Hi Everyone!
This morning we're treated to an interview with Ed Bidgood, the artist behind the project
edapollo and whose
track "Velvia" was part of Four Track Friday's very first episode on July 5th, 2019.
Ed describes himself as a multidisciplinary creative, specializing in graphic design, photography, and music.
You can see his designs on
Bonobo's Outlier event material (shown below),
other artist's EP's (like Frameworks' recent Imagine Gold),
as well as
all of his own album covers.
Ed grew up in the UK, but recently moved to from Bristol to Melbourne.
Always wanting to live overseas, ending a long relationship and a long-term job, and knowing
his sister already lived in Melbourne came together to cultivate the big move, which Ed explained
significantly influenced his creative process. He had to sell much of his larger, expensive gear
before moving. However, Ed says that sometimes being limited in hardware allows him to be more creative,
worrying less about what to use.
In that vein, Ed had some advice for anyone looking to get into music production, saying,
"I think starting out with a few simple bits of gear and understanding the
basics of production is the first step and then finding your sound through
experimenting with other instruments and methods."
He went on to say he's recently been buying back more gear, but that he focuses on
it as a source of refreshment and inspiration.
Speaking of getting into production, Ed has been making music since he was thirteen.
He learned to play guitar and then spent most of his teens touring in a band
and writing music. However, he only began seriously producing music around 2013.
When asked what advice he would give to his younger self, Ed summed it up by
saying "less is more." He elaborated,
"Recently I’ve been really thinking about what elements of tracks are needed
and what is not and can be removed...
I think when I was younger I had a tendency to try to do too much
and layer / over complicate things."
Additionally, Ed has never explicitly learned music theory. When asked how he knows
what notes to play, he said,
"I’m actually a bit different than most musicians, as I don’t really know much theory! I
taught myself guitar when I was younger and I would just make up chords and
progressions with no clue what I was playing, just using my ears to guide me. I still
do this to be honest and it seems to work. Sometimes I can hear the next chord or
note sequence in my head before I’ve played it and then I take time to work it out."
It definitely does seem to work! Ed just released his first full-length album last year after
having released four EP's, which began with his first in 2014. Each offers a different,
luscious journey. Ed seems most happy with this most recent album, saying it's his most cohesive project to date.
Something that continues to make its way into and inspire Ed's work is nature, particularly water.
He collected and used many field recordings of waterfalls, crashing waves, and rain in the album.
A returning metaphor for him is how creativity can flow from the mind like water if allowed,
which is a concept so central that it's featured front and center on the album art for Endless Cascades (shown below).
Of course, Ed and I also discussed the artists that have
influenced his sound, which musicians he's (re)discovered lately, and (my favorite)
who he would listen to if he could only listen to two artists for the rest of his life.
Ed responded to the first bit, saying,
"Bonobo, Tycho, Maribou State and various others influenced me to get
better at producing music. They are all masters of their craft and are very inspiring."
I used these answers to build this week's curation. Let's get into some tracks.
Ketto by Bonobo
Bonobo is one of Ed's musical heroes and biggest influences, which seems to be
somewhat common among emerging electronica artists. Teisha Matthews
(the person behind TSHA, whose track "Moon" went out on 4TF's October 4th, 2019 episode)
said the same thing in her
interview with Beats 1.
I called up Joe to ask him how to best represent Bonobo in a single song and, after expressing great
displeasure in trying to do something so unfair, he settled on Ketto or Kiara. From there,
I selected the track from Bonobo's 2006 release.
The project of British musician Simon Green, Bonobo debuted in 1999.
Over the years, Green's sound has shifted from
predominantly sample-based production to more live instrumentation.
All the while, Green's mastering and ability to create multi-layered atmospheres flourished.
A great example of this is the 2017 track, "Break Apart," which you
can hear more about in its exploded version.
Natural Fools by Maribou State
Ed also cited Maribou State, the electronic duo consisting of Chris Davids and Liam Ivory,
as an inspiration. After listening to the album Portraits several times, I could hear why.
The two produced the whole album in a shed behind Ivory's parents' house using a
highly collaborative process. One of them would bring a loop of guitar or drums, which
would launch the two into a process that rarely resulted in anything remotely
similar to that with which they started.
To hear more about the duo, their process, and their inspirations, I recommend
Music Radar's
interview with them.
Unravel by Björk
When asked to limit the remainder of his life's musical variety to two artists,
Ed first picked Björk. He also mentioned that she would be his dream collaborator because of her creative diversity.
Ed pointed me to this song, which originally hooked him into
the Icelandic singer. The track has tons of space in it and is delicately atmospheric, with only Björk's
voice cutting through. It comes from her 1997 album, Homogeneic, which is the first album
I've ever noticed to receive a
perfect ten from Pitchfork.
Björk began writing music at age eleven before releasing a collection of covers
alongside a few original songs a year later, including an instrumental. Diving into her
process reveals a creative mastermind, capable of envisioning massive soundscapes
and weaving melodies. This is exemplified in her original and stripped-back-strings-only
versions of "Stonemilker," which you can hear more about
in this podcast.
A Walk by Tycho
Sharing one of my own selections, Ed said Tycho was his second "for life" choice, saying,
"his releases are always consistently good and I love his sound." Ed also cited
Tycho's production quality as an inspiration. (Hilariously, however, Scott Hansen has publicly discussed
past production errors.)
Tycho is truly capable of taking the listener on a journey, often depicting rises and falls
like the sunrise and sunset in their music. Ed shares this ability, recently displaying it on Endless Cascades
and in his very enjoyable recent
30-minute mix for Stereofox.
One of the best tracks to witness this ability from Tycho is definitely
A Walk.
Scott's synth and guitar, Zac's bass, Rory's drums, and, these days, Billy's background keys
easily lead the listener on journey from quiet contemplation to dancy cheer.
Black Dove by Teebs feat. Sudan Archives
Finally, I had to ask Ed what music he's discovered recently and he pointed me
to Teebs' newest album, the 2019 Anicca, saying, "I think it's his first album
in six years, so I'd forgotten how good he is. I've been listening a lot to him!"
The new album features several collaborations and Mtendere Mandowa (Teebs) and
Brittney Parks (Sudan Archives) come together on this track to deliver
and eerie mellowness with easy confidence. The album is a fifteen track giant,
so be sure to check out the rest!
That brings us to the end of the episode! I'd like to thank Ed for taking the time
to do this and encourage all of you to follow him on
Instagram and
your favorite streaming platform.
I've added this episode's tracks to the Four Track collectors on
Spotify
and
Apple Music.
I relied heavily on two of Ed's other interviews, which
you can find on
Stereofox
and
The Playground
if you're interested!
Cheers,
Tanner
