Austinist Interviews SXSW: Thomas Dolby

We were so excited when Thomas Dolby graced our city with his presence last year, and when the prospect of an interview with the pioneer came our way last week, we literally planned our weekend around it. Now, the thrill has gone and we’re left with some wonderfully insightful responses from the master himself. Enjoy. And then jam out that Grammys performance again.

Are you working on new studio material? When can we expect a new record?

Yes. I have accumulated many new songs over the 15 years I've been away, but I'd like my next album to be comprised mainly of brand new stuff. I hope to have it ready by the end of 2007 or early 2008.

What are your thoughts on the Golden Age of Wireless as it is today?

Do you mean my 1982 album? It still sounds pretty darn good. If you mean the state of the tech world today, well I like that too.

What mp3 player do you own?

I don't own one! I laugh when they come out with players that hold 30k, 50k songs.... there isn't that much music I like in the world, I'd be happy with a iPod that only holds 300 songs.

What was some "cutting edge" stuff when you first got into music, technology, and recording, and how is that different from what you might use now, over two decades later?

My Fairlight was one of the world's first samplers. There were 3 in Britain, Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel had the other two. It cost me about $200,000. It weighed a ton, and had about 100th the sampling ability of a current $100 sofware synth.

How did the concept for Beatnik Inc., and later, Retro Ringtones LLC come about? How involved are you in their day to day activities?

I originally wanted to do interactive music for things like games, Virtual Reality, rides etc. Then the Web came along and we switched to that. We made lots of noise, and blew through about $45m in VC money, before we realized there's no money in Internet audio, it's just great promotion (though Apple may disagree :) So I pushed the company into cell phones where we did deals with Nokia, Motorola etc to license our software to do sound on cell phones. Now there are over 650m phones out there with our technology in them--about 2/3 of the world's phones. And it's a good business but it's boring to me, so I just go in for board meetings once a quarter, and I've returned to music full time.

You made some really innovative videos in the early 80's, was that more of a required PR effort due to the influx of MTV and its effects, or was it more a case of fortunate timing, ie. MTV being lucky you were around the time they launched to provide them with these great videos?

It was a collaborative thing. They needed great content made at someone else's expense, so they could sell ads and make money. I was interested in the genre and it really launched my career because up until then, radio wasn't playing my music much. But the genre quickly got stale, artists didn't really care about it, and MTV stopped playing music anyway.

We were extremely excited you played Austin recently, and the prospect of more shows so soon during SxSW is great! What are your thoughts on SxSW and its importance to the music industry, as well as the general state of the industry these days with downloads, abundant CD-Rs, MySpace marketing, etc.

If you talk to a label executive or read the trades, you'd think the 'Industry' is in a terrible state,. In reality I think what's happening is fantastic for musicians and for music fans. Instead of the execs playing king-maker, music gets to be popular due to 'vox populi'--real people liking it and sharing it with their friends. MySpace and YouTube generate actual hits, and it's not because some network guy in a suit decided this is what's suitable for primetime.

One of our most distinct childhood Grammy memories is THAT performance with Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, and Howard Jones. I also recently read your blog about the rehearsal for that performance, can you talk about how the idea of four of you jamming came about and also what you take from it more than 20 years later?

It was the producers' idea. They felt that synthesizers had come of age and wanted to show how established artists and new artists alike had embraced them. The show was a bit of a sham--we were miming--and I felt it was dreary so I was hamming it up in my Beethoven wig. But as I relayed in my blog, the resounding memory of the rehearsal night was Stevie (Wonder) singing Marvin (Gaye) for me and me alone in a tiny attic.

You've played with and on record with an amazing array of acts, what were some of your favorite collaborations / guest appearances (besides the 85 Grammys)?

Definitely Live Aid with (David) Bowie was #1. Then probably The Wall in Berlin with Roger Waters. I am very fortunate to have led a special life and met many of my heroes.

How was the recent jaunt with BT? Any interesting tales from the tour?

It was great to play in front of a younger audience that weren't around the first time. BT's fans are a discerning lot but I made a bunch of new fans. I think having him come up and jam with me on "Airwaves", a song I first recorded when BT was in middle school, was the highlight.

Thomas Dolby: [official site] [myspace]

Appearing at SXSW at Elysium on March 15th, along with a couple of other parties.

Photo provided by Thomas Dolby.