PAUL FRANKLAND: JOURNEYMAN DOES WOOB

(sounding tired) I've been writing music since the age of 14. The visual aspects interested me. It was kind of obvious that one day I'd write a soundtrack. I got my masters in Film, directed a few movies and wrote the scores for a few of the movies made by fellow students. Meanwhile I traveled around, playing as a house DJ. But I soon got tired of this and decided to focus exclusively on ambient/chill-out. A Woob demo found its way into the hands of Mixmaster Morris who pushed me to release my own music. My attention was drawn to an ad in a music magazine and I sent a demo to t:me recording ltd. They gave me the opportunity to record my first Woob album. Coincidentally I was talking to Ninja Tune at the same time about a DJ project with Colin Waterton. Ninja Tune loved it right away! The first Journeyman album "Mama 6" was hard to find, but reactions were positive.

Colin Waterton had lots of influence on the first Journeyman album. The idea was that we'd start a record label as a duo, but it didn't happen. Colin moved on and started concentrating on other stuff. He did work on about three of the songs on 'National Hijinx' though. The bassist Riad Abji, who influenced the timbre of the second Woob album a lot, has had a lot more input in Journeyman.

I really love the first Woob. I am also quite happy with ‘National Hijinx’. I didn't really like 'Mama 6' and Woob² so much. For the third Woob I want a drastic change of course: vocal additions from songwriters and extra input from a string quartet. Sadly enough the label is in some financial trouble, which is why I'm delaying it. Woob² did not quite live up to my expectations. On a compilation I had a track where the band really played together with guitar, drums and bass. I wanted the second Woob album to really sound "live", but that was not impossible. I don't want to risk releasing yet another half-finished album. I'd rather wait until the label has enough money to release the CD. Hopefully next year? I'm also working on a new Journeyman album, which will be released before the third Woob album. It's going to be more of a club oriented album, with a broader musical sound. Woob³ will be more musical, aside from what is ‘in’ at the moment.

(chuckles) Sloath is a word used to describe a slow-moving creature. The track is very chilled out and very slow. The song drags along for four minutes like a lounge bar lizard thingy. 'Eugolana box' was first called 'A Box', then changed to ‘Analogue Box’ spelled backwards..

(laughs heartily) While living in Manchester I split an apartment with the bassplayer Riad Abji. A mate of mine - Scabboy - makes these intriguing collages. One day he showed me all his artwork. I chose the cut-up faces, as they fit the mix of styles on the album.

Journeyman is fast, hectic and trippy. Woob is cinematic with actors and dialogue. If I were asked to write a soundtrack, it would be made under the name Woob. Journeyman would be for a pop video. Although my output can hardly be called pop music. I'm currently working on a movie for the next Journeyman single, which will hopefully be released in March of next year. The video will be shown at live performances, on MTV, and hopefully I'll get some air time on TV. I'm also working on some commercials where I try to fit in Journeyman. If I make enough money - by the time I turn 40 - I want to make a movie.

Actually I have stopped DJing and doing live sets. 'National Hijinx' didn't get much promotional backing, except for a few telephone calls and an occasional radio show. I have actually done very little these past two years. The recordings for the Journeyman album date back to ‘96. In the meantime I've moved from Manchester to Brighton. The first thing I did was to get my studio up and running. I’m trying to get everything done in ‘98. The idea is to make the next Journeyman album an album that works ‘on the road’. I already have some contacts needed to set up a small tour. But first I want to be ready. I also hope that in ‘98 I will have enough money to start my own label.

(desillusioned) Sheesh, I listened to a lot of stuff, but hated most of it. I really liked the last David Holmes. Portishead was fun too. I listened to several 12" records from smaller independent labels, but there just wasn’t a lot of good material in my opinion. Coldcut’s latest album was not bad either. I thought I wasn’t going to like it, but it turned out to be quite all right. I even made a remix of ‘Timber’. The CD-ROM? I have only recently purchased a powerful PC, so I've only had the chance to take a quick peek at it. I liked it, but despite the potential possibilities of this medium, I still feel the results are rather limited. In an ideal world people should be able to put it in some kind of black box and watch it unhindered by the limitations of machines or technology. Maybe they should just make a Playstation game next time. I don’t know.