Bill Callahan says he prefers happenstance to craftsmanship in making music

Singer-songwriter Bill Callahan told the Guardian he does not consider himself a craftsman, saying he is "more of a drunk professor" who relies on coincidence and mistakes when making music. He described being precise about lyrics but otherwise working by chance: randomly turning on synthesisers, pressing buttons and trying to make whatever happens work.

Callahan said he feels more like a medium who receives material than someone who builds it, and noted he cannot predict how listeners will use songs — he was surprised that "Our Anniversary" became a wedding song. Callahan spoke about other influences and choices: as an admirer of dub he would pick Lee "Scratch" Perry for his infectious excitement and is curious about King Tubby’s minimalism; he said a past dub remix album drew on 1970s Jamaican moves and that if he made another remix record "I may do a chopped and screwed record." He also outlined his long relationship with Chicago’s Drag City, saying they "grew up together" and that he feels he has complete control there, and likened the arrival of streaming — after Drag City held out for about 10 years — to a kind of coercion.

On practical matters he urged supporting musicians by buying merchandise and records, said he has meditated since moving to Austin around 2004, and refused to licence his voice for AI-produced songs, calling the technology devaluing.

Key Topics

Culture, Bill Callahan, Drag City, Lee Scratch Perry, King Tubby, Austin