Interview: Goldie

“Spray cans or a sequencer,” says Goldie, “it’s all art”. As an influential figure in both music and graffiti he’s been a regular visitor to Bristol for 30 years. He still turns up to DJ in the city’s clubs from time to time, but this month he’s planning something grander. He’s bringing a choir and an orchestra with him. 

Real name Clifford Price, Goldie grew up in Wolverhampton at a time when hip-hop culture was beginning to take root in the UK. He formed a breakdance crew called Wild Criminals and was one of the first British graffiti artists to earn a reputation overseas. Did he ever paint any pieces in Bristol? “Yeah of course,” he says, “I was part of the legendary Bombin’ documentary, which is also how I met 3D of Massive Attack.” 

Then he discovered jungle. He first heard the emerging sound at Rage – Fabio and Grooverider’s Thursday session at Heaven – on a night out with his then girlfriend (the late, great DJ Kemistry. “It was a progression that was needed”, he says of the emerging sound, “it was a very creative time and people were hungry for a sub-genre of music that was truly ours.”  

The collective of DJs and producers that became Metalheadz came together at Rage. “In Doc Scott, Rider and Fabio I had my electronic music fathers,” he explains. “In Kemi and Storm I had the team.” What brought them together? “Bravery…” he answers,”…not giving a fuck, similar tastes and outlook.” The greatest record label in drum and bass history, Metalheadz went on to spawn the genre’s most iconic club night. “You simply had to be there”, says Goldie of the Metalheadz Sunday Sessions, “It was a breeding ground for innovation.”

Meanwhile, Goldie was busy making innovative sounds of his own. Early productions – including darkside anthem Terminator and dreamy vocal cut Angel – showed an artist capable of expressing fury and vulnerability in equal measure.  Did the transition from painting to music come naturally? “Music saved me,” he answers. “It gave me another focus that wasn’t negative, an expression that was positive. So yeah, as an expression of my creativity it was natural.” 

Reaching beyond the dancefloor into the lives of people who wouldn’t have dreamed of going to Rage or Metalheadz, 1995’s Timeless remains the defining moment of Goldie’s career. What was driving him at that time? “Ambition. Frustration. Pent up ideas…” he says, “…Love. Hate. Influence. A passion for change.” In terms of scope, ambition and ideas it had few rivals in the dance music of its time, and its emotional rawness was just as striking. Making it helped Goldie come to terms with the hardships of his early life:  “I was in put in care. I felt pain and I needed to express that pain and in the end I needed to create my own love. I did that via music and machines. That album was cathartic for me.”   

Although this month’s Harbourside show is an adaptation of Timeless, Goldie is keen to stress that “it’s not a straight reading from cover to cover.” A collaboration with Heritage Orchestra, an ensemble who have worked with John Cale and DJ Yoda, it’s only been performed once before, at the Royal Festival Hall in June 2014. “I can’t tell you what I’m going to include,” he says, “you have to witness it.” With support from Bristol scene stalwarts DJ Die, Sam Binga and The Blast DJs it looks a dead cert to be one of the events of the summer.  

Goldie & The Heritage Orchestra – Timeless (Sine Tempore) is at Bristol Harbourside on Saturday, July 25. For information and tickets visit  www.colstonhall.org