Charles Hayward is one of the most propulsive, resourceful and generative rock-plus drummers of the past half-century. An influential percussionist, keyboardist, songwriter, singer of songs, and forward thinker through sound, Charles spoke with Phantom Power about a 40thanniversary touring with a partly reformed and enlarged This Heat as This Is Not This Heat, and then opened into generous  reflections on his solo works The Bell Agency  and 30 Minute Snare Drum Roll.

 Charles is founding member of the experimental rock groups This Heat and Camberwell Now. Since the late 1980s he has concentrated on solo projects and collaborations, including Massacre with Bill Laswell and Fred Frith. Most recently he released an album of improvised duets with Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.

This Is Not This Heat play their final concerts at EartH Hackney Arts Center in London March 1st , a two-day residency in Copenhagen March 5th-6th, Le Poisson Rouge in New York City March 18th, Zebulon in Los Angeles March 20-21, the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville TN on March 24th, the Albany in Deptford, London May 25th.

Live performances:

30 Minute Snare Drum Roll live at Café Oto, London

Improvisations with Thurston Moore

This Is Not This Heat

Full albums:

this heat

Deceit

Health and Efficiency

Camberwell Now

Images provided by Emma McNally and Fergus Kelly.

Transcript

[CHARLES HAYWARD]

Song is to be human..

[ethereal music plays in the background]

[CRIS CHEEK]

This…is…Phantom Power.

[radio or television static mixed with an orchestra]

[MALE ANNOUNCER]

The time now, very nearly three o’clock. The next program on BBC One: “Songs of Praise” follows at three fifteen…

[Funk/techno music suddenly cuts in]

[MACK HAYGOOD]

Episode nine.

[CRIS]

A drummer’s tale.

[music fades out]

[MACK]

So it’s great to be back. Phantom Power Season Two, and this episode is one that I have been waiting for with a certain fan-ish frenzy, because we’re going to talk about Charles Hayward; the drummer, keyboardist, vocalist, tape manipulator, pioneer of experimental rock and roll.

[CRIS]

Yeah, right. And still putting out albums. Still touring. This Heat, the band that you would just hearing, they’ve recently done a 40 year set of concert...