The Life Of Brian

Even when he s not in front of the band, Brian Irvine is busy conducting. Look at those hands slicing, swerving and jabbing, rarely at peace. His conversation is animated enough, but when his limbs are bringing extra drama to his thoughts, when his eyebrows are perpetually on the go and he breaks into the largest grin ever, the effect is never less than dynamic.
We re sitting in a cafe in Bangor, County Down, near Brian s homebase of Donaghadee. We ve come to talk about the guy s recent album, Bersudky s Machines, which is madly outside your regular classifications. Perhaps that s why Brian is rapping about John Zorn and Charles Mingus, about comic books and the stubborn glory of Tom Waits. Brian has just written to old Tom, suggesting that he fronts the Irvine Ensemble for a laugh, some time. He s also just ordered a CD that Tom Waits has put together, dedicated to the mavericks who built their own musical instruments. Harry Partsch would be in there the chap who created tunes from discarded keys, lightbulbs and sundry other found sounds. And in a sense, that relates back to Eduard Bersudsky, whose kinetic sculptures were the basis of the new Irvine album.
You can actually see some of these exhibits on Brian s CD cover; mutant bits of toys, cannibalised onto scrap metal and whirring gears, a fascinating gig. Irvine s music is a bit like that. He s been compared to Frank Zappa, and that s not such a fanciful idea. Basically, here s the sound of a guy who speaks fondly of Messaen and Stockhausen and is simultaneously mates with Irish DJs like David Holmes and Iain McCready. He s studied music at Boston and Surrey and has is currently working on a millenium commission that will involve 2000 bells. Lovely.
So what would Brian s ideal job description be given that he also spends a fair bit of his time coaching several popular music courses at the North Down Institute?
That s a killer! he laughs. I get asked that so many times, and every time I think of something different to say. I have the 14-piece band, which is a pivotal thing. It s got Paul Dunmall in it, who is one of the best saxophone players in the world. And then I do orchestral commisions. I ve just come back from Chicago, where I did this piece called The Adventures Of Captain Weather And Magnet Man. That was based on my ten year old friend s comic book. And then I do stuff in the studio with anyone who wants to do anything.
The style of the music I do is hard to pin down. It depends on who you are working with. The band s great because it gives you a chance to chuck all this stuff in, and you can change things on the spot, which you can t do with an orchestra. I was always into free jazz, contemporary classical music. When I was young, I was into punk and Carlos Santana stuff, you know. I m into people who have something to say, who have an identity. You spark off on people who have an energy.
I ve only witnessed one Brian Irvine show, but it was remarkable. Loads of very talented players on stage, playing their best, but also having fun. A crowd of Irvine fans in the audience, hurling good-natured banter at the composer, and having it returned in kind. Roaring brass and funky interludes, interspersed with difficult passages. It was frivolous and intense at the same time. So now that Brian is being recognised at home, and is appearing more regularly and new music and fringe festivals across Europe, is he looking forward to 2000 with relish?
I m delighted. I ve got lots of work on, lots of interesting projects for the next year and a half or so. I don t have a long term plan, or anything, but I like going out and meeting people who are doing things. And that usually leads on to something else, somewhere along the way.

Another lively figure from the Bangor area is Chris Murray. Over the years, he s been busy in clothes shops, throwing projects together, creating a vibe. He spent four years in London, working at the prestigious Robot store and catching the acid house boom as it lifted there. He came home via a spell in Australia, Asia and American and is currently the guvnor of Apache, a clothes shop on Belfast s Wellington Place.
It s a constantly lively setting, a hang-out for hipsters and ne er-do-wells, the place to stock up on Stussy and Hooch, to find out about the best clubs and visiting DJs. As an extention of this energy, Chris has compiled a dance compilation, Apache Tribe, which is available free to his customers. It includes many celebrated names about town, such as Paul Hamill and Graham Lavery, plus the likes of BASIS and Solaris who are active on the ever-evolving electronica scene.
There s a Bangor act called Desiato, who live, Monkees-style, together in a house, where they also write and record. The other stuff is still to plentiful to digest for a bit, but suffice to say, the experiment has come out well.
The idea was just to get something out of nothing, Chris explains. There s a lot of people here with originality, but they haven t been heard. This project just escalated so quickly. We ll have to see what we can do next.
The Apache Tribe record will be launched presently, and on a related note, get ready for a special shindig called Digital belFEST, due in the Spring, plus a continuation of Phil Kieran s excellent Sector One electronic nights.
To order Brian Irvine records, check out his website at www.coyote-records.com Apache Clothing, 60 65 Wellington Place Belfast BT1 6GT, Tel (01232) 329056.