Jesu - "Justin Broadrick"

Interview by Graham Landers // Posted on 01.23.05 // www.uraniummusic.com/
 
Uranium: I heard that Jesu recently returned from a European tour with label mates Pelican. How was your reception with the crowd? How was the turnout? Do you have any wild tour stories?

It was actually just the UK leg of the tour. These were the first live shows of Jesu and for us it didn?t go so well unfortunately (this was in august last year). We seemed well received, but we didn?t feel comfortable; we were playing without our drummer Ted Parsons, he lives in Norway, some miles from us. Jesu planned to play live sometimes without Ted and use just technology much like I did with Godflesh, but we felt it didn?t work. The turn out was very good in most places and absolutely no wild tour stories, apart from not even playing the last 2 shows on the UK leg! We considered ourselves such shit that we called it a day for the tour. We will not be that shit live in the future.

Uranium: I assume you hire tour musicians to help you out on tour? Do you have a certain touring band that will go out with you each time or is it a matter of seeing who is available and going from there? If so, can you elaborate on who is involved, past bands etc? Also, will any of these touring musicians contribute to future recordings or songwriting? Is there any chance that Jesu will eventually be a full band or will Jesu always be a solo experience?

At the moment the live band consists of Diarmuid Dalton on bass guitar who also played synths with Godflesh here and there and was in a band with previous Godflesh member Paul Neville (who also appears on the Jesu self titled album) called Cable Regime. Ted Parsons plays drums and percussion on the album and live, he has played and recorded with Prong, Swans, Killing Joke and more! All of these people will contribute to further recordings in one way or another. I have Jesu open like this people will come and go there will not be a set band so to speak. I sort of direct Jesu...

Uranium: Your music would lend itself well to strong visuals similar to Neurosis when they play live. Is this something you already incorporate into your live performance or might choose to in the future? It would be amazing to have a companion visual dvd to be played simultaneously with either of your albums for the ultimate Jesu experience. Any thoughts about something like this in Jesu?s future?

Yeah, as you have already deduced, Jesu is very visual music; when Jesu played live for the first time with Pelican we used visuals, and it?s our intention to do this as often as possible and where possible... I definitely aim to take this further at some stage with dvd releases etc. Jesu is still in its infancy to some extent as there are so many places yet to go with this.

Uranium: Any plans for a US tour? If so, any idea when that might start taking shape? Any bands you would like to go out with that you may or may not have with Jesu or previous bands?

Coming to the US is planned for this year. It?s just a matter of getting the logistics worked out. I think we'll be doing a headlining tour first it seems, maybe around 30 dates throughout the whole US.

Uranium: As sole composer, producer and engineer of Jesu, does this ever hurt you as an artist by not having extra ears or ideas when you hit phases of writer?s block or not being sure if something should be changed or left as is?

Not particularly, Jesu was intentionally done in a vacuum and will continue like this. Godflesh became very democratic towards the end of its existence and I felt it failed due to this democracy. Jesu is done extremely selfishly. If I have any form of block, then I don?t make music. I only write music when I?m inspired.

Uranium: How long do you sit on a song before deciding it?s ready for public consumption?

I write it, sculpt it and then work on it for a fairly long time to be honest; I?m rarely happy with anything I do, so I just work until I feel it?s the best I can do with a particular song. There are so many stages to the song too. Not only the writing and the recording of the individual parts, but the production and mix of the song too. There are also a lot of variables to all these stages and it drives me fucking mad most of the time!

Uranium: How does the writing process of Jesu differ from your previous projects, Godflesh for instance? Is the process more sporatic in terms of writing little pieces ever so often and then setting a time table where you?ll just piece what you have together? Or is there another way you go about it?

It is different than with Godflesh; Jesu is about layers, it should sound almost orchestrated. Godflesh was easier to write, it was more primitive. I never just write one song and solely work on that for x amount of time. I always have a few songs on the go so I don?t get bored and sick of hearing each song. It?s easy to get tired of songs coz I work on them so much... I pretty much write and record at the same time and chop and change as I go. Songs are born in the studio. They?re studio pieces first and foremost while replicating it live is entirely secondary. I find that with this attitude to the songs, I can go further because the writing and songs aren?t trapped inside the confines of a band and the limitations that come with that. I can do virtually anything and not have to worry about how things will be replicated live etc.

Uranium: Take us through the recording process of Jesu. How does it compare and contrast from previous projects?

I pretty much covered this above. I basically write and record everything then I?ll have other players come in and interpret what I have done on the drums and bass (I write all drums with machines). Ted parsons will then approximate these drum parts and play them for real, adding nuances etc. The same goes for Diarmuid Dalton, the bass player in Jesu. Once everybody has done their parts I?ll start chopping things up and generally playing around with things, so the way a song was initially changes greatly by the time we get to the final product.

Uranium: Although the copy of your album I received doesn?t contain lyrics, it?s quite obvious you?ve taken a more personal approach, though sticking to your pattern of only a paragraph or so of differing lines with a tendency of repetition. Was it a goal of yours to keep the lyrical aspect as minimal or simple as possible to achieve a lasting effect on the listener or did it just happen to turn out that way thus far?

I guess that?s just the way I like to do things, it?s natural to me. I like this open ended feeling, particularly with the use of echoes and delays that I use; they sound archaic, infinite, spacey, and that?s something I?m looking for. The lyrics and vocals are intentionally minimal. My voice is just another instrument in the mix. It?s not really meant to lead as such, its all about texture.

Uranium: Your debut album appropriately titled ?Heart ache,? gives off an aura of sadness, pain or a hurt that is hard to put into words. Though captured perfectly to tape, does this song/album relate to any particular moment or part of your life that has caused you this Heart Ache?

Not everything I write is done in the 1st person, but can relate to other people. Yes, I?ve suffered some great loss in the last few years and this loss has inspired Jesu. The songs I write with Jesu have to have a strong emotional aspect and if I find them upsetting, then this a good thing. I?m looking to make incredibly emotional, sad and upsetting but somehow strangely uplifting music.

Uranium: Neurot Recordings answer emails at a snails pace if at all. Is there any chance that you can email them and make sure they send a copy of Final when it?s available? What can we expect from your Final project? Are there any vocals?

Hahah yeah sure, I operate at about the same pace as they do hehe. The Final record is a double CD and around 5 years worth of material. There are no vocals. It?s very emotional too, much like Jesu, but without any rock band leanings and stripped of all guitar band conventions...

Uranium: How did you hook up with Hydra Head?

We hooked up basically through Neurosis. When Neurot Recordings wanted to release "sgnl05" from Isis, they asked me to do a remix which Isis wanted too. I agreed upon hearing Isis, whom I had never heard before. Later on Aaron Turner contacted me and we built a relationship from there. Hydra Head is a great label. They have the right attitude which is very rare.

Uranium: What song of yours is your personal favorite and why? What song seems to be the fan favorite in a live setting?

We haven?t played live enough at this stage to say which song is a fan favorite. I think 'tired of me' appeared to be received best at the small UK tour we did do though. My favorites change all the time, but I think my current favorite is 'guardian angel'.

Uranium: Sorry but I have to ask, what are the chances of a Godflesh reunion?

There is no chance whatsoever! It?s done and I?d never wish to do that again; I?ve moved on and so has GC Green. He has a completely new life now which he's totally happy about so I formed Jesu because I was simply bored of doing Godflesh and I felt trapped by it. Jesu is free, it?s what I want.

Uranium: If given the chance to eliminate one band from this earth for whatever reason and the authorities would turn a blind eye, what band would you choose to destroy and why?

Hmm, I?m split for choice haha. So many, so many things utterly repulse me. I?m finding it hard to pick just one...If Guns N Roses still existed in a similar form to what they were originally, I?d probably pick them. That whole thing is revolting, everything about them from the music downwards. But they?re a very easy choice I think so I give up haha.

Uranium: Any last comments?

No, apart from thank you for the interest and the interview.......