Fear and loathing 93

What kind of music do you listen to these days?

GRANT: Beyond the stuff we do, I don't really listen to rock bands at all. I really just listen to classical stuff... I think our drummer listens to rock bands, though I'm not quite sure. But I certainly don't sit down and listen to 'noise' bands, or whatever; I'm really not familiar with that stuff at all. I mean, when we first started, I suppose we were really influenced by the early punk bands, from the Sex Pistols through to Discharge, but by the time of Cacophony, we weren't really influenced by any rock bands. We were just doing whatever we wanted to do, you know? It was quite challenging... When you start listening to Bach or Vivaldi or Beethoven, or Oriental music, then you can't help but absorb some of those influences, and you'll start to think about timing, rhythm, chord structures, and stuff.

The title Cacophony always seemed to strike me as almost tongue-in-cheek, as if it was taunting the people that maybe wouldn't understand what you were trying to do.

GRANT: There was no particular reason other than from a musical point of view, on some of the tracks there's experimentation with dischord, and what are called tri-tones, which are a combination of notes which make particularly dark , grating sort of sounds. So yeah, it's kind of right in the way the title was sort of tongue-in-cheek.

From this point, have you actually got any plans for the band, or is everything rather vague until you've played this gig, and the next album is released?

GRANT: Well, the LP will come out some time next year, and all the old stuff is coming out on CD early next year, hopefully. I mean, it is all coming out, but exactly when, I don't know. As to new material, actually since we finished the last album I've been putting basslines down on tape just now and again, anything I feel happy with. So, I suppose at some point, that'll all come together to form a new album, but there's no firm plans for particular dates to do it. I don't feel there's any rush.

Hardly something Rudimentary Peni could ever be accused of, but at the same time, with the quality of music they do produce when they get around to it, we're hardly in a position to complain in the slightest! Having cleared up several things I'd wanted to know for a while, I figured this was an appropriate place to end our conversation, thanked Grant for his time, and departed to grab some curried munchies before the gig.

Show Review:

Even on a Sunday in such an awkward part of London, there's a high turn-out, and most of the interest seems to be in Rudimentary Peni (it was actually Citizen Fish who were headlining). But, there's several other bands to play first. Both Homage Freaks and Experiment are pretty dull, uninteresting rock, nothing really new. The recently reformed Dirt are more interesting, at least possessing some real energy in their guts. And finally, RP themselves. It's odd when they walk out on stage; the three figures look so out of place, dressed remarkably unremarkable and totally opposed to the punk rock legends they have become. They're noticably uneasy with the situation, Nick Blinko first repositioning the microphone stand further back away from the stage front, and then uttering his onlu between-song comment, "Silence!" before the band launch into the opening Cosmetic Plague. It sounds good, still as fresh and as energetic as when I first heard it. Things move along...there's a pretty bad sound mix at times, and the guitar seems to drop out altogether in places, but overall the set is fine, and the audience enjoyed it thoroughly. Old songs, newer songs, they all sound great, but it's a short set, maybe only half an hour, and then it's over. It's hard to tell how RP themselves viewed the proceedings, but hopefully it'll spur them on to further performances. The world needs them, even if it doesn't particularly deserve them...

The journey home is awkward and hectic; myself and friend Brian have to catch a taxi back to Victoria, in time for a last train only as far as Haversham, but it's certainly worthwhile. I may be totally wrecked by the time I reach work the next morning, but fuck it; everyone else can be as fresh and healthy as they want. They've never seen Rudimentary Peni, and I have!