Music Q&A: Captain Of The Lost Waves

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The enigmatic Captain Of The Lost Waves is bringing his “Pixar-esque” live show to Bradford, Manchester, Derbyshire, Leeds and Lincoln this summer. Here the Captain tells Big Issue North why audience members should be willing to explore the art of unlimited possibilities.

Tell us a bit about your sound and your influences.
I endeavour to encapsulate the most organic of natural sound and expression into my own compositions. Outside of man-made sonic offerings such as Benjamin Britten, Jacques Brel and Juliet Greco, it seems evident that one cannot compete with the blissful sound of music that nature makes – but of course, one always must try! When it comes to music and life, one is always the eternal student, never the master.

How have you evolved as a musician over the years?
Life sculpts us into a series of fleetingly transient occurrences. Of course we are anything but static, even when we believe ourselves to be perfectly still. What once resonated was often only a chink in a chain of inspired, gentle metamorphosis. In the context of creating, the Captain loves to look forward whilst looking back, embracing a multitude of influences from, say, on a given day such as today, the Marx Brothers and Marcel Marceau to Shack and Laurie Johnson. I yearn to create something of beauty, which radiates with simplicity, paradoxically housing shades of humour, pathos, complexity and profundity.

Were there any alternative band names before you arrived at this one?
Previous incarnations have no place in this particular journey. The only tangible “gifts” brought forth are those that allow oneself to distil a plethora of accumulations, artistically and otherwise, that lead one to their current abode/residence. I believe in reincarnation, I do it each and every day. I do not choose names or concepts; they arrive fully formed at the precise place and time. In the same fashion, it’s when not thinking or trying that the process of true creativity can flourish – at least, this has always been the case in my experience, both on this planet and others over the ages.

What are you up to at the moment artistically?
The debut album Hidden Gems, Chapter 1 is being edited, mixed and mastered, ready for a late autumn/winter release. A mini tour in the South East and other UK dates are being connected, much like roaming satellites, forging together into a cluster of stars. All while I’m supporting the wonderful work CALM  (Campaign Against Living Miserably) do, raising funds from a handful of little concerts and 50 per cent of download sales from my music.

How do you stand out from the crowd in a saturated industry?
If you enjoy a little “Nu Vaudeville” and a “Renaissance of the Bard” then please come forth; if you like to be actively involved in a show and not merely be another bystander, then please come forth; if you like something which is uniquely different every time and is joyously anarchic and highly unpredictable, then please come forth. If you like defying the norms of social convention and enjoy laughter and fun-fuelled rebellion and reflection in equal measure, then please do come forth. A Captain Of The Lost Waves show has been described as a “Pixar-esque journey”, keeping all suitably stimulated in a variety of mediums.

What’s on your rider?
12 bottles of sparkling courtesy as standard
9 trays of affable audio exchange
13 platters of eye contact, which renders neither who engage uncomfortable
444 bursts of belly laughter (however, if not available, a harem of hearty cackles or sweeping sideways mile-wide grins will suffice)
1 audience member willing to explore the art of unlimited, open ended, non-conclusive possibilities.

Saskia Murphy

Photo credit: Tony Taffinder

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