In celebration of the label's 100th release we put together a Q&A for some of the artists involved to give an insight into their artistic world and how they connected with Gizeh.
GZH100 - We Hovered With Short Wings is a compilation album celebrating Gizeh's 100th release. It features 21 exclusive tracks from artists who have been involved with the label over the past 18 years.
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— DIGITAL EDITION AVAILABLE FROM BANDCAMP
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Q&A SERIES
FIELDHEAD
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Related releases:
GZH24 - Fieldhead - riser
GZH39 - Fieldhead - a correction
GZH50 - Loscil & Fieldhead - fury & hecla
Can you remember how you ended up first getting involved with Gizeh
Paul: We were drunk in The Cockpit in Leeds at a Low gig sometime around 2005/6 when we first met, right? I was still in my old shoegaze band and had started promoting gigs around Leeds - we were both into the same stuff and ended up promoting shows together, but mainly drinking and chatting about music. You gave me my first ever Fieldhead gig supporting Library Tapes at a house show in 2008 (which I’m pretty sure was not great, sorry) and then ended up putting out the Riser EP in 2010 (which was thankfully much better).
What are you currently finding inspiring?
In terms of writing music? In a normal year it’s usually a combination of seeing new places and new bands live, but that hasn’t been possible. This year, I think it’s been a case of trying to find inspiration in using the hugely increased amount of ‘spare’ time and filling it with something useful by writing music. That said, I’m lucky enough to live in a part of London where I can get to Epping Forest pretty easily, and having that small piece of nature available has been hugely helpful.
Since none of us have been able to tour this year, what have you been occupying yourself with?
To be honest, Fieldhead haven’t toured consistently for a number of years now so outside of the day job I’ve been trying to occupy myself with new films and music, writing as much new material as I can, and finding new running routes.
Tell us a bit about your workspace / studio / the place you create.
I’ve stripped this back as much as possible recently – over the last few years I’d accumulated a bit more gear than I’d had before which I’d found fun to play with when making the last album, but now I’m enjoying just having a laptop, a single synth (usually the MicroBrute) and monitors to keep it simple. As with most things, sometimes limiting what you have to work with can help with new ideas.
What does a regular day look like for you? Do you have routines or habitual ways you work?
It completely depends on whether I’m making something I’m happy with or not – if I get a decent idea early on in a day I can work on it all day, but usually I find it hard to have more than a couple of hours where I feel like I’m being productive rather than just fiddling with something I’m not content with.
What would be your dream collaboration?
Julia Holter. However, if I could go back in time and rid myself of any memory of their live show in 2013? The Knife.
What was your entry point into playing music?
If you discount a quickly aborted attempt at learning the violin in primary school, I first started to try and make my own music by using an extremely primitive sampler on an Atari STE to cut up old records in a vain attempt to be DJ Shadow when I was about 14 or 15. That largely got forgotten when I bought a guitar, got quickly demoted to bass player and joined some terrible covers bands. I tried making electronic music again (and also joined a much better guitar band) at University, which was the first time I managed to write something I actually liked.
How do you know when a record's finished?
It’s such a massive cliché, but it’s when it feels finished. I think when you’re at the point when you’re taking parts away rather than adding them, that’s usually a sign that it’s nearly done.
How do you balance health and productivity?
In terms of writing music, not pressurising myself to finish something before it’s ready, and not drinking too much coffee.
Do you have a favourite Gizeh release or one that particularly resonates with you?
I’m going to cheat and say Glissando’s The World Without Us and Conquering Animal Sound’s Kammerspiel. I love them both for the music, but the Glissando album resonates as it reminds me of when I was playing guitar with them on tour and having the most fun playing in a band I think I’ve ever had. With the CAS album, to go from playing a tiny show with them in Edinburgh in 2009 to a year later having this amazing album out on Gizeh and working with Anneke on Riser just showed how interconnected and rewarding the label is.
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