Galway Advertiser 2002/2002_07_18/GA_18072002_E1_060.pdf 

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Hm f o h m - a o e rm o e n CLEAR interview wih Davi Kit t d t S0UNt>S
KEVIN McGUIRE
DAVID K I T T enjoys playing Galway. After all, it's a second home t o t h e Dublin singer-songwriter. He took some time out from a r e h e a r s a l for his Galway A r t s Festival gig in St N i c h o l a s ' s t h i s S a t u r d a y to s p e a k to Kernan Andrews about music and divided loyalties d u r i n g t h e AllIreland. St Nicholas' A mediaeval church is an u n u s u a l l o c a t i o n for a concert but the hallowed surrounds of St Nicholas' will m a k e it a s p e c i a l e x p e r i e n c e for b o t h t h e a r t i s t and his a u d i e n c e . "We've not really played anywhere like it," says Kitt during a rehearsal in Dublin on Friday morning. "We've played special venues but there's never been anywhere like a church involved." Kitt knows the venue will create its own atmosphere. "I think it's going to be a special gig. Galway has always been great for us," he says. "The crowd will respond to the occasion and sit down when it's the quiet songs and have a bit of fun as well and get up when we rock out. It's kind of just a date on the calendar and now it's come closer. We're trying to do new stuff for the gig and we have a new drummer and so we're back to square one." The St Nicholas's concert will see Kitt preview new material from his forthcoming album, the follow up to Small Moments and The Big Romance. He will be backed by a five piece band. Is this indicative of the future sound of both the artist and the album? "Live gigs and studio have different lives so it would not be as indicative of the way it will sound. I'll try this band thing and try to do the sound with five other people but it's not closely related to what will be in the studio," he says. "I'm just trying to develop the live show." Kitt says the next album "will be a bigger record and w a k e p e o p l e u p . It w o n ' t be as c o s y as The Big Romance." He says there will be a lot more "swing and dirty hip-hop and acoustics and more dynamic and more extremes with loud and quiet". T h e Galway connection W h i l e Kitt was born in D u b l i n , his r o o t s are in Galway. It's something h e ' s always been proud of, though does create its own problems during the AllIreland. "It's always Dublin versus Galway in the old G a e l i c g a m e s , " he s a y s . " 1 9 8 3 and Dublin v e r s u s Galway and I can remember sitting on my father's knee with a Dublin flag and him with his Galway rosette. It's Dublin in the football and Galway in the hurling but sometimes you feel you should be shouting for Galway. People are aware of that, even non family members, that Galway is a second home." Kin's father, Tom Kitt taught David to play the guitar. He is also a Fianna Fail TD for Dublin South. Kitt must have been pleased with this year's election result. "Yeah, I was hoping he'd do well," he says. "My uncle [Micheal Kin] lost his seat in Galway East which was disappointing. I was half hoping my dad would top the poll and get him a cabinet position but his career is still going up [Kin was appointed Junior Minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs] and he'll be dealing with h u m a n r i g h t s w h i c h is an a r e a h e ' s a l w a y s b e e n interested in." Has David ever t h o u g h t a b o u t e n t e r i n g p o l i t i c s himself? "No," he emphatically replies. "For about 10 minutes, but no, it's a bad idea."

A b i - m o n t h l y r e v i e w of n e w r e l e a s e s , and forthcoming albums
Voodoo The Jimi Collection
T H I S L A T E S T r e l e a s e from J i m i H e n d r i x sees previously u n r e l e a s e d , unavailable, a n d alternate versions of songs such as 'All Along The Watchtower', 'Hey Joe', 'Foxy Lady' and many more. Disc one sticks with studio recordings of the tunes we love such as 'Purple Haze', 'Burning of the Midnight Lamp' with Jimi giving the God-like treatment on the strumming front. The guitar prodigy/legend was ably assisted on bass throughout these memorable recordings by Noel Redding, who was an integral part of The Experience and now resides in his Cork. This disc not only captures Hendrix in his studio wizardry but also offers, on disc two, some previously unavailable live recordings. It was in the live arena that Hendrix was at his best. Among the recordings displayed on this new CD are pieces taken from Woodstock (there is that totally uplifting 'Star Spangled Banner'), the Monterey Pop Festival, Isle of Wight Festival and others during the late 60s and early 70s. While this new arrival strays liule from the previous offerings such as The Best of, Jimi Hendrix Experience box set, et al - it is after all Jimi Hendrix at his best, live or in the studio with his guitar cradled in his arms.

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Island p r e s e n t e r

T h e b a n d c o m p r i s e d the u n u s u a l m o n o t o n e t y p e v o c a l s of D a v i d C o u s e , a f o r m e r Echo t u r n e d b a c k i n g v o c a l i s t a n d a h o s t o f nifty i n s t r u m e n t a l i s t s . A l s o in t h e i r f a v o u r w a s t h e a t t e n t i o n s o f E d w y n C o l l i n s ( o f "Girl L i k e You" f a m e ) w h o s u b s e q u e n t l y w e n t o n t o p r o d u c e a n u m b e r o f t r a c k s for t h e b a n d . H o w e v e r . A H o u s e m a d e little o r n o w a v e s o u t s i d e I r e l a n d a n d w e r e t h u s s e e n a s l e s s t h a n s u c c e s s f u l . F r o m t h e d i e h a r d f a n s o f A H o u s e t h e r e will b e c a l l s for t h e b a n d t o b e h a i l e d a s o n e o f t h e b e s t b a n d s t o e v e r g r a c e t h i s isle - h o w e v e r , t h e y n e v e r floated t h e b o a t in t h e p o o l o f l e g e n d s . W i t h t h e r e l e a s e o f t h e a l t e r n a t i v e ' H e r e C o m e T h e G o o d T i m e s ' t h e r e w a s a r e n e w e d i n t e r e s t in A H o u s e - c o n s e q u e n t l y w e s e e t h e i r Greatest Hits a p p e a r i n g . A l s o i n c l u d e d a r e r a r i t i e s s u c h a s t h e i r first r e c o r d i n g ' F r e a k O u t ' a n d a n a l t e r n a t i v e ' E n d l e s s Ait*. A H o u s e h a d t h e i r m o m e n t b u t n o w i t ' s g o n e - g o o d l o s e c t h i s recording though. 8.5 o u t of 10 ( s o r n i D a v i d ! )

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T h e music Kitt's mix of mellow folk, gentle vocals, ambient sounds, and techno beats has made him one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary rock. In Kitt's hands, this combination of two irreconcilable genres, combine perfectly to create music of subtlety and a greater depth than is immediately apparent. Did he realise this combination was something no one else had quite done before? "No," he says. "It's just a result of listening to different types of music. I had the ideas of what I wanted to do with the music but not the resources and know how. I just kept chipping away and buying a drum machine or buying another instrument and buying new records of hip-hop and electronic and acoustic music and they filtered through and it comes out unconsciously." In this era of excess, Kitt's determination to play only the notes that need to be played and allow the music to breathe is refreshing. "It's just minimalism, that's what I like about it. The best formal minimalism is Steve Reich and Philip Glass but I'm more fascinated by minimalism in pop music and the place you find that is in Black music like soul, reggae, and hip-hop, and the parts that are rhythmical," he says. "I wouldn't try to clog things up too much." W h i l e Kitt is confident about his music and the direction it is taking, he is less confident when writing lyrics, having said in a previous interview that words are just sometimes a "vehicle for a melody". " I ' m not embarrassed about my words, making stuff up, but I like when I make up a good line. The rest is what's on your mind and is a vehicle for the melody but that's not to say it's devoid of meaning but I feel I am getting away with that." Yet, listen to beautifully observed lyrics of 'Strange Light in the Evening' and the line about lovers on a grafittied park bench. At times, Kitt's imagry can capture the 'small moments' of life perfectly. It narrates a day and that's literally what happened, and on that I did hit something," he admits. He also feels lyrics are a way to subvert the singersongwriter genre. "It takes the sweetness out of things. You don't want to be over-sentimental and I do write soppy stuff so it's necessary to have less saccharine and that's the main reason for that," he says. "It's not me trying to be new or radical, it's just a way of having my moments of cynicism and show there is a darker layer. A lot of singer-songwriters like to live their lives in a dramatic way just for the sake of having something w write about. It's stupid. That was something I wanted 10 avoid and write about the small details instead and that resonates with people more. Hopefully I think thai s the reason people like what I do."