Viva Brighton Issue #38 April 2016

local musicians
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Chris T-T
Protest singer, inter alia
Chris T-T is an indie rocker, a writer, radio DJ
and protest singer. He’s playing this month at the
99% Festival – a two-day mix of music and talks
organised by the People’s Assembly to tie in with
the national anti-austerity demo on April 16th. We
asked him about the overlap of politics and music.
Has your music moved away from indie rock
towards a more folky sound over time? Yeah to
an extent, though I still juggle the two. The Bear
album two years ago was pure alt-rock, with a deliberately
1990s sound, so I still adore that music.
But I probably most yearn to be accepted under
the ‘folk’ umbrella if only because that allows a
lifelong gigging career, which was what I always
wanted to do.
Tell us about the new album you’ve been
working on… It’s called 9 Green Songs and it’s
out 3rd June. It’s my 10th solo record and my
fourth album with Xtra Mile Recordings. It’s
kind of a bleak, sarcastic ecology record, although
it does veer into straightforward protest and I
think it’s my most radical collection of songs for
a long while. I walked into the studio with what I
thought were folk-protest songs – but they turned
out more varied, intense and alternative than I’d
planned. Alt-rock, punk-folk, spoken word and
piano ballads.
Do you think marches are still a useful way to
protest? I’ll be marching on the 16th – but I’m
growing ever more skeptical of the value of polite,
well-stewarded British protest marches. They feel
like a pressure valve. Social media activism often
feels the same, although online campaigns to do
a specific positive good (like Arts Emergency) are
fantastic. When it doesn’t physically hurt people,
I’m more impressed and moved by moments of
smart, transgressive direct action (and disheartened
by the lack of it right now).
Has ‘protest music’ made a resurgence in
recent years? Well, clearly, art is no longer the
delivery device for the counter-culture as it was
in the 20th century. Today, that counter-culture is
delivered entirely via web coding. But that’s got
nothing to do with actual protest music, which
in my opinion is in the middle of an incredible
renaissance and is everywhere, including at the top
of the charts.
You performed solo at the Theatre Royal’s
Green Party fundraiser last year – how was it
for you? That was a fun, chaotic night, I loved it
but more for the atmosphere. I love being with
comedians backstage – they’re the best to hang
out with for showbiz gossip and disgusting stories,
far better than musicians, who mainly talk about
guitar pedals and lawyers.
Are you an activist who makes music or a
musician who sometimes sings about politics?
Absolutely, without hesitation, a music maker who
sings about politics. Even when the material is
overtly ‘political’, my approach is too pessimistic
and self-questioning to be ideal for simple rabble
rousing. I’m not on-message – my heart isn’t on
my sleeve throughout a live gig – like, say, Grace
Petrie or Joe Solo or Thee Faction. I believe in art
too much, I think. Interview by Ben Bailey
Chris T-T is appearing alongside Fable, The Meow
Meows, Attila the Stockbroker, POG and others at
the 99% Festival, The Synergy Centre, Sat 16th &
Sun 17th.
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