MHQ: Something new under the sun, Micha?
Michael: Well, Laijla made me remember reading Hermann Hesse as a greeneyed teen. Good, I didn’t lose track of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Raymond Chandler in those days. Lot of work to do till the end of the month. Meeting of the class of 73, in Stuttgart. That’ll be fun. Continue the „Ship“-review, hopefully with Ian on board. The night show on April 16th. And some other stuff.
MHQ: Your show will be under strict observation, don’t ya think!
Michael: Nice. With lawyers standing by. Well, I still got no green light for playing Brian Eno’s „Fickle Sun (i)“ then. But I’ll try to improve my not really decent relationship with Nic and still hope to convince him. And, before you ask, these are minor issues of daily work, so I won’t and haven’t involved Brian at any time. It was funny though that the Cologne office of Rough Trade took the ladder upstairs to keep me under control (laughs). So they will study playlists and listen the whole night through, at least I hope so. The music will be fucking great.
MHQ: And then the news that Tigran Hamasyan’s album release will be delayed one more time. Till end of August.
Michael: Shit happens. We did plan the portrait of the double album, for the end of May, 55 minutes long, but now my interview with Manfred Eicher will happen anytime later, the plan is cancelled and replaced. As far as I know, the Punktfestival in Kristiansand will do the release concert with Tigran, Arve, Eivind and Jan. Manfred will probably be there, too. For a public talk, I think.
MHQ: So, then some circles will be closing.
Michael: Mhm. I witnessed part of the production, a lot of the mixing, nearly two years ago, but I have never heard the finished album. It will be fascinating to compare the real stuff with my memory. By the way, I hope I can do another performance of my „Electronic Griot“-lectures there. But you never know.
MHQ: Last years was the first time you haven’t been there after ten years in a row …
Michael: I’m not nostalgic though I do miss the fantastic „Waffeln“ in Hotel Norge, and my expert talk with Eivind Aarset about the best new TV series.
MHQ: Name one.
Michael: Well, I’m keen on looking season 2 of the English crime series „Happy Valley“. With awesome actress Sarah Lancashire (see photo). The first season was this edge-of-the-seat thing. It’s placed in West Yorkshire, I think, Robert Wyatt and his wife Alfie must know the place. They live quite nearby. It’s brutal social realism. No humour involved, but a heart at least. The human factor.
MHQ: … and which records are your highly expected ones in the near future?
Michael: Well, that’s a very personal question (laughs). Seriously: Brian likes this London prog rock trio „Three Trapped Tigers“ very much. I heard them in Kristiansand and asked myself: mhm, what’s the access code for that music, it’s kind of tricky-quicky, full of arpeggios, advanced „Kirmesmusik“, so to speak, but I will get the new album, and have another listen. Then there is a new Tim Hecker on its way, then … the probably last album of Michael Gira’s Swans, at the end of April I will hold „Paging Mr. Proust“ in my hands, the new Jayhawks album, and hopefully I will own a copy of Tigran’s double album before Christmas.