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Andy Interviews... |
"I had a good weekend. I had some sex." So says Ashley Slater, in his sleazily deep voice, and you get the feeling it's a little bit of a theme in his life. From the title of his band Freakpower's first album "Drive Thru Booty", to his acting in art porn films, to his motto for the summer - "Make me laugh, make me cum, or f... off". He likes sex. Sometimes.
"That was my perfect weekend. It's not good during the week, of course. You've got to work. We write tunes, us musicians, we do our work.."
Tunes like the new single, "No Way", out as we speak. Since the release of "Turn On, Tune In and Cop Out", as featured on the Levi's advert starring a transvestite in a taxi, Freakpower have been in the rock and roll wilderness, with a failure for a second album, and a dispute with their then record label, Island. Both Slater and his co-conspirator Norman Cook have been releasing solo material, as Dr. Bone and Fatboy Slim respectively, with Cook most famously remixing both the Wildchild and Cornershop number ones. Now they are back together, with new material, what do they think is in store?
"I don't know if we'll make the big time. It doesn't really work that way. Especially for people like us. We're not the Spice Girls. We don't look so good. I've got nice legs but, my face, forget it. We don't expect to make the big time, but we expect that we might have a hit record, which would be nice. We like that because then we can continue to make music for the people. What you do is have a hit, then you don't have to worry where the pennies are coming from."
So for the second time Freakpower are aiming to exploit the public's weakness for a top tune. Is such shameless behaviour excusable, forgivable as being just what comes naturally, or should it be condemned as ruthless manipulation and selling out?
"If we were ever to be accused of being a sell-out, it wouldn't be 'No Way', it would be that Levi's ad. Which we lived to regret, as we did that thinking, 'Wicked, a little bit of money, a little bit of exposure'. Then the music press said, 'Oh, they're a Levi's band. They mustn't be a real band,' although we had been doing gigs for a couple of years before that. So it effectively ended our career at the same time as starting it. Which was a strange contradiction. But no, we're not selling out. We're actually selling out even less with this one, as me and Norman are just sat in the studio having a laugh really."
Slater's life is at a new beginning. Recently moved to Brighton, a new record deal for Freakpower with Deconstruction records, after having released "No Way" on limited release on their own, with a large scale release lined up, things are looking up. With this change comes a whole new attitude on life. A determination to not have to go through the trials of normal band life, like gigging, and to live as a standalone unit, but still do all the musical things he enjoys.
"We haven't travelled much lately. We used to get around a little bit, and that was a lot of fun, a lot of fun. We're not really planning on going on the road that much this time round. To be honest I'd like to do everything from my bedroom, down an ISDN line. I'm totally into performing, I've spent most of my life performing, and now I'm ready to not perform. Just relax and enjoy it."
To many people it is hard to stay home no matter what the circumstances, and to blindly head out in search of fun and excitement. To people who have spent a large amount of time away from home, with all the benefits of being pop stars, it's easy to see the benefits of a simpler life.
"We're doing the new rock and roll lifestyle, which is to stay at home and take drugs with your mates. I've managed to get a circle of friends since moving to Brighton from London, and when you're a musician you don't really get a chance to do that sort of thing. You're on the road, and then you're off the road for a little bit. You hook up with your mates, but then you're out on the road again. You never get the chance to develop a normal, functional life. With people around you and stuff. Your mates are the people you're on the road with."
With the hard-living nature of touring, it seems it may be bad for you in more ways than one. The kind of euphoria everyone has surrounding a gig - the "Big Night Out" - every night for four months does more to your body and life than a session in detox can cure. Take what Ashley Slater ended up with after his stints of touring.
"No wife. Not much family. Not a lot of friends. A little bit more money. We've had our trials and tribulations. Everyone does. There's always something to go through. I'm glad I did it all. I couldn't do that for the rest of my life. Norman couldn't either. It's much easier just to pick up a bag of records and get on a plane than it is to spend 22 hours a day on a bus."
This new phase, the better lifestyle is quite well summed up by fellow Freakpowerer Norman Cook. As Fatboy Slim and with the highly fashionable Skint records he is part of a quickly growing movement in dance music which allows for brief trips out in the evening to DJ. This movement has been labelled 'Big Beat', a merger of some hip-hop, electro and house styles, as typified by the Chemical Brothers and their love for songs with "big beats and sirens". What does Ashley think of all the fuss?
"Don't understand it mate. White boys making white music. Can't dance to it. My personal opinion, not reflecting the view of Freakpower, or any of our employees, there's better stuff to dance around to. It's kind of studenty, a little bit pissed music. There's definitely some good stuff it there. Cut La Roc, for example. He's good, but he's got a bad memory. He was supposed to come round the other day and pick up some money, but hasn't yet."
Doubts about 'Big Beat' naturally concern Cook's music, with his central part to play. In turn this affects his music as Freakpower. With this, and the style similar to Cook's famous remixes on "No Way", is Slater worried about being adversely affected by this, as they may have been with their involvement with Acid Jazz?
"If you take Acid Jazz, some people said one of my early bands was an influence on that. I'm not sure myself. Microgroove it was called. Electric funk thing. But I never liked Acid Jazz that much, because it wasn't Acid and it wasn't Jazz. For me it's one step up from lift music. This time, you see, Norman's kind of in on the ground floor of that 'Big Beat' thing, and he has every right to exploit it. I don't think that this would be a backlash type situation."
It seems that life has great potential for Ashley Slater. He seems settled and confident, with projects that seem likely to bear fruit in the near future, a relatively normal life and a permanent home. Things are going well, and Slater sounds like he will try and make the most of them.
"We're just going to have fun. We're like Cyndi Lauper now. We just want to have fun."
Click Here to get more details about No Way; and other material produced by the group.
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