Colin Newman: Bastard - Even Butterflies Make A Sound

No, I am not calling ex-Wire frontman a ‘bastard’. In fact, Bastard is the name of his 1997 solo album, which is being re-released this Friday (26 January).

The term refers more to the misfit/hybrid style of music Colin and Malka Spigel, his partner in life and music, created for the LP towards the end of last century.

As Colin explains: “There was a point in the ’90s when British music journalists basically didn’t get dance music and would refer to it as “faceless techno bollocks”. It was that very attribute that Malka and I felt most attracted to. In instrumental music, you could be anyone from anywhere. The only thing that mattered was how good your tunes were.

“With Bastard, it took a while to get to the concept, which was essentially this: What if we subverted the whole ‘bloke from Wire’ thing and had a Colin Newman album without any actual songs on it? These days, this is not such a big thing, but it was hugely transgressive at the time.

“The language of Bastard is house, techno, breakbeat, drum and bass, and doubtless post-rock. The only singing is a one-line Malka sample on ‘Turn’. Not only did the album not play by the rules of what would these days be called music by a ‘heritage’ artist, but it didn’t play by the rules of dance music either. Back then, dance music artists didn’t mix up styles as they do today. This is one of the reasons the album’s called Bastard.

“Malka and I have done more work together on swim ~ – and, of course, there has been plenty of Wire activity after its second hiatus during the 1990s – but I never felt the need to do another solo album. I don’t crave attention and certainly don’t feel I lack ways to express myself. In many ways, it’s more creative to collaborate with others.

“There is joy and beauty in collaboration. And collaborating with Malka has become so effortless that we almost don’t know who does what in the work we create. Maybe that’s the point? Surely, art should be about human connection and diversity of expression?”

Colin Newman’s Bastard is out via swim ~. It will be available on vinyl for the first time, limited-edition bio vinyl in fact, digitally, and as a double CD which adds 12 bonus tracks, including four previously unreleased.