ZANG TUMMM TUMB ARTICLES “the first draft of history”

Gals talk

“It’s the soundtrack of the whole adventure, of my journey all over the world looking for magic and the origins of rock ’n’ roll.”

This is how Malcolm McLaren — once manager of both The Sex Pistols and Bow Wow Wow — describes his forthcoming LP and his current single “Buffalo Girls”. It’s the latest advance in his ever-changing vision of what current music ‘technology’ should be.

“Records have become out of date,” he says. “Cassettes were fun as, by editing them, people could become their own deejays.”

But his new technique is enticingly simple. Called “scratching”, it’s based on the hip New York street activity of playing bits of records — backwards or forwards — then recording them over a drum machine and “yodelling over the top”. In other words, using records as instruments.

“This gets rid of the idea that to make a record you have to go out and buy a synthesizer or a guitar. It also means you’re reconstructing music out of old debris. It’s like getting all your brother’s records out of the attic and picking out all the best bits. It’s all about realising you can put those favourite bits together and make a record. Just out of old debris. Rather ecological, really!”