Q&A: Tricky on strong women, celebrity culture, and never playing the game

by Chayne Japal

July 8, 2013

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He’s considered one of the forefathers of trip-hop but that doesn’t mean much to Tricky.

He’s considered one of the forefathers of trip-hop but that doesn’t mean much to Tricky. Since breaking away from his affiliates Massive Attack, he’s spent the last 20 years shape-shifting, constantly delivering new takes on the Bristol bit-of-everything hybrid music he helped forge, never resting on his laurels. False Idols is his tenth solo album, the first release on his new imprint of the same name. The shared name exemplifies the way Tricky views himself; he has never been able to comprehend the admiration he’s garnered through his career.  He may not understand it, but he’s earned it, along with the right to keep making the music he wants to make.

AUX: Does this feel like sort of a new beginning for you with the label switch and all? 

Tricky: I signed to Domino, which is a very good label, but I signed with them thinking they’re an independent, because major labels are finished. Well, they’re not finished if you’re Justin Timberlake or Lady Gaga but for artists like me, they’re finished. So, when I signed to Domino I thought I was signing to an independent label but, really, it wasn’t. The attitude wasn’t really independent. I don’t sell millions of records anyway, so I don’t have to worry about being on a major. They’d take me to radio, do a video, then again to radio, the same old stuff over and over. I just thought it was time to do it by myself. The music industry has changed so much and that stuff is never going to work for me.

How did you get out of the deal?

I was very lucky. I’ve changed management since but I told my last manager that I didn’t want to stay on Domino, but they said, “Domino’s a good label. You’ve got worldwide distribution. You should stay on there.” And I was listening to them. I thought I shouldn’t be on there but I took their advice. But the lucky thing that happened was: Domino dropped me which was just perfect. Perfect timing. I think my old management might have been a little lazy because I had a deal, they thought they didn’t have to do anything even though I was having problems. So, Domino dropping me was a blessing.

So, how much easier was it to do your new record, False Idols? 

When I was doing the demos on my last album, Laurence [Bell], the guy who owns Domino would jump on the train and come listen to see if I was ready for mixing. How would he know if I’m ready for mixing? How would he have a clue? I’ve been doing this for a long time. So, when I was recording, straight away I was thinking, “I wonder if Laurence is going to get this.” It’s a hard way to work when you have someone looking over your shoulder. With this album, I had no one to think about. It was very easy for me. Really simple. I had no one to consider, except for myself.

How did you choose the artists you collaborated with on here?

These are the people who were around me. It was just really natural. Two girls, Francesca Belmonte and Fifi Rong, they’re on the False Idols label. So I wanted to showcase them. And Nneka, someone told me about her and I kept hearing her name then I looked her up and sent her a message.

What was it that stood out to you about Nneka?

When you see her videos, she’s a strong woman. She’s not trying to sell sex. If you have a good song, that’s good enough. It’s okay being sexy, but let’s take for instance, Rihanna, no disrespect to her but, if I had an eight-year-old daughter, I wouldn’t want her listening to Rihanna. Not because of the sexual stuff but because I want my daughter to be a strong woman, someone that cannot be manipulated, and to me it looks like Rihanna is just making money for people and she probably doesn’t have much say in things. They just market her. I don’t think Rihanna is going to do anything positive for the world. Well, maybe people love her, so, some people will find that to be positive, but I want my daughter to change the world, to be a scientist, or if she wants to be a musician, be someone like Patti Smith. We’re in such a celebrity culture now. Celebrity means everything. People should realize. I’ve done that, I got the t-shirt. It’s not fun. It’s not that perfect life. What we see in a video, it’s not real. It’s not real life. With this new deal and everything, I don’t have to play the game. I’ve never really did, but it’s truly on my terms. I don’t really understand what’s going on around me.

Do you feel like too many people focus on your image more than your music?

When people meet me, they say “Wow. You’re not as difficult as I thought you would be.” My manager now tells me that I’m not the person everybody thinks I am. I’m not difficult to deal with, at all. I know what I want to do. So I can get difficult if you want me to do something that I don’t want to do it. Besides that, I’m a very easygoing guy.

Where do you think you got that reputation from?

Definitely from not compromising. Also, because I don’t schmooze. Let’s look at [BBC] Radio 1. There are two DJs on there that won’t even listen to my music because I’ve had situations with them. I don’t care who anybody is. If I’m in a bar and you come in with the key to me selling records because you work at Radio 1, I’m not going to treat you any differently from the person who washes the floor at that same bar. There are some radio DJs that are like pop stars now and I won’t play that ego game. I’ll tell them, “The music you play is shit. Commercial bullshit. You’re just a lie.” They’re not used to people saying that, especially artists who want airplay from them.

So, what sort of plans do you have in support of this record? 

When you’ve had a long career, it can’t just be about you. I have artists I believe in, that I love. I’m a true fan of my artists. This is for them. When we tour on this, I’ll be promoting them as well. What inspires me is building. If I was just sitting on a label, like I was at Domino, I wouldn’t feel like I was building toward anything. That’s important to do. I’ve always gotten love for introducing artists and when I wanted to do an EP for some unsigned artists they weren’t interested because they spent their money signing me, they only want to promote Tricky. They missed the bigger picture. Now, I’m building towards something again, so I don’t mind touring. Now my ambition is for one of these artists to do better than me, and then I could go out and support them. I’d love to sit back and watch my artist do the main show after I do the intro. I’m humble enough to do that. That’s what I want to do. It’s not so much about seeing how many records I can sell.

You’re all about moving forward.

It’s not good to live in the past. It can’t be all about you. You have to try and help other people and bring in new artists. Especially if you believe in someone, you should help bring them through.

Understood. So to go entirely against what you just said about not living in the past, what’s up with you and Massive Attack?

I did some tracks with 3D [Robert Del Naja] a year and a half ago but we don’t see eye to eye, so I don’t know if it’s ever going to be used ‘cause he’s in a different place from where I am. He needs to always be in Massive Attack. He’s “3D from Massive Attack.” Stand on your own two feet without Massive Attack. Be a person. I argue with him about this. No one gives a fuck about Massive Attack. No one gives a fuck about Tricky. There are different vibes out there. What happened back then, no one gives shit but he kind of has to live by this Massive Attack thing which I don’t want to do because I just think there’s no risk involved there.

You’ve built up a pretty extensive catalogue over the years. What’s the one piece that you feel just nails it and embodies the artist you want to be?

Well, I don’t really listen back. I don’t look backward. Let’s say “Give It To ‘Em” off of Blowback, that started the ragga-with-rock-music thing. I can see how it changed things but I don’t really care about that. I’ve already got a new album ready for next January even though this one just came out. I don’t really look back and to be honest with you, it doesn’t really matter. If you look at what’s going on in the world, it doesn’t matter.

Fair enough. You’ve done a lot in terms of bridging the gap between genres and creating interesting music that has gone on to inspire so many musicians. Can you tell me about any of songs, albums, or peers that have been inspiring you along the way? 

A lot of artists, we have massive egos. I realize how lucky I am. I have a studio in my house. Sometimes I’d be working and come out and I’ll see a guy 60, 70, 80 years of age cleaning the road, or a guy 60, 70 serving me my coffee. I just don’t think life is fair. What inspires me is how lucky I am. So, artists, instead of the ego saying, “Oh yeah, I’m a genius,” they should realize how lucky they are to be able to do this. I paid for my daughters to go through school. I’ve travelled around the world. To be able to do that, doing something I love, makes me realize how lucky I am.

This article originally appeared in the July 2013 Issue of AUX Magazine.

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Tags: Music, Interviews, AUX Magazine, Tricky

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