audio by album piece and love

"This crown of thorns is really a crown of jewels"

Nutopia was written around 1997/8 when I had a room at Fortress Studios. Fortress was pretty much the hippest place in London at the time. All the Pop Stars and Celebrities like Primal Scream, Kate Moss and Oasis hung out there. I had the smallest studio in the building. Mine was the size of a large closet and I was the underdog.

I suspect I have a script buried in my subconscious which draws me toward this state. Because I continually find myself in it. It certainly doesn't happen consciously. No doubt it's probably based on some wierd guilt from childhood or beyond...

Anyway... I digress. I was the underdog this time because the most popular and powerful person in the building hated Americans. This was indeed an irony. As a kid I was hated for NOT begin American! Well, the bully of the building barred me from the cafe which was the central hub of activity. I began to feel left out and alienated. So I did what I always do when feeling cut off. I communicate through art or music.

Being outside of society has its distinct advantages. It lends a certain objectivity and insight which is hard to achieve when caught up in the game. Sitting in my room, feeling resentful and alone, I could detect a shallowness in the sounds of everyone enjoying themselves outside my door. I began to see visions of what this would lead to and where society was going. I felt like an underdog and could thus tap into the feelings of other more serious underdogs in the world. Nutopia was my premontion of 911 and the times which are still unfolding.

"This crown of thorns is really a crown of jewels".  read more »