Bristol’s very own experimental DJ, Kid Carpet, is touring like crazy at the moment; he seems to be doing shows left, right and centre to promote his new album, Casio Royale. But this isn’t unusual. Kid Carpet never seems to leave the gig circuit and it’s clear he works really, really hard to get where he wants to be musically.

So, what are his goals? And how does he balance such a phenomenally busy music career with his pay-the-rent-and-eat job? I accosted him at the end of one of many local gigs to find out:

You have a song all about not wanting to go to work. We’ve all been there! Was it inspired by any job you’ve had in particular?
I used to work in a pub. I’d start at 5 in the afternoon and work till closing. On most days it seemed that by 5pm I’d have to stop what I was doing and give up the rest of my day. In the summer most people were beginning to enjoy a long outdoor evening when I was going indoors till 11.30 pm.

What’s your ultimate ambition?
I want to win Eurovision. And I want a number 1 hit record. Really….if I could avoid getting a job and just doss around knocking out dodgy pop music and pretend art for the rest of time, that’d be perfect.

If you could start again and do something completely different, what would it be?
It would be handy to have a real skill and trade, like a plumber or a mechanic or a builder. Whenever I try and fix things in my life with a song or a guitar solo it certainly helps to make light of the situation, but nothing actually gets physically mended.

What’s the strangest musical prop you’ve ever used for a show?
Er…. lets see. I guess the invisible coconuts are quite strange because they don’t even exist. I tried using an actual real wooden guitar at a show once. It sounded awful.

The invisible coconuts aside, what’s your favourite?
My favourite prop is probably my big cardboard logo. I’ve got through a few and need to make a new one. Maybe I should try making one in colour… My current favourite is my little karaoke cassette recorder with the volume turned right up, so it’s totally distorted. It helps me feel right on the edge!

If you were trapped in a room for a month, and only allowed to listen to one song that was stuck on constant repeat, which song would you choose to listen to?
That one by John Cale that’s totally silent. I’d surely be in a very dark place pretty quick otherwise!

www.kidcarpet.co.uk

Katharine Orton
Photo: Paul O’Connor