Calling Penguin Prison ‘one of the most exciting new acts of 2010’ sounds very much like a cliché. The problem is that Penguin Prison really is one of the most exciting acts of 2010, having proven himself with remixes for the likes of Erik Hassle (RIP) and Ellie Goulding (not RIP in the slightest) and a handful of his own stunning tracks.He also impressed us by putting a guitar on his head during a London show last month.
Penguin Prison will be back in the UK to DJ at Gold Dust on 30 June 2010, and we caught up with PP main-man Chris Glover to discuss celebrity school friends, miserable canines, what a lady threw at him from her window and why the only music he listens to is his own…
Hello Mr Prison. Is it true that you went to school with Alicia Keys?
I did. I went to a professional performing arts school and I was in a gospel choir with her. She was more mature than other kids. The teacher of our gospel choir treated her differently to everyone else because she was more grown up. At that point she had already been signed to a label.
Was there anyone else of note from your school?
The school was more about people who were already working at that age. There were people who were already on Broadway by 12 years old.
Did you get proper schooling or was it just all leg-warmers and choir with Alicia Keys?
That school was a place where kids like that can go - because they miss a lot of school. In the morning until lunch you had academic classes and after lunch you went to your major for the rest of the day.
Where did the name come from?
I made a song with my friend Bob that was a joke rap song about George W Bush. We were just freestyle rapping about him and my friend said "He’s a penguin vision, he went to the penguin prison, and assumed the penguin position". A couple of years later I needed to come up with a name for my band; I remembered that and remembered that I liked Penguin Prison. The song is on the computer on my hard drive. I won’t be resurrecting it. It’s bad.
Why did you choose to record your album in London instead of at home in America?
My producer, Dan Grech, just got in touch and said he wanted to work with me. He took some songs I had hit a wall with and he seemed like he knew what to do with it. He knew what each part needed and then we were onto the next thing, and the next thing, and the next...I liked what he did and wanted to work with him on the whole album. He happens to be from London, and here I am.
How many tracks are down for the album?
I have 13 songs finished. I don’t think I want 13 on the album but I have them all.
Do you think there's an optimum album length?
Between 10 and 12. People have a short attention span. I try to make all my songs good. If I’m writing a song and I don’t think it’s going to be any good I don’t even bother to finish it.
Do you think there is any stigma about white men making pop music?
I have no idea and I don’t really care. It’s just not something I think about. I just make music I like. I try to make my music cool. It is pop, but I’m a cool guy. I have a sense of humour about it and I don’t take myself seriously – I mean, I take myself seriously in the sense that I am serious about what I’m doing, but I don’t take myself too seriously.
What makes you sad?
I get sad when dogs are crying.
How do you feel about people being able to find almost an album's worth of tracks and remixes on the internet already?
I guess it’s good when you’re starting out for people to download your music for free. They can get into your music, and then, hopefully, if, when I release my album, if people are really my fan then they’ll buy it. It’s like they’re donating money to me. I know they will be able to find it for free, but hopefully…
Are you comparing being a modern popstar to being a beggar?
No! It’s simply that if people like me, and want me to make a second album, then you should buy my first album. It would certainly increase the chances of there being a second album.
You deserve a second album if only for playing your guitar on your head when we saw you live. Is this a regular occurrence?
I didn’t think about it. I just put it on my head. It felt right at the time.
It’s a fine line between pop music and performance art. Just ask Lady Gaga…
I like Lady Gaga in every aspect except her music. I like all of her outfits and performances and performance art – I just don’t like her music. Some people are more of a performer. They’re making music but it’s not as good as their look and then there’s people who do both. Or are only making music.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen out of your window?
I’ve never seen anything strange out of a window, but I have seen something strange in someone else’s window. I was walking down the street in Brooklyn and something fell on my head. I looked up and there was a girl throwing stuff down on top of me. It was just random stuff she was picking up from around her apartment.
What would we find on your iPod most played list?
Penguin Prison. It sounds egotistical but I listen through all my songs. I try to figure what I want to listen to but I just keep going and going. When I make music it’s the music that I want to listen to that doesn’t already exist.
Well, we can safely assume you be playing some of your own very brilliant songs at Gold Dust later this month then. Thank you very much, Penguin Prison.
Click here for Penguin Prison MySpace which contains all the pictures and music and spam comments you would expect from such a place.
Click here for more about the next Neon Gold night, where Penguin Prison will be playing records. Or more likely some MP3s from his iPod.
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