Whether it’s peak-time house or skronky avant-jazz beats, Matthew Herbert’s work takes the idea of making intricate music to new heights. His 2015 album The Shakes – his first dance record in nearly a decade – sampled UK protests and the sound of used bullets. 2012’s One Pig explored the life cycle of the farmyard’s snoutiest, from intricately sampling butcher’s knives to turning parts of the animal into instruments. And there was that time he recreated the dinner that Nigella Lawson cooked for Tony Blair and George Bush and drove over it in a tank. “I don’t like the idea of an average listener,” he told the Guardian recently.
His chosen theme on our latest edition of the Guardian Radio Hour show was his personal take on rhythm, which, he says, is increasingly important in modern music.
It sounds lofty but let Herbert explain: “Rhythm is such a critical aspect of music and it’s never discussed. But in an age when computers are taking over in the production of music, choosing a tempo, feel and swing are actually becoming more important rather than less and music is changing as a result.”
His chosen tracks ranged from Howling Wolf, De La Soul and Marshall Jefferson to Bill Withers and Benga.
Listen to the full show above or you can subscribe to our Music Weekly podcast to get them delivered to your podcast app of choice.
There are more shows to explore and you can watch the behind-the-scenes video from the Guardian Radio Hour with Neneh Cherry here:
The Guardian Radio Hour is produced by Alannah Chance.
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