Musicians are always interested in listening to interviews of those they admire -- professionals as well as amateurs within any profession will readily consume hour after hour of radio, TV and written interviews of their favorite artists, often in hope of gleaning new techniques and insight into how such an artist developed their skills and knowledge over time.

I recently had the extreme pleasure of listening to Paul Richmond's Expose Electronica interview with Steven West, an artist I have admired for a very long time, and I was not disappointed.

In the music profession, some artists manage to capture the purer form of a particular genre and maintain it through its genesis to it's maturity, and I have always thought that Steven West is one of those artists.

In the first few moments of the interview, one can sense the level of rapport that Paul Richmond obviously and so diligently has created, so that one knows the interview will be, not only painless for the artist, but relaxed and and enjoyable -- and therefore candid and honest. As well, the interview takes place at Steven's very private 'Dungeon Studio', setting a great and expectant mood. This is how we are brought to the table in our introduction to Steven, so early on we know we are in for a rare glimpse into the workings of a very talented musician.

Quite honestly, I was a bit apprehensive before listening, since Steven is well known for his absolute distaste for any sort of public interview -- especially one being broadcast across the globe. That it turned out to be so intimate, so revealing and so open is testament to Richmond's ability to turn what could have been an awkward, stiff, rather unenjoyable affair into quite a memorable moment -- the CD copy of which is now part of my permanent library.

After this smooth entrance and introduction, accompanied by one of Steven's latest 'Funked Up' from the most recent CD 'Analogistic' (2004) we begin the journey into the world of composer Steven West, and it's a great ride.

We start off with Steven's musings over his roots, his influences and sound bytes from his past interesting and varied endeavours, to his most recent. From 'Funked Up' to Steven's first hit song 'Believe Me', from 'Trouble With America'(1987). The featured songs are presented in their entirety, along with unreleased gems like 'The Day The Bugs Get Their Revenge' and 'Score' bubbling underneath the dialog -- a tasty treat indeed.

Of great interest to me were the early influences that Steven reveals, along with the trials and tribulations of trying to develop and conquer forms of music more experimental back then than they are now.

Technophiles will perhaps be a wee bit disappointed that more time wasn't spent on discussing the various instruments and recording techniques that Steven has employed over the years in greater detail, but if one is patient, one can learn a lot about the particular sounds and stylisms that Steven was after and it's pretty easy to extrapolate from there (there wasn't the myriad types of gear available then as there are now).

Be that as it may, we suddenly romp into the awesome 'Hologram Dreams' followed by 'Flammable Paradise #5' and this is where we begin to witness the evolution of the unique 'West Style'.

Listening carefully to these tracks, it's not impossible to imagine that David Byrne has borrowed more than a couple of stylisms from Steven, as can be heard in later works by Talking Heads. Well, even the 'super-stars' get their ideas from somewhere...

Steven's musical style and diversity is further showcased in the moving ballad 'Highlands' -- a very prescient song style for 1992 filled with feeling and beautifully mixed.

Richmond gently lures West into recounting his evolution from the late eighties to the mid-nineties and we then slide gracefully into the award-winning 'Nowhere is Home'.

What's fascinating for me is at this point -- Paul Richmond has Steven West quite comfortable and thus we are treated to some rather candid takes on the music industry in Canada during the time. We are then treated to, in my opinion, the Best of West, with the song 'Killing A Bird' from 1998. This song, along with the fantastic 'All Engines Running', are real treats for me, since they have served as inspiration for some of my work as well.

But that's not all. We're then pleasured with further, more recent examples of Steven's work, like one of my absolute favorites -- 'Swank On Wheels', from his 2002 'Metalurge' album.

And, perhaps one of the best moments on the CD is the finale of the interview and a taste of West's amazing cover of the Rolling Stone's 'Gimme Shelter', where we also get some additional technical info on some of the virtual instruments and hardware Steven uses these days.

In summary, this is one exciting trip through the mind and history of a great contemporary electronic artist, Steven West, masterfully hosted by Paul Richmond.

It is an essential experience for both listeners and musicians alike, and simply not to be missed.

May 22, 2005
Alexander James
of 'NONO'
Pan Oriental Productions,
Asia Pacific,
Beijing, PRC

======