CM>>>Ian the first thing I remarked when I held your new album called “The Burgenland Dubs” was the back of the album. Before I listened to the album for the first time I was fascinated by the photo showing you standing near castle Wendelstein. The beholder of the picture gets the chance to see one half of the landscape through one side of your glasses. I personally apprehend this picture as an invitation to “see” music through your glasses...
What can you tell me about this picture, do I interpret too much in this picture?
Ian Simmonds>>>Well that is interesting for me, it seems you can tell a lot from a picture if you look close enough, life, music as i see it, these are all possible..I think this is one of my strongest covers yet.
CM>>>While we’re at it I would also ask you something about the front of the album sleeves. The front shows the castle Wendelstein and its mirror image in a lake, the mirror image is on top off the sleeve.. What’s the message or story behind this picture?
Ian Simmonds>>>Well, I just wanted it to reflect this crazy upside-down world we live in, simple.
CM>>>I saw on your website some photo-galleries of some pictures you did. Have you also taken the pictures for the album?
Ian Simmonds>>>No, the lp pics were taken by my oldest friend and collaborator Adam Smith who is a film director and photographer, he came to the burg last November for some rest and relaxation.
CM>>>I am a lousy journalist, at first I supposed that you just went for some sessions to castle Wendelstein. Then I found out that you moved to Jena in 2005. What was the reason to leave England? And what was the reason to move to Jena – I mean most of the artists moving to Germany settle down in Berlin?
Ian Simmonds>>>I came to Jena to work with a group of musicians for my wiseintime project but i first came to Jena in 1995...as for Berlin, a great town but I lived in London for 20 years before, so enough of big cities for now.
CM>>> How did you get in …hm let me say in contact with this area? Have you discovered this area during a gig?
Ian Simmonds>>>I have been discovering this area for about 15 years, through djing etc, nice people, nice nature and also the fact that is the old east, GDR… this is also a very interesting topic for me, being raised in probably the most capitalistic society on earth bar the USA.
CM>>> So after living there for four years, what do like most about the atmosphere in this area?
Ian Simmonds>>>Very little crime.
CM>>>”The Burgenland Dubs” were recorded on castle Wendelstein. I’ve read you moved to the castle and lived there during the recordings for the album. Do you still live at castle Wendelstein or have you left the castle after finishing the album? And how did you get the chance to rent some rooms at this very special location?
Ian Simmonds>>>I moved back to Jena in April this year to concentrate on the lp promo and to be closer to the label, it made sense. I found the castle through some people I met, that easy and lucky.
CM>>>How many rooms have you rented there?
Ian Simmonds>>>I had a 3 room flat with a nice working room and a fantastic view over the valley as you can see from the cover.
CM>>>My dad worked a few year before he died as a cicerone on a castle in South Germany and he for him it was always hard working there in Winter because most of the rooms had no heating. What about your rooms at castle Wendelstein, do you have heating, warm water and an electrical connection? And what about communication like telephone or Internet?
Ian Simmonds>>>It was a very old and rundown place, no heating, so yes your father was correct , winter was very hard , -20 grad last winter, that was a real experience.
CM>>>Would you say that the circumstances of living in a very elementary environment changed your musical ideas – I mean like cleaning the mind and get open for new ideas and try out something new?
Ian Simmonds>>>This was a very important time for me and yes I do hope this is reflected in the work.
CM>>>How did people near the castle react on you as a new neighbour – did they get curious about you and what you’ve been doing there? Do you have contact to some people around the castle? And how do you communicate with them have you learned German?
Ian Simmonds>>>These were hardcore village folk, working and getting on with their lives, on the whole people were interested in what I was doing and friendly but I am quite a private person.
CM>>>The album “The Burgenland Dubs” really knocked my of my feet, it owns a very intensive atmosphere without being overloaded. The music bridges between world music, jazz, electronica and kind of poetry.. and in the end you really can’t file it under a specific genre. The sounds and the intensive atmosphere of this album really bewitched me right from the start… So I really would like to know with which idea in your head have you started to write and record the first song for this album? Did you have a kind of vision when you started with this album – a concrete picture?
Ian Simmonds>>>Well yes, I had some set plans but they always change and I hope for the better...I wanted this to be an honest mirror to my world, to be true to yourself can be the hardest thing but I am satisfied with the result.
CM>>>I read that you have worked on the album from June 2007 until January 2009. So I asked myself two questions – have the seasons influenced the sound of several tracks? For example in June 2009 by starting the recordings we had summer, when you finished the album in January 2009 we had one of the coldest winters for years.
Ian Simmonds>>>This is an lp for all seasons, for sure.
CM>>>I also asked myself if the atmosphere of living in a castle changes the working process – no I am thinking about Jack Nicholson in “Shining” – but did you get a different feeling for time and natural influences on your music?
Ian Simmonds>>>I enjoyed my year and a half at the burg but it was time to move on, the peace and quiet was special and at this time in my life , going out in the morning and collecting wood for the fire, it was an old fashioned life but one i enjoyed , real village life,fresh air... fruit trees all over, great walks in the nature, wild pigs in the forest, shall I go on?
CM>>>Maybe this is the most dull question someone ever asked you, but how much of the music of your album is sampled and handmade? Or have you played most of the instruments by yourself and rearranged them… Because of this “natural” sound of the album I really have no clue – can you tell me something about your production and working process to avoid more silly questions?
Ian Simmonds>>>I am afraid that is my secret…
CM>>>How must I picture myself the studio or the equipment you have used during the sessions?
Ian Simmonds>>>I work with my comp and my sound library which is now coming up to 20 years old , a mic, 2 speakers and a good collection of musicians, friends and animals.
CM>>>When you create a song with lyrics – what comes first – the lyrics or the music?
Ian Simmonds>>>The music, but sometimes the lyrics.
CM>>>I’ve already asked you the concept and the idea behind “The Burgenland Dubs” and as you might noticed for I couldn’t found any words to describe the album. I know that most of the artists hate this question, but how would you describe or define the sound of “The Burgenland Dubs”?
Ian Simmonds>>>Honest.
CM>>>Have you worked on other projects during the recording process of “The Burgenland Dubs” – I mean playing gigs etc. or have you concentrated all your energy on this project?
Ian Simmonds>>>I have been working on the new wiseintime lp which is available through my website www.iansimmonds.de and a new project called Leave, which I hope will come at the end of the year
CM>>>Hmm, when I think about working in such a environment you have at castle Wendelstein I think of words like: healing, peace, privacy, breathing therapy… To which of these words could you agree to describe the atmosphere?
Ian Simmonds>>>Depends on the time of year, but yes after living in shoe boxes most of my life, to have a little space was paradise.
CM>>>Ok topic jumping.. It’s no secret that you’ve been signed to big labels since the start of your career with “The Sandals”. “The Burgenland Dubs” been released at Musik Krause label… How did you get together with this wonderful innovative label?
Ian Simmonds>>>It was a natural process, as I said before, I met all these people many years ago.
CM>>>How do you get in touch with music – what was the first instrument you learned?
Ian Simmonds>>>Well my stepfather was a trumpet player so that was my first instrument, I was about nine years old.
CM>>>So you’ve been raised in a musicians or artists family?
Ian Simmonds>>>My mother was a nurse for 45 years and my father did many things to look after 3 kids, but we did travel a lot, USA, Australia, I did not really settle in Britain till I was 10 or so, my family was a working, loving one.
CM>>>Do you get feedback from your parents about your music?
Ian Simmonds>>>I have always had the best support from my parents… I am lucky.
CM>>>We started this interview with some questions about moving to Germany … would you describe yourself as a restless person in terms of settling somewhere? And if it is so what do you think is the reason for this?
Ian Simmonds>>>I was born restless and I will probably go out the same way.
CM>>>…do you think you will leave Germany in the next few years – or does this changing of places always happen spontaneously?
Ian Simmonds>>>Lets see where it carries me… I really have no idea.
CM>>>Ok but at the moment you are still a resident in Germany… Are you interested in the things that happen in Germany I mean the politics and the elections?
Ian Simmonds>>>Yes I am interested in politics and it is very into to compare it to British politics.
CM>>>Sorry for trying to earn the world record in topic jumping. Besides being a musician, photographer, and poet you are also known for your DJ sets. What kind of records are currently your favourite ones when it comes to spin?
Ian Simmonds>>>I have always tried to play good music, both old or new music. But importantly I have always played music for me and try to get people to come with me on my journey...not so easy.
CM>>>What’s for you the biggest difference between working as a musician and a Dj… the atmosphere? The reactions of the audience? The perception of the audience – I mean the way they consume the music?
Ian Simmonds>>>I think you can get to the same place but on a different road.
CM>>>We talked a lot about the quieter and peaceful live at castle Wendelstein – when I think about you Djing for example at the Sonne Mond Sterne Festival this year it seems to me like a cultural shock. On the other side is this antagonism a kind of elixir for life?
Ian Simmonds>>>I started djing in 1987, believe me , nothing shocks me anymore.. I have had some big highs and even bigger lows... but not forgetting the music and its power to heal.
CM>>>Now after releasing the album what comes next? Will you represent the album on a tour? Or do you already have plans for a new album?
Ian Simmonds>>>Lets see where it takes us, this is very uncertain times we are all living in and sometimes music can seem very irrelevant ...with wars and all the corruption etc... So here is looking for a new way.
CM>>>What do you need for a perfect day in your life?
Ian Simmonds>>>Just to wake up, have 5euros in my pocket and a friend.
Photos by permisson of BeatsInternational
Interview Michael Mück
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