Bill Laswell

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Kilgore Trout
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Bill Laswell

Post by Kilgore Trout » Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:22 pm

Tape OP RULES!!!!

I would love to see an interview with Bill Laswell.

This guy is a genius.

Some of his production, and collaboration credits include: ..to name a few :lol:

* Ahlam
* Aisha Kandisha's Jarring Effects
* Laurie Anderson*
* Atom Heart
* Azzddine
* Ginger Baker
* Afrika Bambaataa
* Paul Bowles
* Jeff Bova
* Peter Brotzmann
* Buckethead
* William S. Burroughs
* David Byrne*
* Ralph Carney
* Bootsy Collins
* Dub Syndicate
* Manu Dibango
* Sussan Deyhim
* Aiyb Dieng
* EBN
* Brian Eno*
* Flavor Flav
* Fred Frith
*Oz Fritz*
* Peter Gabriel*
* Gigi
* The Golden Palominos
* Trilok Gurtu
* Herbie Hancock
* Mick Harris
* Graham Haynes
* Zakir Hussain*
* Jonas Hellborg
* Whitney Houston
* Ronald Shannon Jackson
* Mick Jagger
* Kool Keith
* Last Poets
* Arto Lindsay
* John Lydon
* Master Musicians Of Jajouka
* Mot?rhead
* Pete Namlook
* Yoko Ono
* Daniel Ponce
* Public Image Limited
* The Ramones
* Nile Rodgers*
* Badal Roy
* Pharoah Sanders*
* Akira Sakata
* Style Scott
* Shankar
* Sonny Sharrock
* Archie Shepp
* Nicky Skopelitis
* Sly & Robbie
* DJ Spooky
* Sting
* Henry Threadgill
* James Blood Ulmer
* Steve Vai*
* Tom Verlaine
* Jah Wobble
* Bernie Worrell*
* John Zorn*

I have found some interesting stuff about him on the net,
but I would love to get a peak at some of his favorite gear, get some insight into his recording process, basically the full TapeOP treatment.

I have about 90% of all the TapeOp mags to date, so forgive me if he has been interviewed, and I missed it.

His volume and diversity of work, would be an excellent addition to any TapeOp issue.

Have you guys ever thought of an interview with him?

Much thanks to the TapeOp staff...you guys do a great job...much appreciated.

The web-site is not too shabby either.

Cheers, KT
Last edited by Kilgore Trout on Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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TapeOpLarry
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Post by TapeOpLarry » Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:23 pm

We've tried. Some people and their PR folks do not seem to care or to make this an easy thing. I'd love to be proved wrong...
Larry Crane, Editor/Founder Tape Op Magazine
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pumadrum
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Post by pumadrum » Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:26 pm

I know it will be tough, but I too vote for a Bill Laswell article. He absolutly rules.
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JGriffin
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Post by JGriffin » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:49 pm

thirded, but if the PR folk are being jerks then what can you do...
"Jeweller, you've failed. Jeweller."

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YOUR KONG
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Post by YOUR KONG » Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:37 am

Yeah - I live to love laswell, but I'm disappointed to hear it's proving to be a hassle. Bummer.

Then again, I came across some of old interviews once, and that guy is definitely vibrating in the 4th dimension, if you know what I mean. Some fairly out-there stuff.

Winstontaneous
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Post by Winstontaneous » Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:17 pm

Another vote for a Laswell feature--maybe it could include stuff about his collaborators/engineers (Oz Fritz, Robert Musso...Herbie Hancock...Eno...Bootsy...Jah Wobble). He somehow manages to make mixes sound huge without being cluttered, and any of his careers (bassist, producer, remixer, indie A&R dude) is individually impressive. Coming from one guy...whoa!

He is not un-interviewable...there was just a brief feature on him in Guitar World's Bass magazine a few months ago (basically a half page talking about recording gear and his philosophy of heavy music). He was on the cover of the May '02 Bass Player--a great interview that opens with a question about people accusing him of appropriating other cultures' music for his own gain. That feature also includes a great sidebar where Robert Musso discusses their recipes for recording drums & bass plus approaches to mixing, mastering and getting a big bottom end.

Laswell's philosophy matches Tape Op's pretty well. In the Bass player story he says "I don't spend much time keeping up on gear. I'm more interested in inspiration, experience, people, and money---we have to find as much money as possible so we can pay the musicians and get gear. At the end of the day, it's just metal and wood and wires. You have to have ideas, inspriration, and integrity. Do your work and the gear will come."

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Post by Kevin Kitchel » Mon Sep 18, 2006 7:19 pm

You forgot PainKiller

lg
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Post by lg » Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:14 pm

Kevin Kitchel wrote:You forgot PainKiller
and Material!

Bro Shark
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Post by Bro Shark » Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:52 pm

I dug this up because I've recently re-discovered my Laswell collection. Man, I love his stuff. Maybe since you were able to get to Oz Fritz you guys have an "in" now? I'd love to see a Laswell feature in Tape Op!

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Brett Siler
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Post by Brett Siler » Fri Jun 11, 2010 3:31 pm

Another vote for Bill Laswell! I'm a big fan of his collaborations with Herbie Hancock and Zorn. His recordings always sound great, lots of clairty to them.

Winstontaneous
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Post by Winstontaneous » Mon Jun 14, 2010 3:22 pm

Me 3...

Somewhere I have bookmarked all the online Laswell interviews I've found...will look for them. Definitely a unique individual!

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Post by TapeOpLarry » Tue Jun 22, 2010 2:14 pm

email me questions and I'm supposed to call Bill and do a phone interview sometime soon!

http://www.tapeop.com/email/crane.html
Larry Crane, Editor/Founder Tape Op Magazine
please visit www.tapeop.com for contact information
(do not send private messages via this board!)
www.larry-crane.com

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Snarl 12/8
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Post by Snarl 12/8 » Wed Jun 23, 2010 1:51 pm

I'm interested in how the Praxis sessions were done. They sound like well recorded jams to me, but any insight into how they setup, arranged and rehearsed that shit would be awesome. Also, how do you balance so many "heavy hitters" both ego wise and sonically in a mix? What's his bass rig? Live and studio.
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Bro Shark
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Post by Bro Shark » Fri Jun 25, 2010 9:35 am

Wow! Ask and ye shall receive. Emailed some questions.. I'm almost at a loss though. Thanks a lot Larry!

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less_cunning
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Post by less_cunning » Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:52 pm

i just read Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll & there is a section on Aisha Kandisha's Jarring Effects. There is not much mention of him other than he played bass on their second album. or something like that. i like to know more about that relationship, especially studio-wise.

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