I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee Giles Sibbald

If I were to create a mixtape (it’d have to be an old school cassette cos that’s probably the last time I made one!) for Amanda and her music life, it’d probably open with The Undertones’ Family Entertainment with the classic line “Got To…Keep it In the Family”.
 
I mention family not so much to talk endlessly about the quite rare band structure of her band, Bad Mary – in her words “a band family and family band” - but to segué clumsily into some of the questions that I have for myself about where friendships and family relationships fit into today’s lifestyle such as….
 
Do we make friends the same way as we used to do?
We have the largest number of generations alive at the same time – do we bridge these generations?
Do we make enough time for them?
Do we have friends for life?
Do we appreciate friends and family?
How do they impact our wellbeing?
What role do virtual friendships play?


This is a very beautiful conversation with Amanda and I'm grateful for her openly talking about some difficult subjects.  Make a brew, hit the sofa and enjoy!



https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- swirl logo and art by Giles Sibbald
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

You know when you hear a song or a collection of songs that literally make you shiver? Songs that could make you cry at how effortlessly beautiful they are. 
Another thing that interests me is the neuroscience of how some pieces of music can transport me to a time, a place, an older version of me, a perhaps as yet unseen version of me, how they can seem like my constant companion that’s seen my life, the very depths of me, the heights of me, how I can go back to them and they’re still my friend, never my enemy, still those companions of unwavering devotion, years down the line. 


Well, Saint Saviour (Becky Jones) is doing all of this again with her brand new album which is called Sunseeker, building on In The Seams and Tomorrow Again – two masterpieces in my book. For one thing, it’s got horns and anything that’s got horns in it is good in my book. More than that, it’s got her signature chord progressions and harmonies that just tie me up in knots. So good.




https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- swirl logo and art by Giles Sibbald
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

What’s been intriguing me today? 

Reality. 

What is it? 

Is there “a” reality or is it all subjective and determined by our own perception, prediction and interpretation. I think it's a word - like so many others - that has been hijacked – you see it used in order to dogmatically defend belief systems or stances and this plays into our susceptibility to certain narratives – we hear that phrase “well this is my reality” at the expense of those who are experiencing things in a very different way. It’s a massive subject that’s massively out of my depth but I think that when we talk about what each other has experienced, we need to show empathy and understanding at how we make our best predictions for what is going on around us. 


 


The great thing about our brains though is how we draw on past experiences to create something new – I guess you’d call it imagination - and Johnny Manchild is using bucketloads of imagination in how he writes, plays and presents his music. 


His wonderful band, Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards - like the bastard prodigy of Joe Jackson, Electric Light Orchestra, Trail of Dead and The Vines -  have a new album out called Rapture Waltz and it’s a belter. I love how it draws on these apparently disparate influences to produce music that is as good as it is individual and defies categorisation - the scourge of how society has wired us to think.




https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- swirl logo and art by Giles Sibbald
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

As regular listeners will be painfully aware, I’m no fan of genres. I can hear the groans already….here he goes again getting on his soapbox…yes, well, you know you gotta reinforce the message, right! I do believe that genres are obsolete to the point of being dangerous, created by an industry to keep people in their lanes, to reinforce “rules” and stereotypes of who should be playing what music - and to make it easier and cheaper to market. The good thing is that there are far more musicians who are blurring those old genre lines, bringing in diverse influences and techniques to create new sonics that makes it difficult to put music in those restrictive boxes. 


 Ok, soapbox over!

SkyDxddy has just released their latest single called Why Do I Stay? And it’s quite different sonically to their previous work. What’s not different though, is the importance and value of the message - that every experience and every impact is at once unique and relatable to many of us and that each story deserves to be told and heard – I believe that’s what humanity should be about. 


Now having got on my soapbox about genre, I’m gonna get kicked off it, cos Sky has created a new genre - trauma core – although to be fair, trauma core to me is not about the musical style, it’s about survivors being empowered to tell your own story in your own way surrounded in your own blanket of safety and to feel the power of that human connection to not just survive but to create a movement of solidarity with others who are marginalised, misunderstood and suffering. And it’s encumbent on us to listen to those voices with empathy, love and understanding.




https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- swirl logo and art by Giles Sibbald
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

We live in a culture of immediacy and entitlement, brought upon us, in part at least, by the emergence of new technologies of the last 20 years that were supposed to democratise society, to disrupt the big corporates, but have laid themselves bare as the same old monolithic structures where the power bases and wealth are maintained and society is left with long lasting effects which are not always positive. The impact on how we consume the Arts, and specifically music, is such that that immediacy means our attention spans are so short, that singles, playlists are the corporate darlings. 

But….and call me an old fart if you want….listening to an album from beginning to end gives you so much more if you can spend 40 minutes to think about the way the tracks are laid out, why they are in that 1-10 order, what the artist is saying which can often be soul baringly raw, what the music makes you feel, what the words make you feel, how do they relate to your life, the entire story. 

Maybe it’s because I’m of an age now, but I mean, my god, how rich is that???!! 

The latest record from Sukie Smith is called The Glass Dress and a Ringing Bell and it’s a road trip storybook of Exploration, Experimentation, Resistance, Transformation and Liberation, written and delivered exquisitely.
Every experience and backstory is unique and deserves to be told and heard - that’s humanity. 



https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- swirl logo and art by Giles Sibbald
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

Listening to the music of Belle Chen brings me some mixed emotions – firstly, incredible love and admiration for the creativity and innovation of her thinking and the beauty and talent in executing this thinking through her composition and playing, yet still leaving room for the listener’s own interpretation. The second, and I fight hard against this one, is some regret that my own musical education was more constrained and I couldn’t – or didn’t want to - find a similar path where music and sound can be used so fluidly and experimentally, where they are such a vital and inspirational conduit for connection, whether that be with nature, our environment, our relationships or ourselves.
Belle’s latest studio album, Ravel In the Forest, is a powerful voyage through the natural world that lets you visualise and recapture the word “awesome” in its purest sense. For me, it’s a storybook that immerses you in the beauty of life.



https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- swirl logo and art by Giles Sibbald
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste