Jazz percussionist David Lyttle talks about his West Coast residency and working with hip hop's finest

The village of Waringstown Co. Down, with a population of just over 2,000 people and numerous awards for “Best Kept Small Town in Northern Ireland”, doesn’t exactly strike you as the kind of place that would be producing a MOBO and Urban Music Award-nominated musician. Then again, David Lyttle doesn’t come from an ordinary family. Beginning his musical career as a child performer with the Lyttle Family, David has been a tireless fixture on the Northern Ireland musical scene for over a decade. Having bagged a £15,000 grant from Arts Council NI in December, he’s getting ready to embark on summer residencies in LA, San Francisco, Las Vegas and China. I ask him what he’ll be doing while he’s out there.

“It’s going to be part tour, part journalism and part artistic statement,” he tells me. “First of all, I want to explore the public’s connection with music through pop up performances in smaller places with artists who might not necessarily be what we would call ‘famous’. We’re in an era where there’s so much music out there and with sites like Spotify, the way we treat music has changed. It’s become more commodified and homogenised than ever and there’s a growing gap between the artist and the listener. I want to record conversations with audiences to get a sense of what connects them to music. That’s where the journalism side comes into it.

“Then I’ll also be performing at iconic locations like Alcatraz, to see if I can make an artistic statement by playing to audiences in unusual contexts.”

Striking you initially as a web-shy Luddite because of his aversion to social media and streaming sites, it’s clear that David’s apprehension comes from what he sees as the chasm between artists, their audiences and the music industry.

“What I don’t like about streaming sites is that higher powers in the industry are telling us that this is the future and everyone must adhere to it. I run my own record label (Lyte Records) and I know that it costs money to make albums and that it takes time and money to develop yourself on an artistic level. So people out there who want to be truly independent and unique won’t be generating 50/60 million plays on Spotify and won’t be making money from it. It’s a good model for the consumer but not for the artist. In spite of everything, I’ve found that people still want to pay for music, go to live shows and support musicians. I don’t think that will change.”

It’s a strong argument from someone whose artistic props can’t be denied. Faces, David’s latest album, was a tour de force that combined jazz, funk and hip-hop. Sparing no expense when it came to collaborations, the album sees tracks featuring hip-hop artist Talib Kweli sit comfortably beside ones featuring Baroque pop singer Duke Special. With so many points of reference, I try to suss out how David approaches a collaboration.

“I try to work with artists whose music I’m a fan of and who I think I could do something creative with. When you’re trying to work with an artist who’s more well-known, you just have to make sure that what you propose is strong. When I approached Talib Kweli I told him my ideas and said that I didn’t want to do a normal sounding American hip-hop track – that my album would have hip-hop, jazz, soul – and he appreciated that. It’s better to have a solid idea than just to say, ‘Hey, I’m a fan. Do you want to work together?’”

From mentoring emerging talents in Derry’s Nerve Centre to seeking out obscure musicians in the Nevada desert, I get the sense that David would feel comfortable working with just about anyone. But would his ideal collaboration be?

“In the hip-hop world, it’d have to be Q-Tip. He still has this creative mystique about him and he’s kind of considered to be the jazz musician’s musician. I’ve sent some stuff to him and he’s gotten back to me but it’s just never happened. Maybe on day!” David Lyttle will play at Bennigans, Derry on March 18, 19.