An excellent book hit shelves last week called Innerviews: Music Without Borders, a a book of new interviews and extended dialogues with the likes of Ani DiFranco, Bela Fleck, Chuck D of Public Enemy and Bjork. The interviews were either conducted for the book or are director's cuts of pieces from the website innerviews.org, which was founded by journalist Anil Prasad and is said to be the web's longest-running music magazine.
The artists interviewed in the book are exclusively mature, veteran artists, focusing on their creative process and the scope of their careers, as well as the realities of the changing tides of the music industry. Other artists interviewed include Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Martin Carthy, Stanley Clarke, Michael Hedges, Jonas Hellborg, Zakir Hussain, Leo Kottke, Bill Laswell, John McLaughlin, Noa, David Sylvian, Tangerine Dream, David Torn, Ralph Towner, McCoy Tyner, Eberhard Weber, Chris Whitley, Victor Wooten, and Joe Zawinul.
One standout session is with Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, discussing his love for the electric guitar as well as the ways in which Hip Hop has gone astray. The conversation, very atypical to his standard politically-charged interviews, is a candid new perspective into the creative process of one of the most significant pioneers in Hip Hop.
Some of the evocative topics explored include:
• Björk on the chaos of her creative process
• Stanley Clarke on saying no to Miles Davis
• Chuck D on what’s wrong with hip-hop today
• Ani DiFranco on propelling democracy through music
• Béla Fleck on exploring the banjo's African roots
• Leo Kottke on the guitar as a spiritual connection
• Bill Laswell on the drama of producing difficult artists
• John McLaughlin on defying expectations/ outsmarting the jazz police
• McCoy Tyner on the deification of John Coltrane
• Tangerine Dream on how electronic music can transcend technology
• David Torn on being the world's 2nd most sampled musician
• Joe Zawinul on inventing the original hip-hop beat
Here's what artists are saying about the book:
“Anil Prasad is like a great musician. The way he expresses himself through his own art—his writing—causes readers to feel inspired, as if we’ve learned about ourselves, as well as the subject of the interview.” — Victor Wooten, from the book's foreword
“Prasad does splendid interviews with an amazing mix of musicians in Innerviews: Music Without Borders. He takes the artists’ work seriously and meets it on its own terms, which is a sign of true generosity on his part.” — Vijay Iyer
"Thoughtful and literate music writing." — Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree
"I'm always glad to read Anil's pieces—consistently among the best interviews out there. He always ask the right things. I'm very grateful to him." — Mike Keneally
Order the book Music Without Borders and learn more at the official Innerviews site.
