Gold Panda
Interview Oliver Keens
Photography Coley Brown
Musicians on tour in Japan don’t get any more ambassadorial than Gold Panda. A Londoner who learned Japanese at the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies, ’SUP caught up with the golden one – Derwin to his pals – during a brace of shows in the country that’s fascinated him since childhood. The British Council even organized an event out there in his honor, while another grand British institution, the BBC, named him in their influential Sounds of 2010 list. Such is his obsession with all things Japanese – he was neither suffering Lost In Translation-style ennui nor searching in vain for the nearest KFC. Instead, he was treating audiences to his beautiful, glitched-out psychedelic beats on tracks such as “Quitters Raga”, “Back Home” and songs from his recent You EP, released on his own NOTOWN label. You may have also heard Gold Panda’s work on remixes for Simian Mobile Disco (SMD), Telepathe, Your Twenties, Marina and the Diamonds, the Field and Little Boots. His friends might call his music “wispy electronica” but there’s so much more to it than that. Derwin talked to ’SUP about plans for his debut album, the state of hip-hop and the ethics of sampling. Oh, and the role underwear plays in his live show.
Let’s start with a bit of multiple choice. If one were to make an actual solid gold panda – based on the weight of an adult female – how much would it cost? A: £640,000 ($971,456), B: £1,700,000 ($2,580,450), C: £3,330,000 ($5,054,607)
Didn’t the price of gold skyrocket recently? I’d be mad negative and say that it’d probably cost me C, then I’d have to sell up on sendusallyourgold.com or whatever, who would only give me A.
The answer is actually B. I promise, no more maths from here on.
Phew. I’m so shit at maths and I have to go on tour with Dan Snaith [a.k.a. electro artist Caribou] soon and he’s a maths professor or something.
How have the Japanese shows been going? Are they all done?
Yup, I’m leaving tomorrow. I usually come back with loads of old games consoles and manga but I’ve been pretty good this time. I had a few shows in clubs, which I was really worried about because it was in between Simian Mobile Disco’s DJ set and some other heavy dance stuff and then I go on and play my stupid ‘wispy electronica’, as my mate calls it. The response has been great though and all the people that booked me have been really nice about it, not sure if they’re just being typically Japanese though. I played at Dommune, this small place that streams shows on Ustream. You only play to about 50 people but the sound and set up is really nice. They have a nice café upstairs that does good maguro donburi [which is tuna and rice in a bowl]. Actually I think that might have been the only gig so far that I have actually enjoyed.
Opening for SMD must be a wee bit daunting given their incredible live show. Have you learned much from doing shows with them, or anyone else you’ve shared a stage with for that matter?
I mean, I just need to do what I do and not worry about it, but it’s hard when you’re with someone who has such an awesome set up and a brilliant light show. James and Jas [from SMD] asked me to tour with them so I must be doing something right. I’m not too keen on being on stage and playing in clubs. It’s nice to be close to the audience so they can see what you are doing since I’m actually doing stuff. Jas has given me a few tips and told me to spend a bit of money on equipment for the live set up and he’s right. At the moment when I go on tour I wrap all my equipment in underwear and T-shirts, then I get to the venue and the table isn’t high enough and then something doesn’t work properly ’cause it got bashed around in transit. On the other hand, it’s these kind of things that make up Gold Panda anyway.
What’s your own set up for shows at the moment? How would you expand the Gold Panda live show if money and time were no object?
I just had to change it. Before I had an MPC and a Korg Electribe MIDI synched with a Kaoss pad and a loop pedal. Originally I didn’t want to use a laptop but it seems that I’m restricting myself by not doing so. The laptop now has all my sounds in it. It’s the slave to my MPC, where I have sequences that I can build on. I can catch loops with my Line 6 pedal and make walls of noise while I prepare bits and improvise. I have the usual cheesy effects like a filter and reverb. If I had a bit more time I’d probably try to trigger visuals too. I wouldn’t like to overdo it though.
Does your Japanese degree give you the enviable ability to talk to crowds out there? And were you proud as a Japanophile to finally play shows there?
My friends here have been so supportive and I guess most can’t believe it. Some of them are like, ‘I didn’t know you were Gold Panda!’ I’ve always done music but I’ve never really played it to anyone. Being on the TVs at the Shibuya crossing was also incredible since that place is so familiar to me. I shall allow myself to revel in that victory for a while. My Japanese has been a little rusty but it’s great when you can have a chat with someone in the crowd.
Why were you on the TVs at Shibuya?
Because I was supporting Simian Mobile Disco on tour, there was a huge advert for it constantly playing about every 10 minutes on the big TVs on Shibuya crossing.
How surprised were you to get the nod from the BBC at the start of the year?
I found out the day before. I didn’t even know what it was. In the morning when I checked it online I was pretty pissed off. I just felt like it was a career killer. It’s been good exposure but what happens when the year is up? They went through last years nominees and pretty much slated Passion Pit, saying they failed to ‘breakthrough’ or whatever the fuck that means. If you ask me Passion Pit had a fucking amazing year.
What was the first song or beat that you ever made? What did you use to make it, and what were you influenced by at the time? How does it compare to the very last thing you worked on?
I think I made it with a mate and my uncle Mick. He had a studio in the Strongrooms in London and invited us over to see it. We just picked the samples and triggered them from a keyboard using Cubase on an Atari and he put it together, then we arranged it. I think it was called “Bad Bwoy” or something. That was maybe around ’92 or ’93 so it probably had the Amen break in there (the quintessential hip-hop and jungle drum sample from The Winstons’ “Amen, Brother”). My music now is a lot more free and improvised. Basically what I’m working with now are mistakes and errors, broken equipment and emotional baggage.
What do you think about hip-hop today? Are you resigned to the fact that you’ll never hear anything as vital as “Shook Ones” by Mobb Deep ever again?
I think it’s great. I’m enjoying stuff by Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne. I really like Clipse. This song “Popular Demand” is so melancholy it makes me want to cry, but then the lyrics are pretty egotistical. I like that juxtaposition but I’m not sure whether it’s intentional on their part. It has a sense of loss in there. Maybe I’m just hearing it in a different way. I wonder what hip-hop will remain as classics for the kids growing up now. We probably ain’t noticed all these amazing tunes because we’re too old and too bitter.
Have you ever considered working with an MC? Who in their prime would have been worthy enough for a beat from Gold Panda?
I’ve worked with Infinite Livez in the past. He is incredible. Hopefully there will be time to do something together. Slick Rick is still in his prime, if you ask me. His verse on the new Mos Def album is worth the CD price alone. Busta Rhymes, Big L, Tragedy Khadafi the Intelligent Thug, Jeru… (pauses) What happened to CRU? Just another case, I guess. UK would have been Hardnoise or this geezer called Chu Champion from Bushkiller. There was this British guy in the States called Tony Bones, he was dope.
With samples, such as the one used on “Quitters Raga”, are you ideologically opposed to revealing what they are or is it purely for legal reasons? How would you feel if, for example, a blog found it and hosted it next to your song for people to compare?
Mainly, legal reasons, but if a blog did that then I’d probably write them an email asking if they are sure that they want to ruin it for some people. You know, I used to love hearing a hip-hop track, then buying old vinyl and happening upon the sample they used. It still happens now and it’s such a nice surprise. Anyway, I don’t have money or a house so what are they going to sue me for?
Is there a Gold Panda album on the cards? What will it sound like compared to the singles we’ve heard so far?
Yes, it’s nearly done. I’m adding a few more tracks and playing around with the running order. I’m mixing it with James Shaw [from SMD], but the rest is all done myself, so it retains my usual shitty bedroom production quality. In some way it deals with loss and relationships and a hate of summer. It’s a complete body of work, so I think it’s less varied than my older tracks. I wanted to make an album that has a theme. I have some CD-R’s coming out because I’ve always liked artists that do that. Some split 7-inches and some other non-Panda stuff.
