Q1: You’re?

A Chi Huo. I can dress up my interests to look as high-brow as I like, but ultimately, who am I trying to kid? There are a small number of key drivers that ultimately motivate me. Music is one and food is another. So much so that the very first Mandarin phrase I learned was ‘chi huo’. It kind of means foodie, but more so, chow hound.

I live in Northeast China. The food is a mixture of Beijing style, influenced by Russia and North Korea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeastern_Chinese_cuisine

Q2: When? 

My days are far simpler now I live in China. Time is divided purely over: Sleep, eating, exercising, teaching, writing, music, and love. On the subject of time, being late is intolerable, similar to a mirror not being straight.

Q3: Why? 

There doesn’t always have to be a defined reason. But striving to be genuine, original and a little left-field seem to be good justifications for any efforts I put into stuff, like music.

Q4: Watching? 

My attention span has always been…

OK, the last movie I rewatched was Quadrophenia, mainly because it serves as a fascinating time capsule of Britain. But it’s the two accents it features that tickle me. Disenfranchised London youth’s 60s lingo, or the upper class received pronunciation. No in between. 

Barbin ili is a Chinese robotic dancer. I watch her quite a lot. Some of her concepts and coordinating dance moves are outstanding and I’d love to have her in a music video one day. This video is her most skilful, IMHO.

I watch way too many podcasts on YouTube, too, namely by these guys

People watching is ‘the best’. I do it all day in China. Always intriguing.

Q5: Hearing?

A lot more detail in my more mature years. Thankfully, this includes music. I appreciate a lot more of the syncopation and tonality in the music I love and this carries through to the music I produce. 

It also includes details from people’s points of view.

Q6: Playing? 

All roads lead back to the classics. Well, what I view to be the classics. Life’s cycles tend to result in the return to certain moments in music. These often include copious amounts of 90s Hip Hop, The Clash and Stevie Wonder.

Q7: Loving?

I love being able to do just three things in life and they are Music, Writing and Teaching. Of the music, my new album, Clyde Beats – Hyper Reality 2 (An English Gentleman) is available now!