From engh9401@abacus.hgs.se Wed Dec 28 09:10:00 1994 Subject: Rupert interview #3 Rupert Hine: The Thinking Man (MM - Media Foer Musiker no.10:88 (or whatever it was)) by: Jan-Owe Wikstroem photo: Clare Muller -- Things have been quiet about Rupert Hine for a while now. But only on the surface. In the studio, he has taken on interesting newcomers such as Underworld and Rebel Heels and, moreover, he has completed part two of the audiovisual project Thinkman, "Life Is A Full Time Occupation". He has also written songs for a number of other artists and begun to sketch on his first solo album for several years, Rupert Hine reveals to MM. -- "Of course it was flattering to produce the really big bands and artists and to be wanted by all the established names in the rock business. But I finally realised it was wrong. "To produce bands and artists that were already successful was just to jump on a rolling snowball. "What I want to do is to produce for the benefit of the artist. In a way that makes the band's or the artist's personality and profile as clear as possible. "That's why it feels a lot more fascinating and challenging to, as now, help new bands who really want to do something original." Rupert Hine has set up his own rules as a producer and a musician. Compromises and half-measures have never been anything for this sympathetic and humble but at the same time purposeful and strong-willed Englishman. To him music has always been a fine art. Or, as he put it the first time we met: "The beauty, the fantastic and fascinating thing for me about music is that it is an abstract medium. Apart from some technical bases there are no evident rules as to how it should sound. And it's impossible to explain why a certain type of music affects one man in one way and another man in a completely different way." More than 70 albums! Rupert Hine has produced more than 70 albums and countless singles through the years. But he hasn't become jaded and stuck in a certain field because of that. On the contrary, he has always had a very sensi- tive ear, been curious, humble and ever alert to new influences, new ideas, and consistently refused to be tied to the record companies' apron strings. Therefore, the list of artists he has turned down pro- ducing is also of considerable length. "To me, the feeling, the motivation and the challenge are the driving force of what I work with, and that's why they're so important. That's one of the reasons I've returned to producing new, unknown bands." English band Underworld and Detroit three-piece Rebel Heels are his latest "babies". "Underworld are above all a live band, and it was a question of bringing out that part on an album as well. So we actually recorded the album live, in one take. "Admittedly, it took five or six weeks anyway, because it took some time to put in the best take of every song, that we recorded three times. But it was a fascinating and very exciting way to work. "Concerning Rebel Heels, they are one of the most interesting and fun new bands in rock music for many years. Incredibly strong and innova- tive rock." Other than that, Rupert thinks the rock climate has grown stale and wants more band with their own ideas and profile. "As an Englishman, I'm sorry to say that the best innovative rock music of today comes from the USA. It surprises me, but that's the way it is. "Most British bands copy each other, and typically, it wasn't until last week that I got a tape from a British band that I found interesting. In the whole year! "There are many more interesting newcomers from the States. Among others a band called Innocent Mission that I keep in touch with. They send me tapes regularly and I hope to be able to produce their album in time." What Rupert thinks about "hit factories" and mass produced "elevator music" like Stock, Aitken & Waterman isn't very hard to guess... "Of course it's easy to criticise Stock, Aitken & Waterman. But it's nothing new, there have always been phenomena like that in pop music. Like e.g. Chinn & Chapman in the 70's. "OK, I don't like it myself, it's like TV commercials - harmless and uninteresting. But obviously there are others who like it, so that kind of music too has its justification." Therefore, it is with some satisfaction that Rupert has noticed a turning back to the roots of music recently. "Yes, more real instruments, many acoustic ones by the way, and above all back to a more human feel. "Technical development has gone too far in some places. Many people seem to have forgotten that one of the great passions of music is the challenge of playing together, creating something together. Instead they're blinded by technical progress and don't use synthesizers, drum boxes and equalizers as they are meant to be used - as a complement." Rupert Hine did actually begin his career in music with a blues harmo- nica and an acoustic guitar. Later synths entered the picture - the first one was an ARP 2600. And he later got the epithet "The Godfather of synthesizers", a name he thinks is as exaggerated as it is flatter- ing. But he did become fascinated by and interested in all the possi- bilites of the new instrument, and started to go around demonstrating different types of equipment. Later he was asked to program synths for other artists. That's how he got his nickname... Rupert Hine still sticks to his Emulator II, though much has happened since it was invented. "Of course there are better sampling synths than the Emulator II today. But to me it's the one that's the most fun to work with. Bigger machines, such as the Fairlight or the Synclavier, are so enormously advanced that you're controlled without being conscious of it. And when I don't master my equipment 100%, I'm not in control of events anymore." For the same reason, Rupert has also been wary of extending his own studio, Farmyard Studio just outside London, at too high a rate. But naturally, he also sees some advantages of technical development. "Yes, amateur-level equipment has become better and happily also cheaper in the last few years. You can see that on the new bands and amateur musicians. The knowledge of technology and electronics is completely different than a couple of years ago. For better, but also for worse if it leads to too much technology and too little music." Sequel to Thinkman I So now Thinkman part II, "Life Is A Full Time Occupation", is out. "It's a natural progression of the first album of the Thinkman project. The plot and the idea are based on the media's enormous power today. "Partly through the album, partly through the parallel project of the film. Well, in the beginning it was intended to be a film." Compared to "The Formula", Rupert thinks that Thinkman - apart from himself consisting of Joe McArthur, Andy Paris and Leo Hurll - have made a straighter and more danceable album. "I seldom get an outlet for my dance-oriented side. My own solo albums are much more 'difficult' and personal in terms of lyrics, but here I do think we have produced an album with a very marked beat." Solo album in the works Speaking of solo albums, it's been quite a few years since Rupert released an album of his own. "But I've begun to work on one and written a few new songs", he reveals. "On the whole I write more material of my own now than before, also for other artists. For example, I wrote 'Eyes Like Twins' for Cindy Lauper's new album. "And right now I'm working on a song for Bob Geldof's forthcoming album." Having started work on his first own LP for years, there's only one thing missing: Rupert Hine on tour! "Yeah, it's been a long time! I really miss being on stage and playing live. So if the new Thinkman album is a success, there will be a tour. "Not an ordinary appearance, but with visual effects, drama and a bit of theatre. I promise", Rupert Hine concludes. And in that case, we can only say "thanks" and wait. *