INTERVIEW : 2011-03-29 Time Out Hong Kong Interview (by Adrian Sandiford)

Signed by Peter Gabriel to Real World Records in the mid-1990s, Ohio singer-songwriter Arthur has been a persistent darling of the critics, with seven albums of rich, creative folk-rock; success as a visual artist; and – in recent years – member of a supergroup with Ben Harper and Dhani ‘George’s son’ Harrison (Fistful of Mercy, if you were wondering). We grabbed some phone time with him on his way out of a Mexican restaurant in LA, having recently filmed a spot on Jimmy Kimmel’s TV show.

You’re known for recording your live shows and making them available immediately after the gig. Is that something you’ll be doing in Hong Kong?

That’s a good question. I don’t know yet, but I hope we do. It’s something we’ve been doing for a long time and I think I’ll always embrace it. I’m not precious – if it’s not perfect, it’s OK, you know. Especially now, because every gig winds up on YouTube, so there’s less pressure; people are recording me all the time and everything you do is a click away. So I think you just have a less precious attitude. I think I was one of the first, if not the first, to do that; Peter Gabriel was the person to give me the idea to do it.

Peter Gabriel is said to have “discovered” you. What’s your relationship with him now?

Our relationship is in a good place and I love him dearly. I consider him part of my family in a way. I mean he mentored me. I was on his label and so we’ve got a very close relationship. He really opened up his world to me, and taught me a lot. It’s such a strong part of my history. When I look back at it I feel very lucky. It’s over now, that aspect, but I still have a lot of love for him and his family, and am still really close with them.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Akron, Ohio, which was a pretty dead industry town. All the factories had, like, died out. I grew up in this suburban landscape. It wasn’t too terribly tough or anything. It wasn’t a lavish environment. It was kind of like a ghost town. I think it fostered going into my imagination a lot, because there wasn’t much to do. When you come from a place like that, you end up turning to your inner landscape, and making art and music. I didn’t have a back-up plan. I never went to college. I just went for music and never looked back.

You’re known for using your paintings as album covers. Do you worry the rise of digital is going to lead to the demise of sleeve artwork?

Things evolve, they change; I mean there are definitely worlds that start dying out a little bit, but then new worlds open up. There is so much creative potential in the digital age that I can’t feel very bad about whatever we’re losing. Not to say I don’t love the album sleeves, but there’s so much other potential in terms of accessible filmmaking, having a recording studio on your laptop, stuff like that. The potential is awesome. The more technology builds, the more potential there is for new kinds of visual landscapes and digital art that we’ll be able to explore with music. There’s so much to choose from – there are so many worlds opening up. Nothing good can come out of wishing it was different.