"It's Been One Of My Favourite Tours Ever"
Pioneering the post-lockdown return of live music – and much else besides – was Bad Seed WARREN ELLIS. ANDREW MALE caught up with him, just about.
IT’S BEEN an astonishing year for Warren Ellis. First, there was his involvement with Nick Cave on MOJO’s Number 5 Album Of The Year, the surreal, cinematic and emotionally staggering Carnage, and the intimate, life-affirming post-lockdown tour that came in its wake. He also released what must surely be one of the most strange, illuminating and wonderful ‘music’ books ever, in the shape of Nina Simone’s Gum. He collaborated with Marianne Faithfull on her poetry passion project, She Walks In Beauty, and, perhaps more unexpectedly, opened up Ellis Park, a wildlife sanctuary in Sumatra for “special needs” animals that can no longer be returned to the wild. “What a purple patch for a nearly 60-year-old,” he laughs as MOJO lists all the reasons for calling. “But you know, work is the only thing that makes sense to me. When things are falling apart I have to keep creating.”
What’s it been like communing with live audiences again?
Incredibly moving. Nick and I were presenting this very bold show, playing Carnage and Ghosteen, but they were some of the most communal, emotional shows I’ve ever been involved in. It’s really been one of my favourite tours ever.
Because of Covid regulations it was quite a stripped-down tour, with you and Nick Cave travelling everywhere together in a little van. How was that?
Before the tour I didn’t think I could love Nick any more, but it’s just been so fantastic. I’ve played with Nick for 25 years but he just seemed so relaxed this time. Maybe it’s also something to do with what we’ve been going through. Just talking to local people every night about how they’d got through lockdown and Covid. It was amazing. We had to test every day and if someone got Covid we’d have had to to shut everything down which would have meant financial ruin. It was a miracle nobody caught it.
These were very intimate songs, about loss and mourning, and you were performing to audiences who’d also experienced similar loss due to Covid. Is that something you discussed?
I think the material speaks for itself. I’d like to think everybody knows the circumstances those records come out of. So we clearly, we don’t talk about that because we just don’t. It’s part of the human condition. The thing that was quite different about these shows was that you were basically seeing how Nick and I are in the studio, making something in real time. You can see our relationship up on stage. There was something incredibly human about that.
The response to your book, Nina Simone’s Gum has been quite incredible.
This was a total surprise. It’s been really overwhelming. I didn’t really know how it was gonna land. I was waiting for people to pass judgement and I realise that it’s also a book about the need for affirmation from other people. I write about [the late Triffids singer] Dave McComb in there and I didn’t realise how much of a mentor he was. Everybody in there has been so important in drawing out my potential, helping me to realise my better self.
How did Ellis Park come about?
So much trauma happened as a result of Covid but I couldn’t help but notice the sense of community as well. That definitely had a knock-on effect with me. There was a need for hope amidst all the rage, the need to put something back. It’s up and running now and we have little broken creatures being brought to the sanctuary every day. I can’t imagine life without it. I honestly don’t know what I did before.
What’s planned for 2022?
Well, hopefully we’ll be back out with the Bad Seeds doing festivals. Nick and I have done the music for this snow leopard documentary that’s absolutely beautiful plus the music for Andrew Dominik’s new film, Blonde. There’s also a new record by The Dirty Three, and I also want to go over to Ellis Park next year and take a giant sculpture of Nina Simone’s gum out there, as something for the monkeys to play on. Maybe make a documentary about that. Have you read that book The Secret Life Of Salvador Dali when he arrives off the boat in New York with a giant baguette? I’m imagining something like that.