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Ghostpoet returns in 2013 with the unenviable task of following up his 2011 debut, the Mercury Music Prize nominated Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam. Producer and singer Obaro Ojimwie isn't feeling under any pressure, describing his new album Some Say I So I Say Light as a 'joy' to record. Difficult second album? Pah.
Ahead of the release of his new album we caught up with Ghostpoet to discuss listening to music on vinyl, leaving a legacy and just what it means to be a carpenter of sound...
A lot is made of the 'difficult' second album. How tricky was working on Some Say I So I Say Light?
Not really difficult, no. It was a joy to make, it was fun. I was just glad I had another opportunity to be creative. To try to evolve as an artist and try to make that happen.
So you didn't feel any pressure to live up to the success of your Mercury Prize nominated debut, Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam?
No. That was a snapshot of my life then, and so I just had to do something, a snapshot of my time on this earth now. It'd be a lie to say that I didn't really feel some pressure in the very beginning - the first couple of days, when it was like, 'what am I going to do, what am I going to make?' - but then I just tried to get to the right mind state. Then I decided to capture the mind state I had the first time around, when it was very much about just making a record I would wanna listen to more than anything. Once I remembered that, then it kind of became easier.
What does the title Some Say I So I Say Light mean?
The title is me saying, 'Some say I.' So some people may say particular things, go down a particular path or follow a particular crowd, and instead of me saying I, I decided to say light. So I go down my own path and do my own thing and try to just be me, an individual, amongst millions.
Watch Ghostpoet's latest release, 'Meltdown', below:
You've spoken before about not wanting to be defined by a genre. How would you describe what it is you do?
A carpenter of sound, trying to create wooden sculptures that everyone can enjoy and potentially take into their homes.
What is exciting you in music in 2013?
At the moment I'm getting into this Kurt Vile record. I really like it, I listened to it for the first time yesterday and now I'm obsessed so I'm listening to that. Been listening to a lot of the old Daptones stuff, like a compilation of Daptones records, I've been listening to that a lot. I've been listening to Rodriguez, I've been getting back into that Atoms For Peace record. I was obsessed with it and then I kind of left it alone and now I've come back to it. Bit of Shuggie Otis, bit of The Knife's new record, bit of James Blake's new record... yeah.
Quite a lot, then.
Bits and bobs, bits and bobs. I always just jump from one thing to the next, so that's the top of my playlist type stuff.
Is there any one record, or musical experience, that changed your life or really inspired you to do what you do?
No, not really. I guess if anything has been a musical experience, it's probably listening to my first bought album which is by Badly Drawn Boy, The Hour of Bewilderbeest. I guess listening to that - I think it was knowledge that I stored up, I didn't really use it until I started making my own record and decided I wanted to use any sound however you wanted to use it. That album for me was a perfect example pretty early on of somebody who was just trying to make good music, regardless of how it was made or the instruments used! So probably that, if anything, but I think that's kind of my mission - I've said it before, I'm think just trying to make a record like The Hour of Bewilderbeest but I can't do it so it just ends up being the s**t that I try and make.
Some of your lyrics seem quite personal. Do you ever worry that you're sharing too much of yourself?
I don't really think they are that personal. I feel they've definitely got elements of my life in them and elements of people that I know and things that I've seen or read or whatever, but I try to keep it all pretty balanced, really. I don't really see the need to make it too personal.
So nothing that you've had regrets after writing about.
No. What's done is done, you know? I can't really do anything about it - well, I can, but the music for me takes what I'm going to write without me even knowing it really. Yeah, once it's on paper, that's the first thing. Once it's recorded, that's it.
You recently performed at Record Store Day in Rough Trade East. Why do you think it's important to keep physical music alive?
I think it's important because visually it's great. If I hear something, I'll shazam it and then I can buy it from iTunes or whatever which is great, but it's nice to have a physical product - especially with vinyl, where a lot of artists take the time to create amazing artwork for it. It's stuff that you just can't find via digital stores now, which you can only find on vinyl - and the sound quality's amazing. It's great, it's something that I feel strongly about and it's great to be involved with it.
What are you most looking forward to over the rest of the year?
Gigging. Getting involved - the album coming out first and foremost, and then gigging and hopefully getting the chance to play new territory and new places. Potentially, hopefully, new doors will be opened for me from this record coming out, and potentially collaborations and opportunities and that. Just being happy, trying to stay happy and stay creative. That's it.
Thanks, Ghostpoet! Some Say I So I Say Light is out on 6 May 2013.
