Jesse Hackett (Interview)
Today we’re listening to Jesse hackett, an English multi-instrumentalist and producer from London. He grew up in a family of pianists (mother, both grandmothers), and started playing the instrument and composing at a young age. He played in several bands across several genres and began releasing his own music in the aughts. Circa 2006 he joined Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn’s Africa Express project, which led to Hackett playing keys live with the Gorillaz for over a decade. A couple weeks ago he released a solo album, Nocturnes, which is a return to acoustic piano. He drew inspiration from composers like Ravel and Satie, music boxes, Ukrainian folk, and “visions of imaginary Polish soundtracks I’ve never actually heard,” he told us. While being anchored in solo piano, Nocturnes features saxophonist and flutist Finn Peters and spans many styles – we especially liked the old-timey menacing sound of “Nosferatu.” A conversation with Jesse follows the streaming links.
Nocturnes - Jesse Hackett (40m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal
What’s your earliest memory of music?
My earliest memory of music is the sound of my dad playing rock ‘n’ roll guitar with his friends in the basement of the family house. The first piece of music that I ever remember making me feel emotional was the song “Streets of London” by Ralph McTell, which was sung in primary School and used to make me feel quite sad and gloomy.
My Woolworths single collection was a very early memory, and my favourite artist was Prince, but the strings in Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” always got me. Commercial rap like the Beastie Boys was on heavy rotation also. I formed a rap group at the age of about six and we used to make cassettes and muck about.
My mum played the piano and banjo. She’s the reason why me and my brother started playing instruments.
Tell us how you got started on the piano. What were your favorite pieces to play?
My grandmothers on both sides of the family were piano players. My mum’s mother lived in Hull and taught piano from home . She could play classical music at a high-level but also enjoyed playing the music of Lead Belly.
My favourite pieces to play when I was young were generally my own. My piano teacher helped me write a score for a horror film I wanted to create and was drawing storyboards for at the age of eight. It was called Street Ghouls.
What were your first original compositions like? What did you record with?
My first compositions were all recorded onto cassettes. My dad helped me set up my own instruments. We were always mucking about with his guitar, microphones, and old guitar amps. He bought me and my brother cheap record decks that we had set up in our room. We proceeded to use pieces of paper to create makeshift slip mats and scratched all of his vinyl up.
Tell us about your time with the Gorillaz. How did that collaboration start? What experiences stuck with you and perhaps influenced your later solo work?
I got to know Damon through my connection to Honest Jon’s Records and was subsequently invited on a trip to Africa with him. Over three years of taking part in his Africa Express project he eventually invited me to play keyboard with the Gorillaz.
I had so many amazing experiences, including playing in Damascus, Syria, headlining Glastonbury and Coachella, playing at Madison Square Garden – to name a few. It was an amazingly crazy 12 years of my life.
What were the main influences on Nocturnes – both musically and from life?
Influences were the composers Ravel and Erik Satie, toy pianos and music boxes, Ukrainian folk music, and visions of imaginary Polish soundtracks I’ve never actually heard.
The decision to try to express myself with my primary instrument, the piano, was born out of a necessity to want to perform live in quiet grown-up listening environments as opposed to night clubs, and hopefully get the opportunity to score some films and do some soundtracks.
How do you discover new music these days? Any recent notable finds?
I have a few to go-to shows that I follow on NTS. I check Boomkat Ltd. I like All Night Flight Records and always buy their cassette tape mixes. And I have a few friends that put me onto good stuff. I generally spend any free time that I have either trying to be pretty quiet as I’m quite into meditation. In between that and general life, musically I mainly fill my personal space with my own compositions and ideas. I don’t listen to lots and lots of music.
Name an underrated artist from the past 50 years.
Myself (he he!!! joking... kind of)
What are you working on next?
I’m working on the ninth Metal Preyers release and a bunch of other secret things under various aliases. Plus, I’m always working on music with my 11-year-old daughter, so I’m helping her put together her own album with her friend.
