From Modern Dance magazine, Issue 34 (May 2001)
Thanks to Dave W. Hughes for permission to reproduce this interview

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Into, And Through The Realms Of Hyperspaciality and Inter-Dimensional Worm Holes

Twas on a dark night they came. Horrible, scaled things that twitched, as though animating their strange gait and underlining a feel of total outer world otherness. As one of their tangled, sweaty stumps reached out and twisted the old oak handle, a strange noise crept into my study. Like a dank mist, the sounds of Fflint Central assailed my ears....

So wrote HP Lovecraft in a story called The Sandwich Horror. Of course, this was never published, and indeed, never existed, but it could! Fflint Central are, as Clapton would say, a strange brew. Barry Williams and Tim Jones decided to honour their home town by calling their experimental label after it. You will be led directly into the other world of Fflint central with our Legendary 20 Questions. We decided to have both Barry and Tim, individually, answer the questions, so rather than having one answer, you’ll be getting two - and you wonder why we call it The Legendary 20 Questions??? Anyone who reads the magazine, Fortean Times, or has even a passing interest in all things strange, will be magnetised by much of the work from Fflint. If you haven’t, well, maybe this could be the opening of the portal into the darkness......

MD: What inspired you to create your own label ?

Tim: A number of things pushed us, but the main catalyst was the baffled and sometimes insulting response from labels we sent material off to- and one in particular that won’t be named as it will give them a plug! Also- we like the idea of being in control of every aspect of a release right down to the artwork etc.
Barry: The Fflint Central identity was invented by Tim, but the label thing came later following the frustration of trying to find an existing label that would take our music. In retrospect we should’ve done it straight away, but a couple of years ago the music business was very different and very much working in the traditional way of sending demos to A&R departments, waiting 6 months, getting pissed off and going through the process over again. There is still resistance in some quarters to the way we do it, but it’s enabled us to have complete freedom about releases, artwork etc.

MD: Musically speaking, where do your inspirations lie?

Tim: Well - I could think of this question again tomorrow and come up with yet another album or group/artist name but I’d say that the seeds were sown as a kid listening to albums that my older brother and sister had - a mishmash of everything really - King Crimson, The Who, Bonzo Dog Band, Amon Duul II, Faust, then getting well into Bowie and Roxy which lead to Eno and beyond—Henry Cow, Wyatt and all those people, loads of Prog stuff.....Once the Punk stuff was well into view from ’77 onwards, I got into Throbbing Gristle and all their associates and that was my ‘Road to Damascus’ ! They just made you listen to lots of varied sound in a different way, plus (along with Boyd Rice) they all listened to stuff like Martin Denny and Les Baxter and people like that - who were doing film music...the ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ albums of course........Nurse with Wound.......I better stop here or you’ll never shut me up!
Barry: Messrs Eno and Fripp definitely permeate my soul and King Crimson of the Wetton/Bruford era would feature heavily if I had to do Desert Island Discs. David Lynch/Alan Splet are also very influential. I can’t honestly claim TG as an influence - I got to hear them relatively recently via Tim. I’ve been told that some of my stuff sounds like Coil, which is very flattering, but I didn’t intend it that way. Some modern classical pieces have made a big impact, especially a Polish composer called Lutoslawski. I got into this type of music after hearing a Zappa interview, where he talked about the influence of Stravinsky, Varese, Webern etc. on his own records. Bowie, Roxy, Floyd are all mashed up in the grey cells somewhere.

MD: Describe the ‘writing’ process when you both work together

Tim: When we do a project together - we usually give each other bits of material on Mini-Disc, some is left untouched and some is totally mashed, it could be anything from a tinkling piano melody or a bowel wrenching hum, we both suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, just thought I’d share that with everyone.
Barry: Occasionally we’ll actually work together on the processing of a particular sequence or loop, but generally things seem to work best when we pass stuff to each other and work independently.

MD: Do you think the internet/web has helped promote and spread the word of smaller labels like Fflint Central?

Tim: Well going back to the thing that set us off to form a label, with the internet, it’s like we’ve got a ‘virtual label’ really and as for set ups like mp3.com - it’s just completely blew us away, we had sales in Japan after being with mp3.com for only about two months and we seem to be getting a good group of listeners in the States, what would’ve taken you years to build up - without all the new technology- now you can progress and get faster results if you tap into the right channels.
Barry: Definitely! Being a bit of a computer geek, I’ll find any excuse to use my PC. The Web is an amazing thing and a great leveller. Even a humble outfit like FfC can hold its own on the ‘net with megabucks corporations in terms of content and visibility. It’d be great to think that visitors to our website or to mp3.com might be encouraged to do their own stuff. We’re hoping that before long we’ll be doing collaborations with people we’ve never even met via tracks sent to and fro across the web. There are so many people out there doing great stuff, and it’s so easy to contact each other. The whole spirit is just so positive and refreshing compared to the money-minded control freaks running big record labels.

MD: Do you encourage other musicians (of a similar ilk) to send you promos/demos?

Tim: At this moment in time we haven’t really got the funds or resources to take on board other artists - but we do say this on our website, plus we tend to encourage people to set up themselves as you don’t let anyone down if something goes wrong.
Barry: Not at the moment. The message is - take control yourself.

MD: I notice that quite a few of the titles of the tracks on various albums have some stunning titles - is this an important aspect of the music, or just one of you has a natural ability to pick great titles?

Tim: We’re both equally to blame for the titles! I think it goes back to about 1967 when we were both at primary school in North Wales and one day as all the kids gathered on the school yard ready to go inside, there was a delay - as an artificial leg was just lying on the edge of the school field - it totally baffled everyone and had a very profound effect on both of us, not long after that we were dabbling with ouija boards and ritually burning all our Dinky and Hot Wheels cars. So I’d say that each title describes the sounds you hear or gives you a mental scenario in which you can have the sounds as a side salad and vice versa.
Barry: That bloody tin leg! I can still see the peeling pink paint, the rust patches, the leather straps. Who can measure it’s psychological effect on an impressionable mind? Err, the titles, yeah - I make a living as an industrial chemist, so chemistry inevitably creeps in there. Often I use a title which bears no obvious link to the sounds, but I like that surreal / nonsense approach. Other titles are from childhood, or they just drift into my head from nowhere during another dull day at work.

MD: Do you think that, on some of the tracks, that the titles fire the imagination of the potential listener, and do you think/feel this helps with the effect?

Tim: If there was just one person, say, far away in Alaska, who heard some of our stuff and then was inspired to either make their own music or write some poetry or do a painting etc. then it’s been a total success, even if that person never ventured out of the house and never released or sold their creation; to me, that’s what it’s all about.
Barry: One of the most amazing things to me about making your own music is how different ears pick up on different things. Stuff which to me sounds quite ‘up’ or funny seems to scare the shit out of others! Maybe I’m just sick. I suppose the titles could intensify the effect of the sounds, but I can’t predict in what way.

MD: Tell us a bit more about the various artists on your label ?

Tim: I’m responsible for Pendro, Rotation Hex is a collaboration with a shy secretary who I work with in the real world, I am the co-producer for Berkowitz Lake & Dahmer, Chromeboil is an occasional trio .... er...that’s it!
Barry: Oleum and Cavendish Sanguine are two sides of me: the first is for the more tranquil stuff and the second for more abrasive sounds and textures. Morticians’ Club is probably the most ‘commercial’ artist on FfC, producing more rhythmic, accessible music. I do production/engineering duties for BLD and also contributed to an outfit called Zahn, which sadly split up last year.

MD: Do you find that, because Fflint is cutting edge, that the reactions you get from various releases, are either good or bad, is there very little grey area?

Tim: Very little indeed, it’s either total disgust or complete approval - which again is interesting - two feelings that are poles apart yet triggered by the same set of sounds.
Barry: Feedback has in general been very positive (apart from a couple of nameless record labels) and people have been very kind. I used to own a VW Beetle and found that people either hated them with a passion or became totally obsessed with them. Perhaps there’s something similar about Fflint Central?

MD: Does literature inspire any of your ideas?

Tim: We’ve used certain hidden references in some of our titles but I think inspiration can come from whatever source all at once - again it’s the times we’re in - information overload, there you are - ‘Brave New World’!
Barry: Perhaps not in an obvious way, but certainly listeners via mp3.com have found some of it makes a good ‘soundtrack’ for literary pieces. An example is the American writer Thomas Ligotti. I’d never heard of the guy, but it’s interesting to know how the music complements literature for different listeners.

MD: What kind of equipment/instrumentation, etc, do you use?

Tim: I mainly look after the analogue department , we’ve got this effects pedal made by Dodd that’s a Digital Delay but also a sampler that cost about £190 and the things you can do with it are unreal. Anything that we can get our hands on really!
Barry: Pretty much PC-based. Often the software I’m using shapes the form of the piece and often I just noodle around and see what sounds come out. The MD recorder is invaluable for capturing fragments of sound for later use. But anything’s fair game and I quite fancy fiddling around with contact mics.

MD: I know the chance would be nice, but if you did become bulgy wallet-types out of your music, do you truthfully think that this would affect your ideas and thinking/creating process for future projects?

Tim: Yeah! I can just see it now......Pendro on Ice!.....the cape, the orchestra, scantily clad skaters! That’s a really good question as good fortune would bring about changes in some ways, I think it’s always good for sound experimenters to always listen back to their early work to get inside that sort of gung-ho spirit that first kick started you, as for how it would affect future projects, we’d probably spoil ourselves with the latest gizmos so I could only see it advancing everything.
Barry: Megamonster computer in an idyllic setting. Quite like to own a lighthouse. Unlimited supplies of Fruit Pastilles. I dream of being able to give up the day job, but who knows whether the music would benefit? Maybe working within the current financial constrictions augments the sounds, but I don’t want to suffer for my Art - sod that!

MD: The last (and current) album by Berkowitz Lake & Dahmer seems to be getting some very positive feedback. Do you think they’ve found the right balance for the experimentation to fulfil itself with the length of each track?

Tim: It’s almost like a cult thing in the states, albeit a very, very underground one, there’s a benchmark that was just formulated by chance and we are the two lengths of conduit for BLD to run their wares through, it saps your energy but obviously it’s worth it.
Barry: I think BLD are interesting for various reasons, but mainly because they’re not slaves to any particular style/genre/fashion. There are a lot of things happening, but it’s not easy to categorise or predict what’s coming next. Often the tracks are quite intense, so maybe if they were too long, brain damage would result.

MD: Will there be ever a chance to see any live events from Ffc?

Tim: I’m due to do something under the Pendro monicker later this year - nothing concrete yet - sometimes you need an extra set of devices to play with in a live setting, so it’s only a matter of time.
Barry: You never know, although there’s nothing planned for Oleum or Cavendish Sanguine. Readers are welcome to donate a decent laptop to Fflint Central - it would be put to good use.

MD: Do you think that with the odd few ‘key’ references to such areas as Forteana, conspiracies and general weirdness, there’s a chance you could be limiting your audience?

Tim: I think that people who are curious by nature, who like to discover new or different things - whether it’s literature, film, art or music, they take it in and then if they want to find out more from the references, they know that it’s always there to do so, hopefully with the Fflint Central releases, it can exist on two levels, just as experimental electronic music or with the added bonus of these ‘signposts’ to all things esoteric and fortean.
Barry: I reckon there’s a fair chance that people who find FfC’s music interesting will have an interest in serial killers.

MD: Do you both feel that, despite the in-your-face music biz (boy/girl bands/cack), that the music ‘scene’ still has some great stuff about?

Tim: Most definitely, It’s the same pattern as say 25 years ago, there was always nauseating chart stuff like Brotherhood of Man going on while there would be import albums by the likes of The Residents coming over, it’s just that nowadays there’s three times as much of everything! Which is okay by me, plus, some stuff is so crap that you just have to experience it more than once!
Barry: Oh yes - but as ever, you have to look for it, rather than have it rammed down your throat by radio and TV. But that’s nothing new - I don’t recall NWW, Eno, TG or Derek Bailey getting a great deal of airtime. At least with the new technology there’s more scope for discovering interesting sounds, especially as it doesn’t have to be filtered and sanitised through the record companies.

MD: Because of the emphasis on sell, sell, sell, and who’s got the most photogenic countenance, do you reckon that a lot of the better, more experimental (in other words, the better stuff) music, is being ignored? Or do you think that the re-release side of things is pretty healthy.

Tim: Experimental music will always be listened to by someone somewhere, there’s a term called ‘the arousal jag’, this is the desire to want to listen to music that is discordant or atonal or to view something that startles you in some way or at least intrigues you, so it will always be around, it’s part of human nature. As regards re-releases, I would say it’s healthy, be it commercial or otherwise.
Barry: The life cycle of typical girl or boy bands is probably shorter than ever, but the orbit of experimental music is much bigger. It’ll still be around for future generations, but I’m not sure how many of these listeners will have been fans of Westlife or A1.

MD: What do you feel about these so-called remastered (not remixed) releases, where the sound can be radically different from the original. Do you reckon that they should piss about with the original recordings?

Blessed is the Noise - New Gideon Leeches album
FfC does Downloads!
Nocturne Convolute - New Pendro album
Verhexen - A Malpractice Trailer
Black 'Devilhead' T-Shirt
New Postage Options
Malpractice - FfC Compilation on BIRDMAN Records
BLD's Mystifying Oracle Updated
Tar Weasels - New BLD album
New e-mail address