Inspired #0062 - Peter Ibbetson
Peter Ibbetson last month released his second EP ‘Control Yourself’, he took a moment to talk to us in more depth about the inspirations for the release.
Who are you top three musical inspirations?
My Parents : I grew up in a very musical and encouraging house. Motown, Soul, Jazz, Classical music was always around me and I believe this environment instilled an eclectic attitude and openness to hearing new things.
Brian Eno. Listening to Eno speak about music was very inspirational in helping me finish my first EP and giving me the confidence to release music. His idea of focussing on the process and letting the end product appear is invaluable advice when nowadays as musicians and producers, we’re faced with a limitless amount of possibilities.
Radiohead. This seems fairly obvious but I can’t emphasise enough the impact of hearing ‘Kid A’ for the first time. They inspire me and other musicians with the idea of not having to settle on a sound or keep on the same track. Hearing ‘Everything In It’s Right Place’ for the first time, when I was 14, was a profound experience and was the beginning of asking how and why people make music.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
I recently went to the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition at the Design Museum and I’m going to cheat here and just say anything by Kubrick. His process, and vision is a constant source of inspiration. More recently I’ve revisited ‘2001 : A Space Odyssey’. The idea of space and how slowly and calmly Kubrick allows things to develop is something I take on board as a musician.
What city do you find the most inspiring?
I’ve lived in South London for the last 10 years and this city is a constant source of inspiration. The people, music and history is something that I draw inspiration from. If I’m feeling uninspired or at a block, taking in the Tate Modern or heading to a record shop is an easy way to get things going again. Away from London, Tokyo is somewhere I’d love to explore more. I visited a couple of years ago and the total chaos mixed with an inherent calm nature was a beautiful thing to feel.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
The MOST inspiring person to me is constantly changing, but at the moment, musically I’d have to say Thom Yorke. His recent film score work and latest record shows he’s still at a place where he isn’t settling and isn’t afraid of trying new things.
What were your inspirations when writing the EP?
This EP was an amalgamation of ideas I was working on when my first EP ‘Rivals’ came out. I was new to releasing music and still had doubts on wether it should come out. I feel that producers sometimes feel they have to show all of them selves when releasing music, but this EP was a process of stripping that away and getting to the root of the track. I had been on tour with George Fitzgeralds’ live band and we had the chance to see artists such as Jon Hopkins, Ross From Friends and Four Tet up close, so seeing how those artists pieced together their sets and hearing things in a raw, live setting definitely had an impact on the sound of this EP.
How would you like to inspire people?
The only way I could hope to inspire other people is in the notion of letting go. Of doubts, and the fear of putting yourself out in the open for others to hear.