Tom Jenkinson

I couldn’t find a group that wanted to do what I wanted to do. No one was really up for it.

My history is really playing live – not writing or recording.

It’s important for that to exist in a society that doesn’t present you with any genuine problems.

The main thing I’m into is going about on a bike, taking random routes; I’m really into the idea of making up journeys, and just seeing where they take you, because they always end up taking you someplace freaky.

Yeah, my drum programming especially is based on my knowledge of playing a drum kit. For the bass too, definitely. It was the first thing that I translated any sort of ideas through. It must have shaped it somehow.

Just the type of music that was around at the same time as I was writing. Some of it was wicked, definitely. But there was just one direction which I thought could be pushed that no one was pushing.

But I always communicate with the audience. I never pretend like I’m just in my bedroom making a track. The whole point of doing a gig is, like, a feedback thing between you and the audience.

Because, when I’m making music, I don’t think about anything, you know? All I think about is what I want to hear. So that for me is what I want – I want my head to be constantly being rearranged.

I make music to generate atmospheres, not to complement already existing ones.

I like my stuff ’cause I only ever end up with tracks that I really, really like. It always appeals to me.

I think the best way is to forget about racing people and just find territory that’s fresh.

I don’t know how many records I’m selling.

Times of my life, brief periods without music, have completely felt dangerously over the edge.

I was starting to feel really suffocated, using the sequencer.

But I don’t really listen to much be-bop at all at the moment.

I’m starting to play all the melodies with kind of keyboard sound but playing it from the bass guitar.

I’m basically a musician.

Because there’s so much stuff I don’t release.

I’m not that interested in what people make of it, or how people consider me. That’s nothing to do with me.

I’ve never really been that much of a fan of Ninja Tune.

I love traveling. I love just going about on my own, feeling I have no roots.

I don’t know that the best way to approach it is to try and keep up. When you’re doing that, you’re setting yourself into a one-dimensional sort of race basically.

The older ideas are rendering more and more bland music.

I’d say that it’s important for music to be there that gives you a challenge, that rearranges things in your head.

I’m into music for all different sorts of purposes.

There’s a couple of tracks on the new record which is sort of using similar sort of rhythms as the drum and bass tracks but playing it all live. It’s a new approach to it.

The only way to find that territory is trying to keep your mind constantly open. That’s the only way that you’re ever going to see the sort of signs of where to go.

Sometimes I think that I want to do something strictly basic, really simple. Just with a few chords. But I won’t have anything more than two or three sentences in my head. That kind of evaporates once I start playing and then it goes off in whatever direction.

Doing something like that, quite radically changing your approach to sound in one go, could leave you high and dry. It’s happened before where people have changed direction and then everyone’s stopped liking their music.

I have a rough idea when I walk into a studio though.

I’m always pleased with my work. Absolutely.

This current round of gigs, I’m just doing it using pure electronics.