Ahead of Lick The Lid at The Imaginarium this Saturday – 29th July – we spoke to headliner Adam Shelton…
Imaginarium: Tell us a bit about what you’ve been on with recently…
Adam: Mainly trying to live a well balanced life, being a dad, trying to be healthy and focused whilst working towards my goals for the year, I have put on a few parties, I have been back playing in clubs which is exciting, signing some music for my label, re connecting with friends that I have not seen in person for a few years. I’m sure there is more to add but that feels the most relevant. Oh, one more thing, I completed a ten-day silent meditation course, which was very powerful.
Imaginarium: What have been your highlights so far this year?
Adam: My two highlights that have been the biggest energies so far have been playing on the Block 9 IICON stage at Glastonbury and the Vipassana meditation course, two polar opposite experiences one playing on arguably the best stage in the world to a wonderful crowd of thousands of people, sharing some of my favourite records. The other learning about myself at a mediation retreat where there are no phones, no books or pens and no talking for ten full days whilst practicing an ancient mediation technique that has totally changed my life and made me a better person.
Imaginarium: Like Birmingham, Leeds has a strong base of music collectives. In spite of many difficulties, the scene here seems to be thriving. Do you think that’s the case all over the UK?
Adam: Well, in all honesty I think the UK scene on the surface seems to be doing well, however my perception is that a lot of venues are still finding it difficult to survive and are having to constantly change their model to meet financial situations and pressures, so yes I agree the scene seems to be on fire with lots of underground parties, pop up events and festivals but the consistency of a good regular club night pushing a strong message does not seem to be so forth coming. Leeds as long as I have known it has always been a very reliable place for creativity and parties the two go hand in hand and with such a rich history of music it seems easier to carry on that legacy, less so in other cities around the UK I would say. Maybe, I am biased. I love Leeds.
Imaginarium: You’ve played at Glastonbury, and you’ll be a Houghton in August. How do you find the difference between playing at festivals and at intimate venues such as ours?
Adam: One thing I have noticed from playing mainly festivals the past few years and not so many club gigs is the sonic difference one has to deliver when playing at a festival, records you can play in a club to 200 people that are locked into what you are doing as they are surrounded by four walls is not going to cut it on a stage of ten thousand people. Now that might seem fairly obvious but after studying this with my own ears it makes you dig a lot deeper for your music and has made me re listen to a lot of records.
Imaginarium: You have been involved in various venues / spaces in Birmingham. Our space is multi-functional and incorporates a record shop. Do you think mixed use spaces are the way to go?
Adam: I guess it depends on the mix, a record shop and a venue is one of life’s great combinations if one can feed into the other and both are sustainable from a business perspective then happy days. We have had to be more creative the past few years and it is interesting to see how extra things like art, plants, gifts and books have made their way into spaces more and more. I appreciated venues that offer more than just alcohol and music, many people especially the younger crowd seem to want more than just that, it’s a luxury to be able to buy a record, go out and then come home with that record and maybe a plant too, certainly my ideal outcome from a night out.
Imaginarium: You explore a range of musical styles, do you think it’s important for artists not to box themselves in by sticking to one genre?
Adam: It has taken me a long time to be able to play different styles of music and take part in many different events and gigs, I get very fixated on a sound and impulsively want to buy every record I hear of that style but move on from that quite rapidly due to my fairly short attention span, in all honesty I wish sometimes I did just stick with one sound and do it well, that seems to work for a lot of DJs, I see lot of people wanting to connect with familiarity, I sometimes think this has worked against me where people are unsure now what I’m going to play. Maybe I am over thinking that one. Play what you feel at the time, that’s all there is really.
Imaginarium: You’re very prolific and keep on top of numerous projects. How do find the balancing act between everything?
Adam: Thanks, I really appreciated you noticing that, I am still trying to figure that one out. I guess I am just one of those people that cannot stick with one thing as I mentioned before so it really isn’t a life choice, I’m just rolling with it. I know people that really master the balance of work, passion projects, creative output and everyday life. Shout to a few of those heads, Tristan Da Cunha, Jayson Wynters, James Cotterill and Subb-an, through our chats I feel inspired to do my thing(s)
Imaginarium: Anything upcoming that you’d like to tell us about…
Adam: I am playing at this wicked new venue in Leeds on Saturday with friends.
We’re really looking forward to this one. Big thanks to Adam for the interview. You can grab tickets on Resident Advisor, and if you’re catching this feature on the day it’s gone out, there’s a flash sale with tickets at £5+£1 booking fee.
Interview: R Brehl