James Rushford
‘Real Real World’ is a collaborative album between percussionist Will Guthrie and keyboardist James Rushford.
“Fluid and fun”
‘Real Real World’ was recorded mainly in Nantes. Does this mean: at Will Guthrie’s house?
James Rushford: The majority of recording was done at a small studio near Will’s house in Nantes. There was a collection of old keyboards and electronics, which we augmented with our own instruments. I think we did two days of recording there, and some additional overdubs were done at Will’s home studio, and at my home studio in Melbourne at a later date.
The recording sessions were called “spontaneous” and “unhurried”.
The work was developed through improvising, with little discussion in advance about our intentions. Interestingly, we used almost all of the material we recorded on the album, as it all turned out to be really dynamic and exciting. We hadn’t done much playing together before recording, which meant that we had no idea how it would end up sounding, but we wanted to enter into each other’s creative zones, which made for some bizarre atmospheres and material. It was definitely not hurried, just fluid and fun.
Why did you and Will decide to do overdubs afterwards and not just use the Nantes live recordings?
We’re not purists about recordings, so if something else is needed, we’ll add it. Usually, for me, the most interesting records use a combination of recordings, as they obscure the logic of the material. I remember overdubbing a rattling can of spray paint for the first track at my house, I don’t know how that came about…
Why did you use a detuned instead of a tuned organ on the second track?
The second track on the album uses an old, battered harmonium we found in the Nantes studio. I love working with quirky instruments, and exploiting their idiosyncracies, so we really played with these elements, including miking the foot bellows, which creaked very noisily. Harmonic language and tuning principles arise for me out of the context of a work. I rarely superimpose these things onto something, so much of the keyboard tuning on the album is tailored to Will’s percussion, for example.
Why is the album called ‘Real Real World’?
I don’t have an explanation, but it definitely has a tongue-in-cheek reference to Peter Gabriel.
“Zoning in on specific sounds and structures”
Do you know Will from the time before he moved to Europe?
I have known Will for many years, but not closely until we started working together on this album. We have many mutual friends and collaborators though, and I’ve seen him play dozens of times over the past decade. The duo is definitely motivated by an interest in reducing our solo practices, and zoning in on specific sounds and structures, so I guess that’s a connecting thread.
How did Scott McConnachie get involved?
Scott is a legend of the Melbourne jazz and experimental scene. Will has worked with him over the years under more jazz-based contexts, and I’ve played with him and Francis Plagne. We knew we wanted saxophone, and really, he was the first and most logical choice. We’re thrilled he contributed. James Rushford
Joeri Bruyninckx
James Rushford Official Website / Bandcamp
Black Truffle Records Official Website / Facebook / Bandcamp
