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I was at the 2007 Cardiacs gig and the night after at the NSRO performance where were quite a lot of Cardiacs fans as well. Isn’t it amazing that on one night people go absolutely bananas at the Cardiacs gig and the day after sit quietly enjoying a chamber orchestra ? How do you explain that ?

It's not that strange. I think it's very easy to break music down into genres based on the instrumentation and approach rather than what the tunes sound like. NSRO and Cardiacs have a very similar vibe although one is a loud rock group and the other is a chamber ensemble. What was hard for me, playing that gig, was that it was right in the middle of the 2007 Cardiacs tour and Mel and I had to sing this serene stuff in the choir after a week of the Cardiacs version of rock n' roll. My voice was fucked.

Knifeworld single

 

Kavus, as you know we have quite some fans who are member of our forum which is part of the Cardiacs Museum. They have some questions for you.

Schlep wants to know:  how are any of you Cardiacs making rent these days? Perhaps better not to ask - but, is there a chance of the shop at cardiacs.com ever opening again?

I'm doing a lot of playing, as well as Guapo I'm playing guitar in Chrome Hoof at the moment and guitar and cuatro in The Mediaeval Baebes. That sort of keeps the wolf from the door. I think the shop is going to be re-opening very soon.

Schlep: It was fantastic to hear Gong's "Glorious OM Riff" dropped into the middle of "The Breakfast Line" last tour; how did that come about?

Well Tim and I are the big Gong fans in the group, but would you believe it- it was Jim's idea. It was really nice to "Cardiac-up" what is essentially the greatest riff ever written.

Schlep: Whatever happened to Hatchjaw and Bassett?

Like I said, I'm rubbish at finishing stuff. I've got about twenty minutes of music recorded without singing which is like half an album. Dan and I just never finished it. Now I have my own label Believers Roast I can clear out my archives and hopefully finish and put this stuff out. It's really beautiful, some really nice tunes in there.

Are you going to release other bands stuff as well on your label, or just your own ?

The idea behind setting up Believers Roast was to have a label to release my music and eventually consolidate a lot of things that I've been involved in. I have a hard drive full of tunes, some completed and some half finished. I don't know who buys CDs or records anymore, so in terms of what format they take I'll have to judge the response to Buried Alone. I don't plan on releasing anything that I haven't had anything to do with at this stage. Running a label is a ball-ache enough when you're only responsible to yourself. I'd like to re-release The Monsoon Bassoon album I Dig Your Voodoo, which is no longer available, plus another album of B-sides, rareties and unreleased stuff, we did a lot of songs with Tim that never came out. Plus I have that Hatchjaw And Bassett stuff, Authority and Miss Helsinki recordings. I co-wrote, played on and produced an album with Spider Stacy from The Pogues a few years ago and that never saw the light of day, I might see if he's up for me putting that out, it's really good, quite different from anything either of us had done before. We'll just have to see how it goes. I'm currently producing, playing on and arranging an album by Tom Clues. It's a lot of fun. He writes these really maudlin, confessional and gritty folk tunes, he came to my studio and layed down his acoustic guitar and voice and then let me get on with it. I've added layers and layers of crazy psychedelia, funny instruments and really expansive arrangements to it and the end result is really unique, I feel. We've been working on it a while and it's not finished yet, our schedules just seem to clash a lot, but it's a beauty. What he chooses to do with it when it's done is up to him, but I've told him that I'd love to put it out.

Meenie: I'd like to ask where he and Jim purchased their shiny shoes as i have been coveting them from afar.

Kingsland High Road in Dalston. I bought my pair and when Jim saw them he wanted some too, so I went back and bought his. Tim absolutely hated them. I can't guarantee you'll still be able to get the same design, but you'll find something similar. There's loads of shops up there that sell them.

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