‘The biggest risk is stagnation and complacency’

The Queen Between is different as it's a very anglophone record in that its sung mostly in English and at the focus is our English songwriting. It's quite psychedelic in its outlook and also draws very freely on all different kinds of influences to create something unique . The sub-continental influence is also more North Indian in its nature than previous works which have had more of a South Indian focus. The contribution of Rizwan Muazzam Qawwals provides a link to previous works in that it is a continued exploration of spiritual traditions but the record is quite secular at its heart.

The album has a very strong Rajasthani component. We were very fortunate to have met three very exceptional musicians from Rajasthan about 6 years ago and have spent the past few years developing a very intense musical relationship with them. There is the great nagara drum master from Pushkar, Nathoo Lal Solanki who has provided the majestic rhythms which appear throughout the record and Kutle Khan the rising young Manganiyar star who provided exceptional vocals and rhythms on morchang, bapang and kartal. There is the very remarkable Rana Ram Bhil from the Thar desert who provided a kind of eerie overtone chanting as well as the otherworldly narh flute. We also had the good fortune to travel to Pakistan over the last few years to work with the great Rizwan Muazzam Qawwals, nephews of Nusat Fateh ali khan. We had a grand show at the Royal Festival Hall in London where we brought them and the Rajasthanis together. We then went to a big studio the next day where 14 of us all recorded. That was a lot of power in one room! We then had an extra three days where we worked with the Rajasthanis and our colleague from London Aref Durvesh to record the rest of the songs. Sam and I then spent the last few months doing guitars and vocals. There was a lot of experimentation and we were very pleased with the results.

I don't really think about how to change people's perception,  rather more about the evolution of the music and the sound and put all my focus in to that.  I believe it's necessary to be in constant evolution to stay fresh. There has been a lot of change since my first album and this is a necessary process which artists need to go through to facilitate growth. It's also great that with change, people can't pin you down or label you as this or that as your condition always in flux. there are some artists like Bjork, who are always doing something different and I am always waiting to see where these kinds of artists they will lead us next. All great artists bands throughout history have always done this like the Beatles, Stones, the Doors etc.. We also need to keep moving on as 'the Times they are a changing'. these kinds of bands are very inspirational.

I always like take risks and always try and push myself further. If I ever got to the point where I decided that I had discovered the formula and kept repeating it to make a living, the game would be over as there would be no challenge and nothing to strive for which is what art is all about for me. The biggest risk is stagnation and complacency.

Working with the Rizwans was exhilarating but also tough. When we arrived in Faisalabad we were completely blown away by Rizwan Muazzam's power and their voices and getting them to do something great which was out of their usual repertoire was challenging. On the album they have performed amazingly and differently on all the three tracks.. The original of the song Sharabi came from the Family of Aziz Mian , a different qawwal family and at first they were apprehensive about singing it but they were soon drawn in by the afrobeat rhythm and started to enjoy it. The results were awesome as they have sung in a very different rhythmic style than what they are traditionally used to.  The piece de resistance is Taboo where Muazzam has really unleashed a very cosmic alap in a 9 note scale that we had taken from the French composer Olivier Messian. Muazzam completely got hold of the ball and ran with it and has done something really out there and exceptional. The song is very trippy and powerful and Muazzam really showed his improvisational genius and power in this composition.

Any artistes you plan to collaborate with next?

I think i better let music take its course and not try to  tempt fate by saying anything. Music IS collaboration,  even if its just the musician and only one person listening. its stilla collaboarations that happens in real time.For me msuic is that moment when the music is shared, other wies its only a virtual reality. sometimes you have to be your own listener. I think musicians will know what i mean. So the next collaboration is always going to be with myself because you have to have something going on before you go out and share. So when two musicians get together its not like a fixed identity meeting a fixed identity. When i play with someone i find myself to be a different person because of that so its very intimate. So lf i told you i was going to collaborate with somebody, that somebody woud not be the person whose name i gave because, in the collaboration they would be someone new! 

We launched the album in France and Europe last month and there is a lot of interest coming from Germany, Switzerland and other European territories. We are launching n UK and US later this year and I think my year will be spent promoting this album. I'm sure we will get new ideas and inspiration along the way and paths and directions will start to show themselves.

Devil Got my Woman- Skip James

Venus in Furs - Velvet Underground

Chamber Music -Vincent Segal and Ballake Sissoko

Morning - Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto

Horizontal Hold -This Heat

Genres are illusions created and maintained by vested interests. Music flows around walls, so genre is irrelevant. Music either floats your boat or it doesn't. So I would never say never to anything, although a Christian Dwarf Metal-Rap Yoga Porn soundtrack album is unlikely in the near future but who can say...

BUNDLES OF JOY