A chat with Ugly Duckling

There we sat, twiddling our thumbs in the fire station waiting. As it turned out we waited a lot longer than initially expected. Then momentarily breaking our patient tedium Andy Cooper gave us a call, about fruit… namely where their apples and bananas were…

A little bemused and distinctly under the impression we were being wound up, we nipped up the dressing room, told Ugly Duckling (UD) to talk to the twats in the black t-shirts and silly hair cuts about the ryder. Then eventually, many ciders, hours and silly posing for Sam later, managed to have a chat about the old, the new, Estonia, porches for boats and Columbo by sea, of all things…

M –we’re interested in your name, is it that whole Hans Christians fairytale thing?

UD – Yeah. We formed in Long Beach with that whole G-Funk, Gansta Rap era, amongst a lot of stuff we felt was loosing it’s edge.

We didn’t feel we fitted in with the Hip – Hop community and the whole Long Beach thing as individuals

M – When you say that do you refer to 2Pac, Dre and Snoop Dog?

UD – Yeah, Warren G, Slim, just that G-Funk, Gangsta Rap era, and we were like no, it’s got to be Hip – Hop, crews like Tribe Called Quest…..

There’s a big difference between art vs. commerce, between trying to express something artistically or believe in a certain sound or a certain approach.

So I think at some point you have to draw the line and be about music and what you believe, or are you going to give the customer what they want and make a supper record,

When we formed in the early nineties was when Hip – Hop crossed that line and turned into commercial music

M – You guys talk about the Tru – School, do you think that the alternative side of Hip – Hop could exist without that more mainstream, commercial side of the music?

UD – It’s hard to say, is it run off business, if it be a Starbucks and a private coffee shop, I don’t know if one funds the other and to be fair sometimes very artistic groups have had great success, you know Led Zeppelin or something.

M – On the new album you guys have a tune called ‘Left Behind’, which is 124 BPM, any particular reasons behind that?

UD – Yeah, Andy was like he wanted to come rip a fast track, when he told me it was 124, I was like, dude I need an oxygen tank.

What is cool with rap you can tart around with different rhythms and melodies, and do things up or down tempo, break up the 4 bar rhythm, you can vary your meter.

With commercial stuff it’s all the same BPM, it’s a commercial thing, it sort of negates the purpose of rap, so it’s fun to get on something fast, it’s almost like a bassist or a drummer funking things up in a jam.

M – So how long is this tour now?

UD – We’ve just got back from Estonia, you guys look like you’ve been you to Estonia

M – So what was it like in Estonia, it’s all blowing up out there….

UD – Estonia is a third Russian, and then those who are who are more akin to the Scandinavian lifestyle, a lot of us felt the place Scandinavian in terms of the way people look, their manners and people there are really nice, a slightly Russian mix on it.

It was an interesting mix, and cool experience, it always is when you go to a place for the first time, different cultures and societies.

Also, the women are like the most beautiful I have ever seen, so far in one place, in Estonia, the ratio of women to men is out of this world.

M – So how long is this tour now?

UD – I’m shocked if we can last two weeks without getting in an argument.

I want to go to the strip club, and they want to do other stuff, Andy wants to work out, I want to smoke weed in the crack house, and Einstein wants to go to the strip club,

But you can imagine if you’ve been in a car with someone for two weeks. Has anyone a brother here?

M – I have 3 siblings?

UD – Can you imagine been in a car for two weeks with your brother?

M – Ohh, stop it’s too much….

M – So what’s next for you guys?

UD – We’re off to edinborough, then back to b Brighton, it’ national drive.

It’s hard to tell, you kind of step into a time warp, I always tell people it’s like Groundhog Day.

I’m always thinking about the perfect day, the day is nice the hotel is great, the club is sold out, yeah I’m always thinking about the perfect day,

That’s what happens when you sell a million copies, that’s when the backstage looks like yr bedroom.

M – So on ‘Journeys to anywhere’, your first album you have a tune called the pike, I’ve always wanted to know, what is the Pike?

UD - The pike is, well the pike is like a bluff, kind of like Bournemouth, it’s kind of like an old resort town, I think on that song but we were talking about the rollercoaster ride of rap or some crap, but yeah that’s the pike. No one has ever asked about that song, so gold star for you.

Have you ever watched Colombo?

M – I love Colombo….

UD – Well in Colombo, especially when he’s beach side, I can think of about 3 episodes when he’s at these salt water, crappy places and behind them there’s a pike, in long Beach it was kind of a porch for boats …it was a big part of our cities identity until they tore it down.

Now we have nothing…. well we have the Queen Mary, a ship which came from over here,

Yeah, we got your ship man….

M – Jacked it?

And that was that.