CLASSIFIED LEVEL 5 SECURITY.
According to the Official Secrets Act 1911.
London North Secure Compound No. 6
October 8th, 2008
Interviewer - Dr. Cornell P.H.D.
Interviewee - Mr. Lixx the Warrior, more commonly known as “Lixx”
[interview begins 11:11 pm]
Dr. Cornell: Good evening.
Lixx: Good evening.
Dr Cornell: For the record, please state your name.
Lixx: Lixx the Warrior, the mighty Thor, Callisto Neandarthal to Genesis, the Guided One, or just plain old Lixx.
Dr. Cornell: Thankyou. Now I’m going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer as honestly and candidly as you can. Ok?
Lixx: Ok.
Dr. Cornell: It says here in your file that you’re part of a group know as Undercurrent. You released an album in 2002 called Sons of Celluloid, and an EP in 2004 called Pirate Radio. You’ve also just released a mixtape called Crisis Talks. Can you confirm that this is true?
Lixx: That’s about right.
Dr. Cornell: Why has there been such a gap between projects?
Lixx: No reason in particular. I don’t like to rush things. When you try to force your own creativity, you compromise your vision.
Dr. Cornell: Interesting.
[Dr Cornell writes in her notebook]
Dr. Cornell: Do you listen to hip-hop music?
Lixx: [Laughs] Of course.
Dr. Cornell: Who do you listen to?
Lixx: I’m much more selective than I used to be. It takes a lot more for hip-hop to make an impression on me these days... I like Common, De La Soul, MF Doom, The Roots, M.O.P., Little Brother, Sean Price, Pharoah, Jay-Z, Outkast, Cunning Lynguists… I used to be a Wu-Tang nut but I had to accept their time was finished and move on.
Dr. Cornell: Been to any live shows recently?
Lixx: A couple.
Dr. Cornell: Who’s good live?
Lixx: Little Brother. Phonte could’ve been a stand-up if he wanted to. Another set that stuck in my head was Paragon. They had this chemistry and humour on stage that really appealed to us because we always wanted to come across that way. If the crowd see you enjoying yourself on stage, they’ll enjoy the show.
Dr. Cornell: What would you consider is your rap “Golden Era”?
Lixx: Wu-Tang was the shit for me. I fell into hip-hop in the early nineties, so for me it was the Wu and Death Row. Dogg Food is one of my favourite albums of all time. Then I branched out and started checking for other artists and found my niche with that boom-bap New York sound. That remains my favourite genre of hip-hop. DJ Premier encapsulates it. My all-time favourite rap group is probably Outkast though. In their heyday, they were making hip-hop from another planet.
Dr. Cornell: What else do you listen to besides hip-hop?
Lixx: All kinds. To be honest, hip-hop only takes up about a fifth of my listening time, maybe less. Kate Bush, John Frusciante, Boards of Canada, Rolling Stones, Genesis, David Axelrod, The Cure, Bat For Lashes, Gnarls Barkley, Doves, Susumu Yakota, Gustavo Santaolalla, Radiohead, Prince, Amy Winehouse, Air… I like a bit of euphoric trance and a lot of old soul and motown too.
Dr. Cornell: Interesting.
[Dr Cornell writes in her notebook]
Dr Cornell: Tell me more about yourself.
Lixx: Like what?
Dr. Cornell: It says here in your file that your hip-hop career began with a group called Darkmindz. It says the other founder, referred to here as “Outbound”, passed away and at some point you were also part of another group called A.D., or Atheists Deities. It says Undercurrent formed around the turn of the millennium. Is that correct?
Lixx: More or less.
Dr. Cornell: Tell me something Mr Lixx… What do you dream about?
Lixx: My dreams? My dreams are genuinely twisted. But I love them. They nourish my soul. I had relentless night-terrors when I was very young and as I got older the dreams didn’t change, but my interpretations of them did. I sometimes see the future in my dreams.
Dr. Cornell: Are you superstitious?
Lixx: Depends on your definition of the word. I believe in a lot of possibilities that most people don’t, so I guess you could say so. 11 11 has been a recurring theme.
Dr. Cornell: Are you religious?
Lixx: No. I’d prefer to say I was spiritual. Mother Nature is my God.
Dr. Cornell: Describe hell.
Lixx: Being strapped to a chair with my eyes pinned open to a 24hr live stream of Celebrity Big Brother. Neil Morrissey, Paris Hilton, Graham Norton, Katie Melua & Derren Brown are all in the house talking about their careers and scraping their cutlery against earthenware plates. That or the depiction in Jacobs Ladder.
Dr. Cornell: What makes you happy?
Lixx: Films. I’m a total film geek. And travelling. Visiting a strange, bustling metropolis, or being outdoors somewhere wild and isolated.
Dr. Cornell: Interesting.
[Dr Cornell writes in her notebook]
Dr. Cornell: What makes you laugh?
Lixx: Billy Connelly.
Dr. Cornell: What makes you cry?
Lixx: Listening to the last Wu-Tang album.
Dr. Cornell: Where do your ideas originate?
Lixx: My dreams. Other great acts or ideas inspire me. And working with Baron always turns up something truly original.
Dr. Cornell: Are you working on anything else?
Lixx: Always. I have a solo album finished and ready to release. It’s called ‘A Life Of Time’ and is produced entirely by Baron. A lot of my favourite albums are one emcee/one producer combo’s, so I wanted a similar feel. The only thing holding it up is the artwork, but because I’m doing it myself and I’m a perfectionist, it has to be right. But it’s very close. After that, we’ve already set the wheels in motion for the next Undercurrent long player. And I’m not one for hype, but I cannot stress this enough: our next album is going to be one of the best albums you’ve ever heard.
[Dr Cornell writes in her notebook]
[Dr Cornell exits room and returns with several sheets of card and a cup of coffee][Dr Cornell slides a sheet of card across the table, face-down]
Dr. Cornell: I’m going to change the pace a little bit now. This is known as a Rorschach test. Turn this over and tell me what you see.
Lixx: Hmmm. A spiders web.
Dr. Cornell: Good. Now try this one.
Lixx: A monkey juggling eyeballs.
Dr. Cornell: Very good. Lastly, tell me what you see in this image.
Lixx: I… I don’t find that very funny. Take it away.
Dr Cornell: Most interesting.
[Dr Cornell writes in her notebook]
Dr Cornell: Well, it’s been a fascinating interview, but unfortunately we have to bring it to a close. Is there anything you would like to add, for the record?
Lixx: Yeah. I would like to send love to my girl Pan, my family & friends, to Biz and to all the people that enjoy listening to our music. Can I go and sleep now?
Dr Cornell: Of course you can.
[Interview terminated 11:32 pm, patient is escorted back to his cell]
