David Edwards started making music as Minotaur Shock in 2000, since then he’s racked up three albums, Chiff Chaffs and Willow Warblers, released in 2001 on Melodic, followed by Maritime and Amateur Dramatics, both on the renowned independent 4AD.
He’s also released under his techno alias Principle Participant and composed a score for theatre. His impressive CV is bolstered by a body of work that is almost dizzyingly diverse; from pastoral folktronica to kinetic techno via quasi-ambient soundscapes – and back again. What links these myriad styles is his often abstract take on them, with unexpected structural shifts and a symbiotic relationship between acoustic creating a breadth of sound that draws the listener in on first listen, but reveals their true complexity over time.
This podcast showcases Edwards’ more contemplative side, with shimmering textures and fluent shifts between warm moods and a sense of joyfulness that teeters on the brink of euphoria. We couldn’t think of a better way to get you geared up for Spring.
Listen: Alpha-ville presents Minotaur Shock
Hi David. I’ve got to ask before going any further – why is your project called Minotaur Shock?
“In the heady days before the MP3, Minidiscs were being touted as the new CD. I used to master my tunes onto Minidisc, and you could enter song names and stuff using a quaint little dial thing to select the letters. ‘Minotaur Shock’ was pretty much randomly selected by me turning the dial left and right without really thinking about it. My first demo was called Minotaur Shock Rock. Honestly.”
How did Minotaur Shock come into being?
“I used to play drums in various shoegaze bands at school but when I went off to university I spent loads of time listening to the electronic music that was my first love. I hooked up with a guy who had a heap of electronic equipment and together we made some tunes. Then he gave me an Atari and I spent ages and ages making tunes instead of studying. I got a rubbish degree in a rubbish subject, but I learnt how to use Cubase.”
Who influences you as an artist? Is there a particular moment from your childhood when you knew you wanted to make music?
“When I was doing my music GCSE I was listening to stuff like LFO and The KLF. I couldn’t read or write music but I worked out how to use the sequencer on my Yamaha keyboard to make very basic dance music. This kind of made me realise that making a tune from beginning to end, with no one else, was pretty easy. In terms of influences, I guess the main influences on me were the early Warp records, then shoegaze stuff like Slowdive, then Portishead and DJ Shadow, followed by a bunch of post-rock, then I got into Can, Steve Reich, Moondog etc, then I indulged my love of Todd Rundgren, Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan and then back to electronic stuff via some Morricone.”
What were you trying to achieve with the podcast? Why these records?
“With this podcast I was trying to include music that is quite hypnotic – I have a pretty short attention span, so my own music tends to be a bit all-over-the-place in terms of structure. I’m constantly impressed by people who can make something simple and repetitive without being boring. I’m not used to making mixtapes that have neither loads of beats or old dusty records on them, so it was quite nice for me to concentrate on the type of music I listen to most; which is generally reflective and warm.”
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