Sir-Vere frontman Craig Hammond assumes the position as we plug in the quick question machine
Where are you right now?
“In Milton Keynes, sitting by the peace pagoda by Willen Lake.”
What can you see?
“The beautiful Willen Lake and the Buddhist Stupa, a monument to inspire peace, it is a focus to people of all races to unite as one.”
You from round those parts then?
“Yes, born in Bletchley, which is famous for the Enigma de-coder that helped the Allies win World War II. It’s where the first electronic communications were created and if you visit you can see the mammoth computer built for intercepting codes.”
Struggling to think of notable folk from MK, can you help?
“There are are a few, Alan Turing the famous government codebreaker, Clare Nasir, the meteorologist & TV presenter and Greg Rutherford, long jump champion, went to my school.”
So you’re calling what to do RDM? That’s Big Beat in old money isn’t it?
“We love our Big Beats, but this is rocktronic dance music, a hybrid of rock musicians doing dance.”
So what’s RDM got that Big Beat hasn’t?
“RDM brings in all genres of dance, including breaks and house, in many ways nearer to industrial and new wave and yes Big Beat has been a major influence.”
There’s some great noises on the new album, any you’d like to single out for particular attention?
“If I had to pick, a highlight is the guitar lick in ‘Busted Loop’, the energetic power merged with the crazy electronics creates something sonically huge.”
You lot have form don’t you? What were you in previous lives?
“We have risen from the bottom of the ocean and our rebirth has shaped us into our current incarnation.”
Which is signed to Wall Of Sound. How is Mark Jones these days?
“He is all cool, crazy as ever, even without his drink and drugs he’s a live wire, love him!”
Do you have a favourite WoS release?
“Yes, my favourite is Agent Provocateur and the album is called ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, a great Big Beat album, with Matthew Ashman from Bow Wow Wow on guitar.”
You’re the sort of band who’d have taken the roof off at Sean McLusky’s Sonic Mook Experiment or Skint’s Big Beat Boutique…
“We played Sonic Mook as headliners at The Scala, with Richard Fearless of Death In Vegas, which was cool – early days of Sir-Vere and right off the back of Manumission. Big Beat Boutique at the Concorde was wicked, a great party night in Brighton.”
People don’t do nights like those anymore, do they?
“It would be great to see more nights incorporating live bands again.”
We miss the old days…
“The old days built us and shaped us and inspired us. We live for today, tomorrow, the future…”
