Storming The Studio :: 40 Years of the Future Worlds of Jack Dangers (Part 1)

Igloo Magazine presents a serialized, long-form oral history of the work of Jack Dangers, front man for Meat Beat Manifesto, Perennial Divide, Tino Corp, The JDs, and countless other monikers. These monthly installments will hopefully provide a definitive insight into the works of the man (originally) from Swindon, underrated genius of the last 40 years, and pioneer of three distinct musical genres of the late 20th and early 21st century. Chang Terhune’s interviews take twists and turns as he seeks to plumb the depths of this musical mind in a series we’re calling “Storming The Studio: 40 Years of The Future Worlds of Jack Dangers.”

A working class bloke at heart

When you’re given the opportunity to interview an artist you’ve admired and idolized for over thirty years, it’s daunting to say the least. Especially when that artist is also clocking in at around 40 years in the sordid, dastardly, nefarious and ugly thing called the music business. Jack Dangers, the cornerstone, the founder, the mainstay of Meat Beat Manifesto would be that artist. And I’m that guy trying to tell this story.

Firstly, I’ve been a fan of MBM ever since I heard their single “God O.D.” Secondly, once I got the okay to interview Jack Dangers, I had no idea what to do with the chance to speak to him (let alone what I’d do with the resulting 8 plus hours of audio from our interview):

Where do I start?
What’s my premise?
What’s my takeaway?

Well, the takeaway is that Jack Dangers, creator of some of the weirdest, boggiest, heaviest, and scariest music ever committed to modern recording media is really just a working class bloke at heart.

“(Swindon) is one of the more kind of working class towns in England. Maybe a little middle class, but yeah, it’s definitely more working class. It was a big rail railway town. My grandfather and my father worked there and I worked there as well. It was like the main employer of the town back when it first opened. British Rail took up the whole bloody town even when it started because it was at the end of the Hill from London and Bristol. So it was a working class town but not so much now though.”

For over eight hours (and change) I got to jabber away at a hero of mine. Through this I realized several things: One is Jack’s an exceedingly nice guy. Another is that he’s got an encyclopedic knowledge of music—and not just electronic, hip hop or industrial—but everything from 1970’s top 40 to very obscure jazz. He’s incredibly funny and—not surprising to anyone who’s listened to at least one of Meat Beat Manifesto’s albums—is a bit of a prankster. Several times I fell prey to his puns, double entendres, and bad jokes.

By the end of our conversation I felt as if I’d been talking to an old friend after a long time estranged. And strange is the perfect word for the world of Jack Dangers, main man of Meat Beat Manifesto.

Stay tuned for the next chapter.

meatbeatmanifesto.com

Graphic by Digital Chemist