Ahead of his appearance at Wire for Subterranea later this month, we spoke to Man Power, one of dance music’s more clandestine characters. He’s also one of the scene’s most thoughtful figures, utilising strong imagery wherever possible, and balancing an intellectual craftsmanship with his knack for releasing party-starting records with amazing prolificacy. He has released on Correspondant, Voyeurhythm and ESP Institute recently, with more tracks and an album in the pipeline. Here’s what he had to say.
Is it the erotic side of dance music, the physical side, that appeals to you most?
The physical yes, but not necessarily the erotic. I like the thought of joy through movement, and communal experience. It’s more about mass communication and communion for me. After that, then it’s down to the individual’s experience. If that’s a sexual vibe for you, then that’s great, but ultimately it’s down the individuals own personal drivers whether they find something erotic, liberating, transcendental, aggressive cathartic, or any other translation of a physical group experience. The imagery I’ve used is kind of meant to exemplify that interpretive nature too. Some people find those images erotic, others playful, others distasteful and others comical etc etc etc.
What have been your favourite clubbing experiences over the years? And do you still manage to go out as a punter?
I go out as much as I can, although it’s becoming a bit of a busman’s holiday these days, unless it’s someone I really want to hear. Craig Richards set at Barbarella’s club for last year’s Love international really stands out as a highlight of recent years. He took the hardcore group of chin strokers I was dancing with and caressed them to the point where they were willing to sing along to him closing with Talk Talk – It’s My Life, which was no mean feat considering how picky these guys are. Job Jobse closing ADE at Trouw 2 years ago was pretty revelatory too. I’d not slept for 2 days, and he managed to keep me in the club an extra 4 hours with the sheer energy of his set. Older favourites are harder to pin point. Clubbing and altered states kind of went hand in hand for me for a lot of years, and my memories are patch at best.
Could you explain the label of the Oye record, your transgression from north to south and your self-depreciating view of the record?
Lovefingers wrote that about the record. He’s referencing the fact that I’ve moved from Newcastle to Mexico (albeit via Berlin). We’ve known each other a while, and I like the fact that he knows me well enough to be confident that I won’t get upset with him taking the piss.
With all your influences, spelled out in your website bio, do you find it hard to create music that is coherent, or do you embrace chaos?
I take the stance that my influences inform everything I do whether I like it or not, and just get on with making music without consciously trying to pin point anything that I’m putting in there, as they tend to obviously surface of their own volition anyway. Embracing chaos is pretty much the best description of how I work though. I try to just block everything out and get in to the “Flow State”. It usually ends up several days later, with me fairly breathless and unaware of the actual process I’ve used to make anything.
I’m particularly interested in new wave at the moment. How would you define it as a genre, and how has its style influenced you?
I guess New Wave is to Punk as Post Modernism is to Modernism. It’s the formalised response to a chaotic revolution. First you have something that begins with limitless possibility, and as that begins to formalise and go stale, you see something new come out of it which has learned the lessons of it’s fore bearer, but develops its own tropes.
Was creating a “Power Theme” difficult? Considering your self proclaimed ‘identity crisis’ was it a risk to do this?
I try not to take any of this too seriously if I can. Power Theme is a good example. It’s sounds like such a statement of intent, but in fact it’s just a throw away title. One way to deal with losing my identity in a musical project, was to get rid of that identities power wherever I could, so I’ve tried to hold it up to ridicule as much as I can, and invite it upon myself. You kind of become bulletproof when you’re the person who can make all of the best jokes at your own expense.
Acidic elements are a key trope of your tracks. Why do you keep coming back to these sounds?
I never really thought they were. My mother was very young when I was born, and was part of the Acid House scene when I was a small boy, so I guess I was surrounded by all that when I was growing up and I just associate that as being a go to vibe for dance music.
What are you listening to at the moment?
I’m still hammering the latest Radiohead album. Other than that, my ears are kind of taken up by constantly relistening to the drafts for my second album so I can write lyrics and make changes before I go in to record in Daniel Maloso’s studio from August onwards.
Oliver Walkden