Photo - Peter Ashworth - 1982

THE SOUL MINER
SASHA STOJANOVIC - JUKE – DECEMBER 1983

As another year of youth draws to a close, the record industry is alert to the selling of their biggest stars’ products. With fewer records by the new names, the effect of surprise (and delight) wears thin.

In such a climate, The The’s album Soul Mining comes as a release from the policy of predictability.

The The is an umbrella under which Matt Johnson, a shy and nervous young man, operates in these business waters, infected with sharks. He doesn’t aim at instant success, he believes in the rewards of long and painful duty to fans. Although he could be, with the right promotion, this year’s model, Matt refuses to play the ball-game.

He seems to be one of the last individuals, an artist in the music biz (such a rarity these days!) awkward to handle and project through the normal pop channels. He cannot be packaged in the cellophane of pretty faces and fashion horses, the catwalk scrape in search of a disposable instant of eternity. Matt longs for the recognition that would transcend time and, by the quality he’s offered so far, he’ll last well into the future.

An advert in London’s music organ the NME resulted in the forming of The The, following by support stints with Wire, Scritti Politti, DAF, This Heat and Cabaret Voltaire. That was in 1979 and a year later he entered the studio to record ‘Controversial Subject’, a single that eventually ended up on the 4AD compilation LP Natures Mortes – Still Loves. At the time The The was a band, but everybody deserted to let him record a solo album (under his own name) Burning Blue Soul.

Readopting the name The The he released the second single ‘Cold Spell Ahead’ and submitted an untitled track for a Some Bizzare compilation album. The subsequent year (1982) and some 13 temporary musicians later, Matt’s deal is licensed to CBS and we start to get regular singles: ‘Uncertain Smile,’ ‘Perfect’, and ‘This Is The Day’.

Between the latter singles, he recorded an album ‘The Pornography Of Despair’, as yet unreleased, for a variety of reasons. Hence, we arrive at the present and current album, Soul Mining.

The opening track, ‘I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow’, is a revelation of the artist’s soul, an autobiographical piece of music, the blue print of this work – a fuse of literary song writing and electronics of a coming age.

‘It’s autobiographical, as everything I’ve been building up has been falling to pieces, there’s a contradiction of opinions: when you were young, everything had a look of clarity, being naïve, but then you get older and your mind gets polluted by people and everything around you, everything is crushed by hypocrisy.’

After five intermediate tracks, he rounds off the album with a slight return to the same theme, self-exploring the inner spiritual reaches. ‘Giant’ is the most ambitious song on the album, the way it’s presented and the way it incorporates some ethno-chant.

For the difference to many is, the ethnic element is natural, it doesn’t appear to be transplanted superfluously just for the sake of being in tune with the times.

The first side of the album is more of a collection of songs, the other is flowing, an entity in itself, dynamic in a subtle way. In the execution of material he was helped by some notable contemporary musos, such as Thomas Leer (Matt admired him for a long time), Orange Juice’s ex-drummer Zeke Manyika and ex – Squeezer (now pretending to be a Millionaire), Jools Holland.

When I mention that today’s pop tends to communicate to a body whereas The The tries to appeal to a brain as well. I have to ask why, having such a good album out, Matt Johnson is not a superstar yet?

‘At the moment I find myself competing with those people, chart people. I don’t feel any empathy with those people, I feel totally separate. I’m glad I haven’t got a set image as the fashion changes so quickly. I try to set myself aside from that kind of cheapness in a way. I’d like to be timeless, just be known for making quality records, synonymous with quality, so people buying The The records would know that they got great music.

‘Quality and class always shine through in the end.’

The industry thrives on trash, in search of ever quick turnovers, increasing profits, bigger dividends at the end of a fiscal year. They’ve lost their bearings, they are in a desperate position.

‘The longer it takes for me to break through, the longer I’ll be there, I have time to acclimatize and develop my talent, if it happens too quickly you are swept up in the glamour and it means nothing in the end because it’s so transient. I aim at powerful statements that might influence people’s lives, so it’s harder to market me.’

The music matters: The The’s songs are soul mines exploding into fireworks of sentiments, feelings galore at a time when lyrics have become secondary to rhythm. Even the stage name is a definitive statement, he’s on the lookout for an ultimate group: with a corporate identity, it’s harder to put him in a bag and label it.

As the recent singles didn’t do much, what strategy is left to be employed?

‘I’m not very concerned about the singles success, I’d rather be orientated towards the album audience. Next year I’ll be clarifying a lot of things, with the new album, completely different from the present, doing some videos.
… the next single ‘Body Work’ is going to be a total departure, musically and lyrically.’

Among his influences he counts everybody and everything from Jean-Paul Satre to George Best, from Francis Ford Coppola to Velvet Underground to Can, from The Residents to travelling and technology.

Matt Johnson occupies a place amongst the most ingenious users of techno-advances for creating atmospherics. He is a miner of technically coded emotional music. Welcome him into your soul.