THIS WEEK:FOLD
Based in Leeds, Fold are a live downtempo / trip-hop 4 piece consisting of founder Seth Mowshowitz on synths & samples, Kane Rattray on drums, Ben Walsh on bass and Josh Gardziel on guitar. They integrate speech into music in experimental ways in order to reflect some of the more difficult truths of the world.
I think they are wonderful & confess to really loving everything I have heard from them.They operate in a similar vein to a old label of mine in DJ Shadow (Mo’ Wax) in their lovely ability to match melody to texture to rhythm & produce a warm & poignant feast for the ears & minds.
They have been regularly featured on Fresh On The Net’s Fresh Faves & Tom’s Radio shows on BBC 6 Music purely because they make quality music that transcends genres & is simply put-wonderful.
Originally from New York Seth is a veteran of the NYC trip hop & downtempo scenes of the late 90s & early 00s. His debut album under former guise Mujaji was released to critical acclaim in 2001 on the same label as DJ Krush & DJ Cam’s US debuts. Following the demise of label Shadow Records Mujaji migrated to a then fledgling, Brooklyn based downtempo label Bastard Jazz Recordings for a few years – touring and releasing original tracks & remixes on wax.
In 2003 Seth moved across the pond to London and after a few years took a hiatus to start a family, returning to the music world with the idea for Fold in early 2009. Having moved to Leeds in September 2011 he immediately embraced the rich local music scene and before long hooked up with Kane, Ben & Josh to form the current line-up. These three West Yorkshire lads have been playing together for over a decade and are no strangers to swirling masses of delicious psychadelic noise with funky, driving backing beats.
Fold support organisations dedicated to bringing about global equality including the Tax Justice Network, Kiva and The Equality Trust. Fold’s latest single Mr President, We’re In Trouble (ft. Jimmy Carter) is out now on limited red 7″ vinyl & digital download. 75% of profits from digital sales will go to the Equality Trust.
Look out for a 5 track EP in collaboration with poet Mr Gee coming soon & an album towards the end of the year.
You can catch them live on Sun Mar 10 – The Hop, Wakefield [supporting Public Service Broadcasting].If you are able to get there,this is sure to be a good one.
I hope you will find the time to check them out a bit further,I think they are very special.
Ladies & gentlemen,it gives me great pleasure to welcome Fold to Prick and Ding 40
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1. What are you up to at the moment?
Mainly planning our next release – working on a kinetic typography video for the lead track. We’re also strongly focussed on refining & enriching our live set. Apart from that I have a full time job, 2 young kids and I’m 5 months into a house renovation. I need some rest 🙁
2. Favourite childhood memory?
Every pre-teen Christmas morning and every snow day (an American term for a day off from school caused by snow). Also my 10th birthday when I got The Minutemen’s Buzz Or Howl Under the Influence of Heat EP on vinyl. The real beauty of that birthday was that I managed to fineagle literally all of the records I wanted from a combination of friends & family with the help of my mother’s clever & stealthy management techniques. Also the party was awesome. I still have pictures.
3. Hero?
A tie between Frank Zappa, Ernesto Guevara and Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
4. Villain?
Dick Cheney hands down. He scares the bejesus outta me. Notably all of my chief villains are old white men.
5. What/who makes you laugh?
My kids, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Eddie Izzard, Bob Odenkirk, Gary Shandling, Monty Python my friend Aaron Schultz and doing silly things with language like combinining words that (one thinks) have never been combined before. Also coming up with ridiculous nicknames for people – by which I mean my kids, poor creatures – and a lifelong search for the world’s most terrible pun. Oh and toilet humour of course.
6. Describe what you do?
I reflect the world around me through the lens of my own experience and perception as truthfully and with the highest level of emotional honesty that I can muster. Standard artist stuff really. I believe strongly in equality and do what I can to support organisations dedicated to bringing it about. The prevailing sentiment in the music is that a society founded on love is better for everyone than a society founded on greed. The intent behind Fold is to be a living musical example of this idea.
7. Who’s hair would you like to have for just one day?
I do get hair envy. I don’t hate my hair it just has a tendency to behave like a child in a supermarket, but then so do I. Robert Plant’s gorgeous mane springs to mind, but moreover Paul Weller’s expensive looking shabby-chique do or Nigel Tufnell’s glorious British 80s glam mullet. I have wavey American hair and it could never be British & straight like theirs – no matter how many UK citizenship ceremonies I am required to attend.
8. Best musical experience to date
An spontaneous jam at a house party in LA featuring my brother on drums, myself on guitar and our friend & benefactor musical guru Eric Nord (500mixes.com) on bass. We kicked off with tunes by The Meters threaded with explorations into DJ Shadow, Portishead and assorted hip-hop grooves. We became the de facto musical centerpiece for the entire party – no playlists or DJs were required. I could’ve died happy right then, even more so if I hadn’t fallen asleep while that chick was (probably) trying to hit on me. I had terrible facial hair at the time so I was lucky to garner any interest at all. To be fair I’d also smoked half of Jamaica by that point.
9. What artist inspires you?
John Lennon. I have been deeply moved by his songs from a very early age – they’ve always spoken to me like no other music has. I remember learning actual facts about the world (aka England) through his lyrics a la “Dad, what’s Blackburn Lancashire? Why are there holes in it?” I have also read quite a lot about him. In reality he was neither saint nor hero. Like the rest of us he made some awful mistakes and caused hurt but he was always trying to cut through the bullshit that surrounded him and get to some kind of emotional honesty within. I draw inspiration both from his ability to express himself and the way he led his life. Last summer we stayed in Liverpool for a week and visited his childhood home. I’ll never forget my 4 year old son running around John Lennon’s garden, nicking apples off of the neighbour’s overhanging tree. I’ll also never forget the stomach bug I had that day and what I was forced to do at Paul MacCartney’s childhood home. I had no choice – I’d been informed ahead of time that I wouldn’t be permitted to use the bathroom at John Lennon’s house.
10. What does Fresh On The Net mean to you?
As an artist I wish to communicate clearly and effectively. Getting honest feedback from discerning listeners is extremely valuable – it enables me to get a clear idea of what really gets through to people. FOTN has provided an unusual platform to help me achieve this for which I’m very grateful, not to mention the other thing which I crave on an emotional level: validation! Hey at least I can admit it. More broadly I think it is both awesome & admirable that FOTN provides an equal opportunity for all artists to get music heard and into the spotlight based solely on its own merits. It is a rare thing these days to get that kind of exposure without greasing palms or kissing ass. Thanks you guys.
