Markland Starkie, the man behind the other worldly tunes that emanate from Sleeping States, like timeless classics playing on the radio in the den of Laura Palmer’s house in Twin Peaks, finds his way across the Atlantic for a quick burst down the East Coast once again. We were lucky enough to catch him before he has to put on his ice skates to make it from Philly to our friendly environs in DC. (SHOW JUST GOT CANCELED DUE TO MARKLAND BEING ICED UP IN BOSTON-ED)
The last time we saw you here in DC you were playing your guitar with an old duct-taped hair dryer and selling t-shirts with line drawings of naked ladies - what an we expect on this visit:
Not just any naked lady either; Divine is, in Aaliyah's words, more than a woman. But yeah I've brought along a few electronic toys to play with, some of which are getting a bit old and frail now so I'm making the most of them while I still can. I'm not playing with a full band on this tour, just one other musician, but we've been rearranging the songs with some live looping and stuff to keep us on our toes so it should be pretty fun.
You are touring with Andrew from Pants Yell! in tow. How did that come about?
Pants Yell! and Sleeping States toured together in the UK back in 2006 and we had such a good time that we stayed in touch over the years. We've hung out a bunch of times since then but this is the first time that we've had the opportunity to play music together again and I'm really excited as it's something we've talked about doing for ages but haven't had the opportunity until now.
When will North America see your last album "In the Gardens of the North" released here?
Soon actually - I don't have a release date yet, but Misra (who released the album prior to that too) are releasing an expanded version in early Spring, which will also contain b-sides and other 7" tracks that appeared around the time of the album's UK release.
Has it been frustrating to have long delays between finishing a record and having it make it's way across the Atlantic? This was the case with "There the Open Spaces" as well, correct?
That is correct, although under very different circumstances. "Open Spaces" was more frustrating as the album had been finished for a while, as you said, but I had no idea how to or who could put it out either in the UK or elsewhere and I didn't want to do it myself again (like I did with my first album "Distances Are Great"). That bit of blog buzz off the Rivers single helped put me in touch with those people, but obviously these things take a while to organize. With the last album, on the other hand, I already had a UK label for it, but Misra weren't, at that time, in a position to put it out, and as this coincided with a very busy time in my life outside of music I decided not to push a US release as I wasn't going to be able to promote or tour it Stateside anyway. A year later and things have slotted in place better: Misra are now under some great new management and will be distributing the album, and I've found some time to do a few shows over here.
How did your move from London to Bristol effect your new songs?
In short, a lot. “Open Spaces,” which was written when I lived in London, is very much about the city and city-life, while “Gardens,” which was written in Bristol, uses much more imagery from the British countryside, and is definitely more pastoral in general. Obviously Bristol is still a city, but it's much more connected to the country I think, especially as it's situated in an area of England called the West Country, which is very rural.
Can you hear that funny language being spoken over in Cardiff across the water on a clear day?
Nid wyf yn gwybod beth yr ydych yn sôn am
I love this cover for the "Kayfabe Juncture" cassette. Where is that from?
It's actually a still from a video piece by a Bristol artist called Rhiannon Chaloner. She curated a performance piece called Kayfabe Juncture in Bristol last summer that involved professional wrestlers, for whom she designed and made all these costumes for and then choreographed a sort of hyper-stylized wrestling match, and the video piece formed part of the event. She asked me to score some music, instrumental drone stuff, to be played during it and that is what the music on the cassette is.
Do you think everyone should have to own Life Without Buildings "Any Other City" before ever uttering an opinion about music?
People who haven't heard Life Without Buildings are able to have opinions about music?
I am always curious about the power of the blog endorsement - what happened when Ed from Grizzly Bear name-checked you just as they were really getting a lot of attention?
Well the whole blog buzz thing, it's pretty fun waking up one morning and having literally dozens of emails from random people who have taken time out to say that they like your stuff, for sure. As far as serious success or whatever, well I didn't really capitalize on it I suppose ha ha - when it happened that 7" had already been out for at least six months, and was still like nine months off from putting anything else out. But I guess long term it transformed me from a musical hobbyist and infrequent live performer with a small local following to a musical hobbyist and infrequent live performer with a small international following.
Other musicians and music biz people just seem to like you on a personal level, more so than is usually the case I mean - are you the only non-asshole in the UK music scene?
I wouldn't say that - I'm also an asshole, I just hide it well behind my two-faced personality.
You were the opening act for Githead (of which I am a huge fan) on their tour of Italy - how did that come about and give me some highlights mister?
That tour was a simple booking agent job - they needed a support act, I was more than happy to oblige. Those guys are all great, it was really fun getting to hang out with them. I like Wire a lot, but the real jewel for me was getting to meet Robin Rimbaud, who plays guitar in that band. He's been making experimental/electronic music and sound art since the early '90s under the name Scanner and I was a little bit starstruck because I've been this big fan for a long time - I'd even studied him in class at art school.
Haven't done this in a while but you are the perfect candidate for the ipod shuffle - shuffle your itunes and list out the first five that come out, and say anything you want about them. No cheating! If Vanilla Ice pops up then this is sword we fall on my man.
1. In The Midnight Hour - Gary Wilson. Man, I love Gary Wilson so much I even did a Beck and name-checked him on a song a few years back. A true original. I was so happy to find out he has a new album out (which is great, by the way). This is from an album of collected non-released tracks from his wilderness years I believe.
2. Open Your Heart - Madonna. Love pre-Evita Madonna, pure and simple. (Like a lot of post-Evita Madonna too, but with more caveats). My favorite is Into the Groove but this is also a classic.
3. The Slayer - Evangelista. I don't actually know the record this comes from so well (Prince of Truth), but I was seriously into their first album “Hello, Voyager,” and even more seriously into Carla Bozulich's solo album (also called “Evangelista”) before that. Love the production on those records, it's like listening to a haunted house doing its thing.
4. With Our Love - Talking Heads. Greatest band of the post-punk era hands down. This track is from my favorite album of theirs, “More Songs About Buildings and Food.”
5. Cars With The Boom - L'Trimm. Hmm I think I downloaded this before a party after having one of those songs-from-your-childhood conversations. I want to say it's great and fun, but it's no Mel and Kim.
Favorite painting of al-time?
Are you kidding? One painting? I could do video installations? Ok, well off the top of my head... I'm a sucker for Mark Rothko, and the Tate Modern in London has a dimly lit room with his Seagram Murals in it, which I love looking at. The room and paintings have a wonderfully meditative influence.
Favorite sandwich of all-time?
Oh this is an easy one. There's a place in Bristol called Magic Roll, who do these amazing flatbread wraps. Seriously amazing. My favourite is called the Piratha - grilled lamb, halloumi, feta, spinach, grilled onions, mushrooms and hot sauce. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Which one do you love more?
Sorry Rothko....
The snow finally ends/turns to ice when you reach DC. Can't wait to see you and your musical joys!
See Sleeping States tonight at The Velvet Lounge with local faves Black Telephone and The Homophones. SADLY CANCELED DUE TO ICE!
Previously in BYT interviews:
- 5/18: INTERVIEW: Jasmine Solano
- 5/18: Interview: Richard Linklater
- 5/17: Interview: Penguin Prison
- 5/16: Interview: Brian Regan
- 5/15: Richard Davies (Cardinal) Interviewed by Archie Moore
- 5/11: Interview: Horse Feathers' Justin Ringle
- 5/10: Reflections on a Conversation with Mickey Avalon
- 5/9: Inside the STYLELINER
- 5/8: The Politics of Mastodon
- 5/4: Preview: Mucca Pazza @ The Kennedy Center's "Look Both Ways" Festival
God loves a cheerful giver.
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