Clifford Price, aka
Goldie - the first outspoken superstar to emerge from the British jungle and drum and bass scene - has been surprisingly
quiet for the last four years. Once the subject of tabloid attention, thanks to a brief engagement to Bjork and fling with
Naomi Campbell, there hasn’t been much media interest in the DJ with the gold-capped teeth.
Not one to shy away
from attention, the London-based artist is mounting a comeback, thanks in part to a broken leg.
“What
really truly got me back into it was breaking my fucking leg,” says Price. “I had a really nasty break, I snapped
my femur really badly. I was water ski jumping and hit the water really hard, one leg went one way and my body the other.
I nearly lost the leg. It motivated me to get in the studio and get the new album done. It was the final kick in the teeth
to get going.”
The
new album, Sine Tempus, is more than another high-speed breakbeat montage aimed at the jungle massive. Due out in
March [2007], it’s actually the soundtrack to a film of the same name which Price has written and plans to direct.
A project he’s worked on for the last six years, it appears the producer has no fear shifting from the studio to directorial
chair.
“I’ve
studied a lot of great films and I think it’s my time to have a crack with my interpretation of film,” says Price.
“There’s so many films that have been made very badly, I don’t think I’m going to have any fucking
problem making a film.”
Price
is no stranger to appearing in front of the camera. In 1999 he played Bond villain Bull in The World Is Not Enough
before appearing in British gangster flick Snatch as Bad Boy Lincoln. Has this experience influenced his approach
to film?
“Only
from a discipline point of view, just having a sneaky little look through the camera,” he says. “Just to see what
it’s like, to see what the different people do. It’s like being in the studio, I know what engineers do so it’s
my job to fuck with them and see how far I can push the equipment. People aren’t challenging the medium enough; they’re
relying on the medium as opposed to anything else which is why art is so disposable. They’re relying on the medium to
do it for them and they’re lacking in the fundamental creativity thing, which is spirit.”
Although
readily comparing the film process to music Price concedes when it comes to movies less is usually more, a stark difference
to his dense musical creations.
“I’ve
had to learn that sound and film are two very different beasts,” he says. “I’m used to getting 99 sounds,
having all these great concepts, going into the studio and writing. What happens is I use 98 of the sounds. Difference is
with film you’ll have 99 ideas and throw away 40-fucking-five of them. You have to get rid of really great ideas but
with film so it helps with how the storyline advances. It’s a very ruthless situation.”
Adding
director to his resume of producer, DJ, actor and visual artist, Price was surprised last year when he was awarded an Honorary
Degree for Arts and Music from the Thames Valley University. High praise, when you consider Goldie is a musician who can’t
play an instrument.
