Goldie

Attack’s Bruce Aisher interviews Goldie on stage at London Electronic Music Event

If you were born thirty years earlier or thirty years later you’d still be doing…

I’d still be doing something! If it wasn’t drum and bass music I’d be doing other music anyway. It just so happens I’m working with this medium, I’m doing my alchemy with the stuff that’s around me. Art is the application of a medium to a surface. That could be anything. But there’s a lot more people like me. There’s thousands of me now. There’s thousands of kids out there doing it.

Do you think?

Yeah!

Who’s the Goldie of today? Goldie circa ’93, ’94…

Fuck, when you say it like that I dunno. That’s a hard one to answer now. I do lots of different things. But music I dunno… Skrillex? When his music first came out, when it was original.

You realise that’s the only part of this interview everyone’s going to talk about now? ‘Goldie: Skrillex is the new me.’

Well you’d be a fucking idiot to put it in there, wouldn’t you?

Yeah, but I’m still going to.

Fucking hell. I’m undercutting myself here! OK, there isn’t one of me then. I don’t think there is. Fucking hell. You’re a good interviewer, huh?

I guess that I give a lot of people a lot of credit, but it’s difficult to find an all-rounder. If you’re talking about someone who does a lot of things… But you know what, maybe jack of all trades master of none, know what I’m saying?

I’m by no means the best at what I do. I think there’s a lot of phenomenal artists out there, most definitely. And I’m inspired by that. But I think all round, art in its pure form? You can’t really fuck with me, to be honest.

Let’s talk about that. You’re definitely an all-rounder. Since the first time I saw you in The Face or whatever when I was a kid, back in ’94, ’95, you’ve always represented a bigger culture.

Right.

All round, art in its pure form? You can’t really fuck with me, to be honest.

People might latch onto certain aspects of it, like graffiti, or people might see your teeth and want to talk about the story of the jewellery or whatever. But there’s a deeper story there to me, which is that you’re representing everything that you’ve immersed yourself in for the whole of your life, right?

When you say it like that, fuck. I feel tired! I’ve immersed myself in my art, man. I’ve got to. If it’s about taking away the name Goldie and saying this kid enjoyed his journey and what he was involved in, I did it. I played with my heroes, I’ve painted with my heroes, do you know what I mean? I immersed myself in it. Yeah, I guess so.

I just feel that there’s people who say, ‘Oh, he’s so nineties. It’s over. He’s a has-been.’

What do you say to that then? Come on, you’re into yoga now, you’re into classical music. Have you gone soft?

Listen, if you want to come to Bikram with me you’ll be on the floor in twenty minutes gasping and having to leave the room crying, basically. I do it five days a week. I’ve seen big guys give it the big ’un then twenty minutes later they’re crying their eyes out and you see them fold like they’re in a coke sweat.

Look, it’s one of those things, man. Spiritually, something’s looking out for me. I’m in a good place. To be here still talking about something that I love? I’m alright here, son. I’m OK. If you wanna fight me, I’ll see you in the fucking car park. I don’t care. I’ll roll with any cunt. That’s the old me, but it doesn’t go away. It’s still there. I like a little tear-up now and then, but I love getting in that Bikram room because it stops me from thinking about that.

Do you still love music and the industry?

What do you think?

If you wanna fight me, I’ll see you in the fucking car park. I don’t care. I’ll roll with any cunt.

I reckon you still love it. I don’t think you can leave it. You said earlier you want to make one or two more albums then quit. No way. You won’t be able to do it.

You don’t think so?

Come on.

Mate, I dunno. You know what, the only person I respect in this music industry is David Rodigan. Hands down. The don. Any white guy who can go to Jamaica and deal with Jamaican culture – my family are Jamaican, Jamaicans are fierce, man – and survive that and come back, he’s the don. If I was to ever emulate anything like that… That’s really the only people I respect in this industry. Norman Jay, Rodigan, Gilles Peterson.