Ben Corrigan introduces the collection of music created as part of his Excuse

Ben Corrigan and Anna Meredith

Rule of Three

Ahead of releasing a stunning collection of music created as part of his Excuse the Mess podcast, we speak to composer and podcast creator Ben Corrigan

Interview: Tallah Brash

What if you could create a piece of music with one of your favourite musicians, but there are rules and limitations you have to stick to: no part of the music can be predetermined, you can only use one instrument or item to create that piece of music (electronic manipulation is allowed, however) and you only have one day to complete it. Sounds mad, right? But it’s a major component of composer Ben Corrigan’s award-winning Excuse the Mess podcast, which has now seen him collaborate with 17 of his favourite musicians and composers. The first episode of the podcast aired in September 2017 featuring Austrian hang (handpan) player Manu Delago, who produced Anoushka Shankar’s 2016 album Land of Gold and has worked and toured extensively with Björk. An impressive first get. Following a 'getting to know you' style discussion between Corrigan and Delago, the pair then set to work on creating a piece of music together, and you get to hear the process as part of the podcast before the composition is played in full. Since that first episode, Corrigan has had everyone from Gold Panda and Hannah Peel to Oliver Coates and Anna Meredith as guests, and while a lot of artists chose to use instruments they’re used to working with, there are some unusual choices to be found too such as an ice rink (Mira Calix) and a pesto jar (Meredith), sundried tomato in case you were wondering. This February, all 17 tracks created via the podcast are getting a two-part digital release with beautiful accompanying limited edition books, so we catch up with Corrigan over Zoom to find out more.

The Skinny: Can you give us a bit of background on yourself for our readers who might not be familiar with you and your podcast? Ben Corrigan: I am originally from Carlisle... I listened to metal and played in a metal band, I didn’t grow up classically trained. But I ended up getting into film music and from there got really into classical music... I rustled up a portfolio and got a place at Trinity Laban to do composition. I didn’t really have a clue about electronic music and there was an Introduction to Logic Pro class, and that became the thing I wanted to pursue the most.

I finished my course and spent a while assisting various people and composers and doing sound engineering. I did a stint for [film composer] Patrick Doyle, and Anoushka Shankar, as her engineer. I was basically helping other people and thought it would be nice to have my own thing. I first got into podcasts because I was a Jonny Greenwood fan and he was doing an interview with Adam Buxton. I listened to that, loved it and really liked his style of podcasting. Then I listened to an Oliver Coates album where most of the sounds were made out of just a cello and warpings of cello. A few other factors brought together this whole concept... like Fact magazine’s Against the Clock, that idea of quite a time pressured [scenario to] create something from scratch... The other limitation was no pre-planning, so it feels very spontaneous.

How did you turn the idea into a reality? I tentatively knew a few composers and there’s people who were friends from uni; these people are busy, you know, they’ve probably got a waiting list of people wanting to make music with them. But I was thinking, how can I essentially lure them into a room to make a piece of music, people that I admire, and make it so that it doesn’t feel too committed? [I said] we’ll talk about you and your music, that’s like a bit of promo, and then this idea of a very low stakes, music writing session, don’t worry if it comes out crap at the end. Hence the name – Excuse the Mess. I kind of see my podcast as a reverse engineered Song Exploder.

Was it hard convincing people to get involved? Some people were admittedly difficult... Anna [Meredith], for example, she was supposed to be in the first series; it was great to get Anna in the second series. I’m also kind of amazed at the willingness in some ways. I would be terrified to do my podcast from the other side... I try to make the artist feel really comfortable, and it helps that I do either know them or have a tenuous link to them, a friend of a friend, that kind of thing.

Everybody sounds surprisingly calm during the process. Was it actually like that or was that just clever editing? I’ve done some edit wonders in the past, but you kind of picked up on something there that I hadn’t really thought about. There is a lack of frantic pressure and stress even though it is really fast working, committing to ideas, trying to generate something stomachable... They’re all kind of harmonious little writing sessions. I guess to have the conversation first puts people at ease, they’re comfortable, I put shit loads of snacks out. People seem to really dig the snacks, it’s almost the thing they remember the most.

I need to know about these snacks. There’s these great crisps, like posh crisps, called Eaten Path, they’re balsamic vinegar and made out of bean and pea. They’ve got a lovely crisp to them. They’re not too greasy but they’re really moreish.

You should use them as the ‘item’ for your next track. I like the idea of doing non-instrument instruments, like the pesto jar with Anna. I find them to be almost more exciting. But yeah, biscuits, biscuits, biscuits, lots of biscuits, tea, coffee, cakes, and then a bit of fruit... usually a grape.

Snacks aside, do you have a favourite finished track? There’s one that’s really sweet and short and quite transportative from the first series with Mark Lockheart, a floaty saxophone thing. But I can’t really say if there’s a favourite, I get a rush off each writing session and the fun of the day really.

From Delago’s hypnotic Collider and Mira Calix’s glitchy Skating on Thin Ice to Gold Panda’s vinyl sampling on Lanza and Meredith’s hyperactive Oopsloops, as a collection of music, the Excuse the Mess compilations are remarkably cohesive. What was it like for you experiencing and working with everyone’s different processes? It’s amazing for me... I get a masterclass and I get to sit in the room with someone who’s an absolute beast at what they do, and then get to share that. The beauty of the rules is that it can really focus us and stop us being too distracted and then you get quite a pure essence of the way they work and the way their mind works.

What was it like experiencing the Meredith map? Definitely a highlight. That’s a great example of someone who’s really found not only their voice but the process behind that voice as well. Some people have these almost routines like Anna and some people, they maybe have an instinct that leads them towards their sound... An example is Mira Calix’s one. Quite quickly it started sounding like a Mira Calix tune, it was very choppy uppy... Everyone seems to have this little relationship with chaos where they can generate things... Mira’s was just hacking at bits of audio and poking buttons.

Did you find it hard sticking to your three rules? Yeah, there’s a few cheaty bits. For example, Hannah Peel was just like, ‘Aw, it would be great to do some singing on this’, and I was like, I can’t say no to Hannah Peel!

The two digital compilation albums and limited edition books are out this month, was this always the end goal? Not at all. I thought I was just gonna quietly release them on Bandcamp. I did quietly release [volume one] to not much fanfare at the end of that series, but then for various reasons, COVID included, I’ve just been sitting on two complete series and luckily in the last year-and-a-half Hidden Note have had time to be thinking about their record label and what they want to do. They [su ested the] coffee table books... it’s a nice way to put a very digital project into the physical world.

What can people get out of the books that they won’t get from the podcast or the music? Without retracing my steps, I’ve talked a little bit about each artist and the day, things that still resonate with me now. Hopefully people that like the podcast can flick through it and maybe discover some of the artists, get a sense of them, a sense of the day, a sense of the music. I see the book as CD liner notes on steroids, a beautifully made accompaniment for the music and the podcast.

The podcast stopped almost as soon as the pandemic started. Is there a plan for a third series? I think so, yeah. I’ve got a wishlist and at some point I’m gonna start making the gears turn again. It’d be nice to try and do some new things, I’d like to work with more electronic artists.

In keeping with this issue’s fantasy theme, who would your dream collaboration be, dead or alive? The whole 'alive or dead' makes it even more difficult, you know I like limitations! I think Ryuichi Sakamoto would be good, I’ve been really getting into Yellow Magic Orchestra. I’m also really into this band CHAI, they’re amazing. I do have a sort of fantasy with the podcast actually, to do a travelling one. It’s a bit of an obvious choice, but I’d do an American series and I could do, you know, a couple of podcasts in various cities and that’s the series, and it could almost be a sort of travel blog as well. I think the podcast would have to get more famous first. It’s got a very niche audience, I would say.

Excuse the Mess volumes one and two, along with accompanying books, are released on 4 Feb via Hidden Note Records

Listen to the Excuse the Mess podcast in all the usual places

etmpodcast.com excusethemess.bandcamp.com

It Was All A Dream

As Scottish Opera bring their version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Glasgow and Edinburgh, we talk to the production’s Assistant Director Emma Black to find out more

Interview: Tallah Brash

After a two-year wait due to the pandemic, Scottish Opera are nally bringing Benjamin Britten’s operatic reimagining of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to the stage this year, with runs at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal from 22 to 26 February and Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre from 1 to 5 March. If you’re under 26 you can bag any seat in the house for just £10 with Scottish Opera’s Under 26 ticket deal.

With many adaptations and takes on A Midsummer Night’s Dream over the years, chances are you’re probably aware of the romantic comedy in some form or another already. Get Over It, the 2001 teen romcom starring Kirsten Dunst immediately springs to mind for us, but maybe you read the play at school? It’s utterly mind-blowing to think that something written in the late 16th century continues to provide inspiration to so many, over 400 years later. “I think one of the reasons A Midsummer Night’s Dream is still so popular today is that its themes are universal,” Assistant Director for Scottish Opera’s upcoming production Emma Black tells us. “Looking at Helena’s plight at the beginning – we’ve all been in love with someone who hasn’t loved us back, or know someone who has been in that situation, and wished for a magic potion to solve our problems.

“When we rst meet Bottom and his gang – we’ve all been in a group where someone’s a bit of a show-o , and we’ve wanted them to be taken down a peg or two. And we’ve all had a squabble with our signi cant other, as in the case of Tytania and Oberon, which has caused global warming, right!?”

Black continues: “Shakespeare has endured because he was incredible at getting to the root of human nature, and even though A Midsummer Night’s Dream is mainly set in a fantastical version of our world, the human element remains – arguments that couples had 400 years ago are still happening today!”

Although best known as a play, in 1960 A Midsummer Night’s Dream was brought to life as an opera thanks to the work of Benjamin Britten and his partner and co-librettist Peter Pears who, as Black informs us, “played the character of Flute in the original 1960 production.” The original play did feature some songs, so its realisation as an opera makes perfect sense. “Britten put his own spin on [the songs],” Black explains, “plus from a composer’s point of view there’s a lot of fun to be had creating the music for the three distinct groups of characters – otherworldly fairies, heartfelt lovers, and an amateur dramatics group who are by turns bombastic, shy and, ultimately, loveable.”

Black adds: “This is the play that gave us ‘the course of true love never did run smooth’, and the now iconic feminist line currently adorning T-shirts and other merchandise: ‘Though she be but little, she is erce’, and they’re all in the opera! The music is also sublime, and is a perfect companion to the play – if you’ve never seen an opera, but enjoy Shakespeare, this is the perfect rst opera for you.” And remember, if you’re under 26 then Scottish Opera’s £10 ticket scheme is a great incentive for you to try something new, and what better way to try something new than with such an iconic story.

Scottish Opera’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is directed by Dominic Hill with set and costume design from Tom Piper. So what can we expect from their take on Britten’s opus? “You can expect pure theatrical magic,” Black excitedly tells us. “There’s ying, juggling, incredible singing, hilarious jokes and our very own band of fairies. The world that Dominic and Tom have created brilliantly contrasts the formality of the court (which rules over the four lovers, and the six rustics led by Bottom) with the more uid rules of the wood where we nd our two leaders of the fairies. We’re in a post-World War II era, where society was in a process of change, and some of the old rules no longer apply. Our gang of fairy children are not the beautiful pristine choir Britten imagined, but instead are a streetwise bunch of kids that you wouldn’t want to meet down a dark alley!”

If you’re itching to experience Scottish Opera’s modern take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream with its slick comedy and magical setting, and are under 26, unlike some other young person ticket o ers, there are no restrictions on Scottish Opera’s £10 tickets, meaning if you get in quick you can quite literally get the best seat in the house at any performance of the show you like. Though the price be but little, the experience will be erce.

Scottish Opera: A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs at Theatre Royal, Glasgow, 22-26 Feb; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, 1-5 Mar