The following is an interview with Luke Vibert, aka Plug. Having released material under the names Wagon Christ and Luke Vibert, he became the first drum ’n’ bass act on Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records. The first Plug album, Drum and Bass for Papa, was released in America as a double CD including the three previous EPs.
Did you always intend to do this professionally, or did you start doing it just for fun?
“I didn’t think that I’d be able to make records from my bedroom. I always thought I’d have to go into a studio and record professionally, whatever that means. That was the biggest surprise. I always used to play around with stuff, but more just for fun. I was really surprised when Rephlex said, ‘Give us a tape of some of your stuff,’ and it turned into my first album. I didn’t think the quality would be good enough. I definitely didn’t plan to make records.”
What type of music were you doing before?
“Anything really — pop, punk, alternative-type stuff. Nothing that I actually like now, in retrospect. I didn’t really write songs, except for a couple when I was in punk bands when I was really young. I played drums in alternative bands, kind of Stone Roses–type stuff, around ’89. That was the last band I was in. I also played bass in a strange band, but I wasn’t that involved — I’d just turn up for practice. It wasn’t until I started doing stuff on my own that I really got into making music. The bands I was in were never serious enough to record demos or anything. We just played and did a few gigs.”
Are there any negative aspects of doing music on your own?
“I don’t think so. Choosing tracks for albums can be difficult. I always do at least twice as many tracks as I need, so deciding which ones to use is hard. I’m too close to them to judge properly, so I usually leave that to the A&R person or whoever I’m working with. I love having 100% control. Any track I do with someone else is a compromise. If it’s bad, at least I can only blame myself.”
Since electronic music gives you so much control, is it ever hard to decide when a track is finished?
“Very much so, especially with remixes. There’s always a point where I’m thinking, ‘Is it finished?’ There are only a couple of remixes I’ve done where I actually liked the original track. Usually I listen to it for a few days after finishing it, and then suddenly think, ‘I need to change that.’ With my own stuff, I’m not even thinking about release when I’m making it. I’m just having fun. With remixes, you know it’s going to come out. Some people expect me to do really weird stuff, and I don’t. Others expect something safe, and I do something completely different.”
How do you decide whether or not to take on a remix project?
“The obvious thing is money. If it’s a lot of money, I’ll do it. But sometimes it’s about whether there’s something interesting in the track — a nice sound or idea that could work in another context.”
Why did you release this album under the name Plug?
“Plug is my attempt to do drum and bass. I didn’t want to release it as Wagon Christ in case I hated it six months later. It was also on a different label. Virgin owns Wagon Christ, Mo’ Wax owned Luke Vibert, and I own Plug. I just license it out. None of the deals are exclusive — they just own the name. Wagon Christ was the first name I came up with, and I definitely didn’t want to use my own name at that time.”
Do you think you’ll ever record under another name?
“I’m not against it, but I wouldn’t want to.”
What about releasing extra material that doesn’t make it onto albums?
“Not at the moment. I like the balance I have now. I used to make ten tracks for every one that was released. Now it’s more like two to one. I like doing that, though. I need to get the cheesy stuff out of my system sometimes. I have to do something different every now and then, even if it doesn’t end up on an album.”
What’s it like being on Nothing Records?
“It’s brilliant. I was really surprised. We were going to sign with Ninja Tune, but it wouldn’t have reached many shops in America. I just wanted as many people to hear it as possible. Being on Nothing is great.”
You’ve been touring as a DJ. Will you ever play live as Plug?
“I don’t plan to. I don’t think it’s live music. I’ve been in live bands before, and if I was going to do something live, I’d want it to actually be live. I’m not into sequencing or miming to DAT like some people do. I could make more money that way, but I don’t want to. I’d rather just play records.”
Do you have any formal musical training?
“I had piano lessons from age three to ten, then I quit and forgot most of it by the time I was eighteen. I think it helped, though. I can still play strange jazz-type chords that some people can’t. Aphex, for example, just uses two fingers because he was never trained. I don’t think about it much, but I’m sure it helped.”
Are you satisfied with current music technology? Is there anything you’d like to see change?
“I’d like to look at a monitor less. It would be nice if there were some kind of mind-computer, but that’s probably thousands of years away. I love what computers can do, but I can only work for about five hours before I need to stop.”
What computer and software do you use?
“I use an Atari running Cubase. It’s really old, but it works. I’ll probably end up getting a Mac, begrudgingly. I hate having something where I only use 1% of its capabilities. I’m not into graphics or video, so a Mac feels like a waste of money to me. The Atari cost almost nothing and I’ve used it for eight years. Even with modern systems, you’re probably only using 5% of what they can do. I’d love to see something cheaper that’s made purely for music.”
