STEVE MACKEY
I think it’s tough for new artists to do what Pulp did, which was to be very unsuccessful for a long time,” laughs Steve Mackey. The former Pulp bassist, now anarchic production auteur, is dissecting the music industry and how it has mutated since he, Jarvis, Candida and the rest of Sheffield’s most notorious band of mis-shapes were at their height.
“We were grossly unsuccessful for 10 years, but it was an important time to be gestating. You pick up things and get better. But today, economics would make that more difficult to achieve.”
As any Pulp fan will know, Steve was a core member of the Britpop titans when they were at their biggest, performing on era-defining records such as Different Class and This Is Hardcore as well as near-legendary live performances at the likes of Glastonbury, V, Primavera and more. Since the group’s demise, Steve has trodden a singularly intriguing musical path, working as a producer, remixer and collaborator with an array of musical renegades: from the incendiary M.I.A. and the smoky, enigmatic electronics of Dean Blunt to pop heavyweights Florence + The Machine and, of course, Arcade Fire – for whom his work on their record Everything Now earned him a Grammy nod.
Alongside his studio sorcery, he’s worked as a musical director for fashion designers such as Tom Ford and created colourful sounds to accompany the work of artists including Damien Hirst. With such an eclectic CV, it’s obvious
