the interview. To read the full piece go to:
http://slowdivemusic.blogspot.com/2009/05/unravelling-answer-5.html


1. Who are your musical and nonmusical influences?

Gus: My musical origins took root from growing up as a child and looking through my father's records. I would always pick out the most bizarre looking ones with the craziest, psychedelic artwork and study them in great detail. Naturally when I learnt how to work the LP player I started popping them in for a listen. Out of that I discovered Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Rush and similar pioneers. Of course he listened to other 'renegades' of the day that I thought were total shit even at the age of nine - so the entire collection wasn't flawless, but it did serve to lead me to where I am now.

Steve: My influences have evolved and grown over the years but there have been some staples that have shaped my leanings as a person. I read “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” by Alex Haley at quite a young age and this changed me completely. It inspired a keen interest in human rights that has stayed with me and grown throughout my life. Other individuals like Taslima Nasrin, Simon Wiesenthal, Che Guevara, Hunter S Thompson, Ward Churchill, and Noam Chomsky are people I get inspiration from - certain aspects of their characteristics, that is. I don't agree with everything they have said or done, but many things, including the attitude of no compromise on the most important things, I believe in. It's important to look with a discerning eye and choose what is relevant to you rather than to blindly follow a group of ideas. I also am inspired by the Zapatista's, as I've stated elsewhere.

Musically, I'm inspired by music that strikes me as intensely honest, or that lights a sort of match for me. Some of my favorite artists include The Dillinger Escape Plan, Tool, Dead Can Dance, Public Enemy, Skinny Puppy, The Doors, Refused, Jeff Buckley, and Tom Waits. All for different reasons really. Dillinger, I love for their pure aggression and uncompromising musical nature. Dead Can Dance is an unearthly band really - Lisa Gerrard's voice sounds more than human. Public Enemy for their intelligence and activism. Now The Doors' Jim Morrison was quite the train wreck, but I like that he was completely self-destructive and threw himself into the ringer. I like a bit of insanity and danger. I definitely listen to more hardcore and varied stuff than Gus, so you can tell which tracks were driven by each of our personalities. Pretty varied influences though, lately I've been listening to early Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake, for example.