I ve always had this theory that the most radical pop music is usually produced by artists in their early thirties. Look at people like Bowie, Eno or even U2 a lot of their best work has usually happened when they ve reached 30 to 35. I think at that age you re really fighting against the cliches. You know, people saying that this is a really immature occupation for anyone of your age to be involved in.
After a statement like that there are no prizes for guessing that Tim Bowness, No-Man s intense and highly articulate lyricist, has already passed the big Three-Oh benchmark. There are, however, plenty of rewards to be reaped from listening to his band s music. Together since 1990, No-Man a collaboration between Bowness and Porcupine Tree s Steven Wilson have so far produced four beautifully weird and eerily eclectic albums, strange electronic creations that, in his own words, hurtle headlong towards the future with a rear view mirror fixed firmly on the past.
With influences ranging from Public Enemy and Japan to Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake, the genius of No-Man lies in their ability to blend more traditional songwriting skills to the cutting edge of dance music.
Steven and I met about 10 years ago and we were always just writing and experimenting, Tim explains. The first day we met, we wrote about four songs in one afternoon. I suspect from the off it was this kind of instant relationship where we were obsessed with extremes, really. Maybe extremes of violence and beauty. I guess the initial influences could have been anything from The Swines to Dead Can Dance, because at the beginning we were just going from sheer noise to sheer beauty. In 89 we were writing using hard breakbeats but we had a violinist as well, so I ve always described that time as being the ultimate fusion between the dance beat, the love song and the symphony. Pompously or not, it was the modus operandi and was very true for what we were doing at that stage.
Over the next few years the band recorded three albums for One Little Indian, 1992 s Lovesize, 1993 s Love Blows And Love Cries and finally, in 94, Flowermouth. All were critically acclaimed but none were particularly successful commercially, selling respectable numbers but never really taking the mainstream by storm. It was surprising really because, along the way, the band had collaborated with some of the most credible names in the business, amongst them Japan s Richard Barbieri (with whom Tim has since worked on a seperate album project), Lisa Gerrard, Talk Talk, Scanner and ambient maestro Robert Fripp.
By the summer of 1994, One Little Indian were making a lot of money from techno-popsters The Shamen and, predictably enough, attempted to push No-Man in that direction. Unfortunately, the eyes of artistic integrity and commercial concerns failed to meet and the deal was soon off. After nearly four years of major label comfort, No-Man found themselves out in the wilderness and, once again, truly struggling for their art. Luckily they persevered and last year s Wild Opera, their fourth album, released on indie label 3rd Stone, proved to be one of the better records of 1996, twelve songs of love, hate and suburban madness that had many critics hailing their partnership as the new electro equivalent of Morrissey and Marr.
Wild Opera was a very difficult album for us, says Tim. Up until the point when we made it, we d always had, if not luxurious deals, at least comfortable deals that enabled us to live doing what we adored. Whereas from that point onwards, because we hadn t quite reached the heights of Boyzone or whoever, we were really getting lesser and lesser advances. It was cutting quite deeply into the way we lived. And so I think Wild Opera is very much a reflection of two years of incredible struggle to do what we believed in.
We d gone from being relatively comfortable to having virtually no income. Basically it was kind of a case that the only money we were getting was from record play in Venezuela or wherever. The nice thing about it was at least we graduated from 1990 to 96 from being a national obscurity to a global obscurity. Certain tracks from Flowermouth have had regular play on Chilean FM Radio for the past two years. On that level we are very fortunate in that at least we have a cult audience and for the foreseeable future we ll always have record companies willing to put out our albums. All of our albums have made profits, it s just that we ve never sold enormous numbers of records. But we do have an international cult audience that seems to be increasing rather than decreasing so there are positive signs.
Although No-Man long for mainstream success, Tim doesn t particularly want to be a Pop Star , as such. It s probably just as well. He d look ridiculous in leather trousers. The sort of level of fame I d be happy to have would be like that of bands like Dead Can Dance and the Blue Nile, he explains earnestly.
And what about the excesses that often go hand in hand with increased success? After all, this is the band who recently scored a Hot Press Single Of The Fortnight with a track called Housewives Hooked On Heroin . Will success go straight to your nose?
No, he laughs, I m completely free from excesses generally. Aside from tea and sugar, which I m contemplating giving up soon anyway, I ve never really tried anything. It s kind of pathetic I suppose. Emotional hurt and poverty have always been my main kick.
Hmm. I guess that makes him a just say No, Man. n

Wild Opera is available on 3rd Stone Records. The No-Man website can be reached at http://www.webzone1.co.uk/www/os/noman.htm