Jul 11 2024 82 mins 1
In this episode we welcome the esteemed David Toop to Hammersmith – on the UK's General Election day – to discuss his extraordinary new book about (and around) Dr. John's 1968 album Gris-Gris.
First we revisit the short-lived but splendidly eclectic Collusion magazine our guest co-founded in 1981: we hear about its inception and mission, as manifest in groundbreaking pieces about rap, surf, salsa, exotica and "paranoid sex in '60s soul". We touch on key points along the journey of David's journalistic career before arriving at The Wire in the '90s. A 2012 Pitchfork piece about Wire icon Scott Walker leads us to David's audio interview for that article: two clips from the conversation prompt discussion of Walker's remarkable career from the Walker Brothers to his new album Bish Bosch.
Finally we reach the debut album by Malcolm Rebennack, a.k.a. "Dr. John the Night Tripper", and learn of the long gestation of David's book during lockdown. David discusses the complex themes and issues explored in Two-Headed Doctor, including voodoo, racism, minstrelsy, New Orleans, unreliable mythography, and the unsung brilliance of the album's co-creator Harold Battiste. A gravelly clip from the late Charlie Gillett's 1971 audio interview with the Night Tripper himself provides a capsule backstory to the album's germination.
Mark talks us out with quotes from newly-added library pieces about Stan Getz (1973), Fred Wesley (1974), Primal Scream (1997) and Robbie Williams (1999).
Many thanks to special guest David Toop. Listening for Ghosts in Dr John's Gris-Gris will be published on August 20th by Strange Attractor.
Pieces discussed: ¿Te Gusta La Musica Latina?, Alone in the Dark: Björk on Vespertine, Incredibly Strange and Highly Exotic, Scott Walker audio, Mystic vapour: 'Jump Sturdy' (book excerpt), Dr. John: Shadowy Singer Rises From Bayou, Dr. John In Babylon, Dr. John audio, Harold Battiste, Stan Getz, Fred Wesley, Primal Scream and Robbie Williams.
