A Late Night with Laika: Adrian Utley plays In C

(© John Minton)

In 1964, the contemporary US composer Terry Riley wrote In C. The work, sometimes referred to as the first ever minimalist composition, can be performed by any number of musicians. And so it was open to Adrian Utley – the man behind Portishead’s dark, piercing guitar sound – to entrust the composition, which is divided into 53 sections whose length can be freely determined, to nineteen guitarists, four organists, and a bass clarinettist. Laika, an adventurous radio programme on Klara that combines cosmic music with good taste every Sunday, has invited the man and his Guitar Orchestra to perform Riley’s minimalist masterpiece, 50 years after it first saw the light of day, at its second live event.

Not only is Utley bringing a load of strings with him from Bristol, but a number of Belgian musicians have also been invited along. The man behind Laika, Mauro Pawlowski, will not, for once, be playing (as there are scores involved and Mauro can’t read a note); Patrick Steenaerts, however, the musical partner of the singer and Laika presenter Lies Steppe, will be taking part. As will, among others, the keyboard-player David Poltrock. Back in the late 1990s, Mauro occasionally played with Utley in the John Parish Band, alongside Alison Goldfrapp and Rob Ellis, among others. Utley, Mauro says, is a real musician. “He even knew Evil Superstars and asked me about the chord progressions in the songs.” Which is something Utley no longer remembered when we rang him in Bristol. But he did have plenty to say about In C.

When did you hear that groundbreaking piece for the first time?
Adrian Utley: I saw my good friend Will Gregory of Goldfrapp playing it on TV with a number of other musicians; I was intrigued and immediately bought the original version. A few years later I played it myself with Will and, among others, the conductor Charles Hazlewood.

What did you think was so great about it?
Utley: It possesses a solid structure that nevertheless leaves the musicians free. Within the score, they can make their own choices. Concretely, that means that they start together and that they keep a section going for as long as they themselves want. The idea is that they don’t get more than six sections ahead or behind. That way, you get a different gigantic, interwoven work every time.

You have opted for a reduced musical form.
Utley: Yes, for my own part I was less interested in the saxophone, the viola, etc. of the original piece. I’m a guitar man and I thought the piece would also work with electric guitars interweaving live. It is meditative and in that sense it fits in with Terry’s intentions. It must have sounded extraordinary when he first played it in the 1960s. It influenced all the others: Steve Reich, Philip Glass, John Adams. Now we understand that overlapping musical texture, but back then it was completely new.

For the recordings you found yourself with twenty fellow guitarists in one room. What was that like?
Utley: Lots of different hairstyles, I can assure you. [Laughs] But, above all, it was a fantastic feeling. Usually, you are the only guitarist in a band. Sharing the space with colleagues who have the same energy and thoughts is extraordinarily inspirational. We were able to talk uninhibitedly about our favourite amplifiers and guitar heroes, without being interrupted by a drummer or a singer. And when we play abroad it is even more interesting, as then the line-up is refreshed by a load of new guitarists.

You will be back this summer with Portishead, at Pukkelpop this time. Six years after the release of your last album, can we expect to hear some new material too?
Utley: I wish I could answer in the affirmative, but I’m afraid not. The only new number is one we recorded for Amnesty International. All the other new ideas still have to be worked out further, but we are actually looking forward to recording a new album.

A Late Night With Laika: Adrian Utley’s Guitar Orchestra + Jandek + Oneohtrix Point Never + André Stordeur & F. du Busquiel + Orphan Fairytale • 19/4, 16.30, €16/19, ANCIENNE BELGIQUE, boulevard Anspachlaan 110, Brussel/Bruxelles, 02-548.24.24, www.abconcerts.be