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Monday 15 March 2010

Interview with HFB: Dr. Alex Paterson & Dom Beken of High Frequency Bandwidth

Dr. Alex Paterson (Jesus’ Bontempi tutor) & Dom Beken (brilliant brainiac) are BAFTA nominated HFB (High Frequency Bandwidth), who can be found here ... home of so much on-line extravagance and of course, videos free music and gig dates!

‘The First Three EPs’ release will be available from April 12th on Malicious Damage. Featuring (amongst others) amidst this Lemon Jelly /Gorillaz/ Skinkshake musical mind-meld of a project, are Dynamax ( Afrika Bambaataa's Zulu Nation) and Funky DL (UK hip-hop legend) who obviously enhance this atmosurreal hip hop soundscape.

Evidence that this is indeed every bit as excellent as you might expect, can be found in the fact that each song titles acronym is HFB, just another insight into the genius propulsion powering this power trip. Anyhoo, you get the idea, moving on!

Having had my whole outlook changed by ‘UFOrb’, I relished the chance to interview HFB, who refreshingly took the time to answer my full set of 69 questions...

AS: When you take aim with your peashooter/pellet gun/sniper rifle, you’re aiming at whom?
HFB: Hmmm. You know you could have someone’s eye out with any one of those!

AS: Where do you go when it all gets too much?
HFB: If we told you, someone might find us…

AS: Is bedtime more half nine with a half read paper or more half four with fully red eyes?
HFB: The red eye, despite intending the opposite… every night.

AS: What do you do with any ‘you time’?
Dom: Ha! I’ve got 2 small children, so any actual ‘me time’ is really in bed with Radio 4 in my headphones... rock n roll eh?!!!

AS: Who would be your dream collaborator?
Dom: Well, Alex Paterson obviously… but as a band... Alex recently bought the Heliocentrics album ‘Out There’: It’d be nice to jam with them.
Alex: I would say Iggy Pop & Brian Eno.

AS: What’s the last gig/concert you went to?
Alex: Blue Mountain, to a reggae sound system.

AS: What’s the best / your favourite music video?
Dom: I can’t get enough of Chris Cunningham (especially ‘Windowlicker’) or the Hexstatic’s work with Coldcut.

AS: If you were a musical instrument what would you be?
Dom: Cello. It has the closest range to a human voice... and just think about where you’d spend most of your working time!

AS: What’s ‘love at first sight’ all about then?
HFB: Delusion... but a beautiful one.

AS: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Alex: The sphinx of life, baby!
Dom: The life of a baby sphinx!

AS: Care to share any regrets, missed opportunities or things that might’ve been?
HFB: Oof! There just isn’t enough time in the world for that!!!
We all get another chance at this, maybe not now, but sometime; time comes back and bites you on the bum.

AS: Were /are you aware of your escalating popularity?
Dom: The internet gives you a scary reality check… instant and occasionally baffling feedback!

AS: Will your past come back to haunt you or will karma be kind?
Dom: I’m a bad sleeper so I’ve always made it a principle to never do anything which I think will keep me awake at night. I’m a great believer in the wheel of karma. Having said that I sometimes think it’s a very big wheel which turns very slowly.

AS: Where do you most enjoy playing live?
Dom: As soon as you get out of the city here, we find audiences just want to enjoy what you do and give you the benefit of the doubt. Apart from that I’ve had the most amazing times in Japan.

AS: Why? What's your biggest why question that mystifies you most?
Alex: Human brains … Didn’t see that coming did you god?!
Dom: If life’s a bowl of cherries, what shall we do with the pips?

AS: What influences your sound above all else?
Alex: Family.
Dom: Same, blood and bond.

AS: Where do you sit in the grand scheme of things?
Alex: Left of middle, near a lake with summer blossoms, in a warm climate.
Dom: On a nearby beach.

AS: Why the name (not your christened name of course)?
Alex: HFB HFB HFB HFB HFB HFB …… SOUNDS LIKE A SNORE!
Dom: The corporate antichrist.

AS: Who’s the most likely to go solo or crazy?
Alex: Dom!
Dom: Alex!

AS: What makes you better than everyone else?
Alex: Ball skills & nylon nets.
Dom: Skilled balls and netting nylons!

AS: When do you plan to take over the world?
HFB: Actually, we already have. It’s just a tougher job than we expected!

AS: What changes can we expect with your latest outing?
HFB: Well seeing as we have only played a handful of gigs so far, let’s get this out first before we decide to change... (Dom) I thought we agreed on the 500 Greek bikini clad fire dancers?!!!

AS: Are you all agreed/in control of the formats for your releases?
HFB: Yes thanks.

AS: Wish you were doing anything else with your time other than music?
HFB: Nope! (Dom) I’m singularly unqualified for anything else. I’ve tried!

AS: Who were your heroes as a teenager?
Alex: No more heroes any more. I Alex (AKA Alex) was an original punk 77 style. We had no heroes.
Dom: My heroes were heroes for being themselves… so it’s a self-cancelling question…

AS: What do you think of the paparazzi?
Alex: Do I have to answer that? No, I do not even think of them thanks.
Dom: I pity the hangman!

AS: What music are you listening to of late?
Alex: Thomas Fehlmann, Andrew Thomas & Leggo dub.

AS: Any message for underachieving or odds-facing musicians out there?
Alex: Time is on my side, yes it is. Don’t try & bite off more than you can chew.
Dom: The world needs you, but won’t show it.

AS: Any career highs or lows you care to share?
Alex: Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld only got to number 27 in the UK charts (low).
Dom: Watching a festival pogo-ing (high).

AS: Do you enjoy playing live or are you more at home in a studio?
Alex: Live please, I love it.
Dom: Live – it cancels out the control freak in me whilst studio strokes my perfectionism.

AS: Your career defining dream moment would/will be what?
Alex: Waking up and finding out that the Paterson’s were the true kings of Scotland.
Dom: Hearing an orchestra play my work.

AS: Know of any upcoming bands that are destined for greatness?
Alex: She Is Danger, 81 NEUTRONZ and Roy’s Wife.
Dom: Fall on Your Sword, Dynamax and Headcount.

AS: How important do you feel visuals are in relation to music?
HFB: Like the birds & the bees, it’s a must; we have ‘Malicious Mike’ doing HFB visuals & videos too, he’s brilliant. Check them out on our web site http://www.highfrequencybandwidth.com/

AS: What’s been the highlight of your year?
HFB: Well it’s only March now, but starting our new radio show yesterday on www.fnoob.com is great. It’s called Hash Wednesday Sessions & it’s going to be every fortnight, the next one being on saint Paddy’s day (the 17th!)

AS: I’m sure you’ve done a few but which gig has been your best?
Alex: Nimes.
Dom: Fuji Rock 06.

AS: Any forthcoming plans for you / the band?
Alex: Better sleep & get a killer advert.
Dom: A film score?!

AS: Is there more pressure playing live with a band than there is playing solo?
Alex: You can’t always get what you want, but u can hide if there are more people on stage!
Dom: I’m a team player!

AS: Are you unlucky in love and if so, why?
Alex: Happy go lucky matey!
Dom: It’s what you make it.

AS: Best song, movie or album ever?
Alex: ‘Four Cornered Room’ by War and best movie would be Blade Runner.
Dom: Best movie – 2001. Best album? Don’t make me…

AS: Where did you sleep last night?
Alex: In bed with my girlfriend Annette, upstairs.
Dom: On the floor of the studio.

AS: What’s your secret vice... what are you a sucker for?
Alex: Green green grass of home!
Dom: Green green glass of foam!

AS: What makes the world go round?
Alex: The sun & the moon keep us from falling over!

AS: Where’s the place to be?
HFB: The 51st state of my mind honey.

AS: What’s your weak point?
Alex: My little finger on my right hand.
Dom: Gangrene of the temperament!

AS: Which instrument does it for you most?
Alex: Drums & bass!
Dom: Bass and drums!

AS: What inspired the LP title?
HFB: Sunday school.

AS: Are you a good dancer and can you prove it?
Alex: Apparently, I have been known to boogie. There’s always Google too.
Dom: The corporal says I can dance to HFB but not to techno…

AS: What kinds of music (if any) do you dislike the most?
Alex: Heavy metal & radio 1.
Dom: Modern R’n’B which has nothing to do with R’n’B.

AS: Where will you retire to when you're tired of comeback concerts?
Alex: We would like to do a tour before we start comebacks! Alex would retire to B.C.
Dom: I’m looking for a back-comb!

AS: When will the world end?
Alex: 2012.
Dom: It has already... this is our final chance.

AS: Who’s the main driving force or do you work as a team?
HFB: Team talks & team rub downs, we are trusting friends & we are Team HFB!

AS: How important are the single / album charts?
HFB: Did someone fart?!

AS: What revival would you most like to witness?
Alex: It’s all been done before & will be done again. The glitter scene would be a bit risky!
Dom: Wrestling.

AS: Which era would you have been born in ideally?
Alex: I was.
Dom: The next!

AS: Are exercise and diet important to you?
Alex: That reminds me... make some breakfast & decide what I’ll have if I get home from the studio in time!
Dom: Food isn’t just for your stomach; it’s for your soul…. exercise is what you do between appointments instead of pressing the accelerator pedal.

AS: If you could protect and save 1 thing in the world, what would it be?
Alex: This planet.
Dom: The human race (which I think is just a variation on Alex’s answer. I personally think the planet will be just fine. The question is; will it be suitable for human habitation in a couple of generations time because, as things stand now, quite possibly not).

AS: Who’s the most gifted person alive today?
Alex: (Author) Colin Wilson.

AS: Have you got any famous relatives and if so, who are they?
Alex: My mum’s cousin is Ronnie ‘O’ Sullivan’s grandma and Leonard Whiting is a 2nd cousin. (Danny Sullivan was a world champion boxer & was my mum’s uncle).
Dom: I’m related to Thomas Becket apparently, somewhere in the mists of time.

AS: Does complaining accomplish anything?
Alex: No, it only leads to stress, which can lead to mental problems & ill health.
Dom: Avoid “I don’t like…” and replace with “I’d prefer…”

AS: Whose autograph do you have and why?
Alex: Jonny Hollins, because he came to our sports shop on Lavender Hill when I was 9!
Dom: I have Michael Ball’s from waiting backstage in Barnham when I was 8. God knows why, but I’m still a sucker for a show!

AS: Which fictional character would you most like to be and why?
Alex: Hans Solo, because he’s a fly by kind of guy with a warm heart.
Dom: Ben 10 as Grey Matter or down Infinity Loop, Cupertino as Humongosaurus!

AS: Which rules... the digital age or the vinyl/cassette age?
Dom: Sorry to sound like a grumpy old man but I really struggle to excitedly browse the racks, pull out a beautiful piece of artwork, browse the sleeve notes then gingerly peel the shrinkwrap from and carefully place the needle on a digital download…

AS: Which musical style should become extinct first?
Alex: Heavy metal.
Dom: Diva (modern) R’n’B.

AS: Do you have any tragically unused band names you’d like to use?
Alex: Dark haired sister.

AS: Was it easy becoming who you are today?
Alex: I woke up & bob being my uncle, here I am, ain’t life brilliant!!!

AS: What’s the biggest myth about stardom?
HFB: You’re loaded.

AS: Have you ever been conned into or out of something?
Alex: A very large record deal due to very bad management.
Dom: Hmmm “The music industry is a cruel and shallow money trench where thieves run free and good men die like dogs…. there is a bad side.”

AS: Do politics have a place in music?
Alex: Maybe as you get older, but it should be for fun while you’re young, being young at heart also helps to keep the demons from your heart.
Dom: Politics is just the discourse about how we run our lives, music is a discussion of the same in the purest form – so what’s the difference?

AS: Okay to close... any choice epitaphs or famous last words for which you’d like to be quoted?
Alex: Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead (father’s proverb).
Dom: Hang on; I’m not finished yet!!!

Well alas, we’re all done! From a sneaky self-promoting but nonetheless emphatic newborn fan... thank-you Handsome Freaky Beans... here’s to the future of acronymic endeavour!

1 comment:

  1. Great interview Ant. I love The Orb. I had no idea about this collaboration.

    ReplyDelete

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