I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee

Over the years, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about Emotional Intelligence and how it fits in to how many people live their lives now, lives which, for many, are much more multi-hyphenate, multi-stage.

With that comes much more uncertainty. I’ve read a lot by Daniel Goleman, who argues unequivocally that EI (or EQ) is as important as IQ for success in all elements of your life, especially how you navigate your working life, private life, relationships and physical and mental wellbeing. I’d also argue that society collectively benefits from investing in its emotional intelligence learning. Dr Goleman talked about the Dalai Lama addressing a group of gatherers in India: 

"Like physical education, learning emotional hygiene is in great need today.” 

I’d definitely agree with that as capitalism and all its symptoms – racism, fear, inequality, intolerance – becomes much more visible in everything we do.

So, Emotional Intelligence covers things like empathy, self management, self awareness, social skills….and I must admit that, with some of the horrible shit going on in the world, I’ve found it harder and harder to maintain particularly empathy and self management towards others that are displaying some of the most toxic behaviour at the level where I want them to be.

But, I was reminded when the good old Instagram algorithm worked and showed me an interview with a woman reaffirming just how important empathy is – even when we feel at our most desolate - if we are going to tackle the divisions that the world faces. 

And I think that affirmation was what I needed, I guess to believe again.

So, with my little piece of self-righteousness over, it’s time to clumsily segue into introducing Iris Gold who is the most wonderful singer, songwriter, artist and, dare I say it, fashion icon. I really love the energy, creativity, vitality and honesty in her music.

When I thought about how I would describe her, the one phrase that comes to my mind is from Toi Derricotte’s poem The Telly Cycle and that is….. “Joy Is An Act Of Resistance” 

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- cover art by Giles Sibbald 
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

One of my interests that started well before I started this podcast - so we're talking maybe 8/9 years ago - was what sort of characteristics and attributes do we need as people to get stuff done in a world that was becoming more complex, uncertain, volatile and ambiguous. Fast forward 7 or 8 years to now and that world has changed at a pace that I’m not sure many predicted.

One aspect of music that always intrigued me was how bands evolve. I’m not really talking about whether they evolve from one genre to another (although everyone knows that I really hate the notion of genres), but what they need as a band and as people to evolve.

And I think curiosity has a big role to play here. That beautiful thing we’re born with – you know, like when the next question from a small kid is always gonna be “but why?” - and gets kicked out of us at an early age by the establishment, cos hey, who in the establishment wants curious, challenging thinkers?

Brian Amalfitano is with a band that I love dearly and epitomizes curiosity for new ideas, for new ways of doing things and one which in my opinion has a unique open mindedness for experimenting with sound and performance. Their recordings and live performances push sonic boundaries with as much significance as the early output of bands like Cabaret Voltaire, The Pop Group and early PIL in the late 70s / early 80s.

And I have to say that they have a particularly unique ability to create an observant and prescient soundtrack that’s scarily representative of a decaying world, in a similar vein to what The Dead Kennedys were able to create back in the 80’s.

In short. Listen to Deaf Club!

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- cover art by Giles Sibbald 
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

Rebecca Schiffman recently released her 4th album called Before The Future and it starts with a 9 minute song - which is remarkable in its own right especially these day -  but, in my opinion, it could have gone for another 9 minutes and not felt too long, such is the prowess of her ability to write captivating, enthralling slices of life that are at once nostalgic for the past and nostalgic for the future. The entire album is beautifully rich in unhurried harmonies and melodies and is like peering deep into the creases of her memories to produce an introspective meditation on, well, moving through the multi-stages of everyday living. It could be set to a 16mm flickering home movie of a William Eggleston pastiche. 

Ok, well, having probably humiliated myself with that self-indulgent twaddle, I'd better let you crack on with this excellent and very open conversation.

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- cover art by Giles Sibbald 
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

The last song on Violencia’s album Viviendo Tiempos Aún Mas Oscuros is called El Exito Es La Droga del Futuro – Success Is The Drug Of The Future.

For me, the nerd, this is interesting as I’ve often thought about how the words we use can take on specific meanings – appropriated oftentimes – I literally heard one just now – “Joy Is Resistance” started and often used by black women is now being appropriated by a bunch of white women. 

And there are times, where other equally valid meanings are ignored or treated with less importance. Take the words El Exito or Success and today, the majority of society will think of success in terms of material achievements. Are you climbing the career ladder, what awards have you won, have you bought that new shiny kitchen, oooh, is that a new car on the drive, how many followers do you have, did you manage to get your blue Instagram tick? 

It appears that there is little place for success being equated with just, well, human things, like, I dunno, raising amazing children or pets, helping someone in need to cross the road, or showing some empathy for your fellow human beings. 

Of course, yes, forced ultra-capitalism does this to the world and, as Joe Strummer once said “It’s time to take humanity back into the ring”. 

Ever more now.

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- cover art by Giles Sibbald 
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

I’m very excited and deeply honoured to talk to my guest today. Joy Guidry is a classically trained bassoonist - and, the first bassoonist on my podcast – who, with each record released (and there are three now), is showing a level of thinking and creativity that is, excuse the pun, a joy to witness. She brings experimentation, improvisation, the radical, the avant garde and deep reflection whilst always being connected to Black ancestry and sound traditions. Her latest album, Five Prayers, moved into a territory of solitude, refuge, peace, discovery and gratitude. It’s a really stunning piece of work.

I reconnected with the cello after many years of disinterest. The pull and push tension between what I learned and remembered from a classical framework and, I guess, where I want to go which is bringing in more experimentation & improvisation is something that I’m exploring. It’s a slow process where I’m having to unlearn things and I’d hold Joy up as an example to anyone of the power of our mind to create music that takes a traditionally classical instrument out of that classical context and also to take you into the innermost sanctum of your humanity.

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- cover art by Giles Sibbald 
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

You know those times when you’re ambling along – disconnected from the real world with your headphones on as is the norm these days – trying to ignore the gazillion things that run through your brain every minute, forgetting to look both ways, behind you, above you, before you cross the road, and then some music comes on and stops you dead in your tracks – hopefully when you’ve crossed the road! – well, that’s Emma Swift’s upcoming album, The Resurrection Game – out on 12 September from all good record shops and all of the very mundane   - but important! - streaming platforms. No exaggeration, it’s stunning songwriting, musicianship and arranging. 

Anyway, in the press notes there was a quote from Emma about the experiences that motivated the record that stuck out for me  was her saying “I’m a big believe of the redemptive power of art.” 

Me too. I really identify. Music, design, painting, poetry, sculpture, whatever creativity you’re drawn to, is absolutely 100% redemptive from your trauma, from your pain, your rage, your anguish. Making art is such a powerful means of expression, sometimes saying the things you have no words for. 

I’m delighted to welcome Emma to talk about this unique record, her own experiences and how she’s used her mindset to navigate through not only an incredibly traumatic period in her life but also how it’s helped to shape her into who she is today.

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- cover art by Giles Sibbald 
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

It’s fascinating to look at the entire creative evolution of an artist - how they started and where they are now. Of course, looking at what’s been going on in their life, can feel quite invasive and voyeuristic, like prying into the inner sanctum of life, but hey, all in the name of research! 

Music and art (although I’m by no means an expert) often feels subjective and open to interpretation and honestly, for me, I love it when I’m challenged to think about what it means to me. 

This brings me on to relatability. Perhaps it’s now an overused word that has been diluted of its relevance and meaning. 

But is it important for an artist to create work that its audience will find relatable in some way? 

Will it help the audience make their own interpretations if they can relate to it? 

Or is speaking with truth and honesty equally or more important? 

And what about good old fashioned escapism? 

What does that connection between artist and audience look like?

I don’t know why the work of my guest today makes me ask these questions! Maybe it’s because his work often feels like it is accessing what’s in the back of his mind but created in a way that feeds my own interpretations and connects in a way that tunes into my own empathy.

His art was described as “loose and raw that straightaway imprints itself on the human imagination”. This is interesting because it is the consistency of that rawness - and honesty - that also runs through his music which again gets my imagination fired up. 

I hope you enjoy this fascinating chat with James Johnston, who came to prominence in the early 90's with Gallon Drunk and has also played with PJ Harvey, The Bad Seeds, Faust and Lydia Lunch as well as releasing solo and collaborative work of his own. He started painting in 2017 which is just going from strength to strength.

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- cover art by Giles Sibbald 
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

Way back when, maybe 8-9 years ago, I had been researching what sort of skills humans would need for the future, given that we were experiencing big changes in technology, demographics, stuff like that, the sort of things that would affect the world of work. One skill or attribute, whatever you want to call it, was adaptability. Workers were, and still are, being asked to do many different things in their jobs and also do those things differently. So the ability to adapt to quickly changing environment struck me as something that was quite important.

I do believe that this absolutely applies to musicians, who have long been very used to a volatile, uncertain world, but now playing with multiple bands, becoming familiar with audio production technology, having to become social media experts, streaming experts and the like have become a “normal” part of “the job”. 

I didn’t fully appreciate the importance of improvisation as part of adaptability in creating music until I started playing the cello again after *coughs* thirty five years. Just a straightforward example of this – now bear in mind that I come from a very structured, classical learning and playing background – is putting my own harmonies into a piece and being comfortable that they might change depending on how I feel when I’m playing.. 

Sounds kinda obvious right? 

But I assure you, for me, this has required a lot of unlearning and training myself to believe in myself and to trust my instinct. Honestly, I feel so great when that happens.

So…..finally it’s time to introduce Deb Googe and I promise you there is a link to what I have just been wibbling on about. Earlier this year, she released an album under the name da Googie with Cara Tivey called The Golden Thread that essentially featured a heavy dose of improvisation in its genesis and I’m really looking forward to how this compares with the other work she has done with My Bloody Valentine, Snowpony, Primal Scream, Thurston Moore and, of course, where it all began (I think) the legendary Bikini Mutants.

She’s hugely influential not just as a bass player who can create sonic masterpieces, but for pushing musical boundaries

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- cover art by Giles Sibbald 
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

I think gravitas is a rare but really important attribute to have, especially when the world is so fucked up, chaotic, volatile, reactionary. Gravitas. Presence. I wanna be around people that have the ability to give off positive energy in this way.

Scott Osment is one of the most blistering, powerful and accurate drummers I have seen. I’ve seen him in two very different bands – Deaf Club and Glassing – and I’ve yet to see him in Planet B – maybe in 2026??!! Each band has their own style and his adaptability to their styles blows me away. 

For me, Scott also has that presence that I was talking about earlier. You always feel that whatever the situation, obstacles, whatever, he will find a way – fuck it, let’s try this, nah, we’re good, let’s go, yeah, I’m up for that. That willingness to try and if it doesn’t work out, so what? Try something else. Again, I just think the ability to show calm and level headedness is kinda a superpower.

I mean, I even put away my own insecurities when I asked him if he wanted to do this podcast – no mean feat - cos I really did think he would say yes. And he did!

Enjoy!

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- cover art by Giles Sibbald 
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

Nostalgia is something that I ponder a lot as I get older – I’ve got way too much time on my hands. But it’s such a layered emotion of experiences, some vivid, some half-forgotten and some probably embellished. The band you never got to see live. A long-lost lover. How good you didn’t look in that army surplus jacket. Summer road trips. Friends lost. That gig that ended in a riot. 

I’m gonna read out some lyrics from a song by the Buzzcocks called ……..”Nostalgia”

“About the future I only can reminisce
For what I've had is what I'll never get
And although this may sound strange
My future and my past are presently disarranged
And I'm surfing on a wave of nostalgia for an age yet to come”

Nostalgia for today, knowing that it won’t last forever. Future nostalgia. Seeing a band for the first time in a small basement, buying the t-shirt and anticipating that a future generation is going to do the same.

I think I’m of a generation where I’m seeing music cycles reinvent themselves, come full circle, younger generations liking the same music I liked when I was their age, whatever you wanna call it. So I’m seeing this connection with my past memories, some good, some horrible (that’ll be Britpop). Only kidding, but there are some songs I can’t play because the memories are too hard. But that’s life and that’s the beautiful power of music.

The songs of Jeanines make me feel like I’m flicking through a photo album of my life. Their songs very infrequently clock in over the 1 minute 30 second mark (which totally works for me) and makes it all the more remarkable that they fit in such addictive, poignant melodies and harmonies to perfectly craft their songs. Check out their upcoming, third album, How Long Can It Last, for a perfect 13.


It was a pleasure to have Alicia and Jed from the band with me.

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- cover art by Giles Sibbald 
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste