The wonderfully talented Jeremy Warmsley took some time out of his hectic touring schedule to answer our questions which surprisingly take in sleep, Battles and New Order’s Temptation. He sings in French sometimes and reckons Daniel Radcliffe is his twin. Or something.

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Varied, precise, obscure
2. What would be your ideal holiday?
A small room full of new books & records & keyboards. By the beach. At the base of a snowy mountain.
3. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
Not drinking the night before, OR, drinking so much you wake up still drunk. If you time it right you can get your hangover while your asleep. Perfect!
4. What’s on your rider?
Nothing interesting I’m afraid - lucozade, fruit, earplugs, odd-numbered pages from the Bible, tortoise fingers, shelves.
5. How do you get ready for a live show?
I have a complicated warm-up routine I learnt from Simon Mastrantone, who learnt it from Tim Buckley’s guitarist, Lee Underwood, who learnt it from Mr Buckley himself. And I think about what I’ve done.
6. Favourite song to play live?
I really enjoy playing the songs of other people - Temptation by New Order when I’m with the band, for instance, or Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien by Edith Piaff when I’m on my own. Of my own songs, a new one called Craneflies is particularly satisfying to play.
7. When was the last time you told a lie?
I’ve already lied several times in this interview.
8. Who would win in a fight, a stoat or a goat and why?
Neither. They would find a compromise, a common solution to their problems.
9. What was the last album you bought?
Battles - Mirrored. Amazing.
10. If you could rid the world of one song - what would it be?
A song I wrote, a long time ago, that seems to have made it onto the internet. Not telling what it’s called but I’m very embarassed of it.
11. Who would play you in a film based upon your life?
Daniel Radcliffe, for sure.
12. Dead or alive. What 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival.
Joanna Newsom (with orchestra), Tom Waits, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, the Beatles (playing Revolver to Abbey Road period material).
13. Desert Island Disc? Pick only one.
English Settlement by XTC - mm, layered.
14. What’s your most memorable on the road story?
We once bumped into Chaka Khan in a service station on the M6. We did a guerilla gig on top of the van, performing such hits as “I Feel For You” and “I’m Every Woman”.
15. If your life flashed before your eyes, what would be the highlights?
The bits when I was asleep.
16. Do you read your own reviews?
Yes. I think a lot of people have interesting things to say, I think it’s very interesting to discover what other people think of my music. They bring a point of view to it that I could never reach for myself, especially working alone as I always have in the past.
17. Are you a morning bird or a night fox?
Definitely a night fox.
18. If you could travel back in time where would you set the dial?
I’d rather get on with the present.
19. What three things could you not live without?
Oxygen, water, food.
20. Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.
I’m a terrific pedant.

Links
Jeremy Warmsley [official site] [myspace]