NICO

Rip It Up, Issue 105, 1 April 1986, Page 14

NICO

‘NICO’ FROM PAGE 11 really have to compromise. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I don’t think it would be honest. I prefer to stay honest. Do you think the electronic backing suits you? I think there’s a chill in those sounds that complements your voice. Yeah, well ... I’d like a few brass instruments too. Maybe by the end of the year I can have a double bass clarinet and a saxophone, or a trumpet. You get all the original songwriting credits on the album — do you come up with all of it on the harmonium? Yes, I have to get a new one though. This one is falling apart. How long have you had it? Three years. It’s my fourth one since 1968. They come from New Delhi. The Bina Pump Organ. Do you write constantly, or is it a burst before you do an album? Not constantly. But I write quite a bit, yes. So if someone asked you what your job was, what would you say? Singer-composer. You don’t consider yourself anything else any more? Well, no. I wouldn’t say I am an actress, unless I am actually making movies. You can’t call yourself more than one profession really. What’s behind the title of the album? It’s a lack of making a movie. Instead of making a movie, I recorded it. Did you see it that way from the outset, a

record of a movie? From the beginning, yes. Because during that recording I was watching the same movie all the time, Apocalypse Now. Do you want to make a movie? No. I leave that up to men, I think men should be movie directors. Why? It doesn’t make sense ... there are some good women movie-makers, but... like I wouldn’t let any woman produce my record. I’m sure there are some good woman producers. Maybe not well known ones. Executive producers there’s lots, the ones that do the artwork. Why do you think it works in that way? (Nico laughs) Because it’s a man’s world. Is that silly of me to say? No. And you’re successful in your own way in a man’s world? Well, I’m not on any great scale. I don’t need to be. But I wouldn’t have minded if that place last night had been completely full, yes. Because the other places were full. Except for Wellington — in this huge theatre 300 people show up. How come? It’s a town full of civil servants in some ways, people who don’t go out in public much — except to Laurie Anderson. Yes. I would have liked to have been part of the festival. Why is she doing well? Because of the music? You wouldn’t like to make a movie — would you like to be in one again? Yes, but I’d like to make a movie with

Francis Ford Coppola. Because I made seven movies with a French movie director, which are experimental, nouvelle-garde films, and they are only being shown in cinemateques and film theatres. They have retrospectives, like they show a whole week at the Centre Pompidou. But it never sees no commercial theatres. Do you listen to much current music? At the moment I only listen to a film that I’ve taped, Suddenly Last Summer (she laughs). Monty Clift, and Elizabeth Taylor, she’s great in it. So I don’t always listen to music, but I listen to music of course. I listen to all kinds of progressive jazz and mainly classic. Do you pay much attention to what’s going on in the world around you? Not in detail. Because I wouldn’t be a good enough politician to even try and understand. I mean, the Libyan, what’s his name? Arafat? Gadaffi. Gadaffi. I don’t really understand it and I don’t want to. I mean, if Reagan attacks him there must be a reason for it... What does living in Manchester do for your worldview? I don’t live there any more, I live in Brixton now. I thought three years of my time was enough to be in Manchester, I’m not from there. I’d sometimes like to live in Berlin again, for a few months. Why does your press bio say you were born in Cologne? Weren’t you born in Budapest? (Pause and then smile, intently) No, I’m not Hungarian. Do I have a Hungarian accent? No. So where did that story come from? Can we do the rest of the interview outside ...? (The three band members have just returned from a shopping expedition and Chad wants some light, so we shift onto the verandah. Nico is as efficient at being photographed as youd expect.) You’re sometimes described as a survivor — do you see yourself as one? I’m not really in the situation of surviving. I mean, you can only survive a war, or some catastrophe, but not when there's peace. Survive myself? (Laughs) I don’t know, I’m not that much of a block. I feel like I’m part of the wind ... But you were in a similar circumstance to, say, Edie Sedgwick in the late 60s — and she didn't survive. Yes, because she was 28 and everybody had to die by the time they were 28 (she laughs). They were all 28 — Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones ... Jim (a weirdly wistful tone)... Janis, Edie. Maybe it’s best for some of them. Because, you know, you remember the beauty. It doesn’t get to the tragedy of decaying, disintegrating. Do you think about getting old? No, not much. Any particular reason? Because I can’t feel any different from 20 years ago. It’s like I stood still more or less. Except that I don’t bother bleaching my hair any more. A career junkie once told me that you don’t get any older after 23. When you get there you either go on or you don’t. No, that’s about 33 I would say. He’s about 10 years mistaken — 23 is very young. Most people only start discovering themselves at that age. Late developers — I’m a very late developer. Are you still discovering yourself? No ... (laughs). What’s your son Ari doing these days? He’s going to acting school in Paris. I see him quite a bit. I thought he would come here to Australia and New Zealand but he had something to do. He’s a writer and an actor. He’s 23 now. Do you think these are good times for you? Yeah, because the record coincides with the type of music that is being popular. Not on a big large scale, but on a large scale. It always depends, you know, on the budget. You can’t make a masterpiece — well you can make a masterpiece ... it involves money, yes, masterpieces do. Did you have as much as you needed for this album? It could have been double. It was only 15,000 pounds, very little. We didn’t even have time to do my vocals over again. Would you consider some live recording? Yeah, I think we have to rehearse a few numbers that we can do, because we only change once a year. That’s not very often is it? I think we have to finish soon. A lot of people think of Nico as a miserable person — but you’ve been smiling almost every time I’ve seen you, apart from being on stage. I’m not miserable. I don’t know why people always like to say that. Maybe it’s the type of music, they identify it with me. Why do you choose that kind of music? Is it cathartic? I leave it to the other people to make happy music. There’s enough around ... That’s enough for me. Thank you, you’re very gracious. (Nico smiles)