Andrew Weatherall- Too Much Programming Drives You Insane

"There was a time when I painted myself into a musical corner. I got so interested in musical processes that I lost a bit of soul, and in the end I found myself in a cold environment, listening to very clever computer programming and not much else."

Still one of dance culture's true figureheads, Andrew Weatherall, has consistently pursued his own uncompromising vision, taking in landmarks like DJing at seminal acid house clubs Spectrum and Shoom as well as producing Primal Scream's breakthrough rock/dance album Screamadelica. Always a true punk rocker ("The Clash are still the best band in the world", his Guinness Book of DJs entry reports) his uncompromising stance saw him pursuing ever more experimental music as the 90s progressed, though he's nowadays firmly ensconced in London's rapidly expanding electro/ no wave scene. Chatting to Skrufff contributor Andrez Bergen this week, he conceded that he's recently revised his whole attitude to life and electronic music towards a less serious direction.

"Yeah, humour's become very important," said Andy.

"If I didn't see everything as a complete joke, I would've been locked up years ago. I would've gone completely insane."

Weatherall's vast experience and new found freedom also appears to have made him become wary of the relatively po-faced approach he previously helped champion.

"In the sub-Autechre kind of world there's an hour of minor chords, and that does affect the physiognomy of the brain," he says.

"Personally, I found myself wondering why I was so f*cked off all the time, and eventually I knew why - it was because I was listening to this music. There's no light and shade. I don't need to hear a fart noise, but you can go somewhere with the tune that brings a smile, just to break up the darkness."

"Perhaps I'm getting reactionary as the years go on, but I don't get the same poetry and humanity from a lot of electronic music at the moment as I do from musicians using more conventional means," he continues.

"I'd give my right arm to write one song as good as Nick Cave does. I'd go to the crossroads and sign my soul away in blood, Robert Johnson style, to have just a tenth of his talent."
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• Andrez Bergen