Highlands - Duncan Patterson

Hello Duncan!
Thanks for accepting this interview

1.- To begin with, we would like to know more about you as a musician, generally. How and when it does born in you, the interest for playing and making music?Which were your first influences and references in music?

R: My father was very musical, my parents met on the folk scene and had 100s of vinyls in the house. We would go to folk festivals every year on holidays. I was fascinated by music from an early age. The Beatles - Help was the first album I became obsessed with, I must have been 5 or 6 years old.

For years I was into The Beatles, Duran Duran, and old hip-hop. My father had a few guitars and a banjo and they were like magic to me too, so I guess it was just natural to start playing as soon as my hands were big enough. I played keyboards for a while as well, but gave up when I got into rock music. My friends older brother introduced me to Pink Floyd when I was about 11 years old, that opened up a lot of doors for me musically. I got into a lot of heavier stuff too, Into The Pandemonium by Celtic Frost is still a huge influence on what I do now. I don't really have musical boundaries, I even listen to premeditated commercial shite sometimes, but I wont pretend its anything but that.

2.- When and how did you came closer to the most extreme metal we all know? And later, how it was that you entered Anathema?

R: I was already into stuff like Celtic Frost, St Vitus, Amebix, slow grindy stuff. It turned out that neither me or Danny were fanatical about extreme death metal or that. I like old black metal, and stuff like Autopsy with real rough productions. I dont go along with all this 'nicely produced' extreme music. Whats that all about? Anyway, yeah, I used to go and watch Anathema in Liverpool. I liked some of their stuff, and enjoyed watching a band that was actually playing original music. There were a few other bands around that time, mostly playing covers and that. A lot of people used to take the piss out of

Anathema in those days, about their big curly hairstyles and that, but it was mostly out of jealousy. Me and a couple of friends used to go and see them whenever we could, and I remember hearing the second demo "All Faith Is Lost" and being well impressed. I bought a bass guitar from a shop that Danny was working in, and he told me that they were looking for a new bass player. He probably thought that I was rich, as I was buying brand new equipment ;) Thats how I got the job.

3.- With Anathema you participated, surely, in the most important line up and in the most important stage that Anathema to be as it is nowadays. Looking back at those times.
What it meant to you, to be part of it and grow along with them? What are your memories from that time?

R: : Everything just happened so quickly really, but by the time we were on our second album I was ready to quit it all. During the following years I was just hoping that the situation would improve. I knew we could do a lot better if everyone put a bit more effort in, but that never happened. I've since realised that people are who they are, and I shouldn't judge them by my own standards and ethics. I'm proud of what I achieved during that time though, and theres no hiding the fact that I took the band to another level. Its just a pity that other people benefited from that, who really didn't deserve to. That's life though, I've learned a lot from these things.

4.- Back in that time, Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost were considered three of the most important pillars of British doom metal. Those were other times… and nowadays; what do you think about Paradise Lost's and My Dying Bride's material, do you enjoy them?

R: : To be honest I've followed neither bands career for a long time, though I respect them for what they've done. Paradise Lost especially should be revered. The album Gothic spawned an entire genre. MDB are great at imagery and have stuck to their guns playing the same style for years. I really like Turn Loose The Swans and some tracks from The Angel And The Dark River.

5.- After you left Anathema, you arrived to Antimatter How did this happen? What did you wanted to express and show with this new musical and artistic incarnation?

R: : I just carried on writing music and doing what I do. I was leaning more towards piano, and away from guitars at that stage, and had female vocals in mind for what I was writing then. There was no master plan really, I just wanted to record and release music and exorcise some personal demons by doing so. It was good doing it with Mick, as I really liked what he was writing at the time and he deserved some exposure.

6.- You participated with them in several pieces, being, in my opinion, the best and most interesting "planetary confinement"
What are your memories and sensations from these times? What did you wanted to express with this work?

R: To be honest, I wasn't into Planetary Confinement. I had some medical problems during the first recording session, which was a bad start, then it was more of a task for me than a creative process. I don't want to devalue the album, as I know Mick put everything into it and got great results, but for me it was just a case of getting it
recorded and mixed. For me, Lights Out is the definitive Antimatter album.

7.- What lead you to quit Antimatter? What's the relationship between you and your ex music mates from Antimatter?

R: It was just time to move on. We were extremely unlucky, as nothing ever went smoothly for us. Seven years of that is a long time, and life is too short. Also, me and Mick have fairly different agendas.
I'm proud of what we did and how we did it. Saviour and Lights Out are great albums in my opinion, its just a pity they weren't made more widely available. We are both getting on with our own music now, and hopefully this will bring good results. Sometimes you have to keep moving to find what you really want from life, rather than stay put and complain.

8.- Nowadays we know you are setting up a new project named "ION", oriented to pretty intimate yet intense sounds
What can you tell us about it? Why the record's name is in Spanish? :"Madre, protegenos". Do you know this(our) language?

R: The album is almost finished now. Its actually íon, not ion. It's a mixture of music, some folk influences, some dark classical and ethnic influences. I wouldn't class it as an epic masterpiece or anything, its just what I'm doing now. Musically it still has very dark moments, lyrically it is far more positive that most of my previous work. I got a lot of inspiration for the album during my time in Mexico, hence the Spanish title.

9.-A while ago we spoke to Darren White for a possible interview we are know making. Do you talk to him? What do you think about him at present? Do you know him current musical projects?

R: We keep in touch occassionaly via email and that. He was actually over in Ireland some months ago, but we didn't get the chance to meet up. He sent me some demos from his latest project Serotonal which sounded good. I hope to see some movement from them soon. Darren is a great artist, a good man for concepts and vision. I always told him he should publish a book with his writings and photography.

10.-Related to labels
Through your career life, you have worked with many different labels. What do you think about the working ways of extreme independent music? What is the knowledge you took from all these years, working with labels?
How do you feel about "Equilibrium Music" from Portugal and "Strange Light? What do you expect from them?

R: Strangelight is actually my own label. I started it up as something to fall back on, so I dont have to rely on other people. Equilibrium is a growing label from Portugal, who deal in the type of genres similar to what I'm doing at the moment. With the Antimatter
stuff we were always thrown into the metal scene, which had nothing to do with us. The guys at Equilibrium know the score about that, and are musicians too, so it's not like dealing with businessmen for me. More like dealing with fellow musicians who are doing the same as myself. I don't like how the bigger labels work, and the larger media too. It seems to be all about money, and not covering independent music as such. Full page advert = good review, its all bollocks.

11.-We have the impression -because of the kind of music you do- that you are a very sensitive person and very linked to everything that is related to art How do you spend your free times? How do you have fun?

R: : I don't know about art really, I write about life. Sensitive, for sure, probably a bit too sensitive but I always have been. I'm glad I have the ability to touch upon music as an outlet for a lot of feelings/energy/anxiety or whatever you want to call it. In my spare
time I travel a lot, relax whenever I can. I'm actually learning Latin American Spanish at the moment, so I'm reading a lot. I'm trying to cleanse myself at the moment, so I'm not drinking so much these days. Drinking was my main social hobby for years, then it became like an albatross for me.

12.- Do you know something about our country, Chile, as people or culture?

R: I'm interested in Latin America, I have many books about the history and culture. I recently saw Chilean movie called 'Machuca' about events that led up to the military coup in the 70s. I watched it without subtitles too, it was good help for my learning of Spanish. I'd love to tour the continent one day. Whether thats possible as an independent artist is another story though.

13.-What do you think about the current metal scene? Do you listen to some metal? What kind of music do you often listen to? Which bands are still important or indispensable to you?

R: The last metal album that really blew me away was Samael - Passage. Nothing since then has shown me anything of interest really. I still go to the odd metal gig, but I don't have much interest in music thats been done a million times before, only better. I listen to a lot of folk and traditional music from different countries. Also a lot of old punk and hardcore, some electronic music. On my MP3 playlist at this very moment I have Motley Crue,Nancy Sinatra, Minor Threat, and the theme from The Rockford Files haha.

14.- How do you see yourself 10 years from now, as person and musician?

R: I live in hope that I will finally be settled somewhere, with a lot less worries than I have now. I'd also like to have children and be able to support them comfortably. I will always make music though, that is inside me and I have no choice about that, regardless of whether I make money from it or not.

15.- Thank you for your time and your availability. Would you like to send regards to the Chilean, Brazilian and southamerican audience?

R: : Thanks for the interest. I really hope to be able to play down there again someday. Be lucky!

Thanks again Duncan! All the Best!

R: Thanks for the coverage!

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